I learned a great business lesson from a conversation
on the fateful day with Tom Hanks.
It’s from my forthcoming book, called “ALL
Business is STILL Show Business!”
This is Scott McKain, For a number of years
I had the opportunity to be a movie reviewer
— a film critic — and because of that
I got to attend junkets — where you would
see the movie, meet the stars, and have a
chance to have interviews and conversations
with them.
On the day of the Forrest Gump junket, it was
revealed that O.J. Simpson was nowhere to
be found.
Later on that day, of course, was the chase
that started through the streets of Los Angeles.
Well, that was also the day that I was interviewing
and communicating with Tom Hanks.
As we sat and talked, one of the things that
happened was we had to shut down our interview
because something was going on outside the
hotel that was so loud, so noisy, that we
could not continue.
As we opened the curtains, we saw the helicopters
from the news stations — and the county
and state police — all following the white
Ford Bronco as it passed below on the streets
of Los Angeles.
As the conversation continued with Tom Hanks,
one of the things he told me that day is a
very insightful business lesson.
He said, “Look, I'm famous…I get cuts
through airports, and people know my name.”
But, then, he said, “Fame does something
bad to you before it does something good for
you.
Look at the guy in that Ford Bronco.
He’s a celebrity — everyone knows his
name — he's got a lot of money — but would
you call where he is right now: SUCCESS?”
“What you have to do is not let your ego
get in the way of your performance.”
How many times we see businesses having an
incredible launch — but they can't sustain
the momentum?
How many times do we see a professional start
selling a lot — but can't maintain their
productivity?
Part of what we need to do is not let our
ego get in our way.
Humility is critically important.
You know, we often overlook that Tom Hanks
has had some box office stinkers — I mean
some real bombs!
We tend not to think about that so much simply
because we like him!
He's humble — and he's the kind of person
we like to be around!
Is that the kind of professional you are?
Is that kind of business that you're involved
in?
It's a great business lesson from Tom Hanks!
And the reason is because, “ALL Business
is STILL Show Business!”
I hope you check out my forthcoming book — it’s
coming soon.
