James has become so much more than a sports superstar. His website speaks to this: The top menu tabs feature “The Man,” “The Philanthropist,” “The Businessman” and “The Athlete.”
What makes him such a successful, omnipresent superstar? What can we learn from his greatness—and his missteps—to apply to our own lives and careers?
PR pros and communicators can learn five lessons from James:
Facilitate for others. As great a scorer as James is, he’s also been called the best passer in the National Basketball Association. Whatever industry you’re in, whatever level of success you’ve achieved, you still should share the ball—“assisting” your colleagues.
The Cleveland Cavaliers star makes his teammates better: His precise passing builds their confidence, keeps them engaged and puts them in position to succeed.
Do you do that with your team, or do you take all the shots yourself? PR pros would be wise to take a page from James’ book and delegate, involve, praise, facilitate and share the load.
Be generous. James has earned about $600 million since 2003. He’s still the NBA’s highest paid player and continues to rack up lucrative endorsements. (His lifetime Nike deal alone is worth a reported $1 billion.)
What’s he doing with all that cash? He’s sending 1,100 kids to college, giving millions to the Boys and Girls Club and pumping funds into poor schools, among other causes.
[RELATED: How to land blockbuster coverage during and after a PR event.]
Few of us will become major philanthropists, but we all have something to give. Even on a humble PR salary, you can still volunteer, write a gratis story for a nonprofit, quash a beef with a rival, assist someone with his or her résumé or help a young person break into the field.
Attack the goal tenaciously. When his team absolutely needs a basket, James drives to the rim with the determination and force of a superhero. No one can stop his progress.
In the PR arena, especially when a crisis is brewing, opt for decisive action over dithering. Identify your goal, and advance toward it with single-minded resolve. Don’t let obstacles, heckling, haters or pressure deter you.
Learn from mistakes. “The Decision,” the ill-advised 2010 program that dramatized where James would sign his next contract, was a PR nightmare for everyone involved. James’ brand was badly wounded in the fallout, but he hasn’t done anything nearly so self-aggrandizing since then. Also, despite gaining an early reputation for not excelling in the clutch, he’s done well for himself on the basketball court (three championships and currently battling for a fourth).
For the most part, he is judicious online. He’s known for taking a social media break when the playoffs start, to mitigate distractions from his 64.3 million followers.
Whenever James misspeaks, yells at a teammate or says something iffy in the heat of the moment, he almost always clarifies himself and rectifies the situation. He knows how to defuse a crisis before it snowballs.
What about you? What are you learning from your professional mistakes? Google has a Quarterly Failure Report to gain insights from its flubs and flops. Owning failure and learning from it is essential to improving.
Embrace your community. James recently won the Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award to honor his “outstanding service and dedication to the community.”
PR practitioners have a community, too. Whether it’s in the office or online, we share a responsibility to contribute to our niche communities.
Give tips freely, and share questions whenever the need arises. Give credit and attribution where it’s due. Do your bit to bolster the industry at large, rather than just your sliver of it.
Those things can make us better at our jobs—and in life.
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