I’m reading Gary Vaynerchuk’s “Crush It!”, at the suggestion of my friend Adam Wallace (@adwal). @GaryVee, creator of the popular Wine Library TV, is a real character and the poster boy for personal branding. I mean, what can you say about a guy who swears he’s going to fulfill a childhood dream and buy the New York Jets someday (and means it)?
Well, first off, I’d say he’s hit upon a model that works like crazy for him. Following his personal mantra of putting family first, working ’super hard’, and living passionately, he turned his family’s wine business into a small wine selling empire and virtually owns the social media space in his vertical (and probably whatever other vertical we wants to jump into.)
Whatever people choose to say about Gary, the one thing that hits home is that he’s certainly focused and passionate about what he’s doing. Of course, that’s the mark of a true leader – someone who’s passionate about and believes completely in what they’re doing (and can get others to believe, too.)
After my post yesterday about the characteristics of bad managers, I got to thinking about some of the excellent leaders I’ve worked with over the years. The ones who made a lasting mark on me and my career were those who, without exception, operated much like Gary does.
They understood the important balance needed between work and family, worked amazingly hard to deliver excellent results, and were incredibly passionate about what they were doing. As I reflected more about some of these people, three characteristics shared by all of them kept jumping out at me: patience, persistence, and truth.
Pretty powerful stuff. I’m going to finish up Gary’s book (it’s a fun read, about 150 pages, and I recommend you check it out) and think some more about how I can make sure I’m applying plenty of patience, persistence, and truth in my daily work – and my life, as well.
You should follow me on twitter here.
