Stephen A. Smith: This Is My Best Advice For Advocating For Yourself | Forbes

Key Concepts

• Brand Deal: A business arrangement with a brand, often involving endorsement or partnership, distinct from a traditional salary.
• Self-Advocacy: Actively promoting one's interests, skills, and value.
• Value Proposition: The unique benefits and value that an individual or entity offers to others.
• Trustworthiness: Being reliable, honest, and consistent in one's presentation and actions.
• Consistency: Maintaining a stable and predictable image, message, or quality over time.
• Solutions-Oriented Approach: Approaching situations with a focus on finding answers and resolving issues, rather than just identifying problems.
• Mutual Benefit: The principle that successful business relationships involve advantages for all parties involved.

The Shift from Salary to Strategic Business Deals

The discussion centers on the critical lessons for individuals transitioning from a traditional salaried role to engaging in business deals with brands, emphasizing self-advocacy and understanding one's true value. The core question posed is how individuals can best advocate for themselves and leverage their worth in such arrangements.

Pillar 1: Cultivating Trustworthiness and Consistency

A foundational principle for successful business relationships is trustworthiness. The speaker stresses the importance of:

• Pre-defined Self-Presentation: Before engaging, clearly define and understand "whatever you present yourself to be." This involves knowing your image and what you stand for.
• Maintaining Consistency: Once an image or persona is presented, it must be consistently upheld. While growth and elevation are natural, a drastic change that makes one appear a "foreigner" compared to the initial presentation erodes trust.
• Avoiding Ambiguity: The speaker uses the analogy of an "amoeba" to describe someone who is "all over the place," lacking a clear identity or stance. This makes it impossible for potential partners to understand what you bring to the table or what you represent.
• Commitment to Offer: Individuals must have "something to offer" and be "committed to that" offering, demonstrating a clear value proposition.

Pillar 2: The "Give First" Mentality and Value Proposition

When seeking to do business, the mindset should be one of contribution, not just extraction. The speaker highlights:

• Bringing Value to the Table: Clearly articulate what "service or product or anything" you are offering. The message should be, "This is what I'm bringing to the table. I'm not here just to take. I'm here to give." This establishes a foundation of mutual benefit.

Pillar 3: The "Make My Boss's Money" Philosophy

A pivotal lesson, learned after being "Let Go by ESPN in 2009," is encapsulated in a two-fold purpose:

• The Two Purposes: "Number one, how do I make my boss's money? And number two, how do I get some of it?"
• Addressing Misconception: While this might sound simplistic or solely about money, the speaker clarifies that "everything's about money in this day and age because ain't nothing free." The deeper meaning lies in its strategic application.
• Solutions-Oriented Approach: By committing to making the boss money, you position yourself as a provider of solutions, not problems. "If you're a boss and I come to you, committed to making you money. You're going to listen to me. You want to hear what I have to say? Because essentially, I'm not coming to you with a problem. I'm coming to you with solutions."
• Impact on Access and Influence: This approach ensures that "Your door is always open." The speaker uses his own experience, stating that top executives at Disney or ESPN do not ignore his calls. This access is "not because I'm Stephen A, it's because of who Stephen A has proven to be."
• Purposeful Engagement: When making contact, there's "a purpose and a method to the madness," focusing on efficiency ("seconds and not minutes of your time"). The communication is direct: "Hey, this is what I think could work for us. What are your thoughts?"
• Earning Trust and Collaboration: This proactive, solutions-focused approach "entices them to want to listen." Over time, it evolves from them listening to your proposals to them actively seeking your input: "They'll pick up the phone and call. You want to talk to you about something. We got this issue... What are your thoughts? What do you think we should do?" This signifies that "your opinion and your thoughts are important before they reach a conclusion, because you've proven to them that you're in it for them, not just yourself."

Conclusion: Highest Paid, Best Value

The overarching takeaway is that an individual can simultaneously be "the highest paid person in an organization and the best value in the organization as well." This is achieved by consistently demonstrating trustworthiness, offering tangible value, and adopting a solutions-oriented mindset focused on contributing to the success of those you do business with. By prioritizing the mutual benefit and proving your commitment to their success, you solidify your position as an indispensable and highly valued partner.