What You Can Learn From Anthony Scaramucci’s (Brief) Tenure in the White House
You may be wondering if you’re new to sales if the goings on at the White House is what you can expect in business. Anthony Scaramucci and what he said in his recent interview with The New Yorker comes to mind. You might find yourself working in a toxic environment and trying to meet your sales goals. It may not be easy, but you have to be aware of your challenges in order to survive the mess. Scaramucci didn’t, but you can.
A foul mouth means you're a poor communicator
I think it’s ironic that Scaramucci’s title was White House communications director. Don’t you think a communications director should be able to communicate a message without resorting to vulgar locker room allusions? I do. Had he wanted to say that someone else was not honorable or loyal, he could have stated that and given examples—that’s not what he did.
The danger of working with or for someone who has a foul mouth is there could be a tendency to think that you have to blend in. You don’t. Why would you want to blend into a culture that accepts and rewards vulgarity instead of results? Don’t think that vulgar language is acceptable. It’s not; don’t imitate it.
What do you get when you vilify people publicly?
We know that Mr. Scaramucci had an issue with Reince Priebus. A suitable option of addressing his concerns would have been to talk privately one-on-one with Priebus. I’ll bet that didn’t happen. Instead Scaramucci thought it better to embarrass Priebus publicly. And what did he think would happen?
The only thing that happens when you publicly humiliate someone who is on your team is you create an enemy. I can assure you that in business, and especially in sales, some day you will need the help of the enemy you create today. I’ve seen it time and again. I’ve seen managers attack subordinates; I've seen teammates attack other members of their team. It's never a good idea. Remember what your mother told you: If you don’t have anything nice to say, just say nothing. I add that if you must talk, at least do it privately, not publicly.
RELATED: Bad Manners Are Bad for Business
A good strategy in business is to make friends, not enemies. And since we’re talking politics here, note the friends who came to Jeff Sessions’ defense when he was publicly dressed down.
Talking isn’t the same as actually getting results
Scaramucci was known for his egotistical tweets. He dined with Sean Hannity and claimed he had special information about leakers. Yet what about the results he delivered? Not much, unless you count creating a shockingly unprofessional image after 11 days of work.
Here’s what I was writing today before John Kelly removed Mr. Scaramucci from his job:
"I’m going to make a prediction. Scaramucci isn’t going to last any longer than Priebus, but for a different reason. It seems that Mr. Trump didn’t respect Priebus when Priebus didn’t defend himself against Scaramucci’s nasty swill of a personal attack. Certainly that’s a problem if your manager doesn’t respect you, but what was worse was none of Priebus’s peers came to his defense. See the Jeff Sessions attacks and how Congressional Republicans came to his defense and said there would be problems for the President if he tried to fire Sessions."
You might think that I’m clairvoyant—I’m not clairvoyant. How did I know he would be gone? I do know what works in business and what doesn't. Cowardly braggarts don’t sell more and they don’t last in sales.
So work hard. Get results in sales and business by building relationships with others. Control your ego. Scaramucci’s nickname is "The Mooch." A mooch is someone who takes from others without paying. Scaramucci literally means "little skirmisher," and is a stock clown character of the Italian comic theatrical arts known as a cowardly braggart.
Sound familiar? Is that what you want to be known as in business? I don’t think so.
