In a recent newsletter from Alan Weiss, he had a quote from Wharton professor and author Adam Grant I found interesting.
Bragging about yourself violates norms of modesty and politeness – and if you were really competent, your work would speak for itself. —Adam Grant
My first thought was LinkedIn (I’ve cancelled my Facebook account). It gets to the point I don’t even want to go on LinkedIn because all I seem to see are corporate ads and people telling others how great they are without offering anything of value.
Value is what we all must not only provide but also delineate what that value is, so we can provide it.
- Advisors need to show why their clients are better off with him than without them.
- Business buyers need to convince sellers and their representatives they are the right buyer for the business.
- Business sellers need to demonstrate the business is a good, sustainable model that isn’t dependent on the owner, a key customer, or special employee.
- And especially in today’s employment world, companies need to demonstrate they are the right employer to perspective employees, because it’s an employee driven job market.
What’s even better than demonstrating value (versus bragging) is when others do it for you.
“Bragging about yourself violates norms of modesty and politeness – and if you were really competent, your work would speak for itself.” Adam Grant