The announcement that Ryan Seacrest will be the new co-host for Live can only lead one to the conclusion that Ryan Seacrest is not a merely one man. With all of his projects from coast-to-coast, he must be a robot (or an entire line of robots) put together by the corporate media machine for our entertainment. His ability to attach himself to successful projects is a marvel, because while I would never say he’s a hack, he doesn’t exactly have any exceptional talent either. He doesn’t sing, he doesn’t dance and I’ve never seen him juggle. He’s vanilla and yet he’s constantly in our living rooms. So what’s his secret? Here are three-and-a-half success lessons in business we can learn from Seacrest:
1. If you put yourself out there enough times, the good will usually outweigh the bad. Seacrest’s seemingly Teflon career hasn’t been without its blemishes. One of his first television breaks came in the 90s when he hosted the Radical Outdoor Challenge on ESPN2. Let’s just say, it wasn’t just the title that was cheesy. In fact, in several moments you can see the embarrassment on Seacrest’s face through a thinly vailed smile. But his successful projects far outweigh the bad. The lesson? Keep swinging away!
2. Stick around. I once saw a free stand-up show in Los Angeles and one of the comics was Brian Dunkleman. Who’s Brian Dunkleman? He was the original co-host of American Idol in 2002 along with Seacrest, but he made the decision to walk away after season one. He had his reasons to leave due to some drama behind the scenes, but where would he be now if he had just stuck around? Very often life’s victories go to the last man (or woman) standing.
3. Don’t burn bridges. In his work on the radio, television and red carpets, Ryan Seacrest has encountered countless celebrities and yet looking for anyone who has a beef with him yields almost no results on the googlenets. This makes Seacrest a safe choice for large networks that need to play for audiences from Portland to Peoria. Keeping work relationships strong (or at very least not pissing anyone off) can payoff in huge ways in the long-run. Nothing is sweeter than getting a call from an old co-worker who has since been promoted about 15 times, looking to fill a new position and has you in mind.
And three-and-a-half: Say yes. Seems oversimplified but, like Dick Clark who came before him, Seacrest seems willing to take on any project. Quite simply, Ryan Seacrest is the world’s greatest yes man! The phrase is usually thought of as negative, but honing his sort of ‘yes-ness’ at the workplace could be the key to rising the ranks.