Arrogance Doesn’t Equal Ambition

An actor at the top of his game walks on set. He’s got assistants, an entourage, and ego bigger than the ‘HOLLYWOOD’ sign. As he steps into his trailer, he casts his script aside, declaring he’s going to go where he chooses in the next scene, no need to rehearse. His manager slams the door shut to the dismay of autograph-seeking fans. Just another day in Hollywood, right?

While this scenario might bring one or two names to mind, the fact is that such a character is a fantasy. As someone who’s helped steer the course of pop culture for over 20 years, I’ve met more than my share of boldface names, and nobody who showed contempt to their coworkers or public found anything resembling long-term success. No matter who you are, how talented you may be, or how many butts a producer will think you put in the seats, an arrogant attitude is a surefire way to kill your opportunities before they really start: in showbiz, in any business, in all areas of life.

The entertainment industry, where I’ve built my career over three decades leading and running networks and producing major hits, has a reputation as the dominion of huge egos and cutthroat competition. While there are certainly some big heads in any room, the idea that success goes hand in hand with brashness and egotistical behavior has not been my experience at all. An arrogant attitude only shows me that you’re insecure, unsure, and lacking in the confidence that your talents can truly shine through. Believe me, all that bravado is pure storytelling.

One bit of conventional wisdom about showbiz is 100% true: people love to gossip. and there’s no story juicier than “who pissed off whom.” What that means for the arrogant types is that news of their petulant attitude travels fast, resulting in more doors closing than they’ll ever hope to knock on. There’s no shortage of talented people looking to make a splash; distinguish yourself as a pain in the neck and people will be more than happy to strike your name off their list.

Want to make a great impression? Treat people how you want to be treated. If you let your ego guide your personality, you’ll find it difficult to find people willing to buy what you’re selling. Your favorite actor, who’s been topping marquees for years? Odds are, they’re decent enough to know that treating people well is the secret to sticking around in the long term.

Unique, outstanding, and attention-getting is what we look for in my production company. The weirder, the better, if you’ve got a compelling story to tell. Yes, that means off-the-wall personalities are more than welcome. But going outside the expected doesn’t include treating the people around you badly. That’s just bad practice.

A quote popularly attributed to Maya Angelou says it best: “people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” This is an industry where we affect people’s emotions on a global scale. If you can’t make the people in the room happy to see you, you’ll never get a chance to do so for the millions watching at home over a career.

The industry that gave birth to the term diva has only so much room for people who treat others as stepping stones. In the world at large, there’s even less so. No matter how talented you are, whether you’re an actor, director, accountant or mechanic, if you’re a jerk, you’re making the case for few friends and even fewer opportunities. Whoever said “nice guys finish last” had it wrong: you need to be more than nice to succeed, but being a jerk ensures you won’t enter the race at all.