Corporate team building professional NYC

Last week, The New York Times published a piece by Mike Birbiglia which received a lot of attention: “6 Tips for Making It Small in Hollywood. Or Anywhere.” I confess, I had no idea who he was, other than the brief bio in the piece (he’s a comedian/actor/writer/director) and that he has a movie which I’d seen ads for, “Don’t Think Twice.”

But I must also admit, I enjoyed reading his article.

While assuming a modest tone, the crux of the piece is that here’s a guy who has for all intents and purposes “made it” in show business, and he’s offering up advice for would-be entertainers (and, I’ve taken the liberty of surmising, corporate entertainment and team building company owners). As the title suggests, Mike has 6 useful tips to share to help us get on our feet. How’d Yours Truly stack up? I thought I’d give a point-by-point analysis – as well as provide some thoughts of my own on these suggestions:

• Tip 1: Don’t Wait – Couldn’t agree more. You can’t get better at something without actually doing it. There’s no point in waiting until you get an “official” position, etc. to start doing something you enjoy, especially in the entertainment world. Skills take consistent time and effort to develop, and if you want to get better at something, you have to start now. I hosted some 200 bar trivia nights in Manhattan and Brooklyn for three years before I took the initiative to start my own trivia team building company. It’s how you pay your dues, and the sooner you start, the better.

• Tip 2: Fail – This one’s in all the literature, in every book you read on entrepreneurship, leadership, etc. I’ve always struggled to fully embrace it, however, because A) it’s REALLY hard to see the upside of failure when you’re in the thick of it, and B) I’ve been extraordinarily fortunate, and haven’t yet experienced true failure. I’m talking complete, utter failure – has everything gone perfectly? Of course not. I’ve had streaks of bad luck, things not go as smoothly as I would have liked, and even completely screwed up (for a quick story about one of my biggest fails, go here). Maybe a Big Fail is in my future, and maybe it will indeed give me something to learn from, which will help me get to the next level. But honestly, I’m in no rush to see that happen!

• Tip 3: Learn From The Failure – Seems we can’t get away from this one. So be it. Yes, like most people working in a creative, performance-based field, I am my own harshest critic. After every single gig (especially ones I emcee myself), the staff and I always grab dinner or drinks nearby, and I grill them: what do you think went well? What didn’t go well? What could have gone better? (Click here for more on the TrivWorks post-gig “staff hang” ritual). Especially after the bigger muck-ups, I want to learn as much as I possibly can from the experience. It’s these “teachable moments” which help us grow as professionals and as performers, and grow quickly.

• Tip 4: Maybe Quit – Okay, I disagree wholeheartedly. As somebody who never quite found their passion early on, I was always insanely jealous of those who knew exactly what they were meant to do on this planet, and how to get there. While I understand Mike’s point here – that “making it” might be more readily achieved along a different path than the one you’re on – I also believe that once you DO find that passion, you strike hard. Constantly. Never give up. Don’t let ANYTHING stop you, least of all your own self-doubts! If after what you and you alone consider to be a reasonable amount of time and effort and you haven’t yet “made it,” well, maybe it’s time to try changing directions. But really, I think you’ll be the most enthusiastic and passionate if you’re working towards that which truly excites you.

• Tip 5: Be Bold Enough to Make Stuff That’s Small But Great – I would agree with this, that setting realistic expectations is a good thing. Not every would-be actor is going to be the next Brad Pitt, not every comedian the next Tina Fey. And you know what? That’s fine! Ten years ago, there were no “social media celebrities” or “YouTube stars,” and now look – people who started out on small platforms, who mastered performing in front of small audiences, have become big in ways never even possible before! When I started hosting pub quiz nights, I didn’t do it hoping to one day own a company offering corporate team building activities in New York City, Los Angeles and everywhere in between. I thought, “I’m going to be the best damn pub quiz host this pub has ever seen!”

• Tip 6: Cleverness is Overrated, Heart is Underrated – Not quite sure what to make of this one. I think Mike is saying that true passion trumps cunning any day. I’d say I halfway agree. You need four distinct things to “make it” in the entertainment world: A) talent – at a bare minimum you’ve got to be naturally good at whatever it is you do; B) commitment – it’s not enough to be born good, you have to work hard, consistently, in order to develop C), skills, so that you can compete against those who are in your league; and D) luck. Of those four, commitment and skill are within your control (heart), while talent and luck aren’t. But you CAN improve your luck and maximize your talent, if you’re clever about how you do things. For me, I have given TrivWorks my absolute all, every day and night for the past seven years. But I’ve also used my head. It takes both.

It’s challenging to “make it” in any industry, especially this one. I commend Mike for offering his tips for success, and think he’s got a lot of great tips for people like you and me. These are just my thoughts and opinions, though – I’d love to hear yours!

(Image courtesy Jon Pack/The Film Arcade, via The New York Times)