In 2004, I was 13 years old and I loved baseball. The Red Sox had a chance at winning their first World Series, and I was obsessed with beating the New York Yankees. The Yankees were arrogant and entitled, and their new third baseman A-Rod seemed like the worst of them all. He never smiled. He always looked full of himself. And he played dirty as hell. One game, he swatted at a Red Sox player’s glove to knock a ball loose. When he was embroiled in a steroids scandal, it felt like a natural progression.
Fast forward 14 years and A-Rod was last week’s speaker in our Reputation Management class. His presentation changed my opinion to respect and even like him. Here are three lessons I learned.
First, never take yourself too seriously.
When someone is as famous as A-Rod, it’s easy to be arrogant and out of touch with reality. That’s expected. What made A-Rod endearing was the times he made fun of himself.
At the beginning of class, Professor Kluger asked everyone in the room who knew A-Rod to raise their hands. Almost the entire class did. When A-Rod introduced himself, he pointed out Louis, a classmate and friend from France, who hadn’t raised his hand. He said, Louis must be thinking, “Why is this random guy talking to our class? He doesn’t have an undergrad degree and is speaking at Stanford…” The entire room laughed, and it broke the tension of having a celebrity in the room.
Another time, he was talking about how many home runs he had hit — among the most of any player in history. He followed that up by saying he also has the fifth highest number of strikeouts; out of every player in the history of baseball, he has struck out more than only four others. In his words, he has a “PhD in failing”.
By using humor, A-Rod showed that he could be fun and happy, not just intimidating. By being self-deprecating, he showed that he was an everyday man, relatable and vulnerable just like the rest of us.
Second, use discipline when building your reputation.
When A-Rod was going through his steroid scandal, he realized it would be an uphill battle to win back the gratitude of his fans. He made a pact to himself. Everyday, rain or shine, he would sign 25 autographs. He has kept this pact every single day since.
To an outside observer, this might sound easy. But I can tell for A-Rod it’s not. Before the scandal, he was even known for not signing autographs.
As a celebrity, it’s tough to constantly interact with strangers and make fake conversation. When I ran into A-Rod in the bathroom before his presentation, he was there for almost 20 minutes. I don’t think he was there to actually pee. He was there to go through his speech in comfort and quiet without the distractions of celebrity.
The fact that A-Rod isn’t a natural extrovert makes his commitment all the more impressive. It’s fun to talk about reputation management when it’s easy. But committing to something you don’t enjoy makes it much more meaningful. I believe A-Rod will be successful as he is applying athletic levels of dedication to rebuilding his brand.
Third, tell your story, especially at the darkest hour.
When A-Rod tested positive for steroids, his career was devastated. Headlines in every newspaper and talk show shouted that he had failed his team and his fans. This took a huge toll; A-Rod fell into a deep depression.
During this time, immediately after the incident, he picked up the phone and called every single one of his business contacts. In the toughest moment of his life, he pushed himself to reach out to share his story and apologize. When times are rough, everyone’s wants to hide. When I’ve gotten rejected or made a huge mistake, I don’t want to see anyone at all. A-Rod clearly felt the same way, but he realized the power of engaging to shape the narrative.
A-Rod’s ability to shape his own narrative let him bounce back from the scandal. He had his best baseball years at 40 years of age, and he now has a successful life in business. More importantly, he has stayed close to all the people he called. They never forget that he thought of them in that tough time.
I’ll never be a Yankees fan. And I’ll always be a little annoyed by A-Rod’s shenanigans in 2004. But after last week, I think he’s a good guy: humble and inspiring. I’ll tell everyone I know. Isn’t that what reputation is all about?
Great observation, thank you for sharing the wisdom that you learned from the king of comebacks. I was not an A-Rod fan either, back in the late 90s, he signed a ginormous contract with the Rangers. I did not blame him for doing that but I felt the Rangers ruined baseball with such an idiotic move. No one was paying that type of stupid money not even the Yankees. Anyway when A-Rod got busted for steroids, I too felt that it was par for the course. Did not think too much of him until he became a baseball analyst and I started seeing a side of him that I liked an amired. Thanks, again for sharing your thoughts.