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Margie ClaymanMargie Clayman

Marietta, OH

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Social Medici – Lesson 1: Be Humble

May 28, 2012 by Margie Clayman 8 Comments

The Basilica di San Lorenzo, Florence

This week we’re going to be playing it like MC Escher. We’re going to do a series within a series. I know. It’s unthinkable. It’s like crossing the streams from Ghost Busters. But I just can’t help it, gosh darn it.

The series, as you might have garnered from the title, is going to focus on the Medici family. As it happens, they have an awful lot to teach us, both good and bad. They pretty much covered the gamut from most positive characteristics to the most deplorable. But first, a brief introduction for those of you who might not know about the Medici family.

The real godfathers

The Medici family started out in Florence as a banking family. They did alright, but nothing special. The big break came when Giovanni Medici took a gamble on a pirate named Baldassare Cossa. Cossa was tired of pirating and decided that he wanted to become Pope, and in fact the Church was so messed up that he actually stood a chance. He just needed the financial backing for his campaign. The Medicis supported him all the way up the ladder, and indeed he became Pope (Pope John XXIII). In return, Cossa essentially appointed the Medicis “Papal bank.” If you hadn’t guessed, that’s a pretty good deal for a little Florentine family.

Over the course of about 200 years, the Medicis had their hands in pretty much everything that had to do with the Renaissance. They commissioned works by Donatello, they adopted Michelangelo, worked with Leonardo, and nurtured Botticelli. It was a Medici who sat in the Vatican when Martin Luther posted his theses. It was the rule of the Medicis that inspired Macchiavelli to write The Prince. The Medicis hired Galileo to tutor some of the later dukes. And in fact, it was Giorgio Vassari, a sort of PR professional for the later Medici dukes, who wrote a book encapsulating the two centuries of Medici rule as the “rebirth” or the Renaissance. Not bad, right?

You can probably see now how we can learn a lot from the exploits of this amazing family. Even so, lesson one might seem like a bit of a paradox. Be humble? In fact, Giovanni Medici preached just that to his son Cosimo.

Afford a fast car but ride a mule

Giovanni Medici became rather rich and powerful during the course of his lifetime, but if you had met him on the streets of Florence back in the 15th century, you might not have realized how well he was doing. Instead of dressing ostentatiously or making a big deal of himself, Giovanni rode around town on a mule. He did not stray far from his humble beginnings, and he advised his son, Cosimo, not to shine the light on wealth. Not all of this was about a Florentine sense of humble pie. Florence was all about family feuds. Giovanni knew that as the Medicis grew more powerful, other powerful families would take notice and would try to take them out (very Hollywood, right?). Giovanni also understood, though, that humility makes you much more attractive than a giant ego. If you’re powerful or wealthy, that will speak for itself. You don’t need to beat your own drum about it, especially if there are people around you who might not be doing so well.

Giovanni’s advice is highly relevant for the online world. He would likely chastise those people who refer to themselves as “experts” or “ninjas” or “jedis.” He would probably have a pretty big problem with something like Klout – why broadcast how much value you have on any given platform? Especially if what is being broadcast can’t necessarily be proven! He might advise you not to worry too much about things like how many followers you have, and it’s likely he would say that you probably don’t need to broadcast how many followers or subscribers you have. Float under the radar. Let your power speak for itself.

Being humble can be less fun

By the time Cosimo was coming into his own, the idea of humility was sort of passing by the wayside. Cosimo brought in Benozzo Gozzoli to paint the walls of the chapel that was within the Medici palace. The room, painted on all sides, depicts the Medici taking part in the procession of the Magi, and any friends of the family also got to be painted in. In other words, if you were hip with the Medicis, your face got on their gold-encrusted wall. Cosimo also used his great power to oversee Brunelleschi’s building of the great Basilica di  San Lorenzo dome, the symbol of all things good in Florence. He also got to be buds with Donatello. None of this really sounds too trying, does it?

But as it happens, Giovanni’s advice turned out to be pretty solid. Cosimo got powerful enough that another family, the Albizzi, had him imprisoned and were pretty intent on killing him (he was able to buy his way out and eventually raised an army that took back Florence). Had he stayed a bit off the radar, perhaps the Albizzi wouldn’t have noticed his growing power. Maybe he could have taken advantage of a moment of weakness on their parts.

In the online world, if you fly below the radar you might avoid negative attention. You might avoid negative comments on your blog. You might avoid being “called out” on Twitter. Of course, if Cosimo had been nothing but humble pie, we might not have a lot of the works that Donatello created. We might not know the name Brunelleschi. Maybe the Medicis never would have evolved to where they did.

Perhaps the best advice is not necessarily to be humble, as Giovanni suggested. Maybe the lesson is to be gracious. Be successful, but don’t gloat. Don’t rub your success in peoples’ faces.

What do you think? Do you agree with the advice Giovanni gave his son? How do you approach your own online world? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Image Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/yanivba/459712516/ via Creative Commons

Filed Under: Marketing Talk

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. bdorman264 says

    May 28, 2012 at 8:10 am

    Hey, don’t be bashing Klout, they have free stuff………..
     
    Some people think they have to be the peacock to be noticed, especially in the crowded world of social. I’m perfectly happy flying beneath the radar, it seems to be a much more genteel audience which suits my personality much better. 
     
    Interesting story with similarities to the Kennedy’s who maybe achieved their wealth through less than savory means but ultimately did good. It is somewhat scary to see how religious stature can be bought. I’m pretty sure that’s not what the good book preaches. 

    Reply
    • margieclayman says

      May 28, 2012 at 6:52 pm

       @bdorman264 The similarities with the Kennedys don’t end there. The Medicis also experienced their fair share of family tragedies, sadly enough.
       
      Flying under the radar can be comfortable, but one runs the risk of not promoting themselves *enough*. This is something I talk to people about a lot. If you believe you are truly doing good stuff, you should want to share it, but it’s hard to find that invisible line that divides an okay amount of self-promotion from d-baggery. I’m still not 100% clear where that line is. Maybe you don’t find out till you cross it, eh? 🙂

      Reply
      • bdorman264 says

        May 29, 2012 at 1:33 pm

         @margieclayman Yeah, until somebody says ‘what’s that smell, check your shoes please’…………….yikes.
         
        I try to just be the humble shoe shine boy, I certainly don’t mind attention but I would much rather promote you than promote myself. I guess it is a fine line of what is socially acceptable and what is not. 
         
        You do ‘good stuff’ BTW………….

        Reply
  2. GrandmaOnDeck says

    May 28, 2012 at 1:31 pm

    Finding your own truths and being true to ones self brings about honesty, integrity, and self worth thus eliminating the need of braging or gloating.

    Reply
    • margieclayman says

      May 28, 2012 at 6:53 pm

       @GrandmaOnDeck So well said, Gloria. Thank you! 

      Reply
  3. Martina McGowan says

    May 28, 2012 at 1:36 pm

    Good post, Margie.
     
    Humility is always a good thing to help keep us in check. But it is a fine balance that we must keep between being humble and promoting yourself.
     
    Success, if it comes, insocial media or anything else does not require that we rub people’s noses in it.  Quite the opposite. “To whom much is given, much is required.” When we are successful at something we should be willing to share it and teach it. The additional bonus is giving some of your stuff away is that you often stumble into grand collaborations that you could not buy your way into and meet awesome and caring people you would not spend time with in any other set of circumstances.
     
    Do your work, and do it well. Promote yourself within the bounds of good taste and common sense. People are always, always, always watching. If you have something worth their attention, they will find you.
     
    And, our generosity should make us feel good about giving back to the community that feeds us.
     
    Martina

    Reply
    • margieclayman says

      May 28, 2012 at 6:54 pm

       @Martina McGowan Great points all the way around, Martina, as usual. As I said below to Bill, it’s hard to know where that line is between reasonable self-promotion and yuck. You might have to stumble on it in order to find it, which is kind of unfortunate. Without guidance from people you trust, it can be a real guessing game. On the other hand, you don’t want to be so worried about how you are perceived that you hide your light behind a bushel. It’s quite a balancing act. 

      Reply

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  1. More methods says:
    June 12, 2013 at 12:14 pm

    More methods…

    Social Medici – Lesson 1: Be Humble…

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