—Speak from the heart. Trying hard to fight back tears, Favre sobbed for several minutes and held nothing back while explaining why he decided to leave (“I know I can play but I know I don’t want to”), what he’ll do next (“nothing”) and how he doesn’t plan to hang around and dole out advice to the team (“I’m not an expert”).
—Tell the truth. He said he’ll questions himself about whether he made the right decision.
—Address rumors. Rumors have been flying the last few days that he left because he was angry at the way the Packers treated him this year and that they haven’t encouraged him to return for another year. Favre addressed them, denied them, and said his response was “from the heart.”
—Don’t run for cover afterward. He took and answered dozens of questions from reporters.
—Look genuine. He said he thought about wearing a suit and shaving. Instead, he showed up unshaven, in jeans and an untucked shirt. “What you see is what you get. ”
—Don’t say “no comment.” One reporter asked him why fans have embraced him and why they like him so much. A perfect chance to answer “no comment.” Instead, he said, “Because I’m just like them, except I play professional football.”
—Don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know.” He said he doesn’t know what the future holds and has no concrete plans about what he wants to do.
Brett Favre is a class act, and he scored a PR touchdown.
So nice to see authenticity in the public spotlight. I just became a Brett Favre fan.
Suggestion for Brett in the future:
— Jump-start or create a sports program that makes an impact in the lives of children. Living honestly and “from the heart” can apply to more than just professional sports.
Great find Joan!
Great post! I followed a suggestion from your last newsletter about piggy-backing on big media events like Brett Favre’s retirement. If I hadn’t read your newsletter, it never would have occurred to me to relate my work to Favre. I wrote up a blog post talking about life and leadership lessons I’ve learned from Brett Favre and got the largest single day readership I’ve ever had at my blog.
Thanks, Joan, for the idea! It really paid off.
A great blog post Joan. We normally don’t associate heart and football. It is such a armored sport but this brings a new awareness that even football players can be authentic and in the day of steroids it is a great thing to see.