The OPF (Other People First) Principle of Business

Last night Russ Kelly, a local angel investor, spoke at our Jersey Shore Entrepreneurs and Investors meetup at Cowerks. One of the principals he touched on during his presentation was the concept of putting other people first (OPF) in business. This notion particularly resonated with me as I am a firm believer that it takes a village to raise a child (or a band or business).

Russ Kelly, 1/2013 Speaking at Cowerks

Over the years I have realized that most individuals will fall into two categories- those who ask “How can you help me?” and others who ask “How can I help you?”. 

Although, semantically, it’s just a few pronoun switches, there is a HUGE distinction, and I try and surround myself with those who fall into the latter and I generally run from the prior.

We’re all busy people - we have families, companies, bands, and extracurricular activities should we even have a few moments of downtime. Generally, we sleep too little, hurry too much, and would just love to have a few extra hours tacked on to the day to take care of all the “important” things in our lives.

How are we ever supposed to help <insert random person> find an investor for their start-up or make a call so <insert band name> gets to open up for <insert bigger band name> when we really need that big break ourselves? 

Both bands and businesses thrive in “scenes”, or communities. I firmly believe communities are ONLY successful when there is a culture of “we” versus “I”.

Look no further than the NYC and San Francisco tech “scenes” where industries such as hotel rentals, livery, and financial services are being taken down, often enough, by a few kids in their 20’s with an idea. All of these ideas would still exist in a vacuum were it not for the community of investors, early adopters, and mentors to put OPF and help.

The same can be said about music scenes. I spent a great deal of the early 2000’s in North Jersey running an all ages music club in an area with a VERY active scene. Breakout bands such as My Chemical Romance, Thursday, & The Gaslight Anthem all came from this community. It’s interesting to point out that many members of these groups played in smaller, mostly unheard of bands, prior to their success. They were also very active in the music scene and usually could be found at every show talking to people and networking. This local community of bands, venues, labels, and fans were an incubator for them and, I argue, contributed directly to their success.

The next time you find yourself in a situation where someone needs your assistance, I urge you to bring awareness to this opportunity to put OPF. Instead of immediately brushing this person’s request aside, take a few moments to consider, how can I help them?

Putting OPF doesn’t have you be anything super time consuming or ground-breaking, maybe it’s as simple as sending an email introduction to a local angel group or bringing this person to a show, meet-up, or event where they can expand their network.

Maybe, just maybe, they’ll put OPF and pay it forward when their REALLY big band needs a supporting act for next year’s European tour.