Blog
Say Goodbye to Donor Churn
One of my clients serves on the board of national charity. Her biggest complaint about the organization was, they don’t know how to thank their donors. At least, not in a way that’s memorable, unique and personal. Not in a way that encourages them to pledge continued financial support. Sherry’s charity defaults to the same, boring outreach efforts that every other organization on the planet uses. Thank you letters,…
Would You Rather Be Honest or Right?
It takes courage to follow our convictions. But it takes character to reevaluate them. The problem is, our brains have this motivational drive to reduce inconsistency whenever possible. When given the choice between flexibility and certainty, between looking stupid and looking right, our egos will always choose the latter. We’d rather stick to our guns, even if we shoot ourselves in the foot. We’d rather stand our ground, even…
The Young Artist’s Guide to Playing For Keeps, Part 17
You’ve chosen an uncertain path. You’ve adopted an inconvenient lifestyle. You’ve embarked upon an unconventional journey. You’ve felt the voice inside you growing more urgent. You’ve committed yourself enough so you can’t turn back. IN SHORT: You’ve decided to play for keeps. This is the critical crossroads – the emotional turning point – in the life of every young artist. I’ve been there myself. I’m still there myself. Here’s…
Things We Should Have Learned By Now
We should have learned by now that there will always be more. That just because a shorter line, a bigger piece, a better spot and a faster lane is always available, doesn’t mean we always have to take it. We should have learned by now that love doesn’t disappear. That despite our best efforts to put bars to our heart, we can’t not feel. We can’t pretend that emotion…
The Crumbling Wall of How
I’m rarely stopped by not knowing how. Instead, I’m sparked by knowing why, stirred by knowing what and sustained by knowing who. And more often than not, those forces are potent enough to overwhelm the void of how and carry my ideas to execution. But I’m not immune to the occasional surge of permission. Especially when I’m working on a new project that, deep down, I’m afraid to tackle…
The Opposite of Honesty
The opposite of honesty isn’t lying. It’s omitting. Instead of saying how we really feel, we say nothing. Instead of telling the truth, we tell ourselves to keep quiet. And the result is very dangerous form of dishonesty. For most of my life, I was an omitter: Happy to share my feelings when asked, but hesitant to volunteer my feelings the rest of the time. I had girlfriends who…
The Wow Gap
Wow is the distance between expectation and experience. And the bigger we make that gap, the bigger impact we have. In the service world, when our interactions are over the top for no good reason, when we deliver so much wow that clients have no choice but to tell their friends, people love us forever. Even if it’s as simple as sending a text message to someone who took…
The Excess of Expectation
Success doesn’t just breed success – it breeds expectation. “I’ve seen your trick, what’s next?” That’s what our audiences demand. That’s what keeps them coming back for more. Which, from the standpoint of productivity, is great. People’s craving for novelty is a helpful probe to keep us relevant and keep us on top of our creative game. It reminds us that we should always throw a few new songs…
Coin a New Word, Create a New World
I come from a long line of merchandisers. Every generation of my family, going back to The Great Depression, was in the business of promoting and selling their wares. Shoes, hard lines, cookware, apparel, gifts, closeouts, discount goods, problem inventories, they’ve peddled it all. So when I started own company ten years ago, I followed suit. The only difference was, my product was intangible. As a writer, publisher, performer…
The Nametag Guy Live: Does Your Business Card Matter?
LET ME ASK YA THIS… What are you the answer to? LET ME SUGGEST THIS… For the list called, “62 Types of Questions and Why They Work,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free! * * * * Scott Ginsberg That Guy with the Nametag Writing, Publishing, Performing, Consulting [email protected] Never the same speech twice. Customized for your audience. Impossible to walk away uninspired….