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I just wanted to see what would happen. That’s it. The nametag was an exercise in curiosity, nothing more. But that’s just me. I’ve always been incurably curious. I’m a giant question mark. I’m the annoying kid who raises his hand right before the lunch bell rings – because he just has to know the answer – then makes everybody late for Tater Tot Tuesday. The point is, history…

Money can’t buy everything. Currency, on the other hand, can. And if the struggling economy is making life difficult, you might consider seeking out alternative forms of exchange. Today we’re going to explore a collection of currencies to help you buy what you need:1. Respect buys loyalty. If you want make employees stay, make customers buy, make suppliers sell and make competitors drool, respect them enough to be radically…

Today the barista asked me for a name on my coffee order. I didn’t answer. Instead, I just waited until she looked up from her computer, actually made eye contact with me and noticed my nametag. “Oh, duh – Scott. Your name’s right there. Sorry.” This happens to me all the time. Sometimes people feel embarrassed. Sometimes people say thanks. Sometimes people just laugh. But I always smile. And…

When I was a kid, I struggled to find a spot. A niche. A home. A place where I belonged. But nothing seemed to work. No matter how hard I tried, I still felt like an outsider. Eventually, I couldn’t take it anymore. I was tired of feeling like part of the wallpaper. I was tired of being held hostage by my outsiderness.So I stuck on a nametag and…

Wearing a nametag didn’t make me into somebody new. What it did was surface the kind person I already was. What it did was accelerate my growth into the person I was born to become. And if I do a little research, it makes a lot of sense: I’ve been creative, quirky and exceptional my whole life. The nametag just gave me an outlet. I’ve been a performer, an…

“How long do you plan on doing this?” That’s what people used to ask me. As if my dream had an expiration date. As if one day I was going to snap out of my delusions, close the door on my cute little experiment and rejoin the rest of the world. But I just kept saying forever. Me and my nametag just kept showing up. All day. Every day….

When you look into a trashcan, you have a choice. You can see trash, or you can see treasure. It all depends on how big your thinking is. On that fateful day in college when everyone else threw their nametags away, I looked into the trash and saw the latter. And it changed everything. Forever. LET ME ASK YA THIS… What do you see when you see things? LET…

Years ago somebody asked me if I was wearing a nametag to build social capital. Social what? So I did some research. As defined by Robert Putnam’s groundbreaking book, social capital is our reserve of personal bonds and fellowship. Like a bank account, every interaction that builds trust and reciprocity strengthens our sense of community and instills a feeling of belonging. What’s interesting is how many different areas of…

Love isn’t something you feel – it’s something you decide. THE QUESTION IS: Has your organization made that decision yet? If you haven’t, people will find out. If you haven’t, people will find someone else. From my column on American Express Open Forum, we’re going to explore a few more ideas about how to out heart the competition:1. Contact trumps content. Loveless companies are notorious for only delivering select…

It’s hard to be inconsistent and win. Especially now. Customers know more, see more, remember more and repeat more – than ever before. Everything matters. Everybody’s watching. Everything’s a performance. Privacy is so last century. And when you lack consistency, when your onstage performance doesn’t align with your backstage reality, people see through you like bottle of water. Which doesn’t mean you have to be perfect. You are human,…