Blog
NametagTV: The Word on WOM
Video not working? Click here for Adobe Flash 9. Watch the original video on NametagTV! LET ME ASK YA THIS… What are you doing to stimulate, harness and increase WOM? LET ME SUGGEST THIS… For a list called, “11 Ways to Out Google the Competition,” send an email to me, and I’ll send you the list for free! * * * * Scott Ginsberg That Guy with the Nametag…
How to Dance in the Rain of Our Current Economic Storm
Last night my friend Andy sent me a killer quotation from one of our favorite philosophers, A. Nonymous: “You can’t sit around and wait for the storm to be over. You’ve got to learn how to dance in the rain.” I immediately thought of our current economic condition. Yes, business sucks. Yes, layoffs are abounding. Yes, job stability is wavering. The challenge is learning how to dance in the…
Just Go, or, Why Being Impatient is the Most Profitable Decision Your Company Could Ever Make
Impatience is underrated. Now, before you flip out, let me explain. Patience – as a virtue – is a beautiful thing. Maybe the beautifulest. And I’m sure I could easily bore you with a bunch of predictable quotes from The Bible, The Koran and The Gita about how patience is love and patience is the fruit of the spirit, blah blah blah. But I won’t. Instead, let’s talk about…
When YOU walk into a room, how does it change?
TWO WORDS: Michael Scott. If you watch The Office, you know what I mean. Poor Michael. As the branch manager of Dunder Mifflin, every time he walks into the room, something bad happens. People stare. People stop talking. People walk the other way. Even in one particular episode, Stanley’s stress monitor started beeping faster and faster as Michael approached him. Yikes. What about you? When you walk into a…
Four Strategies to Elevate Your Visibility Inside (and Outside) of Your Company
Business sucks. Layoffs are abounding. Job stability is wavering. Will you panic or prosper? If you want to accomplish the latter, remember this three-word philosophy: Anonymity is bankruptcy. In this article, we’re going to explore four strategies for elevating your visibility inside (and outside) of your company. FIRST: Elevating Internal Visibility When executed consistently, these practices will capture the attention of your managers and superiors, thus contributing to a…
22 Ways to be a Great Date for Your Readers
The best piece of writing advice I ever got came from the late, great Kurt Vonnegut: “If you want to be a great writer, be a great date for your reader.” Of course! After all, think about the characteristics of an ideal date: Fun. Fun-ny. Engaging. Emotional. Interesting. Stimulating. Memorable. And if possible, includes Skyline Chili. These things HAVE to happen if you want to get the other person…
10 Ways to Leverage Your Most Overlooked Personal Branding Hotspot
Business cards. Collateral materials. Websites. Blogs. Brochures. Voicemails. Phone greetings. Email addresses. Email signatures. Job titles. Company names. Taglines. Slogans. Headshots. Blah, blah, blah. Any entrepreneur with a modest knowledge of marketing and branding uses all this stuff. But here’s something your MBA class won’t teach you. Here’s something you won’t read in most bestselling marketing books: The #1 most overlooked personal branding hotspot is YOUR LANGUAGE. Language is…
30 Ways to become the Most Interesting Person You Know
How much money is being boring costing you? ANSWER: Too much. Boring ideas lose. Boring people fade. Boring organizations fizzle. LESSON LEARNED: There is inverse relationship between how successful you are and how boring you are. Seth Godin talked about this at length in a recent podcast with Ductape John: “If the marketplace isn’t talking about you, there’s a reason,” Seth says. “If people aren’t discussing your products, your…
43 Unusual, Unorthodox and Unexpected Ways to Skyrocket Your Creativity
I’ve read 200+ books on creativity, many of which are, ironically, not very creative. But. Last week I finished an obscure, yet mind-blowing book called Playful Perception, by Herbert Leff. I don’t even remember where I heard about it. Either way, he suggests the following: “Expand your repertoire of awareness. Increase the choice about the quality of your inner experience, and it will improve the flavor and value OF…
9 Ways to Make People Feel Essential
Yes, making someone feel “important” and “valued” and “needed” is a HUGE part of being an approachable leader. But that’s not enough. If you truly want to win with people, you need to make them feel essential. Here’s a list of nine practices for doing so: 1. Three simple words. “I appreciate you.” Not, “I appreciate that…” and not “I appreciate what you’ve…” No. “I appreciate YOU.” Small change,…
