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…approximately 5% of people’s comments will be negative. Like this one… I sat down in Starbucks with a pile of receipts and my laptop. Yay! Expense account day! Anyway, an older man in a grey suit grabbed a seat next to me. He was one of those people who “self-narrated” his actions. You know these types. When they’re in public places – usually lines or crowded waiting spaces –…

What do Quentin Tarentino, Bob Dylan and Seth Godin have in common? They’ve all become their own adjective. Think about it: When you hear any folk song recorded after 1970, there’s always that faint trace of Bob Dylan’s influence in between the notes. And you think, “Hmm…this song has a Dylan-esque sound.” When you watch a movie that has noticeably strange, slow dialogue and a non-linear plot structure, you…

I’m about a week behind, which means I have a lot of thoughts, links and ideas that I wanted to knock out all in one post. Also, you might be wondering why you’re looking at a picture of a Canadian woman holding an enormous crab, right? I have no idea. I couldn’t think of an appropriate picture to include with today’s post. But when I came across that image,…

This is a great question to ask someone you just met. I use it all the time. And you can learn a great deal about who that person is simply by throwing it out there. Now, for me, the answer is: going to Borders with a fully charged Ipod, grabbing about 35 books, sitting by the window, reading through every one of those books, taking notes, and then buying…

According to an article in this month’s issue of Psychology Today by Willow Lawson, “Given a choice between an outing with good friends or an evening with strangers, most people would choose their friends. But according to a new study, we might have a better time—and go home in a better mood—if we chose to make new acquaintances.” “Tayyab Rashid, a University of Pennsylvania psychologist, randomly assigned college students…

Since I’ve been dangerously sick for the past two weeks, I’ve had a lot of time between episodes of Law & Order to read and relax. Now that I’m on the road to recovery, I finally got around to recording another episode of HELLO, my name is Podcast. This week’s clip focuses on MAGNETIZING more business. I really like the word magnetize. It’s the epitome of professional approachability: enabling…

“Next!” “Checking in…?” “Here or To-Go?” Isn’t it frustrating when those are the first words that come out of a front line employee’s mouth? As if they didn’t want to take the time, or couldn’t care less about offering a friendly, approachable greeting to the customer. Meanwhile, the next guy waiting in line thinks to himself, “Gee, thanks for the warm welcome. Nice first impression.” SAD BUT TRUE FACT:…

Last year I spent several months researching seven key areas of personal approachability. These categories came from over 300,000 articles, resources, journals, case studies, evaluations, training modules and college course notes from various disciplines; and ultimately led to the creation of The Approachability Indicator™. Now, the one word which seemed to show up the most in all these resources was availability. But there seemed to be two kinds: personal…

It’s impossible to pass this advertisement for Nationwide in the Columbus Airport without stopping; or at least slowing down to take a gander and say, “Cool!” I actually passed it by, backed up and went over to take a closer look. Upon further inspection, I noticed dozens of picture cubes that revolved on axes when you spun them. I re-read the headline, “Nationwide is on your side.” Each box…

I finally finished Naked Conversations, the best (and first?) book that truly captures the essence, importance and value of why businesspeople need to blog. It’s written by Robert Scoble and Shel Isreal. Robert Scoble helps run Microsoft’s Channel 9 Web site. He began his blog in 2000 and now has more than 3.5 million readers every year. Scoble’s blog has earned acclaim in Fortune magazine, Fast Company, and The…