Caring is not an emotion – it’s an intersection.

It’s the loving collision between your attention and someone else’s need.

HOWEVER: Caring can’t be bastardized into a technique.

The secret is to develop a keener eye for those moments in which care is needed.

Here’s how:1. Look past when a bend is needed. Most policies are prepared excuses. And organizations use them to create insurance, stay in control, enable deniability, preserve the illusion of safety and cover their ass when things go wrong. So much for caring.

Instead of deleting all your policies, create a litmus test to gauge the value of your policies.

If the policy prevents you from wowing a customer, it shouldn’t exist. If the policy focuses on the person and not the behavior, it shouldn’t exist. And the policy protects the president’s ego at the cost of employee respect, it shouldn’t exist.

Every customer is an exception. Break rules, not hearts. Flexibility buys longevity. Are the policies you’re hiding behind offending and insulting customers?

2. Speak out when a voice is needed. Beth Brooke, Global Vice Chair of Ernst & Young once said, “Every one of us has a platform. It changes over time and looks different for every individual, but we all have one. Use it to make a difference.”

The advantage is: There has never been a better time in history to reach the world. But the question is: What is the world begging you to give voice to? To find an answer, get online. Take advantage of every listening post you can find.

After all, social media isn’t a sales tool – it’s a hearing aid. And it’s the single greatest way to pinpoint the issues your platform needs to give voice to.

Remember: When a voice is needed, closed lips are an obscenity. What did you publish this week?

3. Back off when a lesson is needed. Yes, it would be easier to tell your cousin that her boyfriend is a manipulative jerk. But sometimes the best way to care is to get the hell out of the way. Sometimes you have to give people enough space to learn things on their own. Otherwise the desire to fix blocks the ability to care. And it becomes very hard to breathe out the love people need.

Next time you feel your eye twitching, practice a little emotional restraint. Stop adding value. Suspend the need to dominate the conversation. And respect the other person’s speed of self-discovery. Eventually, she’ll come to her senses and break up with him. On Jerry Springer. What happened to the last person you tried to fix?

4. Jump in when a leader is needed. You can’t sit back and wait for people to build something that inspires you. Nor can you sit back and wait for people to rebuild something doesn’t inspire you. The only hope is to nominate yourself. To instigate the change that you believe in. And to make the choice not to do nothing anymore.

Otherwise it’s going to eat away at your heart to watch a leaderless world go by.

People are waiting for you to lead them. People are waiting for you to take them to the Promised Land. Stop waiting for a savior and sign up for the initiative path. Are you still hiding from the fear of leading?

5. Ante up when a commitment is needed. I’m hopeless when it comes to organization, details and planning. The stuff makes my blood freeze. But, if there’s someone I love who’s counting on my ability to manage a situation, I’ll be on top of it like a hungry bear on a slow running camper.

That’s the way I see it: You don’t have to be good at something to care about it. And, just because you failed to focus on it in the past doesn’t mean you’re incapable of excelling at it in the future. Turns out, life is more interested in your willingness to commit that your capacity to win.

That’s the thing about caring: It isn’t always about knowing how to do things. It’s about knowing why it’s important to do them, and then, allowing the how to find its way in through the side door. Who is waiting for you to commit?

6. Stay close when a heart is needed. I understand your hesitation. Opening up is terrifying. When you give someone your heart, there’s always the chance that they’ll give it back to you in pieces. That’s the brand of vulnerability you invite when you dare to care.

And I’ve been burned by it before. A couple of times. But life without risk, isn’t. You can’t outsmart getting hurt. And you can’t stay one step ahead of the pain forever. Eventually, you have to lean into it.

Come on. If there’s a person who needs you – and you believe that staying close is a chance worth taking – take it. Show them that they’re worth being strong for. People don’t forget. Who desperately needs access to your heart?

REMEMBER: Caring is the intersection between your attention and someone else’s need.

Keep your eyes open for opportunities to make that loving collision.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What’s your care quotient?

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For the list called, “5 Creative Ways to Approach the Sale,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Publisher, Artist, Mentor
[email protected]

Never the same speech twice.

Now booking for 2011-2012!

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!

Any time you attend a meeting, make a sales call, give a presentation, write a blog or interview with a prospective employer, you have a choice:

You can vomit information.
You can deliver insight.
You can ask questions.
You can create silence.

OR: If you want to be invited back, you can deliver perspective.

Something that disturbs.
Something that moves eyebrows.
Something that flips the mental switch.
Something that creates a smile in the mind.
Something that takes people’s hiding places away from them.

As a writer, speaker, consultant and mentor, perspective is my job. It’s what people pay me to deliver. And today I’d like to share another assortment of perspective (read part one here!) to help you, your brand and your organization become better.

CAUTION: Each of the items on this list is worthy of its own discussion. Next time you have a meeting, conference or company retreat, I encourage you to use them as conversation starters, icebreakers and thought experiments for your team:1. The Beatles never had a fan page. Are you spending money trying to make people like you, or investing emotional labor trying to make the world better?

2. There are people who eat Hooters to go. Are you forgetting about your brand’s secondary value?

3. John Coltrane played the same songs in the second set, just to find something in the music he missed earlier. What experience do you offer?

4. The Grateful Dead still made records. Are you contributing to an ongoing body of work or just putting on shows?

5. Picasso’s family saved every scrap of paper on which he drew. Are you keeping your bad ideas for later?

6. Twitter has over one million apps, created by outside developers. Are you selling a product to people or creating a platform for them?

7. The world’s largest employer is Ebay. How is your company taking advantage of mobile workforces?

8. Amazon didn’t make money for seven years. Are you willing to hustle while you wait?

9. When Marvel created the KISS comic book series, Stan Lee required them to mix their own blood into the ink. How personal is your work?

10. Ben Franklin never obtained patents or copyrights because he felt indebted to the past. Are you paying homage to the voices that shaped you?

11. Rowing is the only sport that started out as a capital punishment. Will you slog through what matters to achieve immortality?

12. George Washington spent seven percent of his salary on booze. Are you allowing yourself to have at least one vice?

13. The Shawshank Redemption has been played on TNT an average of once every two months for the past fifteen years. Are you timeless?

14. Most collect calls are made on Father’s Day. Do you need a holiday to show someone you care?

REMEMBER: When you walk in with perspective, you walk out with heartshare.

People don’t need more information.

They need permission to see the world differently.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What perspective do you deliver?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “8 Ways to Move Quickly on New Opportunities,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Publisher, Artist, Mentor
[email protected]

Never the same speech twice.

Now booking for 2011-2012!

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!

When it comes to design, less is more.
When it comes to marketing, less is more.
When it comes to guitar solos, less is more.

HOWEVER: There are certain things in life that people will always need more of.

What brand of “more” do you deliver?

Consider these ideas to get started:1. Trust more than people think is wise. I trust people in advance. It’s a great time saver and, most of the time, works to the advantage of both parties. What’s more, telling someone, “I trust you,” is another way of saying, “I feel comfortable being myself around you.”

A message like that instantly lowers the threat level of the conversation and encourages reciprocation. And sure, it backfires sometimes. But I’d rather get burned on occasion then walk around with bars to my heart. What empties your trust bank?

2. Thank more than people think is normal. Gratitude is not an event. It’s not a chore. And it’s certainly not a corporate initiative. Gratitude is a fashion statement. And it looks good on every person during every season.

However, thankfulness is more than just writing notes – it’s a calendar of consistent action. It’s engaging with the world on a perpetual search for something to give thanks for. And it’s living every day of your life as a thank you in perpetuity to the forces that have shaped you. Where did you first learn gratitude?

3. Communicate more than people think is needed. No news is bad news. If you’re not prolific in your communication with the people who matter most, you run the risk of being destroyed by silence. After all, the opposite of honesty isn’t lying – it’s omitting. And when you leave people in the dark, they engage in worse case thinking.

The key is to create a ritual that keeps you prolific in your communication. A regular, repeatable act that layers meaning on top of a mundane activity. What if you posted sign-up sheets for private lunches your office doors?

4. Care more than people think is expected. Caring is not an emotion – it’s an intersection. It’s the loving collision between your attention and someone else’s need. And the best part is, no act of caring is too small. Like epoxy glue, even a small drop is sticky as hell.

But caring isn’t easy. And it’s not the same as being nice. Being nice is pouring someone a cup of tea. Caring is listening to that person’s story while the tea steeps. The point is, if you’re trying to outsource that function, if you’re trying to bastardize caring into a technique, people are going to notice. And they’re going to be pissed. Does your organization punish people for caring?

5. Believe more than people think is necessary. Listening is not enough. Taking an interest is not enough. People need to be believed in. That’s the nourishment they require. The cool part is, when you tell someone you expect great things, they tend to rise to the moment to prove you right. All because you infected them with a vision of what they could contribute.

At that point, all you have to do is sit back, tell them you’re proud and remind them that you knew they could – and would – do it. How will you help people taste the sweet liberation of what’s possible?

6. Give more than people think is fair. Not so you look good. Not so people feel indebted to you. And not so everyone can see what a generous person you are. Give because it’s right – not because it’s recognized and reciprocated.

Even if you’re strapped for cash or pressed for time. You can always give your art, aka, bringing your humanity to the moment in a way that leaves the recipient altered. That’s generosity at its best. Will your relationships suffer death by scorecard?

REMEMBER: Less is for amateurs.

Sometimes more is more.

Don’t just give people what they want – give them what they remember.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What brand of “more” do you deliver?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “8 Ways to Move Quickly on New Opportunities,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Publisher, Artist, Mentor
[email protected]

Never the same speech twice.

Now booking for 2011-2012!

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!

Any time you attend a meeting, make a sales call, give a presentation, write a blog or interview with a prospective employer, you have a choice:

You can vomit information.
You can deliver insight.
You can ask questions.
You can create silence.

OR: If you want to be invited back, you can deliver perspective.

Something that disturbs.
Something that moves eyebrows.
Something that flips the mental switch.
Something that creates a smile in the mind.
Something that takes people’s hiding places away from them.

As a writer, speaker, consultant and mentor, perspective is my job. It’s what people pay me to deliver. And today I’d like to share an assortment of perspective to help you, your brand and your organization become better.

CAUTION: Each of the items on this list is worthy of its own discussion. Next time you have a meeting, conference or company retreat, I encourage you to use them as conversation starters, icebreakers and thought experiments for your team:1. The first owner of the Marlboro Company died of lung cancer. Are you smoking what you’re selling?

2. Charles Goodyear invented the rubber tire when he accidentally spilled a pot of boiling rubber in his kitchen. What are you turning your mistakes into?

3. The creator of the Nike Swoosh was paid thirty-five dollars for the design. Are you charging for time invested or value created?

4. Bill Gates started Microsoft in a recession. Are you waiting for perfect conditions to begin pursuing your dream?

5. When Scott Paper Company first manufactured toilet tissue; they didn’t put their name on the product because of embarrassment. How do you sign your work?

6. American Airlines once saved forty thousand dollars by eliminating one olive from each salad in first class. What could you delete that nobody would miss?

7. Jerusalem is the only destination people travel halfway around the world for, just to see something that isn’t even there. What is the mythology surrounding your product?

8. When Leo Tolstoy wrote War & Peace, he had thirteen kids. What distractions are you allowing to beat you?

9. Miles Davis never made any hit records. How are you selling the experience of seeing you in person?

10. Van Gough was so lonely that he had to use his mailman as a model. Who can you have lunch with this week?

11. The founder of Google turned down a job at the White House. What are you willing to give up in order to stay geeky?

12. Getting a job at an Apple Store is more selective than getting into Harvard. How badly do people want to work for you?

13. Half of Japan’s bestselling books are written via text message. Now that you have this technology, what else does this make possible?

14. The Amazon jungle has nine hundred species of wasps. Are you still assuming the world doesn’t have room for your uniqueness?

REMEMBER: When you walk in with perspective, you walk out with heartshare.

People don’t need more information.

They need permission to see the world differently.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What perspective do you deliver?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “8 Ways to Move Quickly on New Opportunities,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Publisher, Artist, Mentor
[email protected]

Never the same speech twice.

Now booking for 2011-2012!

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!

Enough is enough.

We don’t need more of most things.

IN FACT: More has the power to work against you.

And if you’re not careful, the results could be disastrous for you, your business, your people, your brand and your life.

For example:1. The more you plan, the less you ship. People are obsessed with planning for three reasons: First, it preserves their sense of control. Second, it underwrites the illusion that they know what they’re doing. And third, it gives them a chance to make something perfect.

Here’s the reality: You’re rarely in control, you don’t need to know what you’re doing and finished is the new perfect. Planning is nothing but procrastination in disguise. A distraction in a miniskirt. Failure doesn’t come from poor planning – it comes from the timidity to proceed. What are you waiting for?

2. The more you script, the less you engage. I once had a client ask me if I would be giving my speech from a script or a teleprompter. I told her neither. She asked what I would be using instead, and I said my head. Apparently none of their speakers had ever done that before. But I insisted.

Three weeks later, I earned a standing ovation. Interesting. That’s the reality about human interaction: People engage when you communicate from a place of honesty, respect and in-the-moment awareness. When was the last time you went off script?

3. The more you bitch, the less you inspire. Complaining is not a leadership style. It’s the opposite of ownership and the enemy of execution. If you want to breathe life into people, you’ve got to infect them with something that matters.

For example, the vision of what they can contribute. For example, the mirror that reflects their brilliance right back to them. For example, the belief that they possess the resources to do something great. That’s inspiration. Sucking people into a vortex of negativity because you’re insecure about your own life situation isn’t. Do you complain about the wind, hope the wind will stop or adjust your sails?

4. The more you settle, the less you become. There are three kinds of people: Those who make you less than you are, those who keep you where you are and those who push you to what you might become. If your personal and professional lives are populated with anything but the later, you’re finished.

Settling is a silent epidemic. Surround yourself with people who challenge and inspire you, and delete the rest. You’ll have fewer friends, but they’ll be better ones. How many of your friends shouldn’t be your friends?

5. The more you fix, the less you help. Walt Whitman once said, “Not I, not anyone else, can travel that road for you. You must travel it for yourself.” Next time someone you love comes to you, remember: They don’t need advice. They don’t want suggestions. They don’t like answering questions. And they can’t stand when you try to solve their problems in two minutes or less.

Just give them a hug, say you love them and stop trying to explain the meaning of the universe. A little restraint goes a long way. Otherwise your desire to fix becomes a barrier to being helpful. Are you responding like a screwdriver or puppy dog?

6. The more you spam, the less you love. Flooding people’s lives with interruptions they didn’t ask for isn’t marketing – it’s insulting. Instead of bothering people into buying from you, learn lead with respect and ask for permission. You’ll earn the right to speak to people with a voice that’s anticipated, personal and relevant.

And the best part is, they’ll actually listen to you. But it all begins with your daily gift to the world, the accumulation of which builds a huge surplus goodwill. That’s not marketing – that’s love. How will you create a trail of breadcrumbs that leads people back to the paid work?

7. The more you wait, the less you matter. The only people who count are the ones who choose to. Mattering is the incidental consequence of the intentional commitment to fulfill your whole capacity for living. And it’s something that can start happening today.

All you need to do is decide. That you’re going to matter. That you’re going to make meaning. And that you’re going to take responsibility for doing something significant. Otherwise the curse of inconsequentiality will feel like an earthquake to the heart. Are you still waiting to matter?

REMEMBER: Enough is enough.

More isn’t always the answer.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What are you still convinced you need more of?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “8 Ways to Move Quickly on New Opportunities,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Publisher, Artist, Mentor
[email protected]

Never the same speech twice.

Now booking for 2011-2012!

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!

You’ve probably never heard of Gershon Legman.

He was the cultural critic who claimed to be the inventor of the famous phrase, “Make love, not war,” at a lecture given at Ohio University in the early sixties.

And you’ve probably never heard of Penelope Rosemont, either.

She was the radical activist who popularized Gershon’s phrase. Two years after his lecture, she printed thousands of buttons at the Solidarity Bookshop in Chicago, Illinois, and then distributed them at the Mother’s Day Peace March.

THE POINT IS: I’m insanely jealous.

I should have grown up in the sixties, not the eighties.

But since I didn’t have much choice in the matter, I’ve decided to reclaim my hippie roots and create a few radical slogans of my own. Straight from my monthly column at American Express Open Forum, here we go:1. Break rules, not hearts. When you break a rule for somebody, you create an act of flexibility in a moment of need. You demonstrate that at your company, every customer is the exception. And you prove that you’re willing to lose something on the first interaction to guarantee a lifetime of loyalty.

That’s what happened to me at a recent hotel in New York. Although I botched my reservation online, they still found a room for me. Even though their policy indicates otherwise. When was the last time you went off script?

2. Conduct symphonies, not transactions. Once on a weekend vacation, we stumbled into a charming art gallery. My girlfriend ended up buying this fabulous beaded necklace at a great price. Later, while she was in the bathroom, the owner secretly asked me for her address so she could send Brittany a personalized, hand written thank you note.

So I gave it to her. And by the time we returned home, the card had already arrived. That’s not service – that’s music. That’s not a piece of jewelry – that’s a story worth repeating. Do your customers evangelize when you’re gone?

3. Deliver inspiration, not packages. During my cousin’s wedding ceremony, there was a traditional blessing over the wine. But he and his bride also performed a new ritual: Spilling a drop of wine. According to Collin, this act recognizes those couples that are not given equal rights. Couples who aren’t as fortunate as he and Robin.

As such, it wasn’t just a drop of wine – it was a drop of hope. And those of us lucky to witness that would never think about marital equality the same way again. That’s when it occurred to me: Sometimes you have to make a mess to make a statement. I wonder whom you might inspire by getting your hands dirty. What if you did that on camera?

4. Earn respect, not money. Last month I designed a Brandtag Identity Collage for my client, Closeouts With Class. When I asked their chairman to share his thoughts on respect, here’s what he said:

“Respect buys loyalty. It makes your employees stay, makes your customers buy, makes your suppliers sell and makes your competitors drool.”

Respect is your baseline. And if you treat it as your intentional commitment, the incidental result (money) will eventually come. Are you helping people feel more respected every time they deal with you?

5. Give gifts, not burdens. If it doesn’t change the recipient, it’s not a gift. If you oblige people to reciprocate, it’s not a gift. And if you make people work hard to get it, it’s not a gift. What you give has to alter people. It has to fill their heart, not clutter their desk. Otherwise all you’ve done is add to the slush pile.

Meanwhile, they end up with an office full of useless nouns. When it would have been smarter to give the gift of social elevation, perhaps by giving them a front row seat to their own brilliance. That’s what my friend Derek does. When any of his employees win – in any way – he goes out of his way to blog about it. What gift are you famous for giving?

6. Inject soul, not machinery. Customers need you to bring humanity to the moment. They need you show up, even when it’s hard. Sadly, this is where smart companies blow it: They try to meet budget by outsourcing the human function. Instead of talking to human operators, customers get robots.

Instead of interacting with desk agents, customers get kiosks. And instead of getting an actual email from real person, customers get autoresponders. Meanwhile, all their customers want is to be treated like people – by people. Where are you sacrificing experiences for expenses?

7. Keep commitments, not secrets. I give more than fifty presentations around the globe each year. And while I speak on a variety of topics to a wide range of industries, I never fail to spend the final few minutes of each talk on the topic commitment. Specifically, the use of a commitment device. That’s a term I coined for something visual, tangible and palpable that reminds people that you’re not going away.

Personally, I use a nametag. And not just the sticker – the tattoo of that sticker on my body. Can’t get more committed than that. I wonder what object you will employ to show people you’re not going away. After all: When you commit with both feet, people don’t just pay attention – they pay dividends. What single act have you done every day for the past ten years?

8. Leave artifacts, not brochures. An artifact is worth saving and sharing. It’s a unique way to extend the influence of your work. And it’s the souvenir you leave with people that has the potential to change and inspire them.

At my favorite coffee spot, The Mud House, the owner makes latte art. When your cup of java is prepared, Casey carefully crafts a portrait, landscape or flower into the foam of your drink. It’s a combination of foam, chocolate and cinnamon. And she even does custom orders, should there be a particular image you’d prefer.

That’s an artifact: Done by hand, done with love. And your challenge is to figure out how to stop wasting paper and start leaving something behind that matters. Does your fancy brochure actually influence customer decisions?

9. Send love letters, not pitches. Love isn’t a weakness – love is the bell that’s always ringing. The question is: Is your brand brave enough to hear it? Simplifilm certainly is. They’re a video production firm run by my friend Chris Johnson. When he finds a dream client, he doesn’t assault them with an endless stream of marketing materials and sales literature.

Instead, he sends them an email that reads: “We love you guys a ton. We wrote you a love letter. I know it’s tacky, but we can’t help ourselves. And although we have more than plenty of business, we want you. We believe what you do is vitally important.” Once a prospect reads the love letter, it’s pretty damn hard to resist.

The point is: Your brand is measured by how you love. Lead with your heart. Will you tell customers you love them before somebody else does?

10. Write books, not emails. Many of the people in my mentoring program are fellow writers. And the most common complaint is, “I don’t have enough time to finish my book.” Interestingly, those same people have no problem spending two hours a day clearing their inbox. They have no time sitting around waiting for something meaningless to react to.

If only they knew that emailing was nothing but a digital fidget. If only they knew that emailing, while a nice way to preserve the illusion of productivity, rarely changes the world. Are you artfully creating constant distraction to prevent yourself from executing?

11. Build bridges, not barriers. If it were just you, it would be hard to survive. If it were just you, there would be nobody to lean against. And if it were just you, there would be nobody to keep you on your toes. If you want to build a bridge to your competitors, treat them like partners.

Take a hint from Progressive Insurance. Almost twenty years ago, they became the first auto insurance company to provide its rates alongside the rates of other companies. That way, consumers could easily compare and decide – even if they didn’t use Progressive. And today, they still lead the industry. Because they’re willing to share in almost every direction. How could you convert your competitors into a power source?

REMEMBER: There’s nothing wrong with being radical.

All that means is that you’re true to your roots.

And maybe willing to make a few buttons.

ET ME ASK YA THIS…
What’s your radical slogan?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “52 Random Insights to Grow Your Business,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Publisher, Artist, Mentor
[email protected]

Never the same speech twice.

Now booking for 2011-2012!

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!