Tag: the nametag manifesto

The Feedback Fetish

Feedback has become a fetish.

Businesses plead with customers to keep their seven-inch receipt,
go to their website, fill out a short survey and enter their name for the
chance to win free drinks, gift cards and other cash prizes, all for the low
price of their email addresses, which will most likely be spammed with future
offers of the same ilk and potentially vulnerable to online privacy violations
from hackers.

Meanwhile, customers don’t feel special, don’t feel heard
and don’t feel part of a community. They just feel like statistics. 

And don’t get me wrong, I’m all for building a listening platform. But surely there are other, better, cheaper ways to gauge customer sentiment
than wasting paper.

My friend Janelle is the social media director for a large
grocery chain. When her customers have feedback to share, they don’t use
surveys – they use cell phones. Whatever question, comment, complaint or
suggestion is on their mind, they publish it online. Instantly. For all the world
to see. And no trees have to die.

No wonder her company was ranked in Forbes magazine as one of the best in the nation.

The thing is, people have always had opinions, but now they’re
delivered to our face. Right now. From all around the world. For free. Forever.
Whether we like or not. And if you’re trying to decide which technology to
invest millions of dollars is, just so you can relentlessly tug customers on
the sleeves and trick them into liking you, think again.

Asking what survey to use is the wrong question.

The real question is, where are people are already giving their opinions
– whether you’re asking for them or not – and how can you convert that into a
smarter conversation?

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

Are you making feedback a fetish?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

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* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Writing, Publishing, Performing, Consulting

[email protected]

Yes, I do more than just wear a nametag all day.

My enterprise is actually quite robust. I add value to my clients in several cool ways.

Explore the myriad ways you, your people and your organization can leverage my talents.

What’s Your Portable Sales Force?

The other day my client from Disney Destinations remarked, “I can’t believe there’s only one of you!”

Technically, he’s right. As a
freelancer, my enterprise solely consists of me, slogging it out, every day,
until the work is done. But that doesn’t mean the work goes unassisted. When
you hire yourself, you build a portable sales force. People and resources to
help to make it rain when you’re not around.

Here’s an overview of mine:

There’s my clients, whose condition I
try to improve every time we work together. That way, they won’t keep me a
secret. There’s my audience, whom I try to inspire every time they consume my
work. That way, they’ll come back again and again. There’s my suppliers, whom I
try to be easy to interact with every time we do a new project together. That
way, they won’t shy away from showcasing me in their portfolios. There’s my
content, which I publish every day with substantial volume, value, velocity and
vitality. That way, my daily gifts to the world contribute to an ongoing
body of work.

There’s my competitors, whom I try to
speak respectfully of every time we’re up against each other. That way, they
won’t mind referring me if they don’t fit the bill. There’s my colleagues, whom
I try to share resources with every time we’re brainstorming together. That
way, they won’t hesitate to extend same generosity when I ask for help. There’s
my editors, whom I try to make look like heroes every time they run my stuff.
That way, they wont forget about me for future issues. There’s my collaborators,
whom I try to be accountable to every time we work together. That way, they
won’t leave out my name when others are searching for partners.

This is my portable
sales force. It’s engine of my enterprise, the secret of my success and the
reason I rarely make cold calls.

Thank god.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What’s your portable sales force?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For the list called, “22 Unexpected Ways to Help People,” 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]

My job is to help companies make their mission more than a statement, using limited edition social artifacts.

Want to download your free workbook for The Brandtag Strategic Planning Crusade?


Meet Scott’s client from Nestle Purina at www.brandtag.org!

Offline is the New Online

 [ Email me, buy prints, inspire the office! ] 

The purpose of online is to get offline.

Every time we email, tweet, retweet, direct message, instant
message, write somebody’s walls, upload pictures, publish videos, post reviews,
chime in on message boards, write blog posts, leave comments, press like
buttons and share links, our goal is to get one one step closer to interacting
with other human beings, face to face, in person.

The proof is everywhere.

In the political
realm, we’ve watched oppressive governments crumble, horrifying laws disappear
and war criminals meet their demise.

In the music
realm, we’ve watched performers leverage digital media to create live events
that bring joy to change the lives of fans forever.

In the movie
realm, we’ve watched online microfinancing enable the dreams of a generation of
hopeful filmmakers, whose ideas finally have a chance to make a difference.

In the business
realm, we’ve watched entrepreneurs use the power of mobile technology to hire
themselves, do work that matters and deliver value to their people.

All thanks to the bold people who used online to get
offline.

It’s not the future, it’s the present.

And if we never endeavor to communicate beyond digital, if we
never connect to each other by more than just pixels, we fail to experience the
truest, highest form of human interaction.

Online is the journey, offline is the destination.



LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What have you done offline today?



LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

If
this blog post resonated, perhaps you’d like a souvenir as a reminder.
To buy a print of my “nametaglines” photo for your office wall, send
an email to me, and you’ll have it in a week!

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Writing, Publishing, Performing, Consulting

[email protected]

Scott has written and published over 1,000,000 words.

But did you know that you could commission Scott to write custom content for your publication, newsletter or blog?

View a sample of Scott’s commissioned work with American Express.

The Future of Human Marketing

There are a thousand ways to kill a startup.

Bad locations, unprofitable niches, sloppy execution,
unremarkable products, inflexible owners, poor hiring decisions, bad timing, broken
business models, the passion paradox, lack of financing, lack of market
traction, premature scaling, poor investor management, fights between founders,
uncontrollable growth, just to name a few.

No wonder half of them die before their fifth birthday.

But we can’t overlook the silent killer. The granddaddy of
them all. The one issue that, if addressed in the beginning stages of building,
might actually wipe out a lot of the other causes of death.

Knowing who you are.

When you know who you are, every moment isn’t a moral
challenge, it’s just a checklist. Decisions are easier, postures are sturdier, interactions
are warmer, relationships are healthier, risks are smarter, transitions are
smoother, failures are faster and commitments are stronger.

In short, your mission becomes more than a statement.

Two years ago, I started helping companies solve that
problem.

Through my strategic planning crusade – not just a process,
but a crusade – we take a company and figure out who they are, what they change
and why they matter. We uncover internal legends that reflect their brand’s
human purpose. And we hang limited edition art pieces as the social artifacts
from that process to remind people of that purpose, every day.

Now, the company brings their values to the forefront. Now,
their philosophy oozes with personality and emotion. Now, they can’t forget who
they are.

It’s not a nametag – it’s a brandtag.

It’s the future of human marketing, company culture and
brand interaction.

And considering the fact that fourteen hundred startups have
already launched since I started writing this blog post, I’m beginning to wonder
what would be different in the world if more companies knew who they were.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

How will you make your mission more than a statement?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For the list called, “38 Ways to Make Customers Gasp,” 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]

HELLO, my name is Host!

Did
you know you could hire Scott as your emcee, mobile host, roving
reporter or on camera talent for your organization’s next event?

Watch sample footage of his hosting work here!

The Joy of Stuckness

For a long time, I insulated myself from stuckness.

I executed, day in and day out, without the slightest hint
of resistance, without the mere possibility of shooting blanks. I was on a
never ending creative tear, rarely coming up for air, rarely questioning whether
the volume of work was dangerously high.

And it paid off. I impressed people, made good money and
built an artistic identity predicated on unmanageable productivity.

But eventually, I hit a point of diminishing returns. Even though
I was pumping out piles of work, much of which was great stuff, I was still skimming
off the top instead of mining from the bottom. It was execution without elevation.

I was terminally productive. Borderline inhuman. The work was
too easy and the art came too quickly, because I wasn’t operating close enough
to my edge. And the art wasn’t as strong as it could have been.

Until this past year, when I began experiencing more moments
of stuckness, more battles with resistance, than ever before. Almost on a
weekly basis, I found myself facing a blank page with nothing to say, and no
desire to say it. I found myself not wanting to get out of bed to go face the
world. And since my identity was so wrapped up in that never happening to me, the
stuckness shredded me to ribbons.

Anxiety attacks, rampant cynicism, thoughts about quitting,
even full on waves of depression, I hated it and I hated myself.

And it was the best thing that ever happened to me.

Turns out, getting stuck is a beautiful, healthy and
necessary part of the creative process.

First, it’s an
indication of accuracy. It means we’re on the right track. Resistance,
after all, is most ferocious when we’re doing work that’s most vital to our
soul’s evolution. If we never feel it, something’s wrong.

Second, it’s an
indication of progress. When we treat our stuckness as a gateway to deeper,
bloodier layers of creative expression, the ones we never could have reached
when everything was gravy, our work becomes truer and better than ever before.

Third, it’s an
indication of humanity. We can only scrub our lives clean of heartbreak for
so long. Eventually, we’ve got to do some time. Every princess gets locked in a
tower for a little while. And when it happens, gratitude is the only response.

Now that I know these things, I can’t wait to get stuck
again. It means I’m finally making progress.

And those moments of total numbness, when I seem to have
lost my excitement for the world, I remember that the heaviest burden is having
nothing to carry.

And I give thanks.

It’s about time nothing happened.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

Are you afraid to get stuck?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For the list called, “27 Ways to Out the Competitors,” 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]

Do you need an expert who tells you what to do, or a mentor who lets you tell yourself what to do?

“After investing in your mentoring program, I’ve become centered on
who I am and what I have to offer. Now, I am attracting clients I want
to work with. Life is great and I just wanted to thank you from the
bottom of my heart.” —-Melanie Jatsek, Diet Busters

Rent Scott’s Brain today for 2 hours, 30 days or 3 months!

The Nametag Manifesto — Chapter 13: The End of Neglect

[ View the infographic! ]

“Everyone should wear nametags, all the time, everywhere, forever.”

That’s my thesis, philosophy, dangerous idea and theory of the universe.

My name is Scott, and I’ve been wearing a nametag for past four thousand days.

And
after traveling to hundreds of cities, a dozen countries, four
continents, meeting tens of thousands of people, constant
experimentation and observation, building a enterprise and writing a
dozen books in the process, I believe, with all my heart, that the
societal implications of wearing nametags could change everything.

This is my manifesto: 

13. The End of Neglect

If everybody wears
nametags, we practice deeper mindfulness.

We stay focused on the present moment. We find our center of
gravity quicker and easier. The bell of awareness always rings, and the nametag
helps us hear it. Instead of trudging along in a diminished state of awareness,
we keep our eyes open to the magic of life.

We have to. People are using our names everywhere. Nobody
can look at their phone for more than a few minutes before being joyfully
greeted by a friend nearby.

The nametag is an alarm clock without a snooze button. While
wearing it, we’re more likely to pay attention to our surroundings, which
prevents us from making minor errors that have major consequences. Instead of
frail, empty interactions when we’re hungry, hurried and frustrated, now we’re
more conscious of our behavior around others.

If everybody wears
nametags, no more absentmindedness, anticipation or scatter-braining. 

You can read The Nametag Manifesto, in full, for free, right now, here. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What’s your manifesto?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “7 Ways to Out Leverage Your Competition,” 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]

My job is to help companies make their mission more than a statement, using limited edition social artifacts.

Want to download your free workbook for The Brandtag Strategic Planning Crusade?


Meet Scott’s client from Nestle Purina at www.brandtag.org!

The Culture of Gone

It shouldn’t be this easy to look this good.

But that’s the state of our
society.

Thanks to online anonymity, civility is gone. And since
nobody expects manners, sometimes all we have to do is act polite and courteous
with people.

Thanks to reality television, talent is gone. And since
nobody expects ability, sometimes all we have to do is be really good for
people.

Thanks to social tagging, privacy is gone. And since nobody
expects discretion, sometimes all we have to do is keep our mouths shut for
people.

Thanks to infinite choice, commitment is gone. And since
nobody expects persistence, sometimes all we have to do is finish what we
started with people.


Thanks to entitlement, work ethic is gone. And since nobody
expects effort, sometimes all we have to do is work our asses off for people.

Thanks to velocity, mindfulness is gone. And since nobody
expects focus, sometimes all we have to do is be present for people.

Thanks to corporate bloating, professional humanity is gone.
And since nobody expects soulful individual attention, sometimes all we have to
do is personally respond people.

Thanks to digital platforms, pure communication is gone. And
since nobody expects approachability, sometimes all we have to do is show up in
person.

Thanks to legalities, common sense is gone. And since nobody
expects radical honesty, sometimes all we have to do is be candid with people.

Thanks to belief, rational thinking is gone. And since
nobody expects critical thinking, sometimes all we have to do is pose questions
to people.

Thanks to search engines, wondering is gone. And since
nobody expects answers, sometimes all we have to do is be vessels of knowledge
for people.

That’s how we convert rare into remarkable.
By figuring out the behaviors, acts, interactions and moments that are things
of the past, and then position ourselves as the only ones who actually deliver
that.

People will notice.

Because the stuff nobody does is
the stuff everybody loves.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What have you declined this week?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For the list called, “8 Ways to Out Question Your Competitors,” 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.

Now booking for 2012-2013.

Watch clips of The Nametag Guy in action here!

The Nametag Manifesto — Chapter 12: The End of Selfishness

[ View the infographic! ]


“Everyone should wear nametags, all the time, everywhere, forever.”

That’s my thesis, philosophy, dangerous idea and theory of the universe.

My name is Scott, and I’ve been wearing a nametag for past four thousand days.

And
after traveling to hundreds of cities, a dozen countries, four
continents, meeting tens of thousands of people, constant
experimentation and observation, building a enterprise and writing a
dozen books in the process, I believe, with all my heart, that the
societal implications of wearing nametags could change everything.

This is my manifesto: 

 

12.  The End of Selfishness

If everybody wears
nametags, we experience mass generosity.

It’s all about bringing our humanity to the moment. Giving ourselves away. Wearing a nametag is a micro-practice in the art of sacrificing.
It’s an act of vulnerability. We open ourselves and become available and
accessible to people. If they need help, they call your name. If not, at least
they’re comforted by the idea that you’re there.

Nametags change our posture. Especially when we’re present
at an event or aware of someone’s actions: It’s easier for victims to get help
in emergency situations, since bystanders would usually not offer assistance
and intervene with strangers.

But that’s the thing: Now we’re not strangers anymore. We
can’t be. And our connection to each other fosters a greater sense of
connection and community, which makes it harder to stand mute while someone we
know is suffering. Now we can solve problems for each other and with each
other. We’ve shifted from an apathetic population of isolated meat sacks into
one big transcontinental cheerleading squad.

If everybody wears nametags, no more
bystander behavior, no more diffusion of involvement and no more suffering. 

– – – 

You are now ready to move on to Chapter 13.

You can read The Nametag Manifesto, in full, for free, right now, here.
LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What’s your manifesto?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “17 Behaviors to Avoid for Effective Listening,” 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]

My job is to help companies make their mission more than a statement, using limited edition social artifacts.

Want to download your free workbook for The Brandtag Strategic Planning Crusade?


Meet Scott’s client from Nestle Purina at www.brandtag.org!

Riding a Bicycle Downhill Doesn’t Mean Your Legs Are Strong

Recessions force us to decide if we’re a necessity.

That’s a painful conversation to have.

Nobody enjoys
entertaining the prospect of irrelevancy.

But when the shit hits the economic fan, we owe it to
ourselves – and to our enterprise – to honestly assess the value we provide. To
courageously listen if the intersection of our personal obsession and the
marketplace need is worth paying money for.

What sucks is, we might realize that our past prosperity was
nothing more than riding a bicycle downhill under the assumption that our legs are
strong.

And if that’s the case, we may be forced to change lanes or,
worse yet, get off the road.

On the other hand, we might use the recession to renew our
resourcefulness. To reignite our creativity. And to give our business a much
needed kick in the pants.

Point being, we have a choice.

And as long as we’re honest with ourselves, it will be the
right one.

Stupid economy.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

How has the economy changed the way you work?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For the list called, “33 Ways to Approach Unhappy Customers,” 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]

Scott has written and published over 1,000,000 words.

But did you know that you could commission Scott to write custom content for your publication, newsletter or blog?

View a sample of Scott’s commissioned work with American Express.

Are You a One Trick Pony?

Art is an ongoing process of
unsilenting ourselves.

If we want to make our name dear to
history and give the future something to respect, we have to show the world our
accumulated record, not just bits and pieces.

Everyone we meet needs to know
everything we’ve done. And if they don’t, it’s our job to demonstrate the firepower of our
creative arsenal. To help them
taste the full scope of our artistic power.

When people ask me if I’m the guy who wrote the book on wearing
nametags, I tell them I’m the guy who wrote a dozen books on wearing nametags.
Not because I’m an arrogant jerk who needs to prove himself, but because I’m a
working artist who needs to express himself.

As creators, it’s our responsibility make sure the people
who know us, know the depth of our creation.

Without that reminder, without that timeline of credibility,
we’re just another one-trick pony, winking in the dark.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

Do people know what you’ve done?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…

For the list called, “27 Ways to Out the Competitors,” 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]

Before I wrote books, I wrote songs.

After twenty years of burying my music, I finally got the guts to bare it publicly.

Go behind the scenes (er, behind the nametag) and download all four of my albums on ITunes.

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