7 Essentials for Executing Exquisitely

“Ideas are free, execution is priceless.”

That’s my mantra.

It HAS to be. After all, how else would someone make a career out of wearing a nametag 24-7?

SO, HERE’S THE SECRET: Executing is eloquence. Period.

Today I’m going to teach you how to do it. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, small business owner, creative professional or cubicle dwelling worker bee, consider these seven essentials for executing exquisitely:

1. Think on paper immediately. Writing is the great clarifier. Writing also makes everything you do easier and better. Unfortunately, too many ideas never make it past their initial stages because most entrepreneurs’ disorganized thinking blocks new possibilities from surfacing.

Here’s my suggestion: As soon you get a new idea for a project or business venture, spend an hour writing out the following lists:

a. Every Thought I’m Having about This Idea
b. Every Question I Have about This Idea
c. People I Should Talk to about This Idea
d. Immediate Action Items to Take on this Idea

The secret of thinking on paper is to just puke, non-stop, with no editing and no opinions. Brainstorming needs to be objective in order to prevent premature cognitive commitment, aka, falling in love with your idea too soon. Use flip charts, dry erase boards, note cards, bulleted lists, whatever it takes. Just do it soon. Because if you don’t write it down; it never happened. How will you out-write the competition

2. Be impatient. Just go. Just DO stuff. Don’t wait for permission. Don’t wait until you’re ready. Don’t wait until you’re old or smart enough. If you wait, you might spend all your waiting time talking your idea to death. And when the time comes to move, there will be no momentum left to execute.

Being impatient is about the willingness to look bad on the road to immortality. The courage to plunge forward planless. And the vulnerability to be an imperfectionist. So: Stop waiting to be paid for something you love and go DO something. Life’s too short. How much money, success and happiness is being (too) patient costing you?

3. Hack the rules. Hacking isn’t cheating. Huge distinction. In the phenomenon book, Trust Agents, authors Brogan and Smith explain the difference:

“Hacking is about finding alternatives for the traditional uses of a system. It’s about modifying the conditions of the system you’re in. It’s about using a system in a different way than it was designed. And it’s about figuring out your strength and applying it to the system of your choice so you position yourself as number one person playing the game in that system.”

Therefore, in the game of life, you have a few options:

a. Change the rules so you can win at your OWN game
b. Change the game so there ARE no rules
c. Play the game but become the exception TO every rule.

The question to ask when faced with one of these “rules” is, “Can this rule be ignored, modified or changed?” By doing so, you give yourself permission to refuse to accept your current circumstances. This opens the floodgates to diligent work on creating a new set of circumstances. Remember: Learn the rules, learn which of the rules are irrelevant, and then hack the shit out of them. What could I do in this moment that would be the exact opposite of everyone?

4. Keep asking, “What’s the next action?” In the classic time management system, Getting Things Done, David Allen explains that this single question is the secret to de-cluttering your mind and enabling stress-free productivity. (I agree.) And if I had to make a list of companion questions to go along with David’s, they would include the following:

a. Is what you’re doing RIGHT NOW consistent with your #1 goal?
b. What consumes your time but isn’t making you ANY money?
c. What are you doing that makes NO sense at all?

My suggestion: Write these four questions on sticky notes, post them in visible locations and look at them hourly. You’ll quickly discover that exquisite execution is the natural byproduct of skyrocketed productivity. How many ideas did you fail to execute because your time was managing YOU?

5. Don’t be stopped by not knowing how. HOW is overrated. HOW is a dream destroyer. HOW is the enemy of progress. HOW is the hallmark of hopelessness. Basic to all exquisite execution is: (1) Know-WHY and (2) Know-WHAT. Your mission is to learn the minimum amount you need to know for now, just to get started.

Trust your resources and believe that the requisite competence will come in time. Either by trial and error, by Google, or by asking smart people smart questions. How much execution have you squandered because you’re at war with HOW when you should be in love with WHY?

6. Fail like you mean it. Flawless execution doesn’t exist. Exquisite, yes; flawless, no. So, here’s the secret: Make mistakes, make them early, make them quick and make them quietly. Then write down what you learned. They go teach someone what you learned. And then keep moving. Period. Amen. Q.E.D.

Without approaching failure this way, you’ll get swept away in the undertow of personal drama. Which accomplishes nothing but granting your emotions an all day pass for disturbing your ability to execute. So remember: Failure IS an option – not learning from that failure isn’t. When was the last time you screwed up royally, and what did you learn from that?

7. Consistency is far better than rare moments of greatness. Every day. That’s the two-word secret to executing ANYTHING. And it shouldn’t even have to be a secret, but I guess not everyone has grasped this concept yet. For example, when I talk to fellow authors, they’re always “working on their next book.” But when I ask them the only question that matters – “What did you write TODAY?” – they fumble to give me an answer.

Which means they’re not consistent.
Which means they’re not executing.
Which means they ARE going to be buried with their book still inside them.

Tragic.

On the other hand, when I talk to writers who discipline themselves to stick to their writing schedule – every day – the conversation changes. People actually carry out their ideas. People actually write amazing books. And they also tend to be cooler people to talk to.

So, not only is consistency the engine of exquisite execution; it’s also the conduit of character. Remember: There is no royal road to greatness except by constantly plugging. Every day. What action have you taken on your idea, TODAY?

REMEMBER: Execution is eloquence.

And in the business world, there are talkers and there are doers.

I wonder which one YOU are.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Are you executing exquisitely?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “45 Recession-Friendly Strategies for Entreprenerial Evolution,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

Never the same speech twice.
Always about approachability.

Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!

How You Can Own a Word in People’s Minds AND on Google

If you google the word “nametag,” it points to me first.

If you google the word “approachability,” it (also) points to me first.

This is not an accident.

In fact, I’ve spent every single day of the past seven years assuring that everything I do contributes to my company’s OWNERSHIP of those two words. (Check out my tag cloud gallery on Wordle!)

So, they’re mine. Forever. And YOU can’t have them. Neener-neener-neener!

Sorry to be so infantile. It’s just that Word Ownership is absolutely ESSENTIAL to your success in the marketing world. Because it’s not about marketshare – it’s about mindshare. And today I’d like to share seven strategies for making sure the net worth of your One-Word Equity skyrockets.

1. RESEARCH it. Spend some time perusing the websites of the ten most successful people in your industry. Ask yourself: What word do they own? How are they making that clear? What word could YOU own that’s better and more specific and more memorable? Another suggestion is to email twenty of your best customers and ask them, “What’s the first word that comes to mind when you think of me?” Look for trends in their answers. Are you listening to the right people?

2. RECOGNIZE it. It’s not like you have to open a dictionary and just pick some random word to own. You already ARE a word. You just need to enhance and articulate your ownership of it. Ask yourself these questions:

o After meeting you, what is the one word that people will never think about the same way again?
o What is the one word you have published more thoughts about than anyone else?
o What word do you have to google to get your name to come up as the first ten hits?
o What’s the one word you are perceived as knowing more about than anyone else on the planet?
o When friends or family members introduce you to new people, what’s the one word guaranteed to be included in that conversation?
o When people see or hear your name, what is the first word that comes to mind?

3. EXPLORE it.. Imagine for a second that you’re starting a non-profit organization that builds community events for retired engineers. And maybe the ONE word that symbolizes what you’re all about is PARABOLA. Cool. So, here’s what you do next:

o Look it up in the dictionary.
o Do some serious wordsmithing.
o Google the word.
o Find out if there are books written ABOUT the word.
o Spend some timing writing your immediate reactions when you see that word.

Remember: “Owning” the word, means knowing everything ABOUT that word. And here’s the best part: If a potential customer says, “Parabola? Where’d you come up with THAT company name?” And YOU say, “Well, parabola comes from the Greek word “parabolicus” which means “application,” which is exactly the type of value we deliver to our customers….” Whoa. Unique, unexpected AND unforgettable! How much do you know about YOUR word?

4. RATE It. A lot of my clients tell me that they DO own a word, which is awesome. The only problem is when they say something like, “Well, my word is Passion” or “I own the word Integrity.” Ehhh. OK. Maybe you DO own that word. My question is: Do your customers think your word relevant, marketable, unexpected and cool?

Odds are, if your word some vague platitude, some trite term or some overused cliché, it’s NOT. Your word needs to move people’s eyebrows. This involuntary indicator of interest, intrigue and curiosity is the best instant barometer of your marketing. It means that your word possesses stopping power. Because the effectiveness of a message isn’t necessarily dependent on its longevity, but rather its ability to evoke emotion in the moment. Is your word making people stop in their tracks?

5. REGISTER it. The odds of registering www.yourword.com are highly unlikely, unless you want to fork over ten grand. So, the first thing you should do is mess around with a few different permutations of the domain. For example, if www.parabola.com was taken, what about www.parabolaexpert.com or www.parabolaworld.com or www.theparabolaguy.com?

Remember: When you own the domain, you own the idea. I suggest surrounding your domain by purchasing as many variations, permutations, misspellings, and connected domain names as possible. They’re only like ten bucks each, right? Isn’t your brand worth investing $1000 in domain names if that secures your position in the marketplace AND people’s minds?

6. RECORD It. That mean write articles … that means post blogs and tweets … that means do interviews … that means post tweets … that means publish your philosophy … that means put that word EVERYWHERE on your website.

Basically, you need to punch people in the face. You can’t count on your customers to connect the dots for you. In order to win the battle against the Attention Economy, it’s almost like you need to grab hold of people by their shirt collars and say, “Listen to me! Right here! OK, yes, you. This is exactly what I want you to do…”

Remember: Complexity generates contemplation. And contemplation kills sales because a confused mind never buys. Have you recorded your word EVERYWHERE, so there’s no question in people’s minds that it’s yours?

7. RE-LEARN It. If you want to new customers, new opportunities and, even the MEDIA to come to YOU – because you’re the Thought Leader, because you OWN that word – you have to be a student of it. You can’t just up and decide that you own the word parabola, register a few domain names, smear it all over your site, write a few articles about and then quit.

Here’s the secret: You HAVE to commit yourself to a life-long learning plan based around that word. Get Google Alerts on that word. Check Amazon for new books written about that word weekly. Continually explore and write about the various dimensions OF that word.

Word ownership is a continuous process. If you don’t dedicate yourself to enhancing your mastery and practicing that word everyday, someone else will steal it from you. What new thing did you learn about your word this week?

REMEMBER: One-Word Equity is the secret to becoming That Guy.

Own yours today.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What word would people have to search on Google to get your name first?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “101 Ways to Create a Powerful Web Presence,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

Need to build your Thought Leadership Platform?

Perhaps my monthly (or yearly) coaching program would help.

Rent Scott’s Brain today!

5 Strategies for Establishing a Sustainable Thought Leadership Position

1. Don’t try, seek or set out to be a Thought Leader. You earn this honorable designation when the world dubs you so. Furthermore, being a Thought Leader isn’t an intentional goal – it’s an incidental consequence.

As leadership professor Warren Bennis say in On Becoming a Leader: “People set out to live their lives, expressing themselves freely and fully. When that expression is of value, they become leaders. So, the point is not to become a leader. The point is to become yourself. To use yourself completely. All your skills. All your gifts, and energies – in order to make you vision manifest.” Are you trying or becoming?

2. Build an enrollment. That’s your mission: To enroll people in your thinking, vision, dream, philosophy and theory of the universe. Then, on an ongoing basis, to deliver unique value in a respectful, permission-based way.

Now, I understand that the idea of building an enrollment may sound too grandiose, too celebrity-ish and too impossible to the average businessperson. “Who am I to build an enrollment?” you think. Wrong question. Instead, ask yourself, “Am I being selfish with my knowledge?” Whom are you enrolling?

3. Notice things and give them names. Everyone has heard everything before. So, if there is nothing new under the sun, what do you say? Here’s your first clue: Create names, designations, acronyms and titles for the things you notice. Make them original, creative and consistent with the branding of your philosophy. These names are your content, your products, your branding, your expertise, your marketing, your technology, your philosophies and your differentiators.

As Thought Leader Seth Godin says, “Part of the challenge in breaking through is finding a niche you can overwhelm.” Remember: When you name something, you can do something about that something. You can begin exploration and working with that something. You can help people talk about that something. You can change people’s thinking about that something. I named “approachability.” What are you naming?

4. Take contrarian stances to as many ideas as you can. Try this: Make a list of all the conventional wisdom, traditional principles and standard operating procedures you disagree with or oppose to. Then explain why their way is stupid and yours is better. Here’s an example from one of my blog posts from earlier this year:

“Customers are overrated, clients are useless and prospects are for amateurs. You need FANS, and you need to give them megaphones.”

The best part is, when you 180 existing ideas and express them in a new way, you challenge people to think in a new way. You toggle their melons. That’s what leaders do. They walk with a constant posture of challenging the process. Do you pattern your thinking in ways that are inimical to conventional wisdom?

5. Constantly strrenghten your platform. Platform is EVERYTHING. It’s the single most important attribute of Thought Leadership. It’s a combination of your intellectual assets, visibility, network, notoriety, permission assets, credibility and positioning.

And the best part is, proper positioning through powerful platforming prevents the need for prospecting. Because clients come to YOU. On the hand, if you don’t have a platform, you may as well be winking in the dark. Because no matter how smart you are, you will be the only one that notices. Yikes. How strong is your Thought Leadership Platform?

REMEMBER: There is no finish line.

If you want to be a Thought Leader, you’ve got to work at it every single day.

Your followers are waiting.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How are you establishing a sustainable Thought Leadership Position?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the (full) checklist called, “45 Recession-Friendly Strategies for Entreprenerial Evolution,” send an email to me, and I’ll send you the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

Need to build your Thought Leadership Platform?

Perhaps my monthly (or yearly) coaching program would help.

Rent Scott’s Brain today!

9 Ways to Grow an Ongoing, Market-Wide Hunger for YOU

Have you ever been SO hungry that you actually considered cannibalism?

Me neither. I was just curious.

Still, hunger IS a powerful, instinctive force. Maybe it has something to do with our hunter-gatherer nature. I mean, hell, people kill each other for food.

In fact, I could probably cite at least twenty occasions when I was a kid – if the proper weaponry were available – I definitely would have decapitated my big brother just to get dibs on that last slice of pizza.

But enough about Hebrew School.

Instead, here are three questions I want you to think about:

1. Who’s hungry for YOU?
2. How many customers are ravenous and drooling for a bite of YOUR expertise?
3. And what are you doing on a daily basis to grow (and eventually satisfy) their hunger?

Today I’m going to share a nine strategies that you can implement to create an ongoing, market-wide hunger … for YOU.

And I promise not to make any more cannibalism or decapitation jokes.

Well, maybe just one.

So, Jeffrey Dahmer walks into a bar…

Anyway.

1. Attach more promise to your name. Brands are expectations. Which means it’s your job to prove customers right. To confirm their expectations about the value you deliver and the values you stand for. So, let’s do a three-part exercise.

FIRST: Consider five businesses you patronize regularly. What respective promises are attached to each of their names? Write them down.
SECOND: Consider your own business. What is the promise your customers keep coming back for? Write it down.
THIRD: Brainstorm ten specific actions you can take in the next 72 hours to exponentially attach MORE of that promise to your name. Write ’em down.

Remember: To promise to show signs of future excellence. To grow the hunger for YOU, ask: How predictable are you?

2. Competence is assumed. First, good was good enough. Then great was good enough. Now, great isn’t that great anymore. People demand WOW. So: You need to be amazing. Like, scary good. Everything else is your ante. The price of admission.

My suggestion is to stop doing something unless you’re amazing. As Seth Godin once said, “Average is for losers. Be exceptional or quit.” To grow the hunger for YOU, ask: What are you the World Heavyweight Champion of?

3. Be The Answer. People go to Google for one reason: Pornography. But AFTER pornography, people go to Google to solve problems. That’s the secret: Being The Answer. So, here’s an equation that you can plug your unique value (and your perfect customers) into. It’s called The Ultimate Dream Statement, and it goes a little like this:

“I wish there was a/an (X) so I wouldn’t have to (Y).”

So, the (X) in the equation is dream focused, solution oriented and optimistic, i.e., “A portable music player with unlimited digital shelf space.” Then, the (Y) in the equation takes away pain by helping people save time, money, energy, paper or manpower, i.e., “Schlepping ten years of CD’s around my apartment.”

That’s being The Answer: Figuring out what your customers are SICK of doing, then positioning your expertise as the key to NEVER doing that again. To grow the hunger for YOU, ask: What do your customers wish they didn’t HAVE to do anymore?

4. Don’t be selfish with your knowledge. Share your expertise generously so people recognize it, embrace it and eventually depend on you for it. Soon, people in your marketplace will start coming to your for your time. Because they’ll think, “If I’m getting this much help for FREE from this person, how much better off would I be if I actually hired him?”

Remember: More content = More findable = More addictable = More bookable. To grow the hunger for YOU, ask: What did you write today?

5. Create a Visibility Plan. Not a Marketing Plan. Not a Business Plan. A Visibility Plan. Do you have one of those? Doubtful. Most people don’t. And they’re losing money every day for a simple reason: You can no longer afford to be invisible. Winking in the dark is NOT a smart business strategy.

I invite you to sit down with your team and write out all the potential venues – online and off – that increase your visibility. Then spend the next hour doubling that number. The mere exercise of doing so is eye opening and will change your attitude toward marketing forever.

Remember: Being known as “The Best Kept Secret” is a one-way ticket to Sucksville. If you’re a secret, you can’t possibly be the best. Period. Be public or be penniless. To grow the hunger for YOU, ask: What’s your visibility plan?

6. Identify the ONE niche you can overwhelm. Bore deeply into sector needs and position yourself as THEE Guy. The Only. The Universally Presumed Perpetrator. A fixture in the industry. Better than anyone else in your space. So distinct that you’re perceived as a monopoly and people starting asking and hearing what you might say about their situation.

Ultimately, someone who invariably winds up on people’s doorsteps. That way, when customers come, you can confidently declare, “You haven’t just come to the right place – you’ve come to the ONLY place!”

Remember: People will remember your stance if it’s unexpected and non-template driven. To grow the hunger for YOU, ask: To whom will you be known as a rock star?

7. Get them to sample your wares. Everybody knows the best day to go to the supermarket is Saturday. Why? Sample day. And if you do it right – for example, eat a few samples, go out to your car, change your shirt, then walk back in – you can make an entire meal out of those babies!

Now, when you’re a kid you don’t recognize the power of this strategy. Because by giving out those samples, the store feeds your hunger. And that’s why it’s no surprise that Saturdays tend to be the highest grossing days in the grocery world.

So, my question for you is: How many samples do YOU have out there? How often are you giving your samples away? And how much more money would you be making if you designed a system that fed people’s hunger for YOU on a daily basis?

Here’s a hint: Blogging works. Tweeting works. Ezines work. The secret is value. The secret is free. To grow the hunger for YOU, ask: What’s your sample strategy?

8. Be seen in your element regularly. People need to see you doing what you do. Those moments when you’re in your element. At your best, flowing like Phelps. Delivering your unique value in your unique way. The secret is to capture it digitally and share it with the world by starting what I call a Value Forward Video Campaign.

For example, as a professional speaker, I collect video footage from my presentations and workshops. And what I’ll do is break down the program into four or five smaller modules, each of which is edited with a consistent intro and outro. Then I’ll post one clip every Friday for a month, linking back to it from my blog, ezine, Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Ultimately, thousands of people watch them and dozens of people hire me because of them. All because they portray me at my best, doing what I do, delivering unique value to others.To grow the hunger for YOU, ask: How often are customers seeing you in YOUR element?

9. Start positive rumors about yourself. Oscar Wilde once remarked, “The only thing worse than being talked about is NOT being talked about.” So, here’s the question: Who’s talking about YOU? Answer: Not enough people. So, here’s my suggestion: Do it yourself. It’s heaps of fun.

In fact, National Start a Rumor Day is November 9th. Consider posting a blog with five pieces of personal information about yourself, one of which ISN’T true. Next, challenge your readers to guess which one is the lie. Then reveal the answer a week later. Maybe even award the first correct answer with a small gift.

What do you have to lose? That’s probably more creative and engaging than most of the 120,000 blogs that are posted each day. To grow the hunger for YOU, ask: How many positive rumors are floating around regarding YOUR value?

DON’T FORGET: If you want to build the brand OF you, start by growing the hunger FOR you.

Now if you’ll excuse me, my big brother is coming over for pizza.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What deliciousness are you delivering?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “72 Ways to Take Your Blog from Anonymous to Award-Winning,” send an email to me, and I’ll send you the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

Need to build your Thought Leadership Platform?

Perhaps my monthly (or yearly) coaching program would help.

Rent Scott’s Brain today!

6 Ways to Raise Your Reputation as a Thought Leader

My definition of a Thought Leader is as follows:

A trusted source who moves people with innovative ideas.

And here’s the BEST part:

Thought Leaders build wealth.
Thought Leaders trump experts.
Thought Leaders establish equity.
Thought Leaders differentiate themselves.
Thought Leaders create ongoing demand for their value.

Ultimately, Thought Leadership is a vital driver of your business success.

Here are six ways to raise your reputation as such:

1. Pick the lane you’re already cruising in. You can’t just “decide” that you’re a Thought Leader on the subject of (x). Instead, pinpoint what you’re already and inherently an expert on – then magnify it.

Finishing the following sentence is a great place to start: I cannot die until I change people’s think about…

Also, try asking yourself questions like these:

a. What is the mission were you mandated to fill?
b. What were you designed to cure?
c. What are you known for knowing?
d. What are you the answer to?
e. What problem do you solve?

Find the small corner of the universe that is yours to transform, touch it – then set it free. What are you the world heavyweight champion of?

2. Build a solid mental reservoir of ideas. As a Thought Leader, ideas are your #1 source of income. So, if you’re not reading, writing, thinking, discussing, debating, researching, LISTENING and learning – every single day – your mental reservoir won’t just run dry, your bank account will run dry.

Thought Leaders are learners, Thought Leaders are readers and Thought Leaders are writers. Don’t feel bad about spending an hour at Borders in the middle of the day. That’s what you DO. Practice aggressive pondering. Be a learning machine. Be a Smokin’ Hot Piece of Brain Candy.Do you have a well-stocked mind?

3. Become a Question Master. Speaking of ideas. Your success as a Thought Leader is determined by the questions you ask yourself (and your constituency) every day. And because questions are ideas waiting to happen, you need to have them captured, catalogued and accessible.

My suggestion is to make a Master Question List. Even if it’s as simple as a Word document on your laptop. Keep all your questions, organized by categories, in the same place. Update it weekly. Peruse it daily. And pull questions from this list for your writings, presentations, meetings, brainstorming sessions and sales calls.

With every question you add to it, you build the equity of your intellectual assets. Personally, I have about seven thousand on my list. I wonder how many are on yours. What are you doing to become a Question Master?

4. Use YOUR voice. Broadcasting borrowed attitudes, publishing recycled insight and spouting secondhand wisdom is the vestibule of failure. Originality is the only way.

That means no more writing book reports from what a bunch of smart dead guys said.
That means no more cutting and pasting paragraphs from Google searches.
That means no more sharing outdated, overused stories that never actually happened to you in the first place.

You need to think. You need to write. And you need to do so with the one and only true voice of your heart. Otherwise the people you serve will sniff out the banality immediately. Whose voice are you using?

5. Draw monstrous, sweeping generalizations. Let’s say your School of Thought revolves around the concept of “exit interviews.” You’re the Exit Interview Guy. And your position is that they’re not as valuable as most companies think. Perfect.

Here’s what you do: Start writing modules called, “Exit Interviews are (x).” Then, the variable in your equation turns your philosophy into blanket statement. Use words like “useless,” “worthless,” “overrated,” “for amateurs,” or “for losers.”

The cool part is, if you start a sweeping generalization campaign called, “Exit Interviews are Useless,” the world notices it, becomes curious about it, and ultimately wants to buy into it. What ridiculous claim could you make and then back up?

6. Don’t be a vending machine of quotations. Quoting other people doesn’t make you smart – it makes you a parakeet. Now, I’m not saying a nice quotation doesn’t have its place. But the majority of the time – quote YOU. That’s what people want. Enough Emerson, enough Rumi and enough Tom Peters. (No offense those brilliant people.)

The strongest Thought Leaders are the ones who brand their own language. And here’s why: Language is everything. Language wins business. Language changes minds. Language attracts clients. Language makes money. Language communicates presence. Language reveals brilliance.

Ultimately, It has the power to differentiate you among the gazillions of other people out there who claim to do the same thing that you do. Therefore: Quote yourself. If you don’t quote yourself, nobody else will. And you can quote me on that. Who’s quoting YOU?

REMEMBER: The world opens up to the Thought Leaders.

I just hope you’re one of them.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How are you raising your reputation as a Thought Leader?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the (full) checklist called, “7 Ways to Out EXPERIENCE the Competition,” send an email to me, and I’ll send you the list for free!

* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]

Need to build your Thought Leadership Platform?

Perhaps my monthly (or yearly) coaching program would help.

Rent Scott’s Brain today!

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Tag: though leadership

7 Essentials for Executing Exquisitely

How You Can Own a Word in People’s Minds AND on Google

5 Strategies for Establishing a Sustainable Thought Leadership Position

9 Ways to Grow an Ongoing, Market-Wide Hunger for YOU

6 Ways to Raise Your Reputation as a Thought Leader