American Fraternal Alliance -- Keynote & Breakout

Monday, April 18, 2011

What do YOU see?


*What could I do in this moment

that would be the exact OPPOSITE

of everyone else?













So:






I have a commitmentand a confession:





Let meSUGGEST

this:



Let meASK YA

this:




Fortunately:












Here’s thereality:


41


That’s myreality:


I don’t know thefirst thing

the fraternal industry.



Here’s whatI do know:


I knowwhat it’s like to

feel anonymous.


I knowwhat it’s like to feel like your sizeis a disadvantage.


I knowwhat it’s like to

feel like nobodywants to join you.


What you do, matters.


You’re not herebecause your job is to

sell insurance.


Your job is tohelp people put

values in action.


It’s not about the nametag.

‘


53


You actually let your son wear a nametagevery single day?


Cool.


When peoplebring you theircrazy ideas,

what’s the first word out of your mouth?


It’s not about the nametag.

‘



The realquestion:


What’syour

nametag?

‘



Practice.









Practice.






Branding is______________ .


TEXT your answer infive words or less

to Scott’s cell:

314/374-3397(no sexting you perverts)


Branding is______________ .

314/374-3397(Not kidding about the sexting.)


We did that for three reasons:



I’m not here because Iknow branding:


I’m not here because Iteach branding:




BRANDING is bringing your

humanity to the moment.


BRANDING is the best, highest version of yourself.


BRANDING is how people

experience you.


BRANDING is how people

experience themselvesin relation to you.


BRANDING is what you’re

known for, what you’re known as and what you’re

known for knowing.


Branding is the price of admission.



Having acool logo.


Dressing forsuccess.


Self-serving competitiveness.


Getting ahead of people and

moving up the ladder.


Delivering an unforgettable, value-added

unique selling proposition to stakeholders.


Integrating a sequence of promises that

align withorganizational

initiatives.Monday, April 18, 2011

Forcing people tomemorize

some empty, trite mission statement.


Telling everyone you meet howawesome

you are.


Let meSUGGEST

this:


1. Being different is no longer enough.


Your brand must offer:purposedrivenhuman

uniquenessMonday, April 18, 2011



Just askyour kids:



differentis something youdo deliberately


uniqueis something youare inherently


At my organization, we’re branding our______________










*Is your brandtruly unique,

or just different?


2. Brandingcomes fromimagination,not millions.


So, you’re small.


Big deal. Big deal.




Brands cancreate millionseven if they didn’t

take millions to create.


Sioux City, Iowa(try to contain your excitement)


Your office




“Flying sucks!”







Don’tback away

from perceived negatives.



Small is beautiful.


Small meansyou can be honest.


Small meansreinvent in real time.


Small meansyou can interact with

members directly and humanely.


Small meansyou can respond to

changing member needs immediately.


Small meansyou can preserve the charm and intimacy of connecting personally.


exercise


Small meansyou can

______________.


Don’t go for bigness,go for greatness.


3. Always retain the emotional

connectionof your brand.





Humans are emotional creatures:Not integers, categories

or demographics.


Let meSUGGEST

this:


Capture heartshare.Monday, April 18, 2011


Heartshare isthe level of

emotional responsiveness

your brand commands.



He didn’t have a plan,he had a dream,

and he laid bare his belief.



Figure outthe emotion.

you’re selling.



If everybody didexactly what you said

what would the world look like?




If everybody didexactly what you said

what would the world look like?


Capture heartshare.Monday, April 18, 2011

When it’s your heart,you don’t have to

prove to anybodythat you can’t live

without it.


That’sbranding.














Follow the musicians.

















But there’sone thing missing:


There are noCOVER BANDS in the Rock ‘n RollHall of Fame.


Yes, you can always play someone else’s

material.


Even when itseems easier.


Earn a niceround of

applausefrom the people

who matter most.


Make your own music.


That’sbranding.


“So, Scott, what do you actuallydo all day?”


My job is to be a resource to my

audiences and clients.



Author.Speaker.

Columnist.Producer.

Mobile Host.Mentor.Artist.



Author.Speaker.

Columnist.Producer.



Author.Speaker.

Columnist.Producer.



Author.Speaker.

Columnist.Producer.



Author.Speaker.

Columnist.Producer.



Author.Speaker.

Columnist.Producer.



Hey Scott, can I pickyour brain sometime?


Instead:



When I rentyour brain, what can I expect?


• Brand.• Business.• Career.• Challenges.• Concerns.• Content.• Dilemma.• Ideas.• Intuitions.• Questions.• Roadblocks.• Situation.• Stuckness.• Uncertainty.• Website.• What Ifs.

• Access.• Advice.• Attitude.• Counsel.• Creativity.• Ears.• Energy.• Enthusiasm.• Examples.• Experiences.• Feedback.• Frames.• Honesty.• Hope.• Humor.• Insight.• Knowledge.• Life lessons.• Mistakes.• Models.• Observations.• Opinions.• Passion.• Perspective.• Philosophy.• Presence.• Processes.• Questions.• Recommendations.• Reflections.• Reservoir.• Resources.• Selfhood.• Silliness.• Sounding board.• Stillness.• Stories.• Strength.• Thought process.• Time.• Truth.• Verbal mirror.• Wisdom.

• Acceptance.• Affirmation.• Candor.• Comfort.• Compassion.• Confidence.• Confidentiality.• Creativity.• Depth.• Enthusiasm.• Facilitated discovery.• Flexibility.• Fun• Gentle elbowing.• Honesty.• Helping and teaching.• Humility.• Imperfection.• Insinuation, not imposition.• Intimacy.• Laser-like focus.• Learning.• Mutual respect.• Openness.• Patience.• Personal growth.• Playfulness.• Professionalism.• Relaxation.• Reasonable response time.• Responsive spirit.• Safety.• Specificity.• Spontaneity.• Springboard-ness.• Timely response.• Timely touchpoints.• Transparency.• Trust.• Understanding.

• Agenda-pushing.• Bullshit.• Cloning.• Excuses.• Fixing.• Have-tos.• Formulas.• Judgment.• Musts.• Need-tos.• Prescriptions.• Scripts.• Shoulds.• Superimposing.

• Accelerated.• Challenged.• Clarified.• Disturbed.• Energized.• Enlarged.• Enthused.• Expanded.• Heard.• Infected.• Inspired.• Invigorated.• Met where you are.• More aware.• Motivated.• Nourished.• Pushed.• Questioned.• Refueled.• Reminded.• Renewed.• Stirred.• Strengthened.`• Stretched.• Thinking differently.• Thinking harder.• Unblocked.• Uncomfortable.• Unleashed.• Unstoppable.

• 12-step sponsor.• 24-hour hotline.• 411 call.• 911 dispatch.• Accountability partner.• Assembly line.• Babysitter.• Boss.• Change agent.• Codependent• Daily Grind.• Doormat.• Easy button.• Editor.• Final authority on life.• Hand-holder.• Muse.• Parent.• Pastor.• Permanent leaning post.• Physician.• Problem-solver.• Rabbi.• Secretary.• Soul mate.• Spouse.• Therapist.• Unlimited advice dispenser.

• I place ideas at your feet foryour consideration.

• I will not lead you beyondwhere I’m living or havelived.

• I’m responsible to you, notresponsible for you.

• The onus is on you to beresponsible to the wisdomprovided.

• We share the relationshipbut you own the results.

• Will plant a seed and enableothers to figure it out ontheir own over time.

• You don’t act – you don’tgrow.

• You don’t ask – you don’tget.

• You drive the deliverables.• You must be mentorable

and pushable.• You must fully commit to

this process.• You reach out to me when

you have a need.

• You will develop a dailypractice.

• You will use writing to solveyour problems, drive yoursuccess and achieve yourobjectives.

• You will have productivedialogues with yourself.

• You will achieve my level ofsuccess without being myclone.

• You will capture, own andconvert your thoughts intomoney.

• You will brand your ownlanguage and turn yourthoughts into valuemessages.

• You will accrue a creativeinventory.

• You will build an ideafactory.

• You will propel your ownmomentum by masteringdependence avoidancewithout be an island.

• You will build a DIY kit forkicking your own ass.

• You will customize litmustests and opportunity filtersfor give yourselfpermission/discernment,decision-making processes.

• You will never be alone inthis journey.

• You will fall in love withyourself.

• You will give your river avoice.

• You will move your thinkingforward.

• You will be heard.• You will delete average,

boring and anonymity out ofyour career.

Rent Scott’s Brain

HELLO, my name is Scott! 7563 Oxford Drive #2S / St. Louis, MO 63105 / [email protected]

BRINGME YOUR:

AND I’LLOFFER MY:

IN A SPACE OF:

WITHOUTANY:

AND YOUWILL BE:

BUT I’MNOT YOUR:

SO, HERE’SWHAT THAT

MEANS:

WHAT WILL BEDIFFERENT IN

YOUR LIFE AS ARESULT OF THISRELATIONSHIP:


Author.Speaker.

Columnist.Producer.



What’syour

nametag?

‘





My job is to be a resource to my

audiences and clients.



“Yeah, but what ifI’m a cheapskate

and don’t want togive you any money?”









Me



GOODBYE,your namewas Scott!





*Is YOURcommitment

unquestionable?



Consistency is far better than

rare momentsof greatness.







What do YOU see?



*If they can’t come up to you,

how will they ever getget behind you?


The NametagPrincipleTM


exerciseMonday, April 18, 2011

To be joinableis to be

______________ .


Most people only getONE THIRDof the equation...





To beapproachable

is to be three things:



Trustable.


Buyable.


Call-back-able.



Relatable.


Listenable.


Yessable.



Referable.


Brandable.


Follow-up-able.




Here’s what’s goingto happen:


1. Demonstrateinterest in the

person, not justthe potential.






Thank you nametag!


Here’s what happened:


Here’s the questionthat matters:


What do yousee when you see people?



“I see you.”


280


“We nevergot lazy

with each other.”



*What’s yourbest practice

for making membersfeel seen?


2. Beingbought is

not enough.




Good brands are bought, great brands are joined.


To join a brand is toCONNECTwith it on a

visceral level.


To join a brand is toENGAGEwith it on ahuman level.


To join a brand is toUNITE

with it on apersonal level.


Otherwisepeople are just

giving you money.


You know whatyour members want:



Engagementis the only unit of marketingthat matters.



I don’t pass them outto make peoplewear nametags.



What mattersis that they join mein that spontaneous moment of human

interaction.Monday, April 18, 2011


An act deepens the emotional connection over time.


My brand seeks to create:

Acts of________

in moments of_________.




Acts of connectionin moments of isolation.







My brand seeks to create:

Acts of________

in moments of_________.


3. Surrenderis the new

control.








Enable members to take your brand intotheir own handsby openly embracing

a fan mentality.Monday, April 18, 2011



This demonstrates:Trust

OwnershipVulnerability.









surrendering control to your members?


4. Engagementis more than

participation.





Don’t make youronline efforts a

one way street.








Interact withpeople in a way no other organization

can touch.














Why this thingworks:


It’s fun.


It’s funny.


It’s organic.


It taps into theircreative flair.


It meets themwhere they are.


It flips thespotlight.


It opens a direct channel.


It providesfree research.


It doesn’t requiremuch thought.


It introduces anelement of intrigue.


It never has aright or wrong

answer.Monday, April 18, 2011

It spices up their daily journey, giving them

a reason to reengage over and over again.


It gives people space toexpress themselves

on my platform.Monday, April 18, 2011

This type of engagement involves:

Risk taking, spontaneity

socially supportedco-creation.



for helping members express themselves on your online platform?





What do YOU see?


You see thatface to face

is making a comeback.


You see that beingapproachableisn’t a function

of mindset.


You see that toengage the people

who matter most, you have to treat them

like people.


You see that yourhumanity

is your brand’s greatest competitive

advantage.


What do YOU see?
