Death of a speaker...NOT!

I listened to journalist and author Jeff Jarvis tell 1000 professional speakers from across the globe that a disruption is coming that will forever change the landscape of the meetings industry. He went on to say that speakers who refuse to adapt will find themselves in trouble. Jeff is an old school New York newpaper man who was on the last train into the World Trade Center when the first plane hit. In the following weeks, he began to blog about his experience which lead to hundreds of thousands of followers and a shift in his perception about the dessimination of content. He began to believe that freely given content was going to disrupt the media business and newspapers and magazines that tried to control and monetize it were going to find themselves on shifting ground…he was right. Thanks to free content on the internet, newspapers and print magazines around the world have been reluctantly closing down their presses with a swiftness that would make Gutenberg roll over in his grave. Jarvis told us (speakers) that youtube, Google+Hangout, and crowd sourced formats are going to replace the traditional speaker model and if we did not find new ways to communicate our content then we run the risk of becoming obsolete. I 43% agree with his line of thinking. If you paint all professional speakers as simply distributors of content then yes, there are multiple ways to receive information. Our audiences are now participating in the conversation and are more informed than ever before which requires speakers to remain current and relevant.  I do, however, believe that good professional speakers don’t just communicate content, we PERFORM content. As a professional speaker, I am responsible for not only delivering my message but also delivering an experience. In the interest of full disclosure, I am a humorist so there are no huge gasps of awe as I blow peoples minds with new information, but even the "content speakers" Like Gary Vaynerchuk, Peter Sheahan, Jeffrey Gitomer and yes Jeff Jarvis help create a live experience with charisma, talent, skill and PERFORMANCE that will never be replaced by google+hangout or youtube. The economy is still bad! we get it! conventions have been hit hard because it is expensive to make one happen when people are being forced to choose where to invest time and resources. This has created an opportunity to receive content from other sources BUT I believe that this is a distant second to being a part of a gathering with a charismatic professional speaker at the helm. I'd much rather hear the Eagles live than on my iphone wouldn’t you? So YES, I agree that like the newspaper and magazine business, the speaking industry is in a state of disruption. Yes, some of the speaker herd will fall to the wolves, but I also believe that as long as people gather in person to learn, share ideas, and eat Marriott chicken, there will be a need for a brilliant professional speaker to lead the conversation.

SELLING THE EXPERIENCE

I was coming to the end of a long Honey-do list which had me standing in the liquor store staring at bottles of Skinny Girl Vodka. My wife is a teacher so during the school year we rarely drink alcohol but since it was summer, we’ve resurrected the age old tradition of five o’clock  happy hour. I was trying to remember which flavor I was supposed to pick up when a friendly gentleman named Van Poteet approached me. I don’t know how long Van has worked at the ABC store, but this was the first time I’d met him. I was taken a little off guard by his smile and casual manner especially since I’ve rarely seen an ABC employee anywhere other than behind the counter ringing up sales. Van asked me “whatcha drinking tonight?”. I told him that my wife wanted to make some kind of cocktail that involved Skinny Girl Vodka. “Have you ever tried a King?” Van asked. I had no idea what a King was, but Van got so excited telling me about this new drink that I got caught up in his enthusiasm. A King was basically an ounce of Bannana Liqueur and and ounce and a half of PB&J Vodka. You read correctly…Peanut Butter and Jelly Vodka. Van began to share with me three different variations of the drink and convinced me that I would be missing the most amazing  cocktail in the modern world if I left the ABC store without the ingredients for “the King”.  I walked into the ABC store for a $15.00 bottle of Vodka and walked out with $65.00 worth of cheer. Unlike most the the ABC liquor store employees across the country, Van Poteet does not sell liquor. Van Poteet sells experiences. He sells cocktail hours, wedding toasts, libations, celebrations, and intimate evenings.  As I reflect on my experience with an objective frame of reference, I imagine that Van was told to “push the new PB&J Vodka”. Had he simply asked me to consider the new Vodka, I would have politely declined, but Van knows that people buy for two reasons; the desire for gain or the fear of loss. Van made me feel that if I left without buying what he suggested, I would be missing out on a terrific experience. Van reinforced, for me, a few simple truths about sales.

1.     SELL THE OUTCOME. The PB&J Vodka was simply the means to achieve that outcome.

2.    CONNECT WITH EMOTION. Van made me want to buy because of his enthusiasm. I wanted to be a part of what made him so excited. When you truly believe in your product, your enthusiasm will be your best wingman.

3.    KNOW YOUR PRODUCT. Van was so convinced that I would enjoy what he was selling that he gave step by step directions as to how to best use it. One of the 5 traction points for a killer customer experience is convenience. By making it easy for someone to use your product or do business with you, you create a buying atmosphere.

LAZY LEADERSHIP

It’s finally over. After three years of planning, organizing, creating and agonizing as the convention chair of the 2012 National Speakers Association convention in Indianapolis this summer, I’m officially old news. My synapses are once again beginning to fire steady, my world is coming back into focus, and now I reflect. The convention was a huge success and although I’d love to take credit for the entire event, I can’t…or can I?

For ten years I was a professional musician and songwriter in Nashville, Tennessee. Incidentally, I learned more about leadership, management, HR, sales, and psychology by being the front man of a band than in any class I ever took at the University of Southern Mississippi. The most important lesson that I learned is that the best leaders are lazy. Let me explain. We’ve all read in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer  about how Tom coerced his friends into cheerfully white washing the fence that he was supposed to paint while he relaxed in the shade. Tom would rather be lazy than do the work himself. Did that make him a bad leader? No Way! I planned a successful convention that was attended by over 1000 professional speakers from 14 different countries. It has been receiving rave reviews, and just as I did when I was the front man in a band, I learned two things from my experience as convention chair. 1. I like being in charge, and 2. You can get other people to cheerfully do the work for you… if you know how.

FIVE WAYS TO BECOME A LAZY LEADER:

1 GET THE RIGHT PEOPLE. I am right brained.  I am creative, vision driven, and focused on the big picture. I surround myself with people who live in the details and enjoy logistics. A “LAZY” leader will compliment their weaknesses with the strengths of others.

2. COMMUNICATE VISION. When I fronted a band, I would never tell the other musicians what to play. I selected the song, tempo, and feel, but when it came to their instrument, I let them be the expert.  As the NSA convention chair I took the same approach. I specifically communicated the outcomes that I wanted but then let the speaker or session host reach them in their unique way. This allowed the meeting to have texture and variety.

3. CREATE “SHINE” OPPORTUNITIES. A great band leader will let each band member take a solo and give them the opportunity to be in the spot light and receive applause. Incidentally, the best music happens during the solo. A “Lazy Leader” will create vision but then appoint quality people to carry it out. By observing but not micromanaging their efforts, they will be free to add their flavor and take credit for their contribution. As the NSA convention chair I gave my team an opportunity to be on stage more than I was. This rewarded their efforts with publicity.

4. PRAISE OFTEN.  It never fails to amaze me what a powerful motivator recognition is. No matter how successful, wealthy, or accomplished a person is, we all crave an “atta-boy” from time to time. When you make habits out of delivering honest, consistent recognition and praise, you will create a team of confident, happy, employees who strive for excellence.

5. BE NICE. I believe that people are more productive when working with nice people . I believe civility is good for business. When you are nice to people, you create loyalty. Loyalty fosters commitment. Commitment is the basis for a culture of excellence.

TOFU WRAPPED BACON...BE THE BRAND

“Clean Comedian for corporate, government, or personal events. Contact me for rates and availability.” That’s what the post said on the professional speakers and entertainers group that I am a part of on Linkedin. I was intrigued, not because I am looking for a corporate comic, but because I wanted to see the face of the person who would break etiquette and blatantly advertise 

bacon wrapped tofu

on Linkedin. I googled the name and found a youtube clip of a comedy show that he did a couple of years ago. “Clean Comedian” is how this person branded himself and 28 seconds into his act, he dropped the F Bomb. THE F BOMB! Now don’t get me wrong, I am not easily offended by profanity as long as it’s not around my kids, but I AM offended by a misleading branding statement. If you say your book is a best seller, you'd better not mean within your mother’s bible study. If you say you are the toughest man in the world, there had better be a line of broken and battered bodies littering your wake, and if you say you are a clean comedian then you’d better not drop the F bomb. If I were to have a conversation with this gentleman and express my opinion he would probably tell me that he modifies his language based on the event, or he may just tell me to ‘F’ OFF. I would then tell him “you can’t call yourself a vegeterian and have your tofu wrapped in bacon”. Unlike in years past, we no longer have control over our brand. Major companies such as Nike, Apple, and McDonalds spend millions of dollars on creating a branding statement which is nothing more than four or five words that come to mind when you hear a product name. Nike=swoosh, sports, running, football. Apple= Mac, sleek, fast, elite. McDonalds = easy, tasty, kids, cheap. For years, corporations were able to control their brand with advertisments and commercials. This is no longer the case. Thanks to social media and youtube, the control of our brand has transferred to the consumer. If I receive bad customer service, I tell my online community. If I do it in a funny or interesting way then it will ripple into their communities. Videos of me speaking and performing are all over Youtube and Vimeo. Some were put up by me and some by others. Because the internet provides immediate access into our brand, there is a transparency between us and the customer that has never before existed.  The best way for us to promote and protect our brand is to simply…BE THE BRAND. 

CREATING PROFITABLE RELATIONSHIPS THROUGH...INCLUSION

The sense of belonging is one of the most basic human needs. If you took freshman psychology in college, you learned about behavioral psychologist Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs Pyramid. In Maslows 1943 paper, A theory of human motivation, he identified the five areas of human needs. The first area is made up of physiological needs such as breathing, food, water, and sex. (It’s a need. It’s science. Guys win.) These needs must be satisfied before you can progress to the next level which involves safety needs such as shelter, job security, not being eaten by a bear. Then comes love and belonging followed by self esteem needs and self actualization.  The need for belonging is a powerful influence for healthy and profitable relationships whether they are with the customer, coworkers or team.  

Not long after I moved to Nashville in the mid-nineties, I met a group of guys that I started hitting the town with. Back in those days I had a flat stomach, a tolerance for Jack Daniels, and a tendency to see dawn as he end of an evening. Now my six pack has turned into a one pack, the smell of Jack Daniels makes me queasy, and dawn is often the backdrop for my second cup of coffee. We were all aspiring artists, musicians, songwriters or studio engineers which meant we were broke. One guy in our group worked for RCA records…in the mail room. I used to wonder what an intelligent, college educated, ambitious guy like him was doing working for nine bucks an hour in the mailroom of a record label. I finally understood one night when we all went to a downtown Nashville night club. At RCA records, all of the employees received an RCA jacket. They looked like high school letterman jackets with the RCA logo on the back. When we walked into the club that night and people saw his jacket, you would have thought royalty had entered the room. Keep in mind that 80% of the people in the bar were trying to make it in the music business and as far as they were concerned, he could make their dreams come true. Beautiful women were brushing past me to brush against my friend. Guys were buying him drinks and bartenders were passing him their demos. I then understood why a college educated, intelligent, ambitious young guy would work in the RCA mail room for 9 bucks an hour. He wasn’t working for nine bucks an hour. He was working for the jacket. RCA had created a sense of belonging among their employees that encompassed everyone from the C-suite to the mail room. They were a part of something bigger than themselves and it created an atmosphere of inclusion that translated into job satisfaction that was not predicated by salary. People want to do business with people who enjoy their job. They are happier, friendlier, more helpful, and nicer.

It reminds me of the old story of a man walking with his young son past a construction

site. An old brick mason was mixing mortar and laying bricks along a bare foundation.

The young boy asked his father “what is that man doing?” The father replied “He is a brick mason.

 He is mixing mortar and laying bricks”. Overhearing the conversation, the old man walked over and said 

“I am not just laying bricks.” “What are you doing then?” asked the little boy. The old man proudly replied “I am building a beautiful cathedral”.  

It is so easy to define our job by the tasks we do, but when people are made to feel a part of something greater than themselves it creates a sense of belonging. When you create a culture of belonging then employees not only have more fun at work, they take ownership in the performance of the team.  Have you ever heard an orchestra warm up? It sounds horrible. That is because the focus of the musician is on the task of playing their instrument. It is only when the group focuses on their instruments with the outcome in mind is music created. 

What song is your team playing? What is your cathedral? Creating a sense belonging is about communicating outcome and including the team in the process.

CREATING PROFITABLE RELATIONSHIPS THROUGH...CONTEXT

In 2004 my world changed.  It was altered, not because of events or circumstances, but because of context. I became a husband in 2004. I became a father in 2004, then again in 2005, and once more in 2008. Finally my wife told me that if I wanted another child I would have to do it with my next wife. Up until 2004 my identity existed on the basis of accomplishment, achievement, or circumstance.  I suddenly found myself with an identity predicated by something different…context.  My friend and fellow professional speaker John Crudele summed up the true meaning of context for me.  He told me that the moon is only the moon because of the Earth. Its relationship to the earth is what frames its identity. He said without context and mutual attraction, it is just a rock floating in space. 

I am a husband and father, not because of me or what I've done, but rather because of my relationship to my wife and kids. Just like our identity as a family member is determined by the relationship to the rest of the family, so is the identity of our customers. Our customers are not our customers because we exist. We are who we are because our customers exist. As a professional speaker and writer, I only maintain that identity if I have an audience. If not, I am just another opininated big mouth looking at an empty calendar on the wall of my office. I am a humorist. I believe that funny is funner so I try to incorporate humor into everything I do. I was once asked during an interview “what is the difference between a comedian and a humorist?” I thought for a minute about all of the humorists that I know and gave the most honest answer I could even though many comedians would disagree.  I said that most comedians believe the audience is there for them. As a humorist, I am there for my audience. When you treat your customers as if your existence depends on them, you will be nicer, more efficient, more transparent, and just plain better than if you operate as if your customers need you. When your customer relationship is based on mutual attraction and context, you decommoditize your position in your industry and become the brand.

CREATING PROFITABLE RELATIONSHIPS THROUGH ACCOUNTABILITY

I was recently at an event in Charlotte where I had the chance to meet a man who had made his career working in the cutthroat world of  New York newspaper and magazine publishing. We were talking about the slow bleeding death of hard copy magazines and I told him that before she gave it up, they would have to pry US Weekly Magazine out of my wife’s cold, dead, fingers. He smiled and told me that he was the original editor of US Weekly. I was in the presence of celebrity gossip royalty. I couldn’t wait to tell my wife. We talked about journalism and the impact that blogs, social media, and wireless devices have had on the dessimination news and public perception. The good news is that thanks to Twitter, Youtube, and Facebook, we can receive information as it occurs. We followed the World Cup, the Arab Spring Revolution, and Lindsey Lohan’s latest stumble in real time. What can possibly be wrong with that? Accountability. He told me “Patrick, as a journalist, I am bound by rules. Sources must be vetted, information must be validated, opinions are not fact, and wikipedia is not a wellspring of truth. Bloggers, tweeters, and paparazzi are not bound by the same rules of journalism and ethics that I cut my teeth on.

Without accountability, we are doomed to developing a world view based on versions of the truth or outright falsehoods. There is a great line from the 1993 movie Jurassic Park where Jeff Goldblum’s character, Dr. Ian Malcolm is confronting billionaire John Hammond. He said “I’ll tell you the problem with the scientific power that you’re using here. It didn’t acquire any discipline to attain it. You read what others have done and you took the next step. You didn’t earn the knowledge for yourself so therefore you don’t take any responsibility for it.” 

Like good journalism, creating profitable and productive relationships demands accountability. Those relationships are predicated on two fundamental elements…liking and trust.  If your customers, teammates, or employees don’t feel that you are accountable for your actions and responsible for the outcomes you produce, then there can be no trust. Would you do business with someone you don't trust? I wouldn't. If you are a leader who doesn’t walk the talk, how can you expect your employees to cheerfully fulfill their responsibilities? If you are more concerned with closing a sale than providing value, how can you expect your customers to sing your praises? Build trust…build relationships…build profits.