Every single day I’m grateful for the opportunity to work closely with Scott McKain, my favorite brother on the planet. Of course, the enjoyment I get from performing the tasks my job requires varies — from totally loving the creative things I do, like marketing projects — all the way to the office-type things I loathe, like invoicing. Since whatifitdid.com is a PERSONAL space for me, I don’t ever talk about specific client situations, but this post is different.
People love to connect with other people. Right? And, they love to SEE the people they are connecting with, even if they may never really SEE them in person. It’s the whole face-2-face thing Internet style! Seriously. It’s true. Let me explain…
Last year, I came up with a project where those on our office team would make a sign and hold it for a photo. The sign could say whatever they wanted it to say, so long as it began with “I am”, and we weren’t allowed to share with each other what our signs were going to say. In the beginning, the photos were to be used only within an online magazine — but that’s not where they ended up. We had so much fun doing them, we placed the photo collage on the contact page of the business site. Again, people love to SEE who they are connecting with.
It’s funny to note that Tammy’s sign (Energetic) was HUGE. Scott (Mr. Grateful) also put time into his sign created on odd-sized poster board. So here I am, the one who is SUPPOSED to be creative — and I simply print a page on typing paper. But Perry…. ah, Perry (Mr. Positive)… his first sign was a reject.
Now the reason I’m mentioning this in the first place is that I got a call yesterday from a large corporate organization inquiring about booking a speaker for a big event. The guy says, “Are you energetic or are you creative?” It took a moment for me to figure out what he was referencing, and then I laughed. He says, “I know you’re not positive.” This guy immediately moved to my “awesome person” list! In less than 10 seconds we connected, and I really liked him.
So I tell him I just have to share a short story about the photos he’s referenced, and I explain that Mr. Positive’s photo is a retake, and I tell him why the first photo was rejected. The guy tells me that I simply HAVE to put the removed photo back in the lineup. Why?
His answer was simple:
“It would be unforgettable. How could I THINK about calling anyone else?”
Of course I haven’t yet asked Perry if he would like a photo swap (he’s finding out about this along with y’all from reading this post), but if he offered it in the first place, he doesn’t have a right to complain much now. Probably.
So here is something for you to think about this upcoming weekend…
What are YOU doing (either personally or professionally) that’s unforgettable?