IF,

• I ever stop wondering about the mysteries of life;

• I don't teach people what I'm doing everyday to make this world a better place through my craft as a filmmaker;

• I forget to laugh every day;

• I fail to ask questions that will enlighten the journey for others;

• I think and act like I know everything;

• I fail to enable the voices of others;

• Listening compassionately becomes a chore;

• I wake up thinking my story doesn't effect anyone else;

• I fail to listen to my intuition which acts like a "True North" radar;

• I don't realize our inherent power to create greatness in this world;

• I keep my eyes closed and neglect to constantly seek out new sources of inspiration;

• I think there's a perfect formula for every video story, or for that matter, a formula for life;

Hat tip to Mike Sansone for inspiring me to get this out of my heart and into the world.

If you're interested, here's the original statement from Carl Glickman's book, Leadership for Learning: How to Help Teachers Succeed.

While this concept was originally intended for teachers, as a filmmaker I feel I have been teaching something to someone every day. For instance:

• Teaching new clients what will happen on their video journey.

• Teaching people in my life that their personal story really does makes a difference to others.

• Teaching people how to break into the field of video storytelling for organizations.

Perhaps you feel the same way. What's your "Big Idea?" What's your "IF/Then" statement?

---Tom

What's Your Big Idea?

I'm going back to school.

Well, not really.

But I am going to be in Chicago to be a part of the "Biz School for Bloggers," otherwise know as SOBCon08.

The list of presenters alone is enough to make one go, not to mention the 100 or so "masterminds" in attendance. If last year's gig is any indicator of things to come, this year's conference is going to rock.

Oh yeah. Here's the best part. Class won't be held in a school. Unless you call this boat a class!

Be back soon.

---Tom

I'm Off to Blogging School!

As usual, my dear friend Drew McLellan has me thinking.

Between Drew's latest post on how internal corporate videos can go awry and one very long bike ride, I got to thinking about something I haven't yet written about:

• responsible corporate video storytelling.

Regular readers know how passionate I am about capturing authentic stories from people for organizations. New readers will quickly find out, for sure.

Microsoft's video may have been produced as a joke and not have been intended for external eyes.

No matter. There's a larger point.

I guess I have a hard time seeing an organization's story as a joke. Hence, seeing resources that are wasted instead of being used to help and enlighten others along their journey is hard to witness.

I would also venture to guess that the many employees who do work hard everyday at their company don't see their own personal story or their company's story as a joke, either.

Microsoft's video is now perpetuating the term many people have cringed at over the years: corporate video. Too bad. They had a unique opportunity to turn that around and create a new story. A story that could have worked at so many different levels. But they didn't.

So, we have a choice, then, don't we?

We have a choice to create a video story that inspires hope and greatness in each other. Or perhaps even create a story that points to an inner truth we all seek throughout our lives. One that says, "Yes, I can do this!"

Or we have a choice to misuse the resources given to us to create something less than great.

It comes down to one...or, the other.

My dream?

I dream that those creating corporate videos realize the inherent power a personal story can have not only for their organization, but for those around them and the world.

For nearly 25 years of capturing hundreds of passionate personal stories for organizations both large and small, I have been blessed to witness this power.

We have a voice. It's time to use it.

The planet needs it.

---Tom

Responsible Corporate Video Storytelling

Got a few minutes? Feel like taking your SAT...again?

No, not that SAT! This SAT.

I think you'll have fun taking this little quiz. I did!

The "The Stickiness Aptitude Test," or SAT, was designed by The Heath Brothers and Guy Kawasaki.

For the curious, here's a portion of the score card:

• 1 to 16: Scotch Tape. You are making some ideas stick. In the right environment (e.g., your coworkers who share a similar background), you can make a difference in how people think. But your ideas don’t stick with everyone.

• 17 to 30: Duct Tape. You’re a master of making ideas stick. You can explain your ideas convincingly to VCs, customers, employees, and random bystanders. Even your 4-year-old daughter can describe your business strategy.

• 31 to 50: Superglue. Your brilliantly-crafted ideas embed themselves permanently into the brains of your audience.

Go ahead. Take the quiz. Find out how "sticky" your ideas are!

My score? 31.5. Brilliant? Uh, well, er...never mind :-)

What's your score?

---Tom

Are Your Ideas Sticky? Take This Test

Tag! I'm it!

Steve Roesler over at All Things Workplace recently hit me up for this fun and interesting book meme.

The idea is to share what we're currently reading or what's on our reading list in the near future.

Part of the gig is to share the sixth through eighth sentences on page 123 from the book I'm currently reading.

Guess what? Page 123 of my book doesn't have six to eight sentences. It has five. And they're not connected to one another.

Hmmm...I'll play along anyways :-)

On my plate is "Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six Word Memoirs by Famous & Obscure Writers."

Here's the entire page 123:

"Happy child, wild teenager, adult anarchist."
"Right place, right time, good lawyer."
"To paraphrase William Faulkner: I endured."
"To make a long story short..."
"Famished, I had seconds...and thirds."

Looking for inspiration? Want to change up your writing a bit? Six word stories are a ton of fun. Especially if you're on Twitter.

So...what's on my reading table? How about 20+ books. (Yikes!!) Here's a few I'm anxious to dig into...

GameChangers
Lead with Your Heart
Life After the 30-Second Spot
Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story

Thanks to CK and Drew for the following books from Blogger Social:
Stopwatch Marketing
Media Rules!
Now is Gone
Step Into the Spotlight!
Powerlines
Personality Not Included

I'll pass the torch. My turn to tag some folks. How about some Tweeples Twitter friends?

Scott Monty
Chris Cree
Christina Kerley
Mack Collier
Tammy Lenski

---Tom

What's On Page 123?

It was just a train ride. Like any other train ride. But different.

You know how it is.

Something happens to you. Something unique. Something that comes along once in a lifetime.

And it changes you. Perhaps forever. Perhaps half of forever. Whatever.

You're different. Stronger. Better. Clearer. Bolder.

You've defined your place in life.

Just a little bit more than the week before. Or month. Or year.

I know.

That train ride leaving New York's Blogger Social told me something happened.

Wasn't sure yet what was different. But something changed. I needed time. Distance.

So I got to thinking about stories.

So many stories were shared. At the speed of light. Well, kind of.

Do the math. 80 people. 20 hours. Or more. 2 days. That's a lot of talking. That's a lot of stories.

17,200 stories I figure. Told. Shared. Laughed at. Listened to.

Heck, I'm a filmmaker. The number may be off. Never mind. Forget the number. Here's what you need to know.

Thousands, and I mean thousands of stories were told.

And lives changed.

So I got to thinking about the power of stories. Our stories.

Here's what I believe about our stories. I've believed this my whole life. But here's the thing.

Blogger Social manifested and crystalized that belief in few hours.

BAM! Just like that.

So here's my DNA of last weekend. My mini-manifesto of Blogger Social '08. And life.

• I believe in the power of story.

• I believe our stories outlive us.

• I believe we were all witnesses to something greater than ourselves.

• I believe our stories bear witness to creating new realities.

• I believe we changed the world just enough to create a new story.

• I believe I discovered the other half of my soul.

Thank you CK.

Thank you Drew.

Thank you for creating a new story.

A story that will, no doubt, be looked upon as visionary and historic.

A new story not just for 80 people to believe in...but thousands more.

Not bad for just gettin' a little social, huh?

---Tom

The Other Half of My Soul

It's time to be social in the "real world" with 80+ brilliant bloggers , I mean, marketing people from around the world.

Don't go away...I'll be back soon! :-)

---Tom

Getting Social at Blogger's Social

This just in...

"Bringing Brands to Life!" has just been added to Guy Kawasaki's latest adventure, Alltop site. It's listed under the Work/Small Business section.

Alltop is "the best of the web" in a variety of topics.

What an honor to be among such incredible folks, like:

• Copyblogger

• Seth Godin

• Andy Servovitz

• Duct Tape Marketing

• Chris Brogan

• Dosh Dosh

• Drew McLellan

...and many more!

Thanks, Guy! Another dream come true, for sure.

---Tom

Bringing Brands to Life Added to Alltop

Well, I certainly have a few ideas why people don't "get it."

But I'm turning to you first for your ideas on why some people don't "get it."

Let me explain.

Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton were the driving force for the first edition of The Age of Conversation which recently hit #36 in Amazon's business best sellers list.

This dynamic team is at it again.

The sequel to "The Age of Conversation" is titled "The Age of Conversation: Why Don't People Get It?" and is now beginning to take shape.

Hopefully, the 275 authors contributing to this sequel will shine a light on a subject many people are still grappling with: new social marketing.

The call for authors to contribute to the second edition of The Age of Conversation is now complete. As one of the authors for the first edition, I'm thrilled to be one of the selected authors for the sequel.

The sequel will be divided into three sections:

• Marketing Manifesto

• Why Don't People Get It?

• My Marketing Tragedy (and what I learned)

My contribution will be under the Marketing Manifesto section.

The question to you is this:
what ideas, themes, issues, concepts would you like me to write about relating to marketing and corporate videos?

As a director who is always behind the scenes, I'm seeking your help for material which would benefit the reader from a client perspective. What is important for you to know about the world of corporate video and marketing?

I'd appreciate any thoughts you'd like to share by leaving your comments here.

Thanks!

---Tom

Wanted: Your Ideas! Why Don't People Get It?

A "bum's rush?"

Yup.

Chris Wilson and Drew McLellan dreamed it up.

It's the first time I've heard of it, too! But heck, this is too good to pass up!

Today is the day "The Age of Conversation" authors are encouraging people to buy "The Age of Conversation" book featuring 100+ bloggers (yes, with yours truly featured!)

Why now?

Because we want to drive up sales on Amazon.com and use the proceeds of the book to help Variety, the children's charity.

If you haven't purchased "The Age of Conversation" yet, now is a great time.

Not only will you get some "smarts" about current marketing philosophies from over 100 thought-leaders, you'll help change the world.

Hmmm.. Not too shabby.

Buy a book. Get smart. Change the world.

Heck, this bum's rush thing actually feels good!

---Tom

P.S. "The Age of Conversation '08" is around the corner!

Age of Conversation Gives Amazon the Bums' Rush!