over the next couple of days you
probably hear a lot about how to make
better design how to execute better how
do you consider your clients or the end
user when you’re doing what you have to
do and I’d like to add another another
item to the list to consider as you sit
here for the next two days which is how
can you help the human race how can you
help the human race the human species
progress
I’m not joking either this is something
I think we all have to be aware of at
the end of the day the human animals are
social animal and our very survival
depends on our ability to form
communities to form cultures
what’s a community what’s a culture it’s
a group of people with a common set of
values and beliefs right what’s a
country it’s a group of people with the
common set of values and beliefs
what’s a company it should be a group of
people with a common set of values and
beliefs when we’re surrounded by people
who believe what we believe something
remarkable happens Trust emerges and
make no mistake of it trust as a feeling
a distinctly human feeling you know we
all have friends who are total screw-ups
and yet we still trust them right Trust
is not a check with simply doing
everything you say you’re going to do
doesn’t that money does not mean people
will inherently trust you it just means
you’re reliable
we need trust right we need trust when
we’re surrounded by people who believe
what we believe and trust starts to
emerge and we trust them and they trust
us we’re more willing to take risks
we’re more willing to experiment which
requires failure we’re more willing to
explore and go somewhere that no one has
ever gone before with the confidence
that if we fail if we trip over if we
turn our backs that those within our
community those who we trust and who
trust us will look after us while we’re
gone will pick us up when we fall over
will help us when we’re hurt our very
survival depends on it we’re not good at
everything we’re not good by ourselves
you know if I send you out to go fight a
saber-toothed tiger by yourself odds are
Tiger one you zero it’s not gonna go
very well but if you go out as a group
we’re pretty damn amazing and the reason
is is because we all have our strengths
we love our certain weaknesses and the
goal is not to fix your weaknesses the
goal is to amplify your strengths and
surround yourself with the people who
can do what you can’t do but it’s not
just based on skills and an application
and experience it’s based on what you
believe it’s based on what you believe
you see simply being good at something
and having somebody else being good what
you’re no good at does not mean you will
trust each other trust the sense of
trust comes from the sense of common
values and common beliefs that improve
it how many of you from New York okay
bunch of you are you friends with
everybody in New York why not why not
but when you go to Los Angeles and you
meet someone from New York you’re like
hey I’m from New York and you’re best
friends right and when you go to France
you there you are in the Paris Metro
minding your own business and you hear
an American accent behind you you turn
around and say hey where’re you from
they say Los Angeles you’re like hey I’m
from New York and you’re best friends
because when you’re surrounded by people
who don’t believe what you believe when
you’re in a strange environment where
you don’t feel comfortable you look for
anyone who may share some of the same
values and beliefs that you have and you
start to form a very wheat real and very
intense bond with them simply because
you know that they have a basic
understanding of how you grew up of the
things that you care about of the life
that you live back home well the same is
true when we go to work do we want to go
to work with people who understand us
who believe what we believe who have a
similar view of the world that has
nothing to do with their opinions and
the differences that we share that’s
good that’s called diversity that’s
called advantages to problem-solving
which is we can all look at the same
thing from a different angle and come up
with solutions what I’m talking about is
why should you help each other in the
first place what are you in pursuit of
now the question is is what creates that
sense of values and beliefs what creates
that sense of trust right our very human
instinct we know how to find people who
believe what we believe our survival
depends on it we’re biologically gifted
with this idea if I ask you to go out in
the street and find all the people who
believe what you believe you know
exactly what to do you’re gonna strike
up conversations you’re gonna start
talking to people
and nearly either you’ll have a good
feeling about them or you won’t
you’ll have chemistry whatever that
means or you don’t
sometimes it’s quick sometimes it’s slow
but we know how to do it it’s called
making friends it’s called dating it’s
called networking we have the innate
ability to do it the problem is it’s not
scalable the problem is is you’re the
only one who had that gut feeling but if
you know the symbols to look for if you
know how to see the things that people
are doing and seeing that you can find
them if I tell you go out on the street
and find all the people wearing red hats
it’s easy there’s one there’s one
there’s one there’s one there’s one
dress they’re easy to spot simply
because they have a symbol they have
something they’re giving off that says
something about who they are and what
they believe when you are standing on
that Paris métro that American accent
that you heard was a symbol it was a
sign you don’t know these people and yet
you trust them they will say to you you
guys have to go to this restaurant and
you’ll go okay and you’ll go to that
restaurant because they told you to now
what if you were walking down the street
and some stranger’s but hey you gotta go
to this restaurant you be like the
crackpot right you’re gonna ignore them
this is what trust does this is why we
don’t research everything we don’t need
access to all information let’s say you
want to go buy a new television right so
you do all your research consumer
reports look it all up right I know what
I’m gonna buy I know what I’m gonna do
I’m getting the LG it’s the best on the
market can’t wait to get it right so
that’s that’s what you’ve decided to do
this weekend that Friday night you go
over to a friend’s house your friend the
gadget guy the guy who has the first of
everything right and you go to his house
and you can’t wait to show up and share
with him what you’re gonna do with all
your research and you say I’m getting
the new LG and he says nah man get the
Sony it’s so much better in that one
instant either
he’s completely turned all of your
research on its head and you’re gonna
have to go back and do all the research
again is he right should I trust him
should I believe him or you just bought
a Sony all that marketing all that
research out out the tubes down the
drain it doesn’t matter because the
person that you trust the person from
within your community told you that you
should get the Sony and you trust him he
knows more than you he must be right I
trust him I don’t have to know
again you’re walking down the street
you’ve accidentally bumped shoulders
with somebody and they say where are you
going you so I’m going to Best Buy get
the new LG they go don’t get the new LG
I know everything about this stuff get
the Sony crackpot right you’re gonna
ignore the person we don’t trust
everyone we trust people from within our
community but you have to know what to
look for just as I said before when you
find the people with the red hats every
single piece of communication we make
sorry every simple piece of every
decision we make in our lives is a piece
of communication every decision we make
in our lives as individuals or as
organizations is a piece of
communication it’s our way of saying
something about who we are and what we
believe this is why authenticity matters
this is why you have to say and do the
things you actually believe because the
things you say and do are symbols of who
you are and we look for those symbols so
we can find people who believe what we
believe our very survival depends on it
so if you’re putting out false symbols
you will attract people to those symbols
but you won’t be able to form trust with
them this is what Tiger Woods did to us
he lied he lied he told us what he
thought we wanted to hear and it was
great and we were drawn to it and all of
us who kind of liked that idea of the
sort of the good guy
were drawn to it until we found out it
was a lie he could have been the bad boy
of golf he could have had all the same
endorsements and had a fantastic career
and still been hailed as one of the
great athletes of our day but he didn’t
he chose to lie good luck forming trust
again tiger we don’t believe you we
don’t trust you the goal of putting
something out there if you say what you
believe and you do what you believe you
will attract people who believe what you
believe if you go to one of your friends
and you say to one of your friends how
would you like me to dress so that
you’ll like me better
how would do you want me to address you
how do you want me to speak so that
you’ll like me more right your friends
are gonna look at you be like what are
you talking about yeah come on come on
come on what should I wear so that
you’ll find me more
and how would you like me to speak to
you so that you like me more and your
friends are gonna tell you just be
yourself that’s why I like you I don’t
just be yourself now think about what we
do in industry what do we do we do
market research and we go out and we ask
the customers what kind of things the
way we what style should we speak to you
how should we decorate ourselves what
kind of things are you drawn to so that
we can do those things do you like us
more it’s just as ridiculous it’s just
as ridiculous organizations should say
and do the things they actually believe
and they will attract people who believe
what they believe or they can choose to
lie and at the slightest hint that they
might be lying cynicism sets in and
people start saying I’m not sure I can
trust these guys because there’s not a
lot of consistency and all the things
they say and do which means they can’t
have a very strong belief set or they’re
lying to me and we call them it
authentic the entire process of asking
other people who we should be is
inauthentic that’s hilarious to me all
these positioning studies we do are
inherent we’re going to do a study to
find out from people so we can be more
authentic that’s hilarious
say and do what you actually believe and
the symbols you put out there the things
you say and the things you do those red
hats are ways that people can find you
what you have the ability to do as
designers is create those symbols and
allow people to use those things to say
something about who they are work for
companies work for clients work for
people who you believe what they believe
show up and feel a part of something
bigger than yourself and your part is to
put what they believe into pictures and
words and symbols and graphics so that
other people can use those things to say
something about who they are people put
harley-davidson logos on their body to
say something about who they are
corporate logo ain’t no Procter &
Gamble’s tattooed on anybody’s on
because Harley means something they
stand for something people put that
tattoo on there not to tell you that
they own a motorcycle they put that
tattoo there to tell you something about
themselves you ever see anybody with a
with a Mac laptop put a sticker over
that beautiful shining Apple
ain’t never gonna happen then how will
you know who I am you ever see anybody
with a PC break out the Windex to clean
out their computer Mac people have you
ever seen a dirty Mac doesn’t exist does
not exist why because it’s Who I am
these are symbols we use the companies
that are crystal clear and what they
believe and their discipline and how
they do it and they’re consistent what
they do and everything they say and
everything they do serves as a symbol of
the set of values and beliefs we use
those symbols to say something about who
we are we surround ourselves with the
people and the products and the brands
that say something about who we are and
when we confine the people who believe
what we believe were weirdly drawn to
them because our very survival depends
on it we need it and so the more you can
give of yourself the more you can give
of what you believe the more you can
discipline with discipline saying boo
and do the things you actually believe
strange things start to happen just
unlike that just like on that Metro in
Paris simply because of one tiny little
symbol that was put out there that we
are from the same place we may have the
same values we may have the same beliefs
we’re drawn to each other and we
legitimately trust each other and more
important that more importantly we’ll
look out for each other and that’s the
key to all of this we go to work every
day and we sit at our computers and we
sit at our desks and we solve problems
by sending emails get up and go talk to
somebody it’s called human interaction
and it’s a beautiful beautiful thing
I’ll tell you a quick story I was on a
plane about about a week ago actually is
only about a week ago and I was coming
down the aisle and my seatmate
I guess you know my my companion for the
next five hours was already sitting down
she was in the aisle and I had the
window seat and you know we’ve all had
this experience where you’re the one who
gets there first and you look down and
you hope that it’s that one please
please please know you know praying that
that becomes your seatmate I’ve had many
fantasies about wives and girlfriends
you know it’s better than an icebreaker
right hi right sitting next to you
and equally we’ve seen people coming
down the aisle saying please don’t say
connect me please in submission please
know we’ve all done that
well she ignored me entirely so I could
only assume that she was praying that I
wouldn’t sit next to her I somehow think
though she was hoping that no one would
sit next to her so you know what it’s
like we’ve all been on planes you travel
and you go to the aisle and custom
dictates you know just general
politeness that the person looks up to
you and says you sitting here you know
she didn’t she completely ignored me had
her face in her book and put my bag in
the overhead compartment she still
ignored me to the point where I actually
had to say excuse me I’m sitting there
and she sort of grudgingly moved to she
doesn’t stand up she but grudgingly
moved her leg to the side and went right
like like this was something she didn’t
expect would happen right so I sat down
I knew exactly what this flight was
gonna be like I would have my headphones
on for five hours and I would ignore the
person sitting next to me and be afraid
every time I had to go to the bathroom
for having and when I’m on a plane the
pressure I have to go more often it’s
very embarrassing
and so you’re like I sit down as soon as
I’ve gone I have to go immediately again
I’m gonna have a bladder infection
because anyway different story and so
what we we got into flight we’ve sort of
reached altitude and the flight
attendant came around to ask us if we
wanted breakfast and she came over to us
and she said would you like cereal would
you like the omelette she said to me and
I said I’ll have the cereal and she
turns to my sweet mate and meit’s
detriments my seatmate
that’s funny semi sweet bitter
she turns to hi my seatmate and she says
do you want the omelette or do you want
the cereal and she says I’ll also have
the cereal two cereals
four minutes later the flight attendant
comes back and says I only have one
cereal so now I’ve already decided in my
mind that I was going to say to my
seatmate you have the cereal right that
was Iowa I had already decided but
before the words could even come out of
my mouth she turns the flight attendant
says I’ll have the cereal and at that
point I hated her and here’s the joke
she lacks a spirit of generosity no
matter what option she would have chosen
she would have gotten the cereal for one
if she’d waited for three seconds and
heard that I was about to offer it to
her she would have got the cereal right
if she absolutely had to have the cereal
she could have turned to me and said do
you mind if I have the cereal and I
would have said go right ahead
right she could have even apologized I
said thank you to me I’m really sorry
allergic to eggs can I have this cereal
you know in other words no matter what
option she chose she would have got the
cereal but the one option she went with
was to take a selfish perspective to go
for what she wanted and ignore the once
desires her needs of anyone around her
even including just being polite
in other words she didn’t have to give
me the cereal she could have just been
polite about it right now from that
point on I really hated her and I wrote
an article about this little experience
while I was on the plane sitting next to
her and made no attempt to turn screen
so she couldn’t read it secretly hoping
[Applause]
salt-and-pepper hair glasses I’m good
thank you and more importantly now I had
no desire to do anything for her anymore
right now when we got done when when the
flight landed perhaps as a nice person
if she had just established some sort of
rapport with me just because I’m a nice
guy I would have taken her case down
here you go you know but I didn’t and I
wasn’t going to or or if I did it
wouldn’t have been with a spirit of
generosity if I did it would have been
as a sort of a smug remark like hmm
there you go I’m still nice it would
have been as a you know one of those
deals or I would have done it simply as
some sort of positive reinforcement to
myself that despite this horrible person
I’m still a nice guy right no matter
which one would have motivated me to
take that case down it wouldn’t have
been with a spirit of generosity it
would have been some sort of selfish act
or some sort of aggressive act right
it’s the spirit of generosity if we’re
willing to give to the person next to us
it’s amazing
what they’ll be willing to give to us
right and again our very survival
depends on this we need to trust each
other we’re more willing to trust
somebody who’s willing to help us I hate
the whole self-help industry right how
can you be happy what are the five steps
you can follow to be a millionaire what
is seven steps that you need to get the
career that you want you know me me me
me me me me me me what about helping the
guy next to you what are the five steps
that you can do to help the person next
to you lose some weight what are the
seven steps that you can follow to help
the person next you find the job that
they want do you know how we get
fulfillment you can be happy because you
did things at work you can be proud
because you did things at work you can
be excited because you had a big success
at work but you know how you feel
fulfilled at work when you do something
for someone else it’s the only way we
get that feeling it’s the only way we
get that feeling you know why the
statistics say that over 90% of people
don’t feel fulfilled by the work they do
it’s not because of the job it’s not
because of the pay it’s not because of
the benefit
is because we don’t help each other
anymore we sit in our cubes and we work
and anything that we turn to anybody is
because we need something we need to get
something and yet we don’t put ourselves
out there simply for no other reason
than to help somebody else your
generosity is generosity is doing
something for someone else expecting
nothing in return
at no point ever I did something for him
why won’t he help me it’s not an
equation it’s designed to help you feel
good and mother nature has given us this
feeling when we do something for someone
else to encourage us to do it because
when we are in groups when we are
surrounded by people who believe what we
believe
Trust emerges and our very survival and
progress goes up sex feels good that’s
why we do it and mother nature has
provided that it will feel good so that
we can do it more so that we can
procreate that was not an accident
right well the same goes here that sense
of fulfillment that we get was designed
so that will do it more so not only will
we procreate but will create strong
senses of bonds and cultures amongst
each other I did a little experiment
with them with a homeless person they’re
not like on them it’s not like
electrodes with them voluntarily helped
me because the whole idea of giving
right give if you’ve you’ve all walked
down the street and you’ve all seen
someone begging and you either have or
haven’t thrown a few pennies in their
cup when you do you feel good you bought
that feeling that is a legitimate
commercial transaction you know
commercial transactions are defined as
the exchange of consideration there was
an exchange of consideration here you
gave money you got the feeling of
goodwill you pay for that feeling if you
didn’t give money you either feel
nothing or you feel bad you can’t feel
good by not giving all right you paid
for that feeling so another question is
how is that person encouraging us to
give the joke is they act like every
Corp
raishin in the world they talk about
themselves Mee Mee Mee Mee Mee Mee Mee
right like they sit there with their
little outdoor advertising little sign
right and it says I’m homeless I’m
hungry I’ve got 12 kids I’m a veteran
god bless they got it all in they’re
trying to appeal to somebody the
religious vote the veteran vote you know
the child sympathizer surround yourself
with lots of pets go for that one too
right all in an attempt to get something
from someone takers not givers right all
about me
well what what corporations do we’ve
added more RAM we’ve added more ROM with
added more speed this one’s number one
we’re the biggest we’re the best we’ve
been around since 1969 we’re better than
them we’re faster than them we’re more
efficient than that one me and me me me
me me me me me me and so even if we buy
their product guess what man we’re gonna
feel much so I did this little
experiment I found a nice homeless lady
on the streets of New York who’s willing
to help out and I learned that with her
sign which was pretty typical I’m
homeless I’m hungry she makes between 20
and 30 dollars a day for you know for a
day’s worth of work 8 to 10 hours of
sitting there selling goodwill 8 to 10
hours she’ll make 20 to $30 $30 is
considered a good day I changed her sign
and the new sign made her $40 in two
hours and then she left
[Music]
it’s one of the reasons she’s homeless
is cuz she’s decided that she only needs
twenty to thirty dollars a day to live
if she stayed she would have made $150
the point is she made forty bucks in two
hours where the signs say the sign said
if you only give once a month please
think of me next time it has nothing to
do with the taker it has everything to
do with the giver and what are the
objections people give when they don’t
give I can’t give to everyone how do I
know that they really need it and so I
address both those concerns I know you
can’t get to everyone so if you only
give once a month my cause is legitimate
I will still be here when you’re ready
to give forty bucks two hours make it
about them not about you the fact of the
matter is 100 percent of customers are
people and 100 percent of clients are
people and 100 percent of employees are
people I don’t care how good your
product is I don’t care how good your
marketing is I don’t care how good your
design is if you don’t understand people
you don’t understand business we are
social animals we are human beings and
our survival depends on our ability to
form trusting relationships we could
have had this conference online I could
have given the same talk sitting behind
my computer we could all turn on our
WebEx we all have all sat at our
terminals and I would have given you the
exact same information would it have
been the same no I’m not there there’s
this weird thing about human interaction
right we can’t form trust without you
like what I say but you wouldn’t be able
to form trust without it in fact simply
being here we all say the same thing you
could have all for two days absolutely
boring abysmal speakers boring boring
boring right we’ve all been to those
maybe one shining star like I like him
you know and what do we say when we
leave the speaker’s suck but I’m glad I
went because I met some great people
it’s this this is what the conference is
all about you showed up not because
you’re in an industry you showed up
because you have a common
set of values and beliefs there’s a
million design conferences you got to
take time out of your day you got to pay
money it’s called sacrifice it’s called
payment it’s called risk but you’re here
simply because you know something about
each other when you go out on the street
in an area where you don’t belong where
you’re not amongst people who believe
what you believe and you see somebody
with the same badge as you and you
haven’t met them yet you’re gonna go hey
why they’re just as much of a stranger’s
any other person on the street but
because they have that little symbol
that says that I believe what you
believe I’m a little bit like you we can
form a bond very quickly and instantly
you do you do it’s called human beings
do you ever watch Deadliest Catch on the
Discovery Channel I was flipping through
channels one night and Deadliest Catch
came on and on this episode just random
they were in a huge storm now for those
of you who don’t know Deadliest Catch
they take these crab fishing boats out
in the Bering Sea which is like terrible
and they put cameras on them and we
watch right the reason that’s I guess
significant is because these crab
fishermen have I think one of the top 5
deadliest jobs in the world
you know I don’t know what the exact
number is but dozens of fishermen die
every year doing doing this we
apparently find that entertaining it
actually is so they have cameras only on
five or six of the ships even though
there are many many many ships that go
out fishing every season and they don’t
really come into proximity with each
other because you know the oceans huge
and they usually sabotage each other and
give each other false information
because they’re all competitors they’re
all looking to get the crabs and you
know make sure that they find them
somebody else doesn’t and it’s business
right it’s just business it’s okay
we all do the same thing in our own
companies and in this one episode this
big huge storm was so violent that they
had to bring all the pots which are the
big cages that they catch the crabs and
they to bring all the pots back on the
boat and wait out the storm
and just by dumb luck one of the boats
that had cameras on it was in proximity
of a boat that didn’t
have cameras on it and so they filmed
they had secured all their pots on the
deck and so they started filming the
other boat and they filmed a guy
climbing on the outside of the cage
securing the pots and all of a sudden a
huge wave hits the side of the boat and
the guy’s not there anymore and the
people on the boat with the camera
starts screaming Man Overboard Man
Overboard Man Overboard and they turned
their boat towards where they think he
might be he’s a stranger they don’t know
him they don’t know the crew members of
the other boat and yet they react and
they turned towards him and they find
him in the drink and for those of you
don’t understand how dangerous this is
if the water is so cold that if you’re
in the water for I think that it’s a
minute or a minute thirty hypothermia
will set in and you die
and they come upon him and he’s
screaming don’t let me die
don’t let me die and they pull him on
board not out of the woods yet they
strip off his clothes because it’s wet
and cold and they wrapped blankets
around him to prevent hyperthermia from
setting in and he survives and it’s
overwhelming and the captain comes down
and this is goal I mean you can go watch
it on TV you a camera comes the captain
comes down and he honks this stranger
this young man his competitor he hugs
this guy’s if he’s his own son I lost it
everybody is crying and you realize what
happened here was a human interaction
and the reason they risk their own lives
to help this other person even though
they spend every other day trying to get
ahead and sabotage is because at the end
of the day they’re all crab fishermen
and they know something about each other
and they know something about the risk
that they all take to do this and when
push comes to shove they will put
themselves out there to help each other
for no other reason than they get it
there one of the same I will promise you
that every single member of that crew
that day went home
the feeling of fulfillment I promise you
that every single person on that crew
that day felt more good in their hearts
and in their jobs than the richest days
they’ve ever pulled in my question is is
what are you doing to help the person
next to you don’t you want to wake up
and go to work for the only reason that
you can do something good for someone
else when you want them to do that for you thank you very much
probably hear a lot about how to make
better design how to execute better how
do you consider your clients or the end
user when you’re doing what you have to
do and I’d like to add another another
item to the list to consider as you sit
here for the next two days which is how
can you help the human race how can you
help the human race the human species
progress
I’m not joking either this is something
I think we all have to be aware of at
the end of the day the human animals are
social animal and our very survival
depends on our ability to form
communities to form cultures
what’s a community what’s a culture it’s
a group of people with a common set of
values and beliefs right what’s a
country it’s a group of people with the
common set of values and beliefs
what’s a company it should be a group of
people with a common set of values and
beliefs when we’re surrounded by people
who believe what we believe something
remarkable happens Trust emerges and
make no mistake of it trust as a feeling
a distinctly human feeling you know we
all have friends who are total screw-ups
and yet we still trust them right Trust
is not a check with simply doing
everything you say you’re going to do
doesn’t that money does not mean people
will inherently trust you it just means
you’re reliable
we need trust right we need trust when
we’re surrounded by people who believe
what we believe and trust starts to
emerge and we trust them and they trust
us we’re more willing to take risks
we’re more willing to experiment which
requires failure we’re more willing to
explore and go somewhere that no one has
ever gone before with the confidence
that if we fail if we trip over if we
turn our backs that those within our
community those who we trust and who
trust us will look after us while we’re
gone will pick us up when we fall over
will help us when we’re hurt our very
survival depends on it we’re not good at
everything we’re not good by ourselves
you know if I send you out to go fight a
saber-toothed tiger by yourself odds are
Tiger one you zero it’s not gonna go
very well but if you go out as a group
we’re pretty damn amazing and the reason
is is because we all have our strengths
we love our certain weaknesses and the
goal is not to fix your weaknesses the
goal is to amplify your strengths and
surround yourself with the people who
can do what you can’t do but it’s not
just based on skills and an application
and experience it’s based on what you
believe it’s based on what you believe
you see simply being good at something
and having somebody else being good what
you’re no good at does not mean you will
trust each other trust the sense of
trust comes from the sense of common
values and common beliefs that improve
it how many of you from New York okay
bunch of you are you friends with
everybody in New York why not why not
but when you go to Los Angeles and you
meet someone from New York you’re like
hey I’m from New York and you’re best
friends right and when you go to France
you there you are in the Paris Metro
minding your own business and you hear
an American accent behind you you turn
around and say hey where’re you from
they say Los Angeles you’re like hey I’m
from New York and you’re best friends
because when you’re surrounded by people
who don’t believe what you believe when
you’re in a strange environment where
you don’t feel comfortable you look for
anyone who may share some of the same
values and beliefs that you have and you
start to form a very wheat real and very
intense bond with them simply because
you know that they have a basic
understanding of how you grew up of the
things that you care about of the life
that you live back home well the same is
true when we go to work do we want to go
to work with people who understand us
who believe what we believe who have a
similar view of the world that has
nothing to do with their opinions and
the differences that we share that’s
good that’s called diversity that’s
called advantages to problem-solving
which is we can all look at the same
thing from a different angle and come up
with solutions what I’m talking about is
why should you help each other in the
first place what are you in pursuit of
now the question is is what creates that
sense of values and beliefs what creates
that sense of trust right our very human
instinct we know how to find people who
believe what we believe our survival
depends on it we’re biologically gifted
with this idea if I ask you to go out in
the street and find all the people who
believe what you believe you know
exactly what to do you’re gonna strike
up conversations you’re gonna start
talking to people
and nearly either you’ll have a good
feeling about them or you won’t
you’ll have chemistry whatever that
means or you don’t
sometimes it’s quick sometimes it’s slow
but we know how to do it it’s called
making friends it’s called dating it’s
called networking we have the innate
ability to do it the problem is it’s not
scalable the problem is is you’re the
only one who had that gut feeling but if
you know the symbols to look for if you
know how to see the things that people
are doing and seeing that you can find
them if I tell you go out on the street
and find all the people wearing red hats
it’s easy there’s one there’s one
there’s one there’s one there’s one
dress they’re easy to spot simply
because they have a symbol they have
something they’re giving off that says
something about who they are and what
they believe when you are standing on
that Paris métro that American accent
that you heard was a symbol it was a
sign you don’t know these people and yet
you trust them they will say to you you
guys have to go to this restaurant and
you’ll go okay and you’ll go to that
restaurant because they told you to now
what if you were walking down the street
and some stranger’s but hey you gotta go
to this restaurant you be like the
crackpot right you’re gonna ignore them
this is what trust does this is why we
don’t research everything we don’t need
access to all information let’s say you
want to go buy a new television right so
you do all your research consumer
reports look it all up right I know what
I’m gonna buy I know what I’m gonna do
I’m getting the LG it’s the best on the
market can’t wait to get it right so
that’s that’s what you’ve decided to do
this weekend that Friday night you go
over to a friend’s house your friend the
gadget guy the guy who has the first of
everything right and you go to his house
and you can’t wait to show up and share
with him what you’re gonna do with all
your research and you say I’m getting
the new LG and he says nah man get the
Sony it’s so much better in that one
instant either
he’s completely turned all of your
research on its head and you’re gonna
have to go back and do all the research
again is he right should I trust him
should I believe him or you just bought
a Sony all that marketing all that
research out out the tubes down the
drain it doesn’t matter because the
person that you trust the person from
within your community told you that you
should get the Sony and you trust him he
knows more than you he must be right I
trust him I don’t have to know
again you’re walking down the street
you’ve accidentally bumped shoulders
with somebody and they say where are you
going you so I’m going to Best Buy get
the new LG they go don’t get the new LG
I know everything about this stuff get
the Sony crackpot right you’re gonna
ignore the person we don’t trust
everyone we trust people from within our
community but you have to know what to
look for just as I said before when you
find the people with the red hats every
single piece of communication we make
sorry every simple piece of every
decision we make in our lives is a piece
of communication every decision we make
in our lives as individuals or as
organizations is a piece of
communication it’s our way of saying
something about who we are and what we
believe this is why authenticity matters
this is why you have to say and do the
things you actually believe because the
things you say and do are symbols of who
you are and we look for those symbols so
we can find people who believe what we
believe our very survival depends on it
so if you’re putting out false symbols
you will attract people to those symbols
but you won’t be able to form trust with
them this is what Tiger Woods did to us
he lied he lied he told us what he
thought we wanted to hear and it was
great and we were drawn to it and all of
us who kind of liked that idea of the
sort of the good guy
were drawn to it until we found out it
was a lie he could have been the bad boy
of golf he could have had all the same
endorsements and had a fantastic career
and still been hailed as one of the
great athletes of our day but he didn’t
he chose to lie good luck forming trust
again tiger we don’t believe you we
don’t trust you the goal of putting
something out there if you say what you
believe and you do what you believe you
will attract people who believe what you
believe if you go to one of your friends
and you say to one of your friends how
would you like me to dress so that
you’ll like me better
how would do you want me to address you
how do you want me to speak so that
you’ll like me more right your friends
are gonna look at you be like what are
you talking about yeah come on come on
come on what should I wear so that
you’ll find me more
and how would you like me to speak to
you so that you like me more and your
friends are gonna tell you just be
yourself that’s why I like you I don’t
just be yourself now think about what we
do in industry what do we do we do
market research and we go out and we ask
the customers what kind of things the
way we what style should we speak to you
how should we decorate ourselves what
kind of things are you drawn to so that
we can do those things do you like us
more it’s just as ridiculous it’s just
as ridiculous organizations should say
and do the things they actually believe
and they will attract people who believe
what they believe or they can choose to
lie and at the slightest hint that they
might be lying cynicism sets in and
people start saying I’m not sure I can
trust these guys because there’s not a
lot of consistency and all the things
they say and do which means they can’t
have a very strong belief set or they’re
lying to me and we call them it
authentic the entire process of asking
other people who we should be is
inauthentic that’s hilarious to me all
these positioning studies we do are
inherent we’re going to do a study to
find out from people so we can be more
authentic that’s hilarious
say and do what you actually believe and
the symbols you put out there the things
you say and the things you do those red
hats are ways that people can find you
what you have the ability to do as
designers is create those symbols and
allow people to use those things to say
something about who they are work for
companies work for clients work for
people who you believe what they believe
show up and feel a part of something
bigger than yourself and your part is to
put what they believe into pictures and
words and symbols and graphics so that
other people can use those things to say
something about who they are people put
harley-davidson logos on their body to
say something about who they are
corporate logo ain’t no Procter &
Gamble’s tattooed on anybody’s on
because Harley means something they
stand for something people put that
tattoo on there not to tell you that
they own a motorcycle they put that
tattoo there to tell you something about
themselves you ever see anybody with a
with a Mac laptop put a sticker over
that beautiful shining Apple
ain’t never gonna happen then how will
you know who I am you ever see anybody
with a PC break out the Windex to clean
out their computer Mac people have you
ever seen a dirty Mac doesn’t exist does
not exist why because it’s Who I am
these are symbols we use the companies
that are crystal clear and what they
believe and their discipline and how
they do it and they’re consistent what
they do and everything they say and
everything they do serves as a symbol of
the set of values and beliefs we use
those symbols to say something about who
we are we surround ourselves with the
people and the products and the brands
that say something about who we are and
when we confine the people who believe
what we believe were weirdly drawn to
them because our very survival depends
on it we need it and so the more you can
give of yourself the more you can give
of what you believe the more you can
discipline with discipline saying boo
and do the things you actually believe
strange things start to happen just
unlike that just like on that Metro in
Paris simply because of one tiny little
symbol that was put out there that we
are from the same place we may have the
same values we may have the same beliefs
we’re drawn to each other and we
legitimately trust each other and more
important that more importantly we’ll
look out for each other and that’s the
key to all of this we go to work every
day and we sit at our computers and we
sit at our desks and we solve problems
by sending emails get up and go talk to
somebody it’s called human interaction
and it’s a beautiful beautiful thing
I’ll tell you a quick story I was on a
plane about about a week ago actually is
only about a week ago and I was coming
down the aisle and my seatmate
I guess you know my my companion for the
next five hours was already sitting down
she was in the aisle and I had the
window seat and you know we’ve all had
this experience where you’re the one who
gets there first and you look down and
you hope that it’s that one please
please please know you know praying that
that becomes your seatmate I’ve had many
fantasies about wives and girlfriends
you know it’s better than an icebreaker
right hi right sitting next to you
and equally we’ve seen people coming
down the aisle saying please don’t say
connect me please in submission please
know we’ve all done that
well she ignored me entirely so I could
only assume that she was praying that I
wouldn’t sit next to her I somehow think
though she was hoping that no one would
sit next to her so you know what it’s
like we’ve all been on planes you travel
and you go to the aisle and custom
dictates you know just general
politeness that the person looks up to
you and says you sitting here you know
she didn’t she completely ignored me had
her face in her book and put my bag in
the overhead compartment she still
ignored me to the point where I actually
had to say excuse me I’m sitting there
and she sort of grudgingly moved to she
doesn’t stand up she but grudgingly
moved her leg to the side and went right
like like this was something she didn’t
expect would happen right so I sat down
I knew exactly what this flight was
gonna be like I would have my headphones
on for five hours and I would ignore the
person sitting next to me and be afraid
every time I had to go to the bathroom
for having and when I’m on a plane the
pressure I have to go more often it’s
very embarrassing
and so you’re like I sit down as soon as
I’ve gone I have to go immediately again
I’m gonna have a bladder infection
because anyway different story and so
what we we got into flight we’ve sort of
reached altitude and the flight
attendant came around to ask us if we
wanted breakfast and she came over to us
and she said would you like cereal would
you like the omelette she said to me and
I said I’ll have the cereal and she
turns to my sweet mate and meit’s
detriments my seatmate
that’s funny semi sweet bitter
she turns to hi my seatmate and she says
do you want the omelette or do you want
the cereal and she says I’ll also have
the cereal two cereals
four minutes later the flight attendant
comes back and says I only have one
cereal so now I’ve already decided in my
mind that I was going to say to my
seatmate you have the cereal right that
was Iowa I had already decided but
before the words could even come out of
my mouth she turns the flight attendant
says I’ll have the cereal and at that
point I hated her and here’s the joke
she lacks a spirit of generosity no
matter what option she would have chosen
she would have gotten the cereal for one
if she’d waited for three seconds and
heard that I was about to offer it to
her she would have got the cereal right
if she absolutely had to have the cereal
she could have turned to me and said do
you mind if I have the cereal and I
would have said go right ahead
right she could have even apologized I
said thank you to me I’m really sorry
allergic to eggs can I have this cereal
you know in other words no matter what
option she chose she would have got the
cereal but the one option she went with
was to take a selfish perspective to go
for what she wanted and ignore the once
desires her needs of anyone around her
even including just being polite
in other words she didn’t have to give
me the cereal she could have just been
polite about it right now from that
point on I really hated her and I wrote
an article about this little experience
while I was on the plane sitting next to
her and made no attempt to turn screen
so she couldn’t read it secretly hoping
[Applause]
salt-and-pepper hair glasses I’m good
thank you and more importantly now I had
no desire to do anything for her anymore
right now when we got done when when the
flight landed perhaps as a nice person
if she had just established some sort of
rapport with me just because I’m a nice
guy I would have taken her case down
here you go you know but I didn’t and I
wasn’t going to or or if I did it
wouldn’t have been with a spirit of
generosity if I did it would have been
as a sort of a smug remark like hmm
there you go I’m still nice it would
have been as a you know one of those
deals or I would have done it simply as
some sort of positive reinforcement to
myself that despite this horrible person
I’m still a nice guy right no matter
which one would have motivated me to
take that case down it wouldn’t have
been with a spirit of generosity it
would have been some sort of selfish act
or some sort of aggressive act right
it’s the spirit of generosity if we’re
willing to give to the person next to us
it’s amazing
what they’ll be willing to give to us
right and again our very survival
depends on this we need to trust each
other we’re more willing to trust
somebody who’s willing to help us I hate
the whole self-help industry right how
can you be happy what are the five steps
you can follow to be a millionaire what
is seven steps that you need to get the
career that you want you know me me me
me me me me me me what about helping the
guy next to you what are the five steps
that you can do to help the person next
to you lose some weight what are the
seven steps that you can follow to help
the person next you find the job that
they want do you know how we get
fulfillment you can be happy because you
did things at work you can be proud
because you did things at work you can
be excited because you had a big success
at work but you know how you feel
fulfilled at work when you do something
for someone else it’s the only way we
get that feeling it’s the only way we
get that feeling you know why the
statistics say that over 90% of people
don’t feel fulfilled by the work they do
it’s not because of the job it’s not
because of the pay it’s not because of
the benefit
is because we don’t help each other
anymore we sit in our cubes and we work
and anything that we turn to anybody is
because we need something we need to get
something and yet we don’t put ourselves
out there simply for no other reason
than to help somebody else your
generosity is generosity is doing
something for someone else expecting
nothing in return
at no point ever I did something for him
why won’t he help me it’s not an
equation it’s designed to help you feel
good and mother nature has given us this
feeling when we do something for someone
else to encourage us to do it because
when we are in groups when we are
surrounded by people who believe what we
believe
Trust emerges and our very survival and
progress goes up sex feels good that’s
why we do it and mother nature has
provided that it will feel good so that
we can do it more so that we can
procreate that was not an accident
right well the same goes here that sense
of fulfillment that we get was designed
so that will do it more so not only will
we procreate but will create strong
senses of bonds and cultures amongst
each other I did a little experiment
with them with a homeless person they’re
not like on them it’s not like
electrodes with them voluntarily helped
me because the whole idea of giving
right give if you’ve you’ve all walked
down the street and you’ve all seen
someone begging and you either have or
haven’t thrown a few pennies in their
cup when you do you feel good you bought
that feeling that is a legitimate
commercial transaction you know
commercial transactions are defined as
the exchange of consideration there was
an exchange of consideration here you
gave money you got the feeling of
goodwill you pay for that feeling if you
didn’t give money you either feel
nothing or you feel bad you can’t feel
good by not giving all right you paid
for that feeling so another question is
how is that person encouraging us to
give the joke is they act like every
Corp
raishin in the world they talk about
themselves Mee Mee Mee Mee Mee Mee Mee
right like they sit there with their
little outdoor advertising little sign
right and it says I’m homeless I’m
hungry I’ve got 12 kids I’m a veteran
god bless they got it all in they’re
trying to appeal to somebody the
religious vote the veteran vote you know
the child sympathizer surround yourself
with lots of pets go for that one too
right all in an attempt to get something
from someone takers not givers right all
about me
well what what corporations do we’ve
added more RAM we’ve added more ROM with
added more speed this one’s number one
we’re the biggest we’re the best we’ve
been around since 1969 we’re better than
them we’re faster than them we’re more
efficient than that one me and me me me
me me me me me me and so even if we buy
their product guess what man we’re gonna
feel much so I did this little
experiment I found a nice homeless lady
on the streets of New York who’s willing
to help out and I learned that with her
sign which was pretty typical I’m
homeless I’m hungry she makes between 20
and 30 dollars a day for you know for a
day’s worth of work 8 to 10 hours of
sitting there selling goodwill 8 to 10
hours she’ll make 20 to $30 $30 is
considered a good day I changed her sign
and the new sign made her $40 in two
hours and then she left
[Music]
it’s one of the reasons she’s homeless
is cuz she’s decided that she only needs
twenty to thirty dollars a day to live
if she stayed she would have made $150
the point is she made forty bucks in two
hours where the signs say the sign said
if you only give once a month please
think of me next time it has nothing to
do with the taker it has everything to
do with the giver and what are the
objections people give when they don’t
give I can’t give to everyone how do I
know that they really need it and so I
address both those concerns I know you
can’t get to everyone so if you only
give once a month my cause is legitimate
I will still be here when you’re ready
to give forty bucks two hours make it
about them not about you the fact of the
matter is 100 percent of customers are
people and 100 percent of clients are
people and 100 percent of employees are
people I don’t care how good your
product is I don’t care how good your
marketing is I don’t care how good your
design is if you don’t understand people
you don’t understand business we are
social animals we are human beings and
our survival depends on our ability to
form trusting relationships we could
have had this conference online I could
have given the same talk sitting behind
my computer we could all turn on our
WebEx we all have all sat at our
terminals and I would have given you the
exact same information would it have
been the same no I’m not there there’s
this weird thing about human interaction
right we can’t form trust without you
like what I say but you wouldn’t be able
to form trust without it in fact simply
being here we all say the same thing you
could have all for two days absolutely
boring abysmal speakers boring boring
boring right we’ve all been to those
maybe one shining star like I like him
you know and what do we say when we
leave the speaker’s suck but I’m glad I
went because I met some great people
it’s this this is what the conference is
all about you showed up not because
you’re in an industry you showed up
because you have a common
set of values and beliefs there’s a
million design conferences you got to
take time out of your day you got to pay
money it’s called sacrifice it’s called
payment it’s called risk but you’re here
simply because you know something about
each other when you go out on the street
in an area where you don’t belong where
you’re not amongst people who believe
what you believe and you see somebody
with the same badge as you and you
haven’t met them yet you’re gonna go hey
why they’re just as much of a stranger’s
any other person on the street but
because they have that little symbol
that says that I believe what you
believe I’m a little bit like you we can
form a bond very quickly and instantly
you do you do it’s called human beings
do you ever watch Deadliest Catch on the
Discovery Channel I was flipping through
channels one night and Deadliest Catch
came on and on this episode just random
they were in a huge storm now for those
of you who don’t know Deadliest Catch
they take these crab fishing boats out
in the Bering Sea which is like terrible
and they put cameras on them and we
watch right the reason that’s I guess
significant is because these crab
fishermen have I think one of the top 5
deadliest jobs in the world
you know I don’t know what the exact
number is but dozens of fishermen die
every year doing doing this we
apparently find that entertaining it
actually is so they have cameras only on
five or six of the ships even though
there are many many many ships that go
out fishing every season and they don’t
really come into proximity with each
other because you know the oceans huge
and they usually sabotage each other and
give each other false information
because they’re all competitors they’re
all looking to get the crabs and you
know make sure that they find them
somebody else doesn’t and it’s business
right it’s just business it’s okay
we all do the same thing in our own
companies and in this one episode this
big huge storm was so violent that they
had to bring all the pots which are the
big cages that they catch the crabs and
they to bring all the pots back on the
boat and wait out the storm
and just by dumb luck one of the boats
that had cameras on it was in proximity
of a boat that didn’t
have cameras on it and so they filmed
they had secured all their pots on the
deck and so they started filming the
other boat and they filmed a guy
climbing on the outside of the cage
securing the pots and all of a sudden a
huge wave hits the side of the boat and
the guy’s not there anymore and the
people on the boat with the camera
starts screaming Man Overboard Man
Overboard Man Overboard and they turned
their boat towards where they think he
might be he’s a stranger they don’t know
him they don’t know the crew members of
the other boat and yet they react and
they turned towards him and they find
him in the drink and for those of you
don’t understand how dangerous this is
if the water is so cold that if you’re
in the water for I think that it’s a
minute or a minute thirty hypothermia
will set in and you die
and they come upon him and he’s
screaming don’t let me die
don’t let me die and they pull him on
board not out of the woods yet they
strip off his clothes because it’s wet
and cold and they wrapped blankets
around him to prevent hyperthermia from
setting in and he survives and it’s
overwhelming and the captain comes down
and this is goal I mean you can go watch
it on TV you a camera comes the captain
comes down and he honks this stranger
this young man his competitor he hugs
this guy’s if he’s his own son I lost it
everybody is crying and you realize what
happened here was a human interaction
and the reason they risk their own lives
to help this other person even though
they spend every other day trying to get
ahead and sabotage is because at the end
of the day they’re all crab fishermen
and they know something about each other
and they know something about the risk
that they all take to do this and when
push comes to shove they will put
themselves out there to help each other
for no other reason than they get it
there one of the same I will promise you
that every single member of that crew
that day went home
the feeling of fulfillment I promise you
that every single person on that crew
that day felt more good in their hearts
and in their jobs than the richest days
they’ve ever pulled in my question is is
what are you doing to help the person
next to you don’t you want to wake up
and go to work for the only reason that
you can do something good for someone
else when you want them to do that for you thank you very much
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