How about a smile? Surely, you’ve got that in you.
I was doing some research today and ran across the It’s Time to Smile video of The Compliment Guys. It was shot by my client, Back Alley Films’ director Jesse Selwyn, for Kodak’s Brightside Tour in the fall of 2009. It made me smile.
The back story, Kodak tapped Back Alley’s Jesse Selwyn for this project, an award winning director, musician and composer himself, and a perfect fit for this quirky, feel-good project. It involved following a couple of Perdue University students across the nation as they spread their compliments and goodwill around – by doing nothing more than just being nice, passing out compliments – and making people smile.
Selwyn is a cool guy. If you’ve not seen his work, you should check it out. He also did the amazing Up2 You + Me video with Jim Parsons for Stand Up To Cancer, another of my all time favorite pieces. T2 + Back Alley Films are lucky to have Selwyn on their roster of directors, and work like this keeps me coming back for more.
What about you? Up to that challenge I mentioned earlier? How about seeing how many different times you can compliment random people today. You’d be amazed at how good it’ll make you feel. Double dog dare you. Then, come back and tell me how many times you brightened someone’s day. Or better yet, snap a pic of every person you make smile with a random act of complimentary-ish-ness (yup, another made up word), @ me on Twitter with a TwitPic or post it on my Facebook wall. For many of you, it’s already Friday, so get on it. The proof, as they say, is in the pudding. Now get going!
Shelly Kramer is a Principal Analyst and Founding Partner at Futurum Research. A serial entrepreneur with a technology centric focus, she has worked alongside some of the world’s largest brands to embrace disruption and spur innovation, understand and address the realities of the connected customer, and help navigate the process of digital transformation. She brings 20 years’ experience as a brand strategist to her work at Futurum, and has deep experience helping global companies with marketing challenges, GTM strategies, messaging develoment, and driving strategy and digital transformation for B2B brands across multiple verticals. Shelly’s coverage areas include Collaboration/CX/SaaS, platforms, ESG, and Cybersecurity, as well as topics and trends related to the Future of Work, the transformation of the workplace and how people and technology are driving that transformation. A transplanted New Yorker, she has learned to love life in the Midwest, and has firsthand experience that some of the most innovative minds and most successful companies in the world also happen to live in “flyover country.”