I guess now that it is autumn and nearly October, it’s time to start preparing for the upcoming holiday. And by that I mean of course Christmas, and not Halloween. Tis the season! That is, if the season ever really ends. Honestly, if we mark the Christmas season as starting when stores bring the decorations out and Mariah Carey belts out over the store speakers, the Christmas season has already started. Sure, we do fit Halloween and Thanksgiving in the mix, but those only feel like afterthoughts. It is all Christmas all the time.

I don’t think our devotion to Christmas is because of the level of religious observance in the United States. I do recognize that it is an important day for many because of their religious beliefs, and I don’t want to take anything away from that. But our extended Christmas season is more about society’s devotion to stuff. The buying of stuff, the giving of stuff, the getting of stuff. It is all about the stuff. If you don’t believe me, just remember that today’s rendition of Santa Claus was borne out of a Coca-Cola ad campaign.

I have a different relationship today with stuff. I’ve hit that point in the aging cycle where I am looking to shed stuff rather than acquire more stuff. You start to look around at the stuff you have accumulated, and wonder what it is for and do I need it? Or did I ever need it? If I haven’t used it yet, odds are I won’t. So, I am all about trying to get rid of the things I don’t use and really don’t need.

When you start down that road, you do start to wonder, “What exactly do I need?” “What kinds of things would I really value?” I think that way when my kids ask me what I want for my birthday, Father’s Day, or a holiday. I don’t really need anything. So what then can they get me? It can be a hard decision to arrive at.

Now, imagine doing this on a much larger scale, such as for employees or as give-aways at a conference or corporate event. All the stuff that is given to us, handed out, gifted as tokens of appreciation, and the like.

Ben Greenock has thought exactly about these issues. Ben is Chief Customer Officer and Co-Founder of the company Go Swag. As Ben describes, Go Swag isn’t your typical swag company. Ben tells about how they turned down business with one client because they wanted to order something that Ben knew was just going to be discarded as more “stuff.” Rather than just providing stuff, Go Swag does research to figure out what will be useful to the audiences you are trying to provide for.

We discuss how Go Swag tries to create branded gift experiences using high quality, sustainable gifts which can be distributed globally with unique boxing. Ben also describes how they draw on their UX know-how to develop intuitive and seamless customer journeys. Additionally, they don’t go with gimmicks, but things that the recipients will value.

Ben also talks about going to the Glasgow School of Art and Product Design, especially as a person who grew up with undiagnosed dyslexia. However, these challenges of getting through school allowed him to develop resilience and a unique way of problem solving which he still uses today. Thus, he is wired to find a better way. We also talk about the importance of gift-giving and reciprocity in building relationships with others, and that gifts should be well thought out and intentional to be valued.

Ben Greenock LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bengreenock/

Go Swag Website: https://www.goswag.com

With the marketing pre-launch of my book “The UN-WOW,” I have had more attempts at social media engagement than I ever thought (or wanted to be) possible. It has been an ongoing process of creating content, posting content, and waiting for people to notice the content. In doing so, I have noticed a lot of other people doing the same things. Create, post, wait, and then hopefully engage with an ‘audience.’ It seems to be the circle of life today.

The creating, posting, and waiting is the easy part quite frankly. It is the getting noticed that presents the challenge since there are many others trying to do the same thing. So there we are, all together, hoping for the same things. Maybe we should all be commenting on each other’s stuff. Would save a lot of time.

With more and more content out there in the world, there is a greater challenge to get noticed, to break through all the other postings. I have read a bunch of stuff on SEO, or search engine optimization, trying to figure out how to maximize ‘market penetration.’ But it seems that a lot of that time might have been wasted because there are new abbreviations to consider!

On this episode of Experience by Design podcast, I welcomed Alan Rambam to the show. Alan is the author of “GEO Survival Guide,” and “Maintaining Visibility Survival Guide.” in which he describes generative engine optimization and its relation to SEO. To our conversation, Alan brings a career of experience with Ford Motor Company, Gravitater, Fleishman-Hillard, and even working with the Clinton Administration in the aftermath of the shootings at Columbine High School.

We talk about the challenges associated with visibility in a world obscured by a constant flood of content. But we talk about more than that. He talks about how he started a business in youth marketing as a teenager. This led to opportunities with the Clinton White House doing youth outreach. He shares how all of this ultimately led to a career spent helping companies become visible.

Alan takes me through this process of checking your current visibility, and how to maximize your visibility and exposure using the newest technology. He talks about how SEO is still relevant, but not all you need to consider. We need to write for AI algorithms in order to become more visible and become “discoverable.” He describes how “the machine is the gatekeeper now,” and that AI has to believe your content is true before it includes it in its algorithms. At the same time, we need to retain control of the content and the process.

We also talk about art, society, humanity, and what we need in our lives in the coming AI age.

Alan Rambam LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanrambam/

Alan Rambam Website: https://alanrambam.com/

“Maintaining Visibility Survival Guide”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G6Z6L9NX

Going to high school in the 1980s, there was a strong emphasis on the idea of going to college in order to enter a white-collar career. This was seen as the epitome of success. Even though I was in Metropolitan Detroit, the focus still was not on skilled trades and manufacturing. “Shop” classes and programs were thought to be for those kids who couldn’t handle the academic rigors of a college prep curriculum.

It is interesting to see today how blue collar has come back. Skilled trades are seen in many ways as being more “AI proof” in comparison to white-collar professions that are more at risk of being replaced (or at least reduced). At the same time, there is an increasing need for skilled trades, and a renewed interest in blue-collar work. We even see this in mass media with shows like Dirty Jobs, or other shows that focus on the importance and skill of blue-collar professions. Turns out blue-collar work is also knowledge work.

My guest today on Experience by Design podcast is Colonel David Howe (Ret.). David built a career in healthcare. As part of his military service, he served in the Medical Service Corps, where he was a platoon leader and company commander in the 4th Infantry Division and 82nd Airborne. He then moved into healthcare administration in the civilian sector, balancing clinical needs with financial considerations. Taken together, he sees how healthcare as a system functions, needs to be improved, and how new technologies might help create better outcomes (if they don’t make things worse).

Today, he is putting together his administrative experience and military service to help veterans make the transition for military to civilian life. Along with author Ken Rusk, he co-founded the Comfort, Peace, and Freedom Foundation, which “provides free strategic life-planning services to veterans and Gold Star Families.” Their core mission is on “holistic life planning, mental health support, and goal setting to help transitioning service members and families.”

We discuss David’s military experience, and the stresses that happen among military members even when not during wartime. He describes the importance of improving the transition that takes place from military to civilian life. He also describes how he partnered with Ken Rusk, author of “Blue Collar Cash,” a Wall Street Journal Bestseller. David describes how helping vets create strategic plans can lead to better transition experiences for paths to economic and social stability, and how blue-collar work can provide a more established pathway.

I should also add that one of my standing personal goals for the podcast is to have a platform to highlight work being done by veterans. The transition from military service to civilian life can be a challenging one. So, anytime I’m able to host veterans, I’m more than happy to do so as a way of supporting the work of veterans, no matter the type of service or the timeframe in which it was done.

Comfort Peace Freedom Foundation: https://www.cpff.us/

“Blue Collar Cash: Love Your Work, Secure Your Future, and Find Happiness for Life”: https://www.kenrusk.com/blue-collar-cash/