“The people who care are the ones who win” @GaryVee

Despite having been around this blogging bubble for only a short time, it will come as no surprise to you to learn that I had vaguely heard of the little book, Crush It! However, I’m generally not one for hype and given that the title contains its very own explanation mark, I have to admit I was cautious However, I finally gave in and got myself a copy about a month ago. If it’s good enough for Dave “Website In A Weekend” Doolin, it’s good enough for El. Then Ben @6aliens told me it was rather good too so between the two of them, I was sold

However, this blog post isn’t a book review or a sales pitch. Yes, I’m sure you’d really enjoy it but that isn’t the point today. What fascinated me was Chapter Nine. It’s called ‘The Best Marketing Strategy Ever’ and is the shortest chapter of any book I’ve ever read (and I’ve read a few )

Given that love is what Give A Brick is about and my own need for love and affection, I decided to email the lovely Gary to check that I wasn’t misunderstanding his intent:

“Crush It arrived with my post man yesterday and after falling asleep reading it in the bath last night I’ve had to postpone finishing it until today. I got to chapter nine, the one you call the best marketing strategy ever. And the simple answer ‘care’. Is that right? I love people, talking to them, making them smile, having fun, it’s what Give A Brick is all about so it made me smile broadly to think that you were advocating caring as the best marketing strategy ever. However, given such simplicity and your invitation to email you if I had a question, I just wanted to clarify that I hadn’t missed the point entirely.”

Having been warned by a friend who knows about these things that GV can take months to get through his emails, I didn’t hold my breath whilst waiting for a reply. Imagine my delight then when he emailed back less than 48 hours later with this simple but exciting reply:

“U missed nothing! As the world goes more and more transparent the people that care are the ones who win….PERIOD! slow and steady and caring and always caring and always working and all that wins!”

Exciting eh? And yes, I did ask him if it was OK to quote him. He said yes and even sent a kiss: “Of course and don’t worry about linking back mwa!” Call me soft hearted but it made me swoon

This post has been simmering away ever since. However, it was a recent video I saw that reminded me that I still hadn’t hit publish. In it, Gary reiterates what he said in four simple letters in his book: c-a-r-e. It seems this guy really does mean it when he says that caring, always caring, is the very best way to play this game. Great news for Give A Brick

But do you agree? Do you care? Or are you sometimes guilty of pretending to care because you think you should? I know you know what the correct answer is but what do you really think? Let’s talk about it