A Conversation with greg Bennick, Build Business Keynoter

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A Conversation with Greg Bennick,
Build Business Keynoter
INTERVIEW BY MICHAEL J. REILLY, FSMPS
Greg Bennick is a keynote speaker,
humanitarian activist, and award-winning
producer and writer. He speaks on themes of
personal and group dynamics and “mastering
the unexpected” to organizations worldwide.
Bennick is known for making people laugh
while inviting them to think. He speaks about
becoming the change you wish to see in the
world: getting involved in ideas, leadership,
and creativity. He follows up his words with
actions: He is the founder of One Hundred
For Haiti, a Seattle-based humanitarian
relief and development organization helping
to rebuild post-earthquake Haiti.
His artistic work focuses on projects that
explore the depth and range of the human
experience. He is the co-producer and
co-writer behind Flight from Death:
The Quest for Immortality and The
Philosopher Kings, two award-winning
documentaries that look at how we see
ourselves and the people around us.
On July 12, Bennick will deliver the opening
keynote address at the Build Business: Take
Action, the 2012 SMPS National Conference,
in San Francisco. Contributing Editor
Michael Reilly talked with him about
the recovery efforts in Haiti, his keynote
speaking style, and advice on how to
master the unexpected.
Society for Marketing Professional Services
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“One Hundred For Haiti is a global collective of
individuals, artists, businesses, and organizations
who are providing direct action, humanitarian aid
through relief initiatives and rebuilding projects to
help in the healing process of post-earthquake Haiti.”
From www.onehundredforhaiti.org
Marketer: How did you first get involved in the relief
efforts for Haiti?
Bennick: After the earthquake, I sailed to Haiti with eight of
my friends on a sailboat loaded with 10,000 pounds of medical
supplies and food. We were one of the first private relief boats to
hit the southern coast of Haiti. After being in Haiti and seeing
what was going on there, I knew I had to help. So when I came
back to the United States, I formed One Hundred For Haiti as a
means of providing direct relief and then eventually development
support to the people of post-earthquake Haiti.
Marketer: How are the humanitarian relief and rebuilding
efforts progressing, two years plus after the 2010 earthquake?
Bennick: There’s most definitely a difference in Haiti now.
People have begun to rebuild. They’ve begun to remove a lot
of the rubble. But the problem in Haiti is much deeper. There
are problems with corruption, and there’s just so much work
to be done. Most definitely what the Haitian people need is
development more than relief at this point. So that’s what
One Hundred For Haiti has been doing. Switching over
from just sending money to actually creating development
opportunities. We have more information about our new
Moto Logistics program on OneHundredForHaiti.org. It’s a
job creation program. We’re moving in that direction of helping
with development. And it’s all because of what a man named
Jean Baptiste said to me outside a tent city in Port au Prince.
“I don’t want you to give me money, I want a way to make
money,” he said. That provided a shift of consciousness for
us in terms of what we were doing.
Marketer: Your keynote speaking emphasizes what you
call “mastering the unexpected.” How would you advise
someone in a marketing role—and for that matter anyone
in a point-person role—to start mastering the unexpected?
Bennick: I think the first and most important thing we can do
in mastering the unexpected is to stop believing the stories we
tell ourselves…the stories that say what we want to do can’t be
done. And that might sound like an empty motivational message,
but it’s really true in that, especially during trying times, we begin
to convince ourselves that nothing’s possible. In doing so, nothing
becomes possible. In trying times, the most important thing we
can do is stay true to the message. Not just pursuing the light at
the end of the tunnel but believing that there is an end to the
tunnel at all. I think that’s really important, stay true to what we
see as able to be done.
Marketer: You are famously popular for blending
entertainment and fun in with the more serious message
of your keynote presentations. How do you pull that off?
Bennick: Yes, well, what I do is present both at once essentially.
I find that people hear me more when they are laughing and
having a good time. In any speaking situation and in any
listening situation, if you are enjoying yourself in that moment,
you are going to be more apt to want to continue. So, for example,
I make the juggling I present my ideas with be metaphors for the
things I am talking about, and it all blends perfectly.
“I don’t want you to give me money, I want a way to make money.”
—Jean Baptiste
Marketer/April 2012
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“Especially during trying times, we begin to convince ourselves that nothing’s
possible. In doing so, nothing becomes possible. In trying times, the most
important thing we can do is stay true to the message.”
Marketer: When you presented in the past, I’m sure your
audiences have learned a lot. What have you learned from
presenting these keynotes?
Bennick: That’s a great question. I would say to really be present
in the moment with my audience. I’ve been presenting and
performing since I was 13 years old. And in that time, over the
past quarter of a century, you start to do things the same again, and
again, and again sometimes. What’s important to remember is that
each audience is absolutely different. And if I treat every audience
as absolutely different, and truly pay attention to every audience
as absolutely different, then I’m going to be able to speak—even
if it’s the same material—in a way that is present and immediate
for them, and it’s going to make for a more effective presentation.
Marketer: Tell me about the Philosopher Kings documentary?
Bennick: The Philosopher Kings is a film I worked on as a
co-producer and co-writer, and it was an attempt to learn about
wisdom, as seen through the eyes of staff members at prestigious
American universities, specifically through the eyes of custodians.
So it was an attempt to upend the model of who has wisdom
and who we listen to. In talking to custodians, you start to realize
that, all around us, all the time, are people who most definitely
are marginalized or ignored simply because of their social status.
So when we hear these people, the world really opens up. We start
to hear more of what’s possible from people all around us, just
because we are hearing them for the first time.
Hyatt Regency San Francisco
www.buildbusiness.org
Opening Keynote Address:
“Take Action: Become the Change”
Greg Bennick, Motivational Speaker
July 12, 9 – 10:30 am
Society for Marketing Professional Services
Marketer: So what’s next for you, what’s the next big project
you are working on?
Bennick: I’ve wanted for a while now to write some books. I’ve
never been a published author. My only writing credit is from
co-writing the two documentaries. I always wanted to be in a
position to share my ideas through the printed word. So I’ve got
some ideas brewing on books I’d like to write. I’m always trying to
figure out the most effective ways of communicating with people.
So focusing on the written word is my next approach. I will be
writing about the process of succeeding, and how as I mentioned
earlier, we make ourselves fail through the stories we tell ourselves
about what’s possible and what’s not.
About the Interviewer
Contributing Editor Michael J. Reilly, FSMPS, is
principal consultant of Reilly Communications,
a public relations and marketing firm providing
communications strategy and creative content
for clients across the United States. Mike is a past
president of SMPS National and SMPS Boston, a
director and past president of the Massachusetts
Building Congress, and an adjunct faculty member
at Boston University. In 2010, he received the Weld Coxe Marketing
Achievement Award. He can be reached at 617.464.1717 or
mreilly@reillycommunications.com.