Loading ...Perry Marshall had an interesting blog post today that generated a ton of commentary. You can read for yourself, but the gist of it is that after a speaking engagement, several attendees wanted to take him to lunch and get some free brain-picking. And he responded very candidly that if people want to meet with him, they need to pay his hourly fee. Afterward, he got a nastigram via email from a fellow chastising him for his “greed.”
Commenters were on both sides of the fence. Many thought Perry was in the right, but could have been more tactful. Others agreed with the nastigram sender, that those folks were entitled to his time for free and he should have been bowing down at the opportunity.
I, too, face this kind of situation often. Like Perry, there are so many avenues where I give so much of myself, my time, my knowledge for nothing but the price of a smile and a thank you. And yet there are those–strangers who I don’t know from Adam–who still think they are entitled to a piece of me for nothing, even after everything else I have already done or provided for them. These are most often the very same people who never, ever even bother to say thank you.
It’s an interesting discussion and maybe you’ll join in. Here are the comments that I posted:
They’re not going to see it this way, but the greed is on the part of the folks wanting to pick your brain for free. You just got done speaking to them, sharing your expertise, and yet they think it’s your duty to continue to give for free. I think their offer should have been just lunch, without any of their own (greedy) ulterior motives, as a nice gesture of thanks. Now that would have been class. But that’s not how things are done any longer in our cheap, self-entitled Walmart society. And you had the audacity to be perfectly honest with them and assertive about your boundaries. You absolutely selfish beast, you (NOT!). The greed is in their expectation that you are obligated to them. It’s THAT kind of greed that is heading our country “into the dumpster.”
You know what else bothers me about this? The fact that people can’t handle the truth. Many are saying that Perry should have used a bit more tact (yet say nothing about the tactlessness of those who expect him to be grateful for the opportunity to have his brain autopsied for the price of a lunch). What was so wrong with what he said?! Honesty, candor and directness are gifts. It’s telling the other person, I think you’re a grown up and I’m going to honor you with nothing but my truth. But people don’t want truth anymore. They wanted to be pacified, coddled, lied to, even. And yet they’ll bitch and moan about being conned, and manipulated and tricked and lied to by marketers. Well, then for God’s sakes, start being grown-ups and not little babies whining for pablum. Truth is becoming a lost art and character trait with game-playing taking its place. And it’s exactly because there are so many unwilling to hear it.
So what do you think? If you provide value in your offerings, and then go above and beyond that to give your time, knowledge and all kinds of value-rich things for free to folks, when is enough enough? Whose place is it to decide? Do you think Perry was in the wrong? Why do so many people feel they are entitled to “tact,” especially when they themselves are without it?
