Latest / Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections / Networking Unleashed: An Interview with Gal Borenstein and Michael A Forman, Professional Speaker

Transcript

Networking Unleashed: An Interview with Gal Borenstein and Michael A Forman, Professional Speaker · Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections

0:16
Welcome to Networking Unleashed, Building Profitable
0:19
Connections, where relationships aren't built
0:22
on hype, volume, or clever tools, but on trust
0:26
that holds up over time. Today's episode hits
0:31
a nerve for leaders, entrepreneurs, and brands
0:33
trying to stand out in a world flooded with automation,
0:38
polished messaging, and AI -generated everything.
0:42
Because when everyone sounds smart, Trust becomes
0:46
the real differentiator. My guest specializes
0:49
in branding strategy and trust frameworks. We're
0:53
digging into how brands quietly lose credibility
0:56
in digital spaces and what it actually takes
1:00
to keep trust intact where AI is part of the
1:06
equation. If you've ever wondered why some connections
1:09
deepen while others fade or why while certain
1:14
or why certain brands feel solid while other
1:18
feels disposable, this conversation will sharpen
1:21
how you think about networking in today's environment.
1:25
Wow, that was a mouthful. I would like to introduce
1:30
to the podcast today, Gal, who is an expert in
1:34
all of the above. And Gal, I just really, before
1:38
we get into it, give me a little of the cliff
1:40
notes of your background and how you got here
1:42
today. Sure. I'm the founder and CEO of the Born
1:47
Singer, which has been in business for 30 years.
1:50
And the majority of my clients were the C -suite
1:54
type folks and a lot of CEOs that were entrepreneurial
1:58
founders. And as we kind of went through the
2:02
process of branding companies, and when it was
2:06
analog, if you will, when it was marketing brochures,
2:09
all the way to websites, all the way to... digital
2:12
and social media and incorporating AI, what I
2:16
found that one thread that has recently gone
2:21
through a real transformation in terms of the
2:23
value that it brings to clients and really the
2:28
worries as well that it brings to clients is
2:31
way bigger than what I thought, being the person
2:36
that typically knows where the bodies are buried,
2:40
if you will. And what's very interesting, it
2:44
happens so fast, and yet most companies have
2:49
a very difficult time seeing what's happening
2:53
in their company. And then as a result of it,
2:57
when you think about branding and advertising
2:59
and PR as a kind of narrative that you take to
3:02
the market, and you don't know those things,
3:06
you really got to pay attention. Very good. And
3:11
that's a lot to think about. Started out with
3:14
a design firm. I was the owner of a design firm.
3:18
I grew it rather large. And so that's where I
3:22
started my marketing, my design, and everything
3:24
else. And that was 100 years ago. Things have
3:27
changed a little bit. Okay. In a world where
3:30
everyone can sound polished online, how does
3:34
trust actually get earned through networking
3:37
today? I think you just described two mechanisms
3:42
that are really kind of social mechanisms to
3:46
creating opportunity to build trust. The old
3:50
school, which is really the time where we did
3:54
not have distributed workforces and everyone
3:58
was in the same building, you had lunch with
4:01
your boss or the executives and the team, and
4:05
you were able to really gain a sense of Trust
4:08
on an emotional level, on a cognitive level,
4:10
on an idea and brainstorming level and come out
4:14
of it united or unified about what's wrong and
4:19
what's right. And then you could follow up with
4:21
another meeting and take somebody for lunch,
4:24
doing all the things that we call human communications.
4:27
And not that it was perfect, but by having the
4:31
person to person communication, you're able to
4:34
rely. on the fact that if you have a disagreement,
4:39
if you don't trust the other person, the other
4:42
organization, you can diagnose it and move forward.
4:46
But as COVID ended, trade shows ended, opportunities
4:51
to press the flesh, if you will, we were forced
4:54
into showing up on corporate videos with 16 people
4:58
on the same call, where half of them basically
5:01
are not even comfortable being in front of a
5:03
camera. And then... having basically a cacophony
5:08
of information that it has to stick to an agenda.
5:13
And the agenda has nothing that builds trust
5:17
in a relationship. So the networking really was
5:22
the fundamental way of creating human interaction.
5:27
When the digital evolution, which included you
5:32
know, let's distribute the workforce because
5:34
it saves overhead, we lost the human touch. And
5:39
the human touch was replaced by AI. And AI is
5:45
the greatest industrial revolution that we've
5:48
experienced, and especially in information technology.
5:52
It's still young, and it's still very much something
5:56
that you can improve upon and make it your own.
5:59
But the problem with AI is that it could produce
6:02
a polished piece, as you mentioned before, but
6:05
it is not differentiated. And the reason it's
6:08
not differentiated, it's a machine. It's supposed
6:12
to mass replicate and force multiply the message
6:18
that you have. And the worst part of it, it doesn't
6:22
have feelings. So if you were having a personal
6:26
diagnosis, of a medical condition, AI can give
6:31
you sometimes better analysis than what your
6:35
doctor will communicate with you. But think about
6:38
it in a business environment where the output
6:41
that you get might be accurate, but it doesn't
6:44
consider your feelings. It doesn't consider the
6:48
situation that you're in, whether you're an executive,
6:51
whether you're in sales, whether you're in business
6:53
development, whether you're in product development,
6:55
right? And the result of it are two. Number one
7:00
is we're not able to trust anything without having
7:04
interaction with people and putting the subjective,
7:08
opinionated, good sense of judgment that it really
7:12
is required to build trust. So to me, what I'm
7:18
seeing with branding and marketing does going
7:20
out right now is a lot of garbage of content
7:24
that is being sent. And the worst part about
7:27
it is we're still using KPIs that apply to engagement,
7:32
percentage of how many meetings you got. Really
7:35
old KPIs that may have been even two years ago,
7:40
really good to kind of sense where you are. But
7:43
now it's old and we're going to come up with
7:48
new ways of communicating and measuring what
7:51
we're communicating. So the focus really is.
7:55
To answer your question, really, is networking
7:58
in a new arena have to go back, take a step back,
8:03
and really involve and interact with a human
8:07
being that is a subject matter expert, that is
8:11
your colleague, somebody that can actually bring
8:14
the heart and the mind to the computer. And it's
8:20
really funny that just in terms of the happenstance
8:23
of booking. This podcast for today, Perplexity
8:26
just came out with computer, which essentially
8:30
replaces the computer with prompts and you don't
8:34
have to code anything. So anybody can do it,
8:36
which is fantastic, lowers the barrier to entry.
8:41
But at the same time, it is producing a whole
8:45
world that is not monitored, does not govern.
8:47
And most importantly, if there's a mistake in
8:51
it, it will replicate it a thousand times. And
8:54
your brand reputation will go through the trash
8:57
can along with it. Yes, that's where the term
9:01
trust but verify really comes into it. Through
9:05
perplexity and through everything else, you have
9:07
all these AI tools, but what doesn't it have?
9:10
It doesn't have the emotional connection. So
9:15
it'll give you every answer you want, but it'll
9:19
take out the emotional. And really, when you're
9:22
in sales, I was in sales for 40 years. That's
9:25
half of it. It's how you emote and how everything
9:28
goes. Because you have know you, like you, trust
9:31
you. They'll do business with you. And how can
9:35
you trust a computer when there's no emotion?
9:39
So it's missing all of that. Yeah, you can't.
9:43
That's really the part that is the waste that
9:47
is being spent right now under the FOMO principle,
9:51
which all companies saying that if we don't have
9:54
AI, we're not on the edge of things. But they
9:58
don't ask the question is what is AI going to
10:01
help us achieve other than being the Xerox machine,
10:05
essentially, of intellectual ideas? And what
10:09
are the subject matter expertise that we can
10:11
bring from our own people? to the table to create
10:15
a better product, to create a better concept,
10:17
to create a better framework or code something
10:22
in half an hour versus 30 hours or $300. So there
10:26
are great things that you can do with AI, but
10:29
right now we're at the point where people are
10:32
rushing into it because they really are afraid
10:34
that they're going to miss out on something,
10:36
but they're making their company worse because
10:39
they're making it impersonable. They're making
10:42
it heartless and they're making it very difficult
10:46
to differentiate on an emotional intelligence
10:49
level. And that's where AI doesn't have. It does
10:53
not have an emotional intelligence. It has IQ.
10:56
And IQ, we had enough time to think about it,
11:00
measure it, figure out if numbers mean what they
11:04
mean. Emotional intelligence is still... really
11:08
in the infancy of development in the business
11:11
world. And in other places, it's been used. But
11:15
think about it as simple as, you know, the saying,
11:18
when you go into a room, a good CEO can read
11:22
the room in the first 30 seconds and make sure
11:25
that the whole conversation is productive and
11:29
is based on understanding the limitations and
11:33
great assets that you have and the different
11:35
people that are sitting in the meeting. That's
11:38
not something that you can do using an app. You
11:41
can even build customer persona, which is a hot
11:45
thing in marketing and branding right now, where
11:48
agencies and marketing departments are saying,
11:50
hey, now we have the tool to actually build a
11:53
client persona before we market to them. But
11:57
they still miss all the intricate things that
12:02
fall under the category of know your enemy. If
12:06
this is what you're doing, competitive intelligence,
12:08
or know your prospect and know your client once
12:13
you earn that client. And just to kind of add
12:17
a point to it, why is that happening other than
12:20
post -COVID? It's really a generational thing
12:23
as well. We, in a Gen X generation, really thought
12:28
about trust as that pressing of the flesh, if
12:31
you will, and having a conversation. between
12:35
two human beings, pick up the phone, even an
12:38
email. But now, millennials came and Gen Z came,
12:42
and the most extreme is Gen Z, which is very
12:46
smart, can get your answers quicker than all
12:50
the master's degrees that you had. However, this
12:54
generation is born with an iPhone, and the iPhone
12:59
is not for telephoning or for Making any calls
13:05
in front. In fact, if you ask any Gen Z that
13:09
works in the workforce and is very smart and
13:12
very talented, what would they rather do when
13:15
they need to communicate something? Their answer
13:17
is going to be text. So if we don't hear each
13:21
other and the only way we're communicating via
13:24
integration of text with Slack that captures
13:28
at least the information, but doesn't really
13:30
give you any. judgment calls that are necessary
13:33
to really achieve something, that is a real challenge
13:38
that is only growing. And the millennials, which
13:42
were the generation before Gen Z, knew about
13:45
computers and definitely are very apt in being
13:50
involved in computing and being able to make
13:54
that work. They also are using apps. They're
13:58
not using human thinking first. And when you
14:01
have that, you don't have a human -centric organization.
14:05
It's so true. And you made so many good and great
14:09
points that I don't have time to dissect everything
14:12
that you had said. But in a nutshell, what we're
14:16
missing is our human touch. And this is what
14:21
I'm all about. I go across the country and I
14:24
talk about this. We have to get back to networking
14:27
events. We have to get back face to face because
14:30
since the advent of Zoom, because here you and
14:34
I are talking and we're clear across the country
14:36
from one another, but there's no physical connection.
14:40
I can't feel the vibe of you or I can't feel
14:45
a vibe of your office or of your room. So I'm
14:48
missing out on half of the connectivity that
14:51
I need for a good sale. So it's very important.
14:56
Okay. Where are brands unknowingly breaking trust
15:01
during everyday networking moments that includes
15:04
emails, DMs, follow -ups, and even introductions?
15:09
I think in my book, Don't Believe the Hype, I
15:13
really address the big elephant in the room,
15:16
thinking about it in the executive management
15:18
board or board meeting, where you find out that
15:22
they're a narrative that runs the company values
15:26
of whatever it may be, innovation, integrity,
15:29
caring about the environment. But once you go
15:33
a level below to middle management, and then
15:36
you go to the third ring, if you will, of employees
15:39
or staff or factory workers, it doesn't really
15:42
matter. People don't agree with each other about
15:45
what it is that they're selling. In one company,
15:49
the management team wants to focus on customer
15:52
experience, but they never actually interviewed
15:55
or spoke to the people that are working on the
15:59
floor. And people are working behind the cubicle,
16:04
and they never spoke to them. So what is happening
16:08
is almost the reverse engineering of what it
16:11
should be. Number one is you've got to basically
16:15
think about a company now in this new generation
16:19
with AI and digital marketing and networking
16:23
as three layers that are really nexus. If management
16:28
does not communicate the values and what is important
16:34
to them as a corporate culture to the middle
16:39
management and then middle management does not
16:42
communicate it to the staffers, what is likely
16:46
to happen, and it's happening, is your narrative
16:50
is no longer staying within your company because
16:53
now we have social media. And not only Twitter
16:57
or any of the other sites where you can get like
17:01
a five -second attention span messaging, but
17:05
now we have review sites. So disgruntled employees.
17:09
can basically ruin the reputation of your company.
17:13
Over three to 10 bad reviews, which tell recruits
17:18
that they shouldn't work for the company. And
17:22
most importantly, it creates a narrative that
17:25
is completely different than what you sold them
17:27
on. When people came into the company, you said,
17:30
we're an employer of choice. We're the best company
17:34
to work for. And then if that doesn't happen,
17:37
it used to be. You stop it by firing the person
17:40
because they're negative. No more the case because
17:45
you can't do that anymore because everything
17:47
is public. So even the most private companies
17:50
can't hide those blemishes. And because they
17:54
are published in places that other people can
17:57
see, like a narrowcasting TV, if you will, or
18:02
laid into the new arena, what happens is if you
18:05
don't listen, to what's going on in the outside
18:08
world and what people are saying about you, about
18:10
your company, about your brand, then whatever
18:14
you're doing inside could fall flat on its face
18:17
when it goes outside. And to give you a very
18:21
kind of common adage that I use, come from Jeff
18:24
Bezos of Amazon, is he was asked, what is branding?
18:29
And his answer was, it's what people say about
18:33
you when you're not in the room. And I think...
18:36
The reason it's so relevant to building that
18:39
trust is you've got to have trust within your
18:42
employees. You've got to have trust within your
18:45
kind of management team. And wherever there is
18:48
friction, you've got to work on the friction
18:50
in -house first before you kind of promise something
18:55
to the world and then not check in and see if
18:59
it's actually receiving the feedback that it's
19:01
supposed to. Because what do you have then? In
19:04
terms of networking, you probably have done this
19:06
throughout your life and career, which is you
19:09
meet business developers from other companies,
19:11
and they basically tell you that their product
19:14
is crappy and they're embarrassed to sell it.
19:17
And where does that come from? Lack of trust
19:20
in operations, lack of trust in technology. But
19:24
moving forward, the digital trust allows us to
19:28
use a lot more tools to really create systems
19:32
and frameworks. where what I'm talking about
19:35
can be parlayed into better product, better company,
19:40
and a systematic belief in a way that builds
19:46
trust that can be monetized in different ways.
19:50
It could be that we become the best company or
19:54
the best employer. It is that our product, our
19:57
technology product, is much better because we
20:00
listen to feedback from people from the outside.
20:03
not just the beta testers. It could be everybody
20:07
that writes about a company that are in social
20:11
media, whether it's Facebook or Twitter or whichever
20:14
tool we use, are saying this is the best company
20:18
to work for. And we really love the fact that
20:20
there's a ping pong table. All the stuff needs
20:23
to be one -sided. Yeah, it's building up the
20:28
culture. of the work environment and the culture
20:31
of the company. And with the culture does not
20:34
come from the ground up. It comes from the owners
20:38
on down. And if they don't carry through with
20:42
the culture, then the people at the bottom aren't
20:45
going to, and you're going to have all that misinformation,
20:47
right? And it takes a lot of work. to keep that
20:52
culture and you have to really stay on top of
20:55
it. And I go into companies all the time and
20:58
I talk about this and I say, look, I can talk
21:01
to your masses. I can talk to the salespeople,
21:03
the warehouse people, back office, and I can
21:05
tell them everything on the follow -up and how
21:08
important it is and everything else. But if the
21:10
C -suite executives don't change the way that
21:13
they handle all this, change the culture of the
21:17
company, everything I'm saying is going to be
21:19
for naught. So it goes from the top down. So
21:23
you're right. Again, you hit so many points that
21:26
I don't want to delve into them, but you're absolutely
21:30
right. And I just came up with, as a whole, it's
21:34
the culture of the company. Which used to be
21:37
a secret. Because we don't own the narrative
21:41
anymore. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. And
21:44
whether we like it or not, people take it, either
21:47
they take it and they... hold it and they say,
21:50
okay, look, we have the narrative, but other
21:53
people who don't, they'll just never get it.
21:55
They'll just let everything go. Yes. And that's
21:59
where AI comes to play. We have a whole population
22:03
of middle management and senior management that
22:06
believes AI will displace them or replace them.
22:10
And what I tell people, which I'm not the only
22:13
one, is if AI can replace you or displace you,
22:17
means you're not adding value to what it is that
22:21
your company deserves to get out of what you
22:24
do. AI is a tool. That's all it really is. It
22:27
shouldn't be able to replace you. You should
22:30
be able to use AI to enhance what you're doing.
22:34
But it takes a lot of training to train what
22:38
you put into the prompts. Because I know when
22:41
I use it, I have an idea and I go through about
22:44
10 steps of prompts before I get to the right
22:48
prompt. So you have to be able to use it that
22:50
way. Okay. Who has AI changed the way people
22:55
perceive authenticity in networking, even when
22:59
the message is well -written? Yes, I think that
23:05
what AI has done, and again, as a result of what
23:08
we just discussed, about that disconnect in culture
23:12
and in going out and marketing a product that
23:16
could be believable or a service for that matter.
23:20
What we're seeing again and again, that the data
23:24
or the information being presented in networking
23:27
situations is, oh, we specialize in this. We
23:31
have a niche in this area, which is the differentiation
23:34
part. But what we're saying also is, We're really
23:38
not different than anybody else. And to give
23:41
you a really pedestrian, but very, very important
23:44
example of something that we deal with almost
23:48
every day in branding is, what's your company
23:52
value? I ask when you talk to a CEO of a company
23:56
and they say, we're all about innovation. And
23:59
I'm talking about technology companies. So if
24:02
you come into a networking event and you say,
24:04
our differentiation is innovation. and you really
24:08
believe in it, you believe in something that
24:11
15 to 20 to 30 companies have just articulated.
24:16
And then AI can support you in saying how you're
24:19
innovative, but none of it actually connects
24:22
to, we care about, let's say, veterans that need
24:27
a product or service that will make their life
24:29
better. That's a differentiation. If you're basically
24:33
saying we're marketing something that will help
24:35
people walk. That's not a differentiation. And
24:39
AI is basically your tool to help perfect what
24:46
you want to present based on research and what
24:49
was tried and case studies. That's all great.
24:53
But where you need to connect the dots is know
24:56
that your spirit and your emotional intelligence,
24:59
when you go to the networking event, for example,
25:02
or networking It doesn't really make a difference.
25:06
Even on LinkedIn, when you're sending a message
25:08
to somebody you don't know, you really can't
25:11
be generic. And if you are generic, you're basically
25:14
the equivalent of a cell in a huge spreadsheet
25:18
that can be ignored, eliminated, or become irrelevant.
25:24
And the worst thing that can happen to a company
25:27
right now with AI is becoming irrelevant. It's
25:34
so true. And when I ask somebody, what do you
25:37
do? And he says, I'm a bank executive, or I do
25:41
this. There are 40 ,000 bank executives in the
25:46
arena, in the networking event, in your town.
25:49
You need to tell me something that differentiates
25:52
you from the pack. And that's what I strive to
25:58
get them to talk about. How should leaders think
26:01
about personal brand when automation and AI are
26:05
part of the outreach and follow -up? The single
26:10
most important advice that I give people in this
26:13
position is to really think about two things.
26:16
Number one is, as a CEO or leader, you are the
26:23
brand. So if your brand is not solid, And for
26:29
example, your LinkedIn profile says nothing or
26:33
doesn't have a picture of you. It doesn't have
26:36
any kind of credentials that show that you have
26:40
authority leadership in the area that you're
26:43
in. And then there's the company brand that involves
26:48
integrating marketing and branding, thought leadership
26:52
and social media and all these elements. What
26:56
we see sometimes. is that the company might be
26:59
doing well from a brand perspective, but they're
27:02
not getting to where they need to be because
27:04
sometimes the CEO doesn't believe in the idea
27:09
of being a brand because they're saying, I'm
27:11
a private individual. You can't be private anymore
27:14
because I'm going to look at your LinkedIn no
27:17
matter what. And as recent as just before recording
27:22
here of this podcast, I looked up. somebody who
27:25
I'm going to be talking later today. And the
27:29
first inclination is to go to the reliable source,
27:33
which would be LinkedIn, which especially in
27:37
B2B is the new networking online environment.
27:42
And it doesn't mean that everything that is in
27:44
your profile is even true. But if you have no
27:48
effort put into it, or you have a press release
27:52
from 2019, as your credibility tool instead of
27:57
updating your website. Those are the things that
28:00
basically kill a company brand. And then not
28:03
having the CEO speaking about things, writing,
28:06
whatever your talent is, it doesn't have to be
28:09
like, you don't have to be a movie star. You
28:12
don't have to be a podcast host, but you got
28:16
to have something that you're passionate about
28:18
and you're able to articulate it in whatever
28:20
talent you have. writing, speaking, teaching,
28:25
mentoring other companies, displaying your possibilities.
28:28
And most companies ignore that or CEOs ignore
28:33
that and believe that the business will take
28:35
care of itself. It won't because everything is
28:39
out there online. Being invisible is no longer
28:43
an option unless you're working on a military
28:46
operation. And even then, that information gets
28:50
leaked within. two minutes to media that doesn't
28:55
check even the sources and goes to all the social
28:59
media outlets. And that becomes where we get
29:01
a news source. So we own that. CEOs own that.
29:07
And sometimes they don't get it. So I'm here
29:10
to emphasize that's a sore point that needs to
29:13
be addressed. Yeah, I'm a former restaurant owner
29:16
and my employees were the backbone. of the restaurant
29:22
so what the first line was the waiters or the
29:27
bus boys that's what everybody saw so if they
29:31
weren't overly customer service they weren't
29:34
overly nice and what they could do for everybody
29:37
if that wasn't the case they didn't work for
29:40
me because they because every customer had to
29:43
have that feeling of they want to come back and
29:46
so Some people just aren't like that. They're
29:49
like, all right, what do you want? So I saw the
29:53
value of the employees right away. And of course,
29:57
I had to speak to the vendors and the employees
29:59
and everything. We're all trying to do the same
30:01
thing, but differently. Okay, when trust breaks,
30:07
is it usually caused by a big mistake, a small
30:11
repeated misalignment, or in how someone shows
30:16
up? What trust breaks is when a set of values
30:23
that exists in, let's take the innovation lab
30:27
within a technology company that produces outstanding
30:32
new patents and new frameworks and new technology,
30:36
let's say in cybersecurity. But then the information
30:40
goes to marketing and marketing makes promises
30:44
that the technologists in the company don't believe.
30:48
Like, this performs 5x, 100x faster than the
30:53
other competing product and they have no evidence
30:56
to support. And then they put it out there and
31:00
there's no social proof. It's basically empty
31:03
statements that any competitors can take and
31:07
pick apart because now everything is visible.
31:12
Okay, so you put an article that you call thought
31:14
leadership and you say, something is going to
31:17
be 100x productive more than what I got right
31:21
now, people will scrutinize it. People will look
31:24
at, where's your study? Where's your compliance
31:27
report? So from a marketing and branding perspective,
31:31
the breaking of trust happens when we don't listen
31:35
to what people on the outside are thinking about
31:39
and believing about our product. We need to always
31:42
index and kind of a benchmark, if you will, the
31:46
meter for the three or four most important criteria
31:51
for having innovation that is trusted and will
31:56
be trusted. And then going back to the company
31:59
itself, making sure that the company employees
32:02
believe that your statements, that your narrative
32:06
is actually something that you're willing to
32:09
die for on a business level. And you can tell.
32:14
Companies that have a strong culture of evangelists
32:18
that are actually going out there and putting
32:21
their heart and soul into showing how excited
32:24
they are about something. And then you see companies
32:27
that you go to a trade show, you pass by the
32:30
booth, and two tired people sitting in a chair
32:33
and free coffee mugs, which basically is not
32:38
how you build trust on any level. Absolutely
32:42
right. I just hosted a business show, an expo
32:48
here in Johns Creek, Georgia. And it's amazing.
32:52
I had 20 businesses, 20 tables, and two or three
32:57
of them were just like that. They were sitting
32:59
back just. letting everything happen. And you
33:03
have the other people standing in front of their
33:05
tables, inviting people and inviting questions.
33:08
And they got so much more out of the expo than
33:11
those other people. So it really depends on the
33:15
part of your brain that you're trying to say,
33:17
okay, look, I need this. You brought up Jeff
33:19
Bezos and I have to bring in an apple just a
33:24
little bit sooner than that. I learned that the
33:28
owner, not Cook, Steve Jobs, when he first started,
33:33
he said, okay, I need to get the people in that
33:36
I am the weakest, right? So every area that he
33:40
was the weakest, he hired the CMO, the CFO, everybody
33:45
around his weaknesses. So together as a group,
33:49
he was the strongest, and he developed that culture
33:53
that we're talking about originally. And that
33:56
is a perfect example, because what you described
33:59
is something that I talk in my book, Don't Believe
34:02
the Hype, which has to do with that trust architecture
34:06
that has to be in place. And one of the two most
34:10
important elements in that is vulnerability,
34:14
collaboration, and transparency. So when the
34:19
CEO, like Cook at the time, says, I'm not good
34:23
at this, but I'm going to get the best person.
34:25
and everybody sees it within the company, the
34:28
CEO brand becomes more likable and more open
34:33
to having exchanges that you're not comfortable
34:36
doing when it's a closed -door environment where
34:41
you can't communicate anything that will move
34:44
your company forward. Why don't you... give us
34:48
just an outline of what your book is. The latest
34:53
release, your book was absolutely outstanding.
34:56
And just so all my listeners can truly understand
35:00
where you're coming from, give us a little synopsis
35:03
of your book. The book is called Don't Believe
35:06
the Hype When Trust is on the Line and How to
35:10
Keep Your Brand Resilient. And it really boils
35:14
down to the idea that If you continue to act
35:18
in the same way with digital and AI taking kind
35:23
of a part in your enterprise, you are likely
35:27
to fall victim to the outside world, which you
35:31
don't control. So it really is, the book is a
35:35
wake -up call for executives, for leaders. And
35:38
when they say leaders, it could be a small business
35:40
owner as much as it has to be a corporate leader
35:44
with 5 ,000 employees. is you got to listen to
35:48
what the outside world has to say. And you got
35:51
to know that no matter what you do inside the
35:54
company, it's going to be interpreted a little
35:58
bit differently. And you got to be prepared for
36:00
it. And the way you get prepared for it is making
36:03
sure that every part of your organization is
36:07
aligned and has a strong belief and trust. that
36:12
what we're selling is actually something that
36:15
works. And you can find the book on amazon .com,
36:18
Don't Believe the Hype. And there's another book
36:21
that I just released for small business owners
36:24
specifically that don't know what to do with
36:26
AI. And it's called Beating Goliath with AI,
36:31
which takes the idea that small business owners
36:35
shouldn't be left behind or overspend on AI.
36:40
They just need to learn. What are the questions
36:42
that you need to ask before you make that decision?
36:45
That's great. I didn't know about that book,
36:48
and I will actually pick that book up. Okay,
36:50
let's bring this podcast full circle. If someone
36:53
wanted to protect their brand while still growing
36:56
relationships at scale, what principles should
37:00
guide them to guide their every interaction?
37:06
You have to assume that you have to build trust.
37:08
Trust is not given. It's earned. And it used
37:15
to be clearer to older generations. And now that
37:18
we automated everything to a point where you
37:21
get an email from somebody that is in the same
37:25
position that you're in a different company,
37:27
and there's no differentiation, there's nothing
37:29
that makes it personalized, that trust is not
37:33
going to get built. So you can measure it literally
37:36
in time. If you think about it as a timeline.
37:41
The companies that use the ability to accelerate
37:45
the build of trust by making the right moves
37:49
in the beginning, which are likely to be human
37:51
-centric, not automation, are the ones that are
37:56
winning more proposals, getting more invitations
37:59
to the dance, if you will. And the companies
38:02
that are automating everything are missing the
38:06
point that The trust mechanism that they're using
38:10
might have all the proof points that they're
38:13
doing something or going through the motion,
38:15
but it actually hurts their sale because now
38:19
a three -month process becomes a nine -month
38:23
process because they never met you, because they
38:25
never had a conversation about what your kids
38:28
are doing after hours. All the things that really
38:31
bring your personality to life and your CEO's
38:36
personality. as much to the company. Very good.
38:40
Gal, this was absolutely great. You're such a
38:44
great guest. If somebody wanted to know more
38:48
about you, about branding, marketing, anything
38:50
like that, what's the best way for them to get
38:53
a hold of you? The best way to get a hold of
38:56
me, since we work almost exclusively in the business
39:00
-to -business space, is to really hit me up on
39:02
LinkedIn. Check out my profile. It's Gal Borenstein.
39:07
And really connect with me. And then to all of
39:10
your listeners that are interested, I'm offering
39:13
a free consultation. Just connect through LinkedIn.
39:17
I mentioned the name of the podcast. And I'll
39:21
be happy to spend a good 30 minutes with you
39:23
going through what are your needs and what are
39:26
the places where you're stuck. And that advice
39:30
can take you to the next level or that advice
39:33
can give you the right questions to ask. before
39:37
you proceed and spend money in the wrong places
39:40
or getting you to do it correctly. And, of course,
39:45
you can find us at BornSlimGroup .com, which
39:48
is the agency that helped create the creative,
39:53
if you will, behind messaging. That's great.
39:57
Great. Here's the bottom line from today's conversation.
40:01
Trust isn't built by tools. It's built by patterns
40:05
of behavior people can rely on. AI can help with
40:09
speed and consistency, but it can't replace intent,
40:13
judgment, or how brand makes someone feel after
40:17
the interaction ends. Every message, follow -up,
40:21
and conversation either strengthens trust or
40:24
quietly chips away at it. If this episode made
40:27
you rethink how your brand shows up in conversations,
40:30
take that insight into your next interaction
40:33
and slow it down just enough to be real. That's
40:37
where trust lives. And if you're a leader or
40:40
organization looking to strengthen brand credibility
40:44
through clearer communication and stronger connections,
40:47
I work with teams, keynotes, workshops, and coaching
40:51
focused on trust, clarity, and results. Thank
40:55
you for listening to Networking Unleashed. Protect
40:58
your brand, honor trust, and make every connection
41:01
count. Gal, thank you again for coming on my
41:04
podcast. You were wonderful. Thank you so much
41:07
for having me. Well, hold on, folks. Don't go
41:15
anywhere. Let's hear from our sponsors. David
41:19
Neal, co -founder, Revved Up Kids. Revved Up
41:22
Kids is on a mission to protect children and
41:25
teens from sexual abuse, exploitation, and trafficking.
41:29
They provide prevention training programs for
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children, teens, and adults. To learn more, go
41:36
to revvedupkids .org. Henry Kaplan, Century 21.
41:41
When it comes to making the biggest financial
41:43
decision of your life, leave it in the hands
41:46
of a proven professional, Henry Kaplan. Henry
41:49
is a global real estate agent with Century 21,
41:53
celebrating his 41st year in business. No matter
41:57
where you're moving, Henry has the right connections
41:59
for you. You can contact Henry at 561 -427 -4888.
42:07
A huge thank you to our guests for sharing such...
42:10
insights today. And of course, a big shout out
42:14
to you, our amazing listeners, for tuning in
42:17
and spending your time with us. If you're interested
42:20
in my digital courses, being coached or having
42:23
me come and talk to your company, just go to
42:26
Michael and fill out the request form. Remember,
42:30
networking isn't about being perfect. It's about
42:33
being present. So take what you've learned today,
42:36
get out there and make some meaningful connections.
42:40
If you've enjoyed this episode, please don't
42:43
forget to subscribe. Leave us a review and share
42:46
it with someone who could use a little networking
42:48
inspiration. Let's keep the conversation going.
42:51
You can find me on Apple, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube,
42:56
or my website, foreman .com slash podcasts.