best birthday present ever -- dina kaplan and how she contacted barry schwartz -- and thoughts on gifting

If you know me and you've sat down with me for over a few hours, inevitably you'll hear about the Paradox of Choice.  The book, by author Barry Schwartz, was recommended to me a few years ago by Esther Dyson ... it is a great book with many non-obvious thoughts.   I've since read many articles and papers by Schwartz who I think is one of the most interesting minds I have come across.   While I don’t always agree with him, he always makes me think.

 

Fast forward to April this year when I got an email from Dina Kaplan.  That, in itself, isn’t big news ... Dina is a dear friend of mine who I talk to regularly.   But the content was interesting ... Dina had gotten me a unique birthday present ... a lunch with Barry Schwartz.  

 

Before last week, I had never met Professor Schwartz but constantly talked about his work.   I assumed Dina (who is the most connected person I know) knew Schwartz and called in a favor to have him go to lunch with me.   What I only found out later is that she cold emailed him, told him I was a big fan, and convinced him to have lunch with me.

 

Well last week Schwartz and I sat down for a great lunch.   I was like a kid in the candy store peppering him with questions, asking him about his theories (many of which had to do with hiring and motivating employees ... something I am very focused on right now), and hearing his thoughts about families.  

 

It turns out that it was, by far, the best birthday present I have ever received.   And it set a new standard for giving gifts.  

 

Gifting can be really powerful if it is super personalized.  And the best gift isn't a thing, it is an experience.   And it isn’t the dollar amount you spend on someone (at least it shouldn't be), but the thought and effort.  

 

Dina did a few things that earn her the gold medal in gift giving:

 

1. she thought a lot about the recipient.   99.9% of people would not appreciate a gift of lunch with a random professor from Swarthmore College ... so it was obvious the gift was targeted to me.

 

2. she did her research.  She dug up Schwartz's email address ... she thought of a clever pitch ... and she convinced him to go to lunch with me.

 

3. she was persistent.   Who knows how many people she contacted.   Maybe Schwartz was the first person she contacted but maybe he was the tenth.

 

If gifting is an art and a science, then Dina Kaplan wins its Nobel Prize.   Thank you Dina!