Ross Shafer didn't start out to be the world's funniest motivational speaker and customer empathy expert. Awarded a scholarship to play linebacker for the University of Puget Sound, a small NCAA II school where he was often the player voted "most likely to be shaken up on the play," he obtained a Business Marketing BA degree.

After college, Ross worked hard writing ad copy for carpet companies and invested (and lost) everything he had on what he was sure would be the next big thing - "Sounds OK, America's Only Stereo and Pet Shop."

Business failures aside, he started getting laughs at various comedy "open mic" nights and won the 1983 "Showtime Comedy Laugh Off." Soon Ross began to open shows for Dionne Warwick, Eddie Rabbitt, Crystal Gayle, Neil Sedaka and other famous people with good voices.

In the summer of 1984, Ross was approached by the Seattle NBC affiliate (KING-TV) to write and produce a weekly comedy/talk show. The concept took off, and in the five seasons Ross was at the helm of "Almost Live," the show collected 36 Emmy Awards - six going to Ross for his work as Host, Actor and Writer as well as the prestigious IRIS award for the Best Local Entertainment Series in the United States. In fact, it was at "Almost Live" that Ross actually created Bill Nye, The Science Guy!

Ross also became a regular contributor to "Dick Clark's TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes" and appeared with Dick as a guest when he led a campaign to change the Official Washington State Song to "Louie, Louie." The "Louie, Louie Campaign" became an Esquire Magazine "Dubious Achievement of the Year."

By now, Ross was getting a lot of national attention. He hosted the game show, "Love Me, Love Me Not" on the USA Network, he had a recurring role on Fox Television's "21 Jump Street," he replaced Joan Rivers as the host of FOX's late night program, "The Late Show" and he was the host of ABC-TV's "New Match Game." Ross continued to hone his stand-up act and was a frequent guest star on "Evening at the Improv," "Comic Strip Live" and "The A List." Next came "Days End," a nightly ABC entertainment magazine co-hosted by Ross, Matt Lauer and Spencer Christian.

Ross reinvented himself and went from comedian to "expert" while playing to his humor strengths. He started writing and producing funny human resources films on the subjects of customer service and motivation - 14 to date - which are now distributed in 9 languages. Corporate audiences were fascinated by Ross' story of the "Pet Shop Manager turned Network TV Host," so Ross developed a career as a keynote speaker and seminar leader.

In 2003, Ross wrote the uncompromising book, Nobody Moved Your Cheese! to encourage people to trust their own gut and be accountable for their own success. Ross' latest books focus on the rapidly changing customer and younger workforce. The Customer Shouts Back! and Customer Empathy are a result of 11 years of customer response research.

Ross recently formed The Customer Empathy Institute because he is convinced the reason customer service hasn't improved is because we fail to realize the importance of understanding the customer's emotional state before during and after the transaction.

• Nobody Moved Your Cheese! - This keynote is absolutely fresh and hilarious motivation! Ross is a fierce proponent of taking responsibility for what happens in your life - and being accountable for the outcome. Ross is blunt about this, "You are the leading expert on YOU. Nobody cares more about your life and your career than you do. Nobody has a foolproof solution for you; except you. Start believing in (and using) your unique talents and stop making excuses for your failures."
  
  
• Is Your Business Staying Relevant? - Organizations who constantly respond to their relevance and keep reinventing themselves spend a lot less time worrying about the competition and more time counting their profits. You'll leave this session with the answers and directives you'll need to stay relevant in your marketplace - today and tomorrow.
  
  
• Unconventional Thinking: The Master Course - Ross discovered very early that nobody ever made big things happen by following conventional wisdom. "Unconventional wisdom has no competition," says Ross. Ross cites how he invented Bill Nye, The Science Guy .. and won Esquire Magazine's "Dubious Achievement Award" as examples of swimming against the tide into a blue ocean of opportunity.
  
  
• The Customer Empathy Solution - Part I - After 11 years of writing and producing Human Resource training films, Ross applies his independent research to this fresh, enlightening, and entertaining keynote speech and break out seminar. Smart managers need to put their energy into teaching their people how to respond to the customer's emotional reactions. Stop training customer service - start training customer empathy.
  
  
• The Ultimate MC - Because Ross is a trained talk and game show host, he is the perfect choice for moderating your executive panel discussions and complicated award banquets. Ross will keep the programs lively and on task; drawing on his lightening quick wit and experience in every possible situation.

Books by Ross Shafer...
Nobody Moved Your Cheese! How to Ignore the Experts and Trust Your Gut	Customer Empathy: Inspirational Stories of Customer Service ... from the Heart	The Customer Shouts Back! 10 Big Changes You Need to Make if You Want Their Lifetime Loyalty