What Toys R Us Taught Me About Selling by Being Human with Warren Kornblum

What if the secret to building a brand people love isn’t about being the biggest or the loudest, but about winning something deeper? Warren Kornblum calls it “share of heart.” After a career that took him from creative director to Global CMO of Toys “R” Us, he’s convinced it’s the only metric that truly matters.

In this episode of Sell by Being Human, host Alex Smith sits down with Warren Kornblum, former Global CMO of Toys R Us, former CMO of Serta Simmons Bedding, and current founder and CEO of Share of Heart. With a career spanning from the advertising agency world to the C-suite, Warren shares his journey and the philosophy that guided him: true customer loyalty is built on emotional connection, trust, and genuine human care, not just awareness or wallet share.

Drawing on his experience at Toys R Us during a pivotal time of retail disruption, Warren explains why the brand’s emotional connection, embodied by the iconic “I don’t want to grow up” song and Geoffrey the Giraffe, was its greatest asset, and how losing sight of the customer in favor of shareholders contributed to its decline. The conversation explores the lessons he learned from his father, “Uncle Philly,” a master of human connection; the critical difference between awareness and belief; and why AI, for all its power, will never replace human empathy.

Warren also discusses his new book, Notes from the Brand Stand, and shares practical advice for anyone, from CEOs to baristas, on how to make people feel seen, valued, and important.

Tune in to learn how to earn trust, build emotional connections, and sell by being more human, not less.

Key Takeaways

Share of heart goes beyond share of mind and share of walletAwareness can be bought, but belief must be earnedSelling to one person or millions follows the same process: relevance, trust, and caringGreat sellers stay in the moment, because it’s about the customer, not youKnow who your customers are and who they aren’tRetaining customers matters as much as winning new onesSometimes the best change is no change: modernize a brand’s “jewels” instead of discarding themQuarterly pressure can pull companies away from the customers who built themLeaders should listen in on call centers and chat logsAI is table stakes; empathy and leadership set companies apartMaking people feel they matter costs nothing

In This Episode:

[00:00] Dynamic intro[00:36] Welcome and introducing Warren Kornblum[03:54] What “sell by being human” means to Warren[05:30] The upsid