Posts Tagged ‘communication’
Learning from the Disconnects
As a communicator, perhaps nothing is worse than scanning the audience halfway through a presentation only to see people fiddling with smartphones, fidgeting in their chairs, or—worst of all—falling asleep in a puddle of drool. If someone had filmed my life, my communication blunders and mistakes could be turned into hours of humorous outtakes. Learning…
Read MoreThe Disciplines of Connecting
After another masterful performance in Lincoln, Daniel-Day Lewis has an opportunity to capture his third Academy Award for Best Actor. He has been hailed as the greatest actor alive, and his peculiar style of method-acting has become somewhat legendary. The charisma he brings to the screen instantly transports moviegoers into his character’s world. The manner…
Read MoreTo Expand Your Influence, Elevate Your Capacity to Think
In 1978, unemployed sportscaster Bill Rasmussen hatched an idea to launch the world’s first around-the-clock television station and to devote its programming entirely to sports. Roughly a year later, the Entertainment and Sports Network (ESPN) made its initial broadcast, and in just a few years the station rapidly transformed the way Americans watch athletics. Whereas…
Read MoreUnscripted Leadership
The night before delivering his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, Martin Luther King, Jr. assembled his team at the Willard Hotel to finalize his script for the next day. As usual, his speechwriters and advisors debated, one last time, exactly what should be said and how it should be communicated. Based on the conversation,…
Read MoreCASTING A CLEAR VISION IN UNCERTAIN TIMES
Americans dream of a political leader with the wherewithal to erase the government’s budget deficits, slash its debt, and restore its international reputation. As enormous, or even impossible, as the task sounds, Anne Mulcahy performed a similar feat during her ten-year tenure at Xerox. As CEO, she took a near-bankrupt brand, whose name had at…
Read MoreAttracting Others To Your Vision
How do you convince people to buy into your vision for the future? That’s the question every leader must figure out how to answer if he or she hopes to have significant influence. Unfortunately, many well-intentioned leaders fail to find support for their vision because they start off on the wrong foot. Communicate the Vision…
Read MoreCall Lost: Why Leaders Lose Connection with Those They Lead
Wireless technology has forever altered the way we communicate. These days, payphones are practically nonexistent, and landlines seem headed for obsolescence, too. It’s hard even to remember how we lived before the advent of the mobile phones. However, as wonderful as cell phones can be, we have to put up with the nuisance of dropped…
Read MoreA Case Study in Influence : Hyundai
Everyone wants to be the best. If you aren’t the best, then chances are you’re looking to see who is and trying to emulate them. Put simply, influencers attract imitators.Lately, Hyundai has proved to be a leader in the auto industry. While sales of competitors have slowed to a crawl, Hyundai has been cruising in…
Read MoreRestoring Trust is a Must as BP Deals with Oil spill
Oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico from a deepwater well now dwarfs the amount spilled when the tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground in 1989. An estimated 2.52 million gallons of oil daily have spewed out of the gaping hole in the Earth’s crust left by the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig. Attempts to…
Read MoreCommunicating Vision
Nothing motivates an organization like a clear and compelling vision. But it can be tricky to paint a picture of what’s in your mind so that others can see exactly what you’re seeing. As a leader, how do you enable others to glimpse your vision and how do you inspire them to adopt it? 1)…
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