Ambition is a dream with a V8 engine” – Elvis Presley The corporate world romanticizes competition. Business-school students around the world carry copies of Sun Tzu’s “Art of War” in their back-packs. Battle metaphors are part of corporate lexicon. From “war-rooms” to “competitive battle-grounds”. From “war-games” to “strike when enemy is weak”. Teams obsess about …
What Elvis Reminds Us About Technology Disruption Read More »
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” – Leonardo da Vinci Wabi-Sabi – a Japanese term – is a form of appreciation for the beauty of simplicity. It is an idea foreign to many westerners. Wabi means a lack of materialistic ‘wealth’ while feeling free from a need of worldly things. Sabi is defined by a feeling …
I have always loved George Clooney: from the doe-eyed Doug Ross in E.R to the smooth Danny Ocean in Ocean’s Eleven to the suave Ryan Bingham in Up in the Air. But, while he is visually appealing and a talented actor, it isn’t his looks or acting that make him stand out to me. It …
What is George Clooney’s secret to “Effortless Cool”? Sprezzatura. Read More »
Bobby Fischer moved a pawn two squares and shocked the chess world. It was game 6 of the 1972 world chess championship, American challenger & eccentric genius Bobby Fischer vs defending champion, Russian Boris Spassky. Tensions between the nations were rising. There was more than the world chess championship at stake. As his first move, …
“Nothing in life is quite as important as you think it is while you’re thinking about it.” – Daniel Kahneman. Ben Zander, conductor of the Boston Philharmonic and author of Art of Possibility, has a simple yet powerful rule to deal with high-stress situation. He calls it Rule #6. Zander leads into this rule …
Twenty years ago, the world lost one of its most beloved leaders: Princess Diana. She was a vivacious, empathetic, and committed leader with a passion for her people. While other royalty led from the throne, Diana led from the field. Known as the “people’s princess,” Diana was the epitome of a servant leader. From the …
Princess Diana’s Magic of Ethos, Pathos and Logos Read More »
Executive summaries are seductive. As a neat list of main points of a presentation, they make us feel safe. We put them upfront in our presentations and feel ready for an executive audience. However, many presentations go awry in the executive summary itself. Why is that? Summary vs. Essence I believe sparkling business presentations to …
On January 28, 1986, the American shuttle orbiter Challenger broke up 73 seconds after liftoff, bringing a devastating end to the spacecraft’s 10th mission. The disaster claimed the lives of all seven astronauts aboard. It was a tragedy that shook the country. Even before the smoke cleared, President Reagan had the unenviable job of explaining …
What Connects the Challenger Address and COVID-19 Communication? Read More »
“I got a feeling … tonight’s gonna be a good night” – Black Eyed Peas The Black Eyed Peas opened for Oprah Winfrey’s 24th season kickoff party in the fall of 2009. The performance was great. But what was spectacular was that in the course of a few minutes after the Black Eyes Peas started …
What the Black Eyed Peas Teach Us About Driving Change Read More »
“Are you saying I can dodge bullets” Neo “No Neo. … When you are ready, you won’t have to”. Morpheus The Ubiquitous Bullet Points 30M+ presentations made every day. 90%+ of them are slide after slide of bullet points. Why is that? Bullet points are the easiest and fastest way to create content in presentation …
