I am sitting in an audience at a conference. This third speaker today started well. He seems interesting and speaks with passion. He is now on his seventh powerpoint slide. Each slide is interesting and well designed. He has worked hard to find good images and pithy quotes. My neighbour leans in towards me. I lean towards him. … Read more
When I was 13 years old, American Football became the passion of my group of friends at school in Dublin. We would play our version of touch American Football up on a tarmac area behind school. I remember catching the football and running for the end zone. A member of the other team caught my … Read more
“Cheaper” is never a deep human life goal. I don’t often hear people say “I wish my life was cheaper”. We never buy because something is cheaper. We buy because of the story we can tell ourself and others when we buy cheaper… I am a smart person because I get good deals. But, Apple … Read more
“How do you create a happy environment?”“Simple. I removed all the unhappy people.” I can’t remember who said this, but it rings true to me. To get the hot air balloon higher, it is simpler to remove the lead weights than to pump more hot air into the balloon canopy. Single most important aspect: Remove … Read more
When I was 9 years old, my father brought a Commodore Vic 20 computer home for Christmas. It came with 3k memory. It had a keyboard, a tape drive and it connected to a TV. I still remember sitting in my pyjamas and turning it on. As a child with nobody to tell me how … Read more
Don’t rush to the solution. You need to go through a good diagnosis process before the listener is ready to hear the solution. If you rush to solution, the listener is not ready to trust you. Do you take time in your meetings to really ensure that everyone shares the view of what the problem … Read more
I was recently interviewed by Augere, one of the worlds leading coach development organisations. They conduct an anual review of the state of leadership in Spain and Latin America. The interview (in pdf) is available in english here; y en castellano aqui. Some of our discussion: – do you agree that work related stress is bigger … Read more
Here are 7 critical elements of an effective entrepreneur “Pitch” that works (video here on the blog): The 7 elements of a good entrepreneurial elevator pitch A good entrepreneurial elevator pitch will contain these 7 elements: description of the problem you solve the individuals or groups that will benefit the specific product or service you … Read more
TEDxRaval (March 3, 2012 in Barcelona, Spain) will host over 100 members of the digerati interested in up-and-coming trends in technology and innovation. Learn from the leaders of technology startups and companies as they share best practices, growth strategies and stories of disruptive product development. The event will be packed with top speakers, case studies … Read more
The importance of emotion in moving people to take action. This is a video from a recent seminar for the Barcelona Internet Startups Meetup group on the role of emotion in moving people to action. This is a great group to meet entrepreneurs, VCs and techies living in Barcelona. The third pillar of Aristotle’s triad of Persuasion … Read more