Warren Buffett gave a talk to a group of MBA students at the University of Florida in 2007. The video is at the bottom of this post (on the blog). He starts with an interesting question. He says [2:30] “Think for a moment that I granted you the right to buy 10% of the future … Read more
I came across the concept of Personal Branding via the blog of Dan Schwabel about 6 months ago and have been a regular reader of his blog. Some ideas have been percolating up through my unconsciousness and drifted into consciousness during a day skiing with my friend Javi. (Thanks to Ana, Piero and friends for … Read more
Most days are much the same. However, great changes in our world don’t come from normal days – they are driven by the extreme events, the outliers. Something like 70% of all the drops in the US stock exchanges are due to 6 particular days of extreme share price drops. The course of my own … Read more
Strong personal networks don’t just happen. They have to be carefully constructed. This post is a summary of my recent research and personal opinion on how you can grow and strengthen your connections. Why is developing a strong diverse Network important? It will give you three powerful benefits: Information – fast access to private information … Read more
I was reading a post at Andrew Dlugan’s blog “Six Minutes” and came across the World’s best presentation. SlideShare recently concluded their World’s Best Presentation contest, and the winner was Dan Roam’s American Health Care presentation. [If you are reading this via subscription, you may need to click through to view it below. This is … Read more
Public speaking is a learned skill. To speak well requires practice. The ability to speak confidently and persuasively in front of groups is a highly valuable asset. Increased practice leads to better performance in job interviews, proposal presentations, project team meetings and board meetings. The basic principles of persuasion were developed over hundreds of years … Read more
There is no simple rules for how you should stand, have your hands, look, or dress when you give a speech. However you must achieve three things in order to powerfully support the verbal message of your speech. Sandy Linver in her book “Speak and Get Results” outlines the three areas: you must transmit authority, … Read more
I am currently preparing the next year IESE MBA managerial communications course material and put down some rough notes on some key tips that differentiate powerful speakers from the rest. Speak with an intent to move people to action. Know what you want your audience to do immediately after hearing your speech. If nobody does … Read more
Jim Rohn says that there are four simple steps to becoming a great speaker: Have something to say. Say it well. Read your audience. Intensity (the right words mixed with measured emotion). How do we get something good to say? Live a full live. Meet lots of people. Fail. Succeed. Remember what it felt like … Read more
For the rest of your life begin every memo with the word “This.” It allows you to get started, and to tell the reader in the first sentence what the purpose of the memo is. If it’s under €3 million, put it on a single page. This forces you and your reader to focus only … Read more