Obscene? Me!? You want my company to be obscene? Well…yes. Let’s look at the etymology of the word. Obscene comes from two Greek works: “ob” meaning “from”; and “skene” meaning “tent or covered place”—in this case, stage. Greek theater—the Hollywood of 2,500 years ago—was intense, powerful and bloody, involving battles, murders and infidelity. Sound familiar? …
Given the pace of life and business, it’s easy to get caught up in the details, duties, data and deadlines of your day without a sense for the reason behind all these actions–what I call your Throughline™. And when you do this for too long, you can start to feel disconnected. Reconnecting with the purpose …
The Throughline – Effective Management & Leadership Read More »
Great business experiences (and reputations) are the result of many factors, one of which is doing more than expected. This month I visited La Fenice—the famous theater in Venice which burned to the ground twice over the past two centuries (once in 1836 and again in 1996). Both times, it was rebuilt. The extraordinary thing …
Many of you have heard me speak about Velcro Communication™, the concept being that the more hooks and loops you have in common with another person, the stronger the bond. What’s a hook or loop? Anything outside the business domain that might be of mutual interest to a colleague, prospect, client, or customer such as …
Velcro Communication™ – Connecting with Clients, Customers, Colleagues, Prospects Read More »
I recently received an email blast from a sales professional. Let’s call him Colin Jones. He was at a presentation I gave and had asked for my business card after the event. Colin’s email blast (which I’d never signed up for) went out to a very large group of people, but it was not sent …
When we go to a play or movie, we are hoping for an experience that is exciting, fun, entertaining, emotionally powerful, thrilling, and filled with adventure. We want to release ourselves into an imaginary world and leave behind our own. In order for this transformation to take place, however, what is happening on stage or screen must be …
A few days ago, on February 27, I went to the hotel gym in Santa Monica. Glancing at the sign-in form, I noticed something peculiar. The actual date was February 27, 2010. But, people had signed in 8-27? August 27? As I studied the form, it didn’t take me long to figure out what had happened. I …
“Learn to perform with spirit.” — Marcel Marceau, (1923-2007) Marcel Marceau & Victoria Labalme – The Bolton Theatre, 1994
If you have a presentation coming up and are wondering what you can do to make it unique, I encourage you to try something that has a bit of flare. I can guarantee you that the performances you remember most – speakers, preachers, teachers,or professors – are the ones who did the unusual, the unexpected, …
Be Outrageous; It’s The Only Place That Isn’t Crowded – Tapping into The Prism Effect Read More »
Creativity is often about putting a new twist on an old theme. And it therefore can occur in the most obvious and often simplest of places. In Jackson Hole, Wyoming, I saw this sign at the side of a small mountain road. Brilliant, eh? You have to chuckle.
