What are the varied and often seemingly opposing worlds you most often move between? For me, it’s business, the performing arts, and the fields of personal growth/consciousness. Each informs the other. Last week, I shared a post about communication skills, and I wanted to add to that here. No matter how much valuable information you …
Here at the start of the year, I’ve been having conversations with a variety of executives and entrepreneurs. Each is rolling out some form of a new plan, product, system or solution. Regardless of their position, the outcome hinges greatly on their communication skills. Whether they’re a leader crafting a speech to inspire an entire …
Rolling out your new plan, product, system or solution Read More »
This 10-minute ritual (which I do every year) always brings unexpected insights. Over the years, I’ve shared it with individuals and teams, and countless people have reported back how much they appreciated the exercise. STEP 1 – GET YOUR SUPPLIES Index cards*—have approx 30 blank cards per person Pens Timer *I strongly recommend you NOT …
As you plan for 2026, I thought I’d share a pertinent excerpt from my book RISK FORWARD®: *** For many people, goal setting is taken as an unquestionably positive activity and a requirement for success. But if you think back on your life, it’s likely many of your top experiences arrived without you ever having …
The Myth of Goals & How Goals Can Lead You Astray Read More »
There’s a hidden half to communication which is too easily forgotten: listening. For 20 years, I’ve been teaching a workshop on The Art of Listening, and I’m continually astounded by the response. Eyes register a profound level of recognition as if people just saw the moon through a telescope for the first time. Such is …
This last week, I was fortunate enough to attend The Center For Fiction Annual Awards Benefit in NYC. The reason: Kate Medina, former Executive Editorial Director at Random House, was honored with the Medal for Editorial Excellence. Over these last few weeks, Kate and I have been working together to hone her remarks for her …
What will get in the way of people adopting your plan, initiative, recommendations or key points? Whenever you’re crafting your communications, it’s essential to consider what in Rock The Room® we call “O&O” —the OBSTACLES & OBJECTIONS which those listening might secretly have. This last week, I met with three different private 1:1 coaching clients, …
Grateful for you who read my weekly missives, which for me have become a labor of love. Whether we met after a keynote, through my coaching, at a virtual event, or in some other “scene”, I’m so grateful you’re here. Risk Forward & Rock On,
“You’ve wasted two words.” My Stanford University poetry professor, W.S. Di Piero, glanced up at me. The poem I’d submitted included a line about how, into the musician’s hat, I tossed a “small, hard coin.” Di Piero explained: “A coin is small and it is hard, so you’ve wasted two words.” He was 100% right. …
I’ve been working 1:1 with a variety of clients lately helping them craft high-stakes communications. For each, it’s essential that they express their perspective vs. deliver a presentation designed by someone else. As I say to them, “You are the CEO for a reason.” There’s a unique view that one has at (and from) the …
