15 years after “I do.”

And what an extraordinary (and often otherworldly)

phenomenonal experience

it has been.

**

It took me a long time

to find the right match.

During this period,

people gave me a hard time

(and I gave myself a hard time),

but I’m so glad I waited.

Sometimes it’s not because

you can’t decide;

it’s because the right option

has not yet presented itself.

Risk Forward & Rock On,

The post When it takes you time to decide appeared first on Victoria Labalme.

and for many of my clients,

a time when they’re reflecting on

where they’ve been,

where they are,

and where they’re going.

As you revisit goals,

it’s worth asking yourself and your team,

“Is this really what we

want to accomplish…

and if so, for what reasons?”

As I say in Risk Forward,

don’t let goals

get in the way of your vision

or blind you to unexpected

opportunities that arise.

What is success for you?

Risk Forward & Rock On,

The post Are Goals Getting In The Way Of Your Vision? appeared first on Victoria Labalme.

This was a biggie.

5,000+ in the audience last week.

A total joy.

17 second video of venue here – ch-ch-check it out.

Every “on stage” opportunity

(whether on-camera or live in-person,

whether a high-stakes meeting

or large-scale keynote event,

whether a pitch, a podcast or a party)

is preceded by hours and hours

of prep.

Prep is often misunderstood

to mean “overprepare.”

It’s actually the opposite.

You don’t prepare in order

to do exactly what you planned.

You prepare in order to be flexible,

to show up fully,

and feel free.

Risk Forward, Prep, & Rock On,

The post The misconception about prep appeared first on Victoria Labalme.

is that the best

are often incredibly humble

and give “it” everything they’ve got,

whatever the “it” might be.

They focus on the work.

They don’t let up.

And they don’t draw

unnecessary attention to themselves.

Last month, my husband and I were

in London to see a few close friends,

including Andy Nyman

who currently stars in the West End

production of “The Producers.”

Andy is “all out” in the show, night after night–

hilarious, physically funny, singing,

dancing, and playing the lead role

with 100% commitment.

Afterwards, in the dressing room or at dinners,

he is humble and easy-going.

It’s a pretty great way to be

in the arts, business, or life.

You give it your all.

You deliver for a larger end game.

And don’t make it about you.

Regardless of your role in work or life,

(even if you’re starring on stage)

when we point our Throughline outwards

in service of others,

it’s transformational.

Risk Forward & Rock On,

P.S. Photo above: at dinner with Frank, Andy and other dear friends: Bongsu Park, an incredibly inspiring artist; and Oliver Curtis, a supremely talented cinematographer who has done countless projects and was our DP on Muppet Guys Talking.

The post It’s not about you: The secret of top performers appeared first on Victoria Labalme.

and stepping into your role

has come up on a number

of recent client conference calls

in relation to past & future keynote events…

and it reminded me of this passage

from my book, RISK FORWARD.

* * *

When a vision is not yet clear,

and when we’re hesitant to Risk Forward,

it’s tempting to hand over the reins.

We want someone else

to make the decisions.

We want them

to tell us what to do.

We assume that

because we’re not yet clear,

we never will be.

Clarity is a process.

And sometimes the project, plan,

or path tells you what it

wants to be and at that point,

it takes on a life of its own,

and it guides you.

DON’T OUTSOURCE YOUR VISION.

Risk Forward & Rock On,

The post The truth about clarity appeared first on Victoria Labalme.

If you’re feeling the pressure

to implement AI into your business

(or to implement any systems

and tools for that matter),

Satya Nadella, CEO of MIcrosoft,

offers a valuable piece of advice.

I included his words in a recent virtual keynote

which I crafted and delivered

for a few hundred business leaders

in the Pinnacle Global Network community.

Here’s a 2-minute excerpt from that section.

(NOTE: this video goes hand in hand

with my post from the other week titled 3 Risks of AI.)

Risk Forward & Rock On,

The post Discernment as a Leader: How vs. What In the Age of AI appeared first on Victoria Labalme.

on a family trip to Florence,

my father took me to the Uffizi Gallery.

He loved art and he loved Italy,

and he was excited to share

as much as he could with me that afternoon.

The Uffizi is a huge museum,

and we raced through the halls,

with my father pointing out paintings by

Tintoretto, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci,

Piero della Francesca, Botticelli, etc.

I remember the feeling of being

whisked from room to room,

but decades later, I can’t remember a single painting.

(Photo above with my father in 2015.)

By contrast, not long after this trip,

I had to do a school paper on a painting.

My father brought me to the

Frick Museum in NYC where we lived.

And he suggested I do my paper

on Bellini’s famous work:

St. Francis in the Desert.

(You can look it up online.)

For a long time, we stood side by side

in front of the painting

as he pointed out all the details:

the stigmata, the angled body position of St. Francis,

the glow of light, the range of animals

and detail of trees and leaves,

the composition with rock in forefront and town in distance,

and the importance of perspective and depth.

To this day, decades later, I can still recall it all.

A few weeks ago, I shared this story

with a Rock The Room® VIP client

who was packing far too much

into his upcoming presentation.

Whenever you communicate,

it’s tempting to rush someone through

all you have to share,

whisking them “from room to room”…

trying to cover it all.

Yet consider the value

of what happened at the Frick.

Consider focusing on less,

taking your time and really diving deep.

Years later, people will be more likely

to remember it all…and you.

Risk Forward & Rock On,

The post The Value of Focusing on Less appeared first on Victoria Labalme.

Last month, I delivered a keynote

from a beautiful virtual venue.

Festive 30-second reel from tech check

the day before I presented is here.

Below, I’ve outlined 3 tips

for virtual presentations which apply

even if you’re delivering

from your office or home.

1. Practice in the space
Arrange for advance tech rehearsal time so you’re familiar with the set up: cameras, monitors, screens, chat roll…and how far left or right you can move before you’re out of frame or lights. Test the mic. Figure out where you’ll set the items you need. (Water, support materials, etc.)

2. Look through the lens
As I teach in Rock The Room®, there’s a difference between looking at the lens and looking through the lens. Looking at the lens creates a more distant feel. Looking through the lens brings you into people’s hearts and homes/offices.

3. Vary your focus
It’s tempting to study attendees’ faces, reactions, and even backgrounds. And that matters—people feel seen, and it reinforces that you’re live, not pre-recorded. But whenever you’re looking at the people on screen, you’re not looking into their eyes. And looking through the lens into people’s eyes is one of the most powerful ways to create connection in a virtual environment.

Remember: the tech is simply a tool.

Learn how best to use it

to enhance your message and

—as my tagline has been for years—

COMMUNICATE > CONNECT > COME ALIVE.

Risk Forward & Rock On,

The post TECH CHECK BEHIND THE SCENES (…AND 3 TIPS) appeared first on Victoria Labalme.

When it comes to crafting your message,

it’s tempting to lean heavily into AI,

the new shiny tool that is here to stay.

No doubt, AI offers tremendous opportunities,

but with these come significant pitfalls

which a few recent Rock The Room® clients

have fallen into, and which I recognize

are important now to address.

Here are three to avoid:

1. Outsourcing your POV / Point of View. Your core perspective — the central message behind your communication — must come from you. AI can absolutely help you sharpen your thinking and hone your ideas. But ultimately, the perspective must be yours. You were asked to speak, present, write, or lead for a reason. Make sure you own the angle. If you don’t, it will show in your delivery. And the moment someone challenges your thinking, you may collapse quickly. Don’t build your communication on quicksand.
2. Having AI “write the script” before you’ve done the original thinking. One of the biggest mistakes I’m seeing is people turning to AI too early in the process.Not only will you end up with a slew of soundbites and statements that seem pithy but are actually often meaningless…but on top of this, you’ll be swimming in a flood of language and logic. Last fall, the Chief of Staff to one of my VIP clients tried to shortcut the coaching process by heavily relying on AI-generated scripting. What he sent in our group thread initially impressed the CEO, but in reality, it was a tangled mess of words, ideas, and disconnected messaging. More importantly, it completely missed the CEO’s unique insights, those that established him as a thought-leader. The CEO then got caught between a reliable time-tested Rock The Room® approach and AI “slop”…leading him into a swirl of confusion, overwhelm, and wasted time. Since then, I’ve implemented a process with clients around how and when to use AI effectively.
3. Flawed logic disguised as intelligence. Tools like ChatGPT and Claude are seductive and remarkably skilled at producing statements that seem smart, but I’ve often had to stop a client and ask, “Is that actually what you’re trying to say?” Once they reread the AI-generated line, they pause and ultimately admit, “Hmmm. Not really.”

Be discerning.

Be judicious.

Don’t outsource your vision…or your voice.

Risk Forward & Rock On,

The post 3 Risks of AI appeared first on Victoria Labalme.

If you want people

to show up at their best,

this part of the equation is essential.

Whether it’s with your team members,

vendors, consultants, or outside experts,

never underestimate the significant

effects of a few small actions.

This 1-minute video shows, too, that

it doesn’t even take a lot of time,

or even a lot of money.

Risk Forward & Rock On,

The post How You Treat Others appeared first on Victoria Labalme.