The Presence Lab | Executive Communication Under Pressure

In the past, I’ve bough a lot of Armani and Brioni suits to make sure I looked good on stage. A great designer label suit with fine Italian fabrics can easily cost $5,000.

Then, I heard about a company whose suits sell for $800 and in an evaluation test for the WSJ, a team of experts judged the $800 suit to be as good as a $5,000 Armani suit.

Hear the story of how Suitsupply is upending the menswear business. You’ll learn something you can us in your business.     

As a researcher, author and teacher I’m able to gain access to lots of very accomplished business leaders. But, recently, I was privileged to see the best example of leadership in action I’ve ever witnessed. Listen and gain invaluable leadership insights into how great leaders lead.   

My observations:

1.Successful people and companies frequently start to take their success for granted. Of the original Fortune 500 from 1955 fewer than 10% remain; 450 died, got absorbed, went of business etc.  The average lifespan of a company in the S&P is less than 20 years versus 60 years back in the 1960’s.    

2.They overlook small things which will become tsunamis later

3.When the person steering the ship sees it drifting off course, immediate course correction is required

4.Most companies don’t realize that what got them to where they are, won’t get them to where they want to go. They believe they are the exception to the rule, and they aren’t. 

Last week, I was doing kick-off the year speech in Sacramento for BMD, a great employee owned mid-size company. After my speech, we divided the attendees into small groups and assigned each group one of the key points of my speeches. The assignment was to answer the question, "How can we use this to get us where we want to go?"

I was stunned with the great ideas the small groups generated. 

On the trip home I couldn't stop thinking about how many valuable ideas employees have that never get shared with senior leadership. 

Here's 10 ways to get more ideas than you'll know what to do with from the people who report to you. 

Is the glass half-empty or half full? Does it only depend on your perspective? One of the observations Jason has made this year while interviewing nearly 1000 CEO’s, top business leaders and entrepreneurs is that companies who are doing well believe they have unlimited opportunities in front of them while businesses experiencing little or negative growth believe the opportunities in front of them are limitless. Is it the just perspective or is it something else?  Jason thinks it’s something else.

Do you believe in ghosts? Jason never did until he visited Richmond, Virginia last week for a speech. Let him tell you what happened in his hotel room. The story is enough to give you goose bumps. There’s also a great business tip from a small business owner who employs 65 people in a highly successful enterprise. You’ll find his unique perspective refreshing, unusual and maybe a little controversial. 

Each year, Jason conducts between 600 - 1,000 telephone interviews in preparation for his speeches around the world. These conversations are with CEO’s of small, medium and very large companies, business owners, entrepreneurs, and high-level executives. This episode reveals the ten things business leaders see as their big challenges for 2019.

Learn Something easy you can do to immediately grow your revenues 5-10%

Recent research reveals that students who take four years of arts and music average almost 100 higher points on their SATS than those who take a half-year or less. Have children or grandchildren? Want them to have a rich life. Maybe you should encourage them to grab a paintbrush instead of a football. 9 reasons why the arts are better than sports.

Description: After studying more than 220,000 companies for books and having conducted more than 34,000 interviews with the most successful leaders, business owners and CEO’s in the world, Jason complied a list of the eight traits that truly great leaders share. He reveals them in this episode of the Game Changers©. 

Followed the company from its infancy but they never -explain – qualified for one of my books. But it’s tough to ignore advice form a guy who has a net worth of 158 billion dollars.

Half of all online searches start on Amazon, 50% of Americans belong to Prime, and the company receives 1 of 2 dollars spent online.

 Article by Randall Lane, Editor of Forbes and have always admired him.

1.  Day 1 Tower – it’s the first day of their existence and the first day of the Internet (Think BIG Act Small)
2.  Emphasize growth over short term profitability 
3.  Multiple paths to yes, instead of multiple paths to no.  (Dan DiMicco, Nucor Steel)
4.  Celebrate and undo your small failures (Schwab)
5.  Looking for a differentiated idea – not a me too offering. Has to be big. Had to offer potentially great return on capital. Kindle story…. nobody wanted to do but Bezos said we need to start learning.  (arrow Electronics)