Daniel Pink outlines six pitches to help sell yourself, your ideas, and your products and services. If you’re wondering about the short subject line today, it’s something I learned from Daniel Pink and his chapter on Pitches in his new book “To Sell is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others.” Pink offers a fresh …
Author: John Stevenson
The magic number – The Sunday Snippet – [2.17.13]
If you try to make more than three points, you probably won’t make any. We’ve all been bombarded with bullet points. In fact, it probably happens to most of us on a daily basis. Emails, presentations and speeches often have more points than we can count or comprehend. While we might think more is better, …
Beside every great man – The Sunday Snippet – [2.10.13]
At first I thought I would succumb, but I had a strong tower to lean upon, my wife, a woman of infinite tact and wisest counsel. – Washington Roebling You’d be hard pressed to name an engineering feat of the 19th century that was more audacious, courageous, and monumental than the building of the Brooklyn …
Make me care – The Sunday Snippet – [2.3.13]
A great story has tension, conflict, and makes the audience care. How to set the stage for your stories. Pixar filmmaker Andrew Stanton knows a thing or two about effective storytelling. He’s written and produced “Toy Story” and “WALL-E.” He makes the point that no matter what kind of story you’re trying to tell, you …
The perfect fit – The Sunday Snippet – [1.27.13]
Most prospects are not a fit and don’t need what you provide. Here’s how to find that out fast. The best advisors and practitioners are usually extraordinary teachers and Ian Altman fits that description. Altman is the author of “Upside Down Selling,” and has a great deal of experience in building and growing businesses, as an owner/executive and …
Rise and shine – The Sunday Snippet – [1.20.13]
Getting up early in the morning is a practice most highly successful people share. The late, great (fictional) sports agent Dicky Fox, Tom Cruise’s mentor in Jerry Maguire (1996), had some simple advice in one of his flashback scenes: “I love getting up in the morning. I clap my hands together and say “this is going …
Enlightened hospitality – The Sunday Snippet – [1.13.13]
One of New York City’s greatest restaurateurs shares his winning recipe for “enlightened hospitality.” Danny Meyer has built a restaurant dynasty in New York City. Starting in 1985 with the opening of his flagship restaurant, Union Square Cafe, he’s since gone on to open another 25 famous locations. His best-known restaurants include Gramercy Tavern, Blue Smoke, …
Yours for the asking – The Sunday Snippet – [1.6.13]
Ask for what you want — and get it. Do you ever have trouble asking for what you want? Do you feel frustrated when you don’t get what you don’t ask for? It’s happened to all of us. We hem and haw and hope that people will do what we want if we give them enough hints. John …
Thinking like Sherlock Holmes – The Sunday Snippet – [12.30.12]
What we can learn about better concentration – and productivity – from the quintessential unitasker Sherlock Holmes. Multitasking has become a desired skill in our modern lives. In fact, many of us pride ourselves on our multitasking prowess, and even strive for higher levels of frenzied, frantic activity. What few of us are willing to …
People before profits – The Sunday Snippet – [12.23.12]
Being lost in work can lead to being lost altogether. When Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol, his timeless story of greed, redemption and generosity, he was in a bit of a slump and in need of more income to raise his family that included 10 children. We know the tale begins on a “cold, …