Posts Tagged ‘communication’
Influence: Connecting With People
As a train’s source of energy and direction, the locomotive plays a vital role. However, unless a locomotive connects to other cars on the track, it is relatively useless. A train’s value comes from its ability to transport massive amounts of cargo, and doing so requires the locomotive to link up with dozens of freight…
Read MoreAdvice to an Incoming Leader
As President Barack Obama takes office, he enjoys a significant advantage over other incoming leaders: he can stock key positions with friends and loyal allies. Unlike the President, most new leaders must play the cards they are dealt; they do not have the luxury of choosing their hand. Like a single passenger on a full…
Read MoreVision, Connection, and Direction: The Pathway to Effective Communication
By communicating a message of hope and significance to his oppressed countrymen in Poland, Pope John Paul II played a lead role in toppling communism in Europe. He affirmed the dignity and humanity of Poles, rallying them to resist communism, while at the same time teaching them to show restraint when confronting the communist authorities.…
Read MoreConnectors Keep it Simple
William Henry Harrison gave the longest inaugural address of any U.S. President, taking two hours to plod through a whopping 8,445-word speech. Even though the speech was delivered outdoors on a frigid and rainy day, the President stubbornly refused to wear an overcoat or hat. As a result, he caught a cold that developed into…
Read MoreThe Dilution Dilemma: Making Your Messages Matter
As a leader, do you ever feel your important messages fall on deaf ears? Are your carefully constructed and communicated strategies always getting implemented? Are you often frustrated by the difference between the results you ask of others and what you actually get? Leaders agonize when developing vision, mission and strategy. They carefully choose words…
Read MoreOvercoming Barriers to Communication
On May 10th, Microsoft announced its whopping $8.5 billion-dollar purchase of Skype. Why would the software giant pay such a princely sum for a company that had suffered $689 million dollars worth of losses in the previous year? Put simply, because Skype has lived up to its stated purpose: “to break down barriers in communication.”…
Read MoreCommunication 101
COMMUNICATION 101 “Instructions for making a speech: Be sincere; be brief; be seated.” ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt In Communication, Speaking Overtime Is a Crime, so…SAY IT SOONER Mark Twain once attended a church service during which the city missionary passionately appealed for donations to aid the community’s poor. “The appeal had so stirred me that…
Read MoreCommunicating Credibly: More Than Lip Service
In 1988, pop group Milli Vanilli shot to superstardom with the release of their album Girl You Know It’s True, which spawned three chart-topping singles. The following year, the group captured a Grammy Award for Best New Artist. However, Milli Vanilli fell from fame even faster than they had rocketed to celebrity status as a…
Read MoreConnectors Find Common Ground
John talks about how effective communication is based on similarities, not differences.
Read More