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Posts Tagged With: "iPhone"

Lead like the Apple Store

Posted by Ben Decker   |   December 12th, 2011   |   2 Comments   |  Tweet This

We know it, we’ve heard it, and this is one of the big guys behind it. Ron Johnson, while senior VP of retail for Apple, brilliantly created a retail experience that’s unsurpassed. Sure, it’s Apple’s products that make people walk in, but it’s not just the products (if it were, people would buy mostly from discount shops like Target, or online). It’s what he’s done with the Apple Store that recently landed him his new job as CEO of JC Penney.

Reading about Ron in the Harvard Business Review grabbed me (highly recommend you read the article, too). I’m continuously training execs on leadership presence, and a huge aspect of leadership is the experience you create for people around you – so what can we learn from Ron and Apple?

To create a positive experience, it comes down to this (highlights, at least). When you’re interacting with others:

  • Are you paying attention to detail? Quick tip: Details make the entire experience. When it’s your meeting, presentation, or even large-scale kickoff, get there early and do some setup. What’s the room temperature? How are the seats arranged?  Has the coffee arrived? If your audience’s experience in the room is better (read less distracting), they can pay more attention to you and your message.
  • Are you approachable? Quick tip: Pay attention to your face. Are you someone who has a furrowed brow (scrunched forehead) or frowning neutral face? They can be interpreted as intimidating, even if that’s not what you mean. Think about brightening up with a slight smile.
  • Are you connecting? Quick tip: Put down the iPhone for a few minutes (Siri will know you still love her) and hold eye contact throughout the conversation or meeting. It’s very easy to get in the habit of checking the phone or computer screen, but it hurts rapport with those around you.
  • Are you listener-focused? Quick tip: Watch your pronouns. Instead of making it all about me and I, think about using us, we, and you. Seems simple, but changes the whole tone of the conversation.
  • Do you have a clear point-of-view? Quick tip: The last time you tried to explain your perspective on a project or idea, did you beat around the bush or get long winded? State your position up front, and then support it with all the background and detail. It helps people stay on the same page with you.

Ron Johnson knew that to become a leader in the retail space, Apple had to think differently about the experience they created for their customers. Same goes for us. To be viewed as a leader, you have to think about how you come across and what experience people have when they interact with you.

Try some of these quick tips, and let me know some of your own experiences in the comments.


Categories: Communication Skills, Leadership and Communications
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Steve Jobs the Communicator

Posted by Bert Decker   |   October 6th, 2011   |   3 Comments   |  Tweet This

 

Above all, he communicated his brilliant concepts to millions of people, brilliantly.

So much is now being said about Steve Jobs brilliance – and deservedly so. He was one of a kind. Here is the acknowledged leader and innovator in the world of computers, media, music and business – and yet on the side he built Pixar into the best animation studio in the world and became Disney’s largest stockholder. Amazing.

But what strikes me most about Steve Jobs is that he had no peer in inspiring and motivating others. Not just his employees, not just his customers, but the world. Because of his communicating ability he became a rock star. I remember when I got up at 5AM to go to Moscone Center in San Francisco to hear him announce the iPhone, and I was too late – the line was already three blocks long. Who could have ever predicted that an executive who really is just making a product announcement would be able to command such attention. Amazing.

He was unparalleled. We had him on our Top Ten Best Communicators list several times – and actually he could have been #1 every year but that would have been boring.

He was never boring. He brought us so much. He is a worthy model to emulate. He will be so missed.


Categories: Communication Skills, Leadership and Communications, Newsworthy, Speakers
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Be here and now in the here and now.

Posted by Kelly Decker   |   April 27th, 2010   |   6 Comments   |  Tweet This

Our relationships are in danger. With our colleagues, best friends, kids, significant others, bosses, and team members. All because we can no longer not multitask. And the people we talk to every day – whether at work or at home – know it.

Multitasking is a myth. We’re talking here about multitasking in the sense that the more we can do at once, the more effective we’ll be. Unfortunately for our popular belief, brain research shows the opposite to be true. That means you’re not as good at your job, you’re not as good of a friend, or a mom or dad.

So, what now?

Stop, look, and listen. We teach that eye communication is the #1 behavioral skill (for face-to-face interactions). It’s the make-or-break connection that you have with your listeners. And we break that connection all the time. Chief culprit: the Blackberry, iPhone, laptop, iPad, and the gazillion apps running on them. Check out how Jerry Seinfeld describes this on the Tonight Show (that is, the new/old Tonight Show with Conan):

This happens everywhere. All the time. To all of us. I feel most guilty when I do it at home. My son Joseph thinks I am completely incapable of hearing him unless I turn toward him and look at him smack in the middle of his eyes.

Here’s how it plays out: using a sweet, angelic, 3.5 year-old “inside voice,” he calls, “Mommy…” to which I answer, “Yes, Joseph.” Mind you I’m glancing at email or chopping veggies or trying to keep the little one from writing on the walls in permanent ink. Whatever it is, I’m not looking at him. So he starts again, this time louder. “Mommy!” I answer (still calm and patient at this point), “Yes, Joseph, I’m listening.” Nope, not good enough because I’m not still looking at him. Then, the crescendo. A series of louder and quicker (definitely “outside voice” at this point) “Mommy’s,” until they physically travel up my neck and start pounding on the back of my eyeballs. Finally, (after taking a deep breath), I turn and look, “Yes Joseph, I’m listening.” He picks right back up with that sweet angelic voice asking if the Incredible Hulk is a good guy or a bad guy.

The situation is only getting worse. Distractions and new devices are so intrusive that Blackberrys are about as close to a science fiction-like bodily appendage that we can get. But how do you come across to those around you when you’re Twittering, texting, and emailing someone else that has nothing to do with the conversation at hand? Cold. Aloof. Uninterested. And certainly NOT listening.

When you don’t have eye communication, you don’t have communication. Next time someone pops by your office or cube, or calls your name… just stop, look, and listen.


Categories: Communication Skills, Web/Tech
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A Dropped Call by Google

Posted by Kelly Decker   |   January 13th, 2010   |   2 Comments   |  Tweet This

When Google announced Nexus One earlier this week, it got a lot of press, but not just on the phone itself, which was mixed. But the press on the presentation itself wasn’t mixed – it was bad. Nancy Duarte said newscasters called it a disaster (though she liked the slides.) CNBC really panned it, calling Mario Carlos (the presenter) a ‘Johnson.’ It didn’t have to be that way. You can see the short clip of Mario below, and here’s a more complete version.

My guess is that the amount/time of preparation wasn’t the problem…it was HOW he prepared! (Which, unfortunately, is WAY too common.)

Likely spent all his time studying the market opportunity, adoption rates, features/benefits, competitive landscape, and perfecting the business abstractions.

What he shoulda/coulda/woulda done:

1. Get out of the weeds and focus on THE ONE thing, aka “The Lead of the Story.”

2. Add something (actually, anything) compelling. You’ve got to get the listener emotionally and actively engaged. We advocate using SHARPs (Stories, Humor, Analogies, References, Pictures) to help make your message sticky. He “tried” to do this by quoting a dictionary, which conjures up ZERO emotional resonance.

3. FOCUS on delivery. The falls by the wayside in so many business communications – not just the high stakes presentations. Without showing confidence and passion, he’s not motivating anyone to get that phone.

What are the takeaways?

-Prepare right

How you prepare is as important as the time in prep. It’s not just the research, the points to make, it’s also the behaviors. Communication rides energy, and there was precious little in this presentation that SHOULD have been exciting.  So…

-Rehearse right

Rehearse a lot, and rehearse on video. If Mario Carlos just rehearsed a few times, with an audience, and with video, it would have to be much improved. Observed behavior changes. I doubt if he would not get rid of his many hesitations and non-words if he had heard them. I doubt if he would have had such a flat tone if he had heard it. And I would think he’s smile a bit if he had seen it. But too late – the time to rehearse and get better is before the event. And ideally well before the event so you don’t have to think about the behaviors. Rehearsal time gives confidence in the content, as well as in oneself.

-Get good feedback

Sure there had to be some feedback on an announcement of this size, but what kind was it to result in that performance. Honest? Helpful? Performance changing? I doubt it. Probably good feedback on the content of the slides, maybe timing, and of course what to be sure to include. But feedback on the experience itself? I really doubt it.

Communication is an experience – witness the name of our blog. It is a combination of what we say and how we say it, and the great majority of the time business people treat it like a written essay. If you say the words, people may not necessarily get it. They may be tuned out. As we were to Mario Carlos, and thus to Nexus, and thus to Google. Not a good experience.


Categories: Newsworthy, PowerPoint Abuse - Avoid It, Public Speaking, Special Event
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