It was 2002. Tom Werner and his partners had just purchased the Boston Red Sox.
“This was the oldest club in the majors, and we played at the oldest stadium in the country – Fenway Park,” Tom recalls in Peter Guber‘s Tell to Win. “There was immediate pressure that Fenway Park had outlived its usefulness and needed to be torn down. After all, it was built in … continue reading
Yes.
It’s been a life-saver, certainly a business-saver for many of us over the past year as we’ve adapted and learned to communicate virtually.
So, what happens when the pandemic begins to fade? What happens when once again we have the option to travel and communicate in person?
Will things go back to how they were pre-pandemic?
Highly unlikely.
And yet, in-person, face-to-face communication will likely still play an important … continue reading
In the office of Dr. Robert Maloney is a basket containing hundreds of pairs of discarded eyeglasses.
A sign with the word “See” is hung above the basket.
Robert is one of the early surgeons to pioneer LASIK surgery. Words are not the only, or often the best, tool we as communicators have to deliver our message.
In addition to focusing on what we say, we are wise to consider … continue reading
Peter Guber had just been named the head of Columbia Pictures. It was an exciting day.
Or, was it?
Peter who was only a couple of years out of business school. Every other person on the senior management team was at least thirty years older than Peter. They seemed loathe to accept him as their leader given his youth and inexperience, Peter remembers in Tell to Win, his powerful … continue reading
Ever been in the audience where the speaker has lost their audience?
And, just keeps going with the prepared remarks?
How does it feel?
Bored? Anxious? Wanting to escape?
As a communicator, sometimes the situation calls for us to improvise, Peter Guber tells us in Tell to Win: Connect, Persuade, and Triumph with the Hidden Power of Story. We always have the option to capitalize on the energy, … continue reading
“I won’t let fear of a possible ‘no’ interfere with my telling,” writes Peter Guber in his terrific book Tell to Win about how we can use storytelling to achieve our business goals.
The trick is not to eliminate fear, but to use it. We channel the adrenaline instead of resisting it.
Philosopher Brian Johnson tells us courage is not the absence of fear, but being aware of fear and … continue reading
If we tell a story we don’t believe in, our audience will sense it immediately.
Like intention, authenticity and energy can’t be faked.
This week we are looking at how to best deliver our message utilizing best practices from Tell to Win, Peter Guber‘s book about storytelling. Peter quotes Williams College professor George Marcus who has studied the role of unspoken communication in the success and failure of … continue reading
Learning to become a great storyteller translates into business success.
Great stories share common elements: challenge, struggle, and resolution. And the story’s hero is the one who accepts the challenge, fights through the struggles, and achieves the resolution.
So far this week, we’ve looked at the storyteller as hero It’s Magic, the listener as hero How to Change the World, and the customer as hero The Superman Story … continue reading
As a walk-on fullback at the University of Maryland, Kevin Plank was annoyed. Every time he worked up a sweat, his cotton workout clothes weighed him down. So, he created an undershirt made out of women’s lingerie fabric that wicked the sweat away.
It worked. During workouts, his new undershirt was lighter. It kept his skin cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter, Peter Guber shares in his … continue reading
Bill Haber was one of the most powerful talent agents in the world. Then, one day he quit the powerhouse Creative Artist Agency which he had co-founded to become a leader of the nonprofit organization Save the Children.
Bill’s entire career had been about telling stories through movies and television. He would need a brand new story in his new role as an agent of global change.
“Save the … continue reading
