BLArticle®
The personal touch of a blog; the informative touch of an article.
Is It The Audience Or Is It Me?
Audiences come in all shapes, sizes… and moods. Some audiences are loud, some are pensive, and others are, well, dead. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of stepping in front of a room, opening with one of your best stories, analogies, or jokes, and watching it...
A Tale of Two Stories
Story #1… Last week, the travel Gods really stuck it to me good. I showed up at O’Hare airport at 6:00 pm, and I found out that my 7:00 pm flight back to National Airport was running thirty minutes late. This was due to thunderstorm activity. When I...
It’s All About The Effort
In 1986, along with four other trainers at Xerox, I was assigned to teach the new basic training program at Xerox called L87. I had no idea why it was given that name. After a dreadfully short period of time trying to learn it, I found myself up in front of a room...
Don’t Hit That Button!
Have you ever stopped and counted how many emails you get in a day? It’s hard to count because we are often checking when we wake up, checking while we’re drinking our coffee, checking when we get to our office, checking when we’re waiting around for others,...
I’ll Try vs. I Will
When you ask someone to do something, one of two answers are usually heard: “I’ll try” or “I will.” At first glance, these two responses sound a lot alike. After all, aren’t we taught to always try, or try real hard or try our best? Yes, it seems pretty easy to...
The Pig Farmer and the Intellectual
There once was a woman who grew up on a farm in South Dakota. Her family raised pigs. She worked hard, and the farm was successful, but she longed for something better in her life. So she left the farm, went off to pursue a higher education, graduated, and moved to...
Understanding Your Character
Part 2 - Who Are You? Who is your favorite actor? I’ve always been a fan of Daniel Day-Lewis. Watch him in a movie and I can assure you, he’ll make you believe in whatever character he is playing. Coincidently, he’s famous for the intensity in which he studies each...
Understanding Your Character
Part 1 - Making People Believe Although I’ve now spent over thirty years in front of audiences, it wasn’t until my junior year in high school when I first took to the stage. I was fortunate to have an amazing teacher and director, Rob Ramoy, who one day stopped me in...
Finding A Niche Of Their Own
I guess you can call me a gym rat; I have been someone who goes to his gym regularly for many years. I’ve belonged to my current gym for twenty-two years. I mix up my exercise time by swimming, sometimes lifting, an occasional run, weekly spinning, and I even...
Can Ethics Be Taught?
Think about that question for a moment. Many will tell you that ethics cannot be taught. They’ll tell you that you are either an ethical person, or you’re not. If only it were that simple. I happen to believe that all of us intend to be ethical. We have a voice...
“Neither Rain, Nor Sleet, Nor Gloom of Night…”
Have you ever heard that motto before? You have if you’ve been to the New York City General Post Office. It’s not actually the official motto of the post office, but it’s engraved on the front of their building since 1896. Therefore, for the sake of this story,...
Sticking Your Landing
I was having lunch with a man the other day, and he and I have been developing a friendship over the past six months or so. I have a great deal of respect for this man. He flew fighter aircraft all over the world – Europe, Northern Africa, Turkey, the Republic of...
The Strong Hand of Implementation
When you spend a few decades doing something you love, you build a reputation. When you speak for a living, there isn’t a lot of debate as to how well you do it. As I’ve always said: “When you do a great job; everyone knows it. When you don’t do a great job;...
It’s All About The Details
I’m a details man and that’s how I like to think of myself. Some might refer to me as a bit obsessive, while others might call me a pain in the neck. Guilty as charged. However, at the end of the day, I’m kind of proud of any of those names you might want to call...
Skill Vs. Will
As I watch my beloved Washington Redskins team finish off another disappointing season, I find myself drifting back to the good old days. We had a great owner in Jack Kent Cooke, a great coach in Joe Gibbs, great players like Joe Theismann, John Riggins, Darrell...
Price vs. Performance
When it comes down to doing a job for a customer, it often boils down to two things; price and performance. The first is negotiable; the second is not. To me, this is a black and white issue, but it never ceases to amaze me how confused some people can get over...
What’s in a Name?
Recently, I went to Tanzania, and like many African countries, tourism is one of the few sources of income for this struggling population. Wherever you go, and whatever you do, you will find a cluster of friendly faces with bags of trinkets following you around. ...
When Good Is More Than Good Enough
No matter how many times you have delivered the same presentation, there are always unknowns. The message might not change, but the audiences sure do. Clearly, the more you deliver the same message, the tighter that presentation becomes. But what about the...
Lee Jolles – A Life Well Lived
I think I can sum my father up in two words. The first word presented itself to me in the mail when I was seven years old. One of my many jobs was to retrieve the day’s mail, and I began to notice that a number of letters were addressed to “Lion Lee Jolles.” I had...
The Negotiation Quagmire
Here’s a story you’ve probably heard, if not participated in, many times in your career. A lead is passed your way, regarding the use of your services. You dutifully set an appointment with the potential prospect. Things are going well on the call, and the...
“Rob is an expert not only in the art of influence,
but also in human nature.”
~Ken Blanchard,
coauthor of The One Minute Manager® and Trust Works!