Irresistible
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The leadership frequency trap
“I’ve said it a thousand times.” Well, you have. I totally get that you’re tired of repeating the message over and over again: You’re literally
Ambitious vs. satisfied
“I’m satisfied with what I have. I don’t need more.” It can be a huge source of frustration when ambitious leaders clash with this kind
What? You don’t enjoy public speaking?
“What do you mean you don’t enjoy public speaking?”My friend was surprised to learn that his peers had perceived him as a fantastic public speaker.
Is your own idea clear to you?
Here’s a simple test: If you can’t articulate it clearly, it’s not clear. If you want clarity, articulate your idea. Then refine what you said
3 questions
If the people on your team clearly see where we are going, why we are going there, and why we are going there, and if your actions suggest that you mean it (as opposed to just throwing some random motivational bullsh#t at them), it’s likely that the right people will be attracted and …
“How long?”
“How long?”, she asks the doctor.Immediately, we’re right in the middle of a story. Which is typical for modern movies. It’s one of the aspects
Singular
Secure the only spot at the airport that sells water and you can basically stop bothering about how you do business. It doesn’t really matter
Still missing
Which book didn’t you write but could have?Which speech didn’t you give but should have?What’s the blog that doesn’t exist although you could write it?
Compared to what?
You might copywrite a text faster than anyone else in town. But on the other side of the planet, I can find someone who writes
What else could work?
“One of the biggest strategic mistakes you can make is to fail to make the most of your victories. Yet even brilliant leaders sometimes make
Decoration and polish
When you decorate a diamond you make it less beautiful, not more. Diamonds need to be polished. Does your product need decoration or polish?
Edgy and weird
Average blends in.Edgy stands out. For example, there’s this super weird fashion store that draws an ever growing crowd of loyal superfans. It’s no wonder
The hero’s podium
The hero’s podium is a notoriously difficult place to be on. It means that all eyes are on you. Your job is no lesser than
Prepare! Present! Reflect! Repeat!
It’s that simple! This is the formula to turn yourself into a world class speaker – even if you feel like a terrible speaker today.
Curiosity has joined the party
Confusion’s best mate is Complexity.Clarity’s best mate is Curiosity. Luckily, Complexity and Curiosity are friends, too. When you need to explain a complex idea with
Culture Clash
When companies merge, cultures clash. The stronger the cultures, the bigger the clash; the bigger the clash, the stronger the future needs to be to
What matters most?
Short reminder: If you don’t decide on what matters most, you’re effectively delegating that decision to your audience. What’s your focus for today?
“Can all of you see my brilliance?”
Status updates are supposed to quickly inform everyone about the status of a project. Too often, though, these updates are much rather about the status
How to charge 8x the price
This Moleskine notebook costs €13. At your local grocery store, you can get a double pack of similarly looking, similarly equipped notebooks for €3. Why
Saying it simply
Saying it simply starts with simply saying it. Once you’ve said it, you can simplify it. Just saying.
How good are your detective skills?
Unfortunately, Lord Smithe has been murdered. Can you help the inspector find out who murdered him? Do yourself a favor and watch the video first
Fascinating communicators
Surely, you know one or two of these fascinating communicators who just nail it. The kind of people who always seem to find the right
The customers you need
Any sustainable business needs customers. Not every sustainable business needs more customers. How about yours?
The genius who refuses to make an impact
I’ve met quite a number of thoughtful people who are brilliant at what they do but who almost refuse to make an impact. They would
Every thing is made by someone
Every thing has been invented, designed, engineered, produced, marketed, and distributed by someone. The clothes you wear.The bike you ride.The music you listen to.The book
How far do you take your audience?
If, in the end, your audience isn’t surprised by how far you’ve taken them, perhaps you haven’t gone far enough. So, take them farther. The
How to create a movement
The first step in creating a movement is to create something that moves. In a way that it can move – the easier it can
Two important questions for 2023
Heading into 2023, here are two important questions worth reflecting upon: Why do the people you serve deserve your effort?Who do you proudly exclude? If
The story of 2022
What did 2022 bring you? What did you learn? Who did you meet? Why not take the time in between the years to turn one
Who would you meet?
If, out of nowhere, you were magically given an extra day next year, but with an asterisk: You will only get the extra day if
If only I had known this
In hindsight, it’s often not that difficult to see what you should have done differently. Of course, this couldn’t work. Of course, they would be
Thanks
For being kind. For lending a helping hand to someone who needed it. For listening to someone who had nobody to talk to. For asking
A very special X-mas gift
Here’s a last minute idea for a very special X-mas gift that you can’t get on Amazon or in any other shop. Tonight, sit down
Relevance beats elegance
Elegance might get you attention.But relevance creates interest.Elegance without relevance is meaningless. By all means, make it elegant. But never at the expense of relevance.
The 14 and a half reasons your product is superior
Maybe it’s even 17 reasons. It doesn’t really matter. Because no one cares. When you’re at reason #7, we don’t even recall #2 anymore. The
I want it done this way
I’m not interested in how things are usually done. I want it done this way. – Werner Herzog It’s a favorite complaint in many companies.
Is communication an art or a craft?
Why do I speak of an “art” in my tagline “The Art of Communicating”. Isn’t it more of a craft? It is a craft. You
The perfect first sentence
The perfect first sentence is the one that makes your audience want to read or hear the second one. Sounds trivial, but is it? I
I don’t know
But I wanna find out.But I don’t care.But I will pretend that I know. Who of the three are you?(And how does that depend on
Clear communication is revelation work
Some things are hard to understand and even harder to explain. Which is a real problem when this thing is your idea and it has
It’s always now!
The more busy we get, the more likely we are to miss the present moment. And yet, it’s always now. What a beautiful idea to
How often Messi fails
Every shot that Messi didn’t make, wasn’t a goal. He only ever scores when he shoots at the goal. Which he does. Most importantly, he’ll
Your favorite movie
A huge part of what makes a great movie compelling is that you don’t know what’s going to happen but want to find out. But
Don’t be different!
A unique position is what every marketer dreams of. If your brand occupies a unique position, it can’t easily be copied or challenged by a
AMP up your communication
What, who, how. If you can’t answer these questions properly for your communication, you’re leaving impact to chance. The usual advice is to MAP these
The Tale of the Wind and the Sun
As a child, my mother would often read a bedtime story to me that went something like this: “It’s a beautiful morning with a little
How to create a great partnership
A great partnership is one where both sides rightfully think they got the better deal. However, the way to get there is not by searching
Don’t buy that ice cream
So, you were a good boy. You didn’t buy ice cream while running your groceries … But of course only to find yourself crying in front
Is your topic dry?
No, your topic isn’t dry. There are no dry topics. There are only dry lectures: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhiCFdWeQfA
The clarity river
The word “clarity” invites a binary view on the matter: Either you have clarity or not. But that’s hardly how it works in real life.
So, what was the talk about?
I’ve listened to your talk. When I get back into my office, my colleagues ask: “So, what was the talk about?” What should I respond?
Needs more info
Some salespeople love to make decisions on behalf of their customer. Their favorite one: the purchase. These salespeople have already decided that their customer wants
Giving a talk
When you’re giving a talk, are you truly giving it? Or are you taking more than you give? Such as your audience’s time? Are you
When rational hits emotional
When a rational argument hits on an emotional argument, it usual ends badly. Both increase their volume, the rational side by elaborating their arguments in
A fun speech
What’s worse than a fun speech that lacks substance? A profound speech that lacks fun. The fun part might at least get some people to
Applause vs. impact
If you could pick only one, applause or impact, what would you choose? Now, if you scroll through your timeline on social media, how do
Changing your mind
You often hear me saying how trust is created when you consistently say what you mean and mean what you say. But, as with most
The duality of the aha effect
Clarity can show up in the form of a thought or in the form of a feeling. The aha effect happens when both fall together
The language of Clarity
If you’re not used to it, speaking with clarity is like speaking in a foreign language that you’ve recently started to learn. It’s hard to
Are you afraid of simple words?
People who care for the truth tend to shy away from simple statements. Manipulators don’t. Which leads into a vicious circle. Because the manipulators’ shameless
What’s possible?
Of course, we want to have it … as good as possible,as cheap as possible,as profitable as possible,as soon as possible,as long as possible,as fun
Being a rock star
Imagine you’re a rock star. You’re about to perform in front of a crowd of 30,000. Which of these two are you: Almost all of
Just for today
What if, just for today, instead of reading 100 posts on social media, you read one chapter in a book? What if, instead of scratching
“I kind of like to be doubted.”
Sounds like a healthy way of living when you’re Mark Zuckerberg who is probably among the most doubted people on Earth, don’t you think? But
Again
And then they say it again. Only s l o w e r. Or LOUDER.As if I was kind of dumb … And yet, that’s
It’s complex
“My idea is complex, I can’t possibly leave this aspect out or that. I mean, what if someone misses the thing I’d leave out? It
We need more structure
Maybe you do. But maybe you need something else. Like, for example, clarity. The two are not to be confused. Many websites are well structured.
How would you improve it?
“How would you improve it?” vs. “What would you improve?” The latter is satisfied by “I don’t like this aspect and that one”. It invites destructive
How can anyone still want to lead a tobacco company?
It’s hard to understand how, after 1964, anyone could still want to lead a tobacco company. The surgeon general’s report from 1964 clearly and unmistakably
The purpose of a strategy
The purpose of a strategy is to change the world in a way that the chances of success increase. Crucially, you need to figure out
Existential Threats
In order to understand business moves of larger corporations, it’s a useful exercise to consider how they relate to existential threats to their business model.
Toxic vagueness
Some people cover everything they say in a fuzzy layer of vagueness so they can never be questioned or challenged. It’s a sign of a
Where, why there, why us?
Three pillars of super clear leadership communication: Where are we headed? Why are we going there? Why does each of us belong here? Too often
Leave out the boring parts
Storytelling is rather simple if you follow this advice from writer Elmore Leonard: “A story is real life with the boring parts left out.” Simple,
Two very different keynotes
One made the audience burst with laughter. The other made the audience fall silent. The first was a super fun experience for both: the speaker
The hilarious guy
Think back to your teenage years.Who was the loudest in the group?Who got the most laughs for their jokes?Who told the most hilarious stories?Who drew
The misuse of stories
Stories are powerful. Which is why they are often misused. The more emotional, the greater the potential for misuse. A couple of years back, at
It’s too expensive!
Or is it?Because maybe it’s too cheap. Price is a story. A cheap price tells a different story than an expensive price. It’s too cheap
The sweet spot
The sweet spot for running a sustainable business is to do things thati. you are deeply passionate about,ii. unbelievably good at andiii. can make a
Simple words
I’m not impressed when someone uses complex words. I’m impressed when they can say complex things with simple words. That’s what differentiates leaders who light
Attention to detail
Donald Knuth pays $2.56 for every error that you spot in one of his books. Checks are rarely cashed, though, as the receivers prefer to
The special ones
Some people are so good at public speaking that it feels out of reach to achieve the same. Their confidence, their eloquence, their whole appearance,
The day after
The keynote was a great success. Standing ovations. “What a great presentation!”“You’re a natural born presenter!”“That was quite the roller-coaster ride! What a brilliant show!”
When people should care, but don’t
One of the problems with Malaria is that it shouldn’t be a problem. It’s actually not that hard to protect yourself from getting infected. The
I’m not creative
That’s usually a different way of saying “My first idea wasn’t any good so I’m giving up.” Let’s say you’re looking for a slogan (or
AI writing tools
AI writing assistants are all over the place. Although their writing is often bad. But so is yours when you write the first draft of
“We have never needed to do marketing.”
I’ve met quite a number of businesses who told me that they have never needed to do marketing, all of their business would come from
Adapt or Attract
Two ways to resonate strongly with your audience. Adapt your messaging to the audience. Or. Attract your audience with your messaging. Which one do you
Rule no. 2
I often speak about the brutality of the first rule of communication: The audience is always right. If they didn’t get it, they didn’t get
What if they’re right?
What if your customer is right in choosing the competition? What if your team is right in being skeptical about the strategy shift? What if
Different vs. specific
Good marketers make their marketing different.Great marketers make their marketing specific.Which is why it’s different by default. Great marketing doesn’t bother to make anything different.
Time’s up
If you care for what you do, you’ll always have more interesting things to say than you’ve got time to say them. Of course, speeding
What do you mean?
It’s a simple question that changes everything. And yet, we often shy away from using it rigorously. We notice that the team member uses a
Why you buy what you buy
The phone you own, why did you buy it? The career you chose, why did you pick it? The coffee brand you obsess over, why
Is YouTube acting dishonestly?
Last week, a study by Mozilla was published to show that YouTube’s “dislike” buttons don’t seem to do much. The study found that YouTube continues
What does it look like?
If you’ve ever played Monopoly, you know what it feels like to play the game. Which is the point of this brilliant new campaign by
The Bullshitter’s Playbook: Name frames
Bullshitters are going to bullshit. There’s nothing you can do about that. But what you can do is to show up prepared so you spot
The truth about cars
There was a time when cars didn’t have seat belts. There was even a time when car makers hesitated to equip their cars with seat
All amounts to something in the end
A golden rule in storytelling is that anything the author spends much time on will amount to something in the story. If it didn’t, the
How do we get our team on track?
Here’s a more useful question to ask: What would make them choose the track if they had the choice? Great leaders understand that brilliant people