April > Recent Status Updates

Use the Trigger Method when responding to questions: Method 1 - Repeat the End of the Question. Method 2 - Make a Qualifying or Opinion Statement (when asked your opinion. “The best thing about X is Y.”

Even if you can anticipate 98 percent of the questions, 2 percent can surprise you. One way to deal with the unknown is to talk to members of the audience in advance. Get there early and mingle.

Don't ever wing the answer to a question that involves litigation, privacy; sensitivity, a misunderstanding, or a mistake. Determine what you can say, as well as what you can't. If you cannot answer, explain why you cant.

To put the 98 Percent Solution into practice, write down the worst questions the ones you don't want to answer. Don't bother to write down the questions you would like people to ask, because you already know the answers to those. Write down the questions you wish no one would ask, even the ones that make you cringe…By writing it out, you clarify and internalize the message.

Four rules for dealing with Q&A questions:
1) Be calm. 2) Be honest. 3) Be available. 4) Be open-minded.

Presentations - “Inclusive language is a subtle, but powerful, technique for winning over any audience. Once you get into the habit it becomes second nature.” Instead of I, we, our, use you, your, our, us. Make them the subject of your remarks.

Sharing your values is a surefire way to build bridges. People prefer a leader with the courage to talk about convictions over one who says what everyone wants to hear. This is true in politics and business. It's really pretty simple: express your values, and act on your values, and people will respect you and believe that you are genuine.

I think what works is when you are excited about what you are saying. It isn’t just the idea, but the emotion behind the idea, that makes you successful.

What works for me is to have my stuff around the office — family pictures, and model cars on top of the filing cabinets because people know I love NASCAR . . . . If people know something about you, they feel you are genuine, and it makes everything you do more believable.

My father used to quote the Greek playwright Aeschylus. “He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep pain, which cannot forget, falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.”

“You need to answer the questions. Answer honestly, even if it's not what everyone wants to hear. Candor is essential to leadership whether you are running for office or running a company. Take tough questions head on. Earn the respect of your audience, even if you know they will disagree with you.”

“There are times and places when you have to or should wing it. You should be good on your feet, but you should never go into a formal presentation without preparation. You should think about what you want to say, prepare, and practice. At the CEO level, clarity is king.”

Lesson 7: Know when enough is enough

When you get to the point where you wonder if you are talking too much, you probably are.

“As CEO, you are the person to whom they look in a crisis. Someone has to be in charge. If you see those moments as leadership opportunities, it will change your attitude and help you when you’re under pressure.”

Lesson 5: The good news is: there is bad news

“Bad news is bad news, but it’s also good news if you know how to handle it. Managing rough questions can actually make your organization look better than before.”

Lesson 4: Keep the Worst-Case Scenario in Mind. Make a contingency plan.

As a CEO, you have to always walk on stage as if you belong there. And that means everywhere you go, because the world is your stage. This doesn't mean that you ever appear arrogant or controlling— you simply give the impression that you are comfortable and belong there…Even in a new situation, put other people at ease and you will come across like a leader.

Opportunities come along. You can't let a racing heart stop you. You may find yourself standing on stage as a keynote speaker. You may find yourself sitting down to a major media interview. Use anxiety to improve your performance. Seize the moment and ignore the fear. You are about to encounter something big. A racing heart and sweaty palms can be a sign of opportunity.

Expect the expected. “When you are in the spotlight, you cannot afford to assume you are prepared… Equip yourself to handle the basic stuff.”

Telling stories can become one of the most valuable tools of a CEO; they’re one of the most effective means to communicate your leadership on a way that inspires and motivates listeners.

Hope is a potent message. Focus o. The future and what can be done. When you speak, tell people what you believe is possible. Your vision, your hope, your belief about the future sets the course for the organization. Focus on the future, and people will go out and make it happen.

McCain had a reputation for telling the truth, so people accepted his apology. This is important for leaders to know. People will accept when you make a mistake. They will not accept the perpetuation of the lie. Every CEO should know that honesty is the secret to winning trust and being a real leader.

Without clarity, no one views a leader as authentic.

The smartest people aren’t necessarily the ones who rose to the top. It’s the ones who can communicate well.

Whereas Thoreau and the tradition of conscientious civil disobedience believe that punishment for breaking the law is a sign of the civil disobedient's willingness to suffer for their moral action, Arendt believes that civil disobedients are political actors and should not be treated as criminals.

“Loss of power and authority by all the great powers is clearly visible, even though it is accompanied by an immense accumulation of the means of violence in the hands of the governments.” Hannah Arendt

So much of the anger and dissatisfaction with government today is traceable to what Arendt calls the disempowerment of self-government by citizens and the elevation of bureaucratic elites and experts to positions of power insulated from democratic control. It is this cordoning off of power from the citizens that, Arendt argues, makes the collective power mobilized by civil disobedience so necessary and important.

Arendt saw the rise of governmental bureaucracy as one of the gravest threats to political freedom. She calls bureaucracy “the rule of nobody” and worries that bureaucratic government is an “invisible government” that disempowers citizens and makes democracy evermore precarious.

“I would agree with St. Augustine that ‘an unjust law is no law at all.’” — MLKJ, Letters from Birmingham Jail

Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the af-flicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love's sake.
Amen.