"..... I have been asked on many occasions for references of me 'in action'...I have to say it feels rather odd to simply post images of myself , so I've attempted to give a reason for each. Indeed it takes me back to the early days of writing my first blog - writing to no one in particular and compounding the whole thing by doing it with amazing regularity. But I was wrong to feel like this, I'm now proud of the near 1,700 hits I receive each month...
...so with what I hope is the correct amount of humility I share these with you!"
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| When possible I love to move around my audiences and engage - as far as I'm concerned, the more interactive the session the better ! |
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| .....and the really great thing about up-close and personal is I learn what's really important to my audience. |
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| Interestingly, even though I specialise in retail, I find my non-retail audiences are incredibly inspired by the secrets of success I gathered from the world's top retail leaders - something to do with retail being unbelievably fast moving, touching every person on the planet. Retail is surely the purest form of commerce, it's certainly the largest business sector in the world and now boasts the single largest company on the planet. I'm really proud so many of the world's most respected retail bosses agreed to 'spill the beans' with me about their secrets of success. |
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I'm always asked who was the most impressive leader I interviewed.
Or what was the most profound insight I gleaned. But I've found what really interests my audiences the most are the behind-the-scenes anecdotes from my two and a half years of face to face interviews from every continent. The sort of things you couldn't possibly write or do justice to in a book - I really enjoy recounting these stories and my audiences seem to love them too!
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Here's a promise:
If I'm ever lucky enough to have you in my audience - I won't 'do' charts.
I do just simple reminders projected behind me to help you (and me!) remember what I'm saying - my presentations are uncomplicated 'explanations' of what I've learned from the world's top bosses, phenomenal examples and simple stories about leadership, customers, innovation and The art of being chosen. |
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And by the way....questions are great, but only if they're easy - please.
There are some speakers who prefer not to take questions - I guess there can't be a speaker who hadn't wished they'd responded differently to a question from a delegate when they reflected on their answers during the taxi ride back to the airport. But I love questions, trouble is responding to them without lots of time to think about it flies in the face of the best bit of business advice I was ever given: in meetings (especially negotiations) always regret what you didn't say, never what you did....! |
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The very last store visit and interview I did for my latest book was the most profound of my entire life.
I had asked to enter the notorious Khayelitsha Township where a million people 'exist' by the side of Cape Town airport. I wanted to understand the business model for 'everyday commerce' when operating in truly socially deprived communities. I met a wonderful man called Steve Mavouso who owns one of the Township's supermarkets and who himself, grew up in Township hardship near Johannesburg. What Steve shared with me now forms the opening case study of my book and for me stands testament to The art of being chosen. |
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The famous outdoor laundry of Mumbai - I was told I would be mesmerised by India and I was.
Not just by the sights and sounds, not just the appalling smells, nor the iniquitous gap between the 'haves' and 'have nots' ...but by the 'industry' of every living person. Unlike other countries I've visited, I didn't sense any real form of jealousy (maybe something to do with the hangover from the caste system). Instead I felt a genuine endeavour amongst every living person to strive for something better - with hard work and unbelievably long hours being the chosen route. I've been invited back to this exotic country to speak and I look forward to further examining how this amazing country harvests its most natural of products - a precious commitment to hard work. |
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Here, in the depths of Kenya, I was taken to cattle markets to understand the role and value of sacred cows and the ultimate delicacy of drinking bull's blood. Markets where The art of being chosen is as robustly embraced as in any modern city. And markets where customers walk for days just to reach them. Wal-Mart have recently declared the future of retail in local ...and I totally agree! But localness means many things - the skill today is understanding the emotions embedded in this oldest and purest form of retail.
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"...that's enough of me flicking through my photo album, the sun has broken through the cloudy London sky and I'm off to loose a golf ball or three. More pictures will be posted (if you're interested) when I've run out of balls."
