Loraine Antrim

The death of Walter Cronkite got me thinking about his leadership qualities and how business leaders can take a few cues from "the most trusted man in America." I posted on Ulitzer about what IT professionals can learn from the legendary newsanchor, and even if you are not in IT, "Walter Cronkite's IT Career Advice" might be an interesting read. But from a purely leadership perspective, Cronkite is a fabulous role model with lots to offer anyone in any management position. Leaders Set the Tone Cronkite as a leader of news, created an atmosphere of trust and honesty. His long-time friend and Face the Nation host, Bob Schieffer said, "A leader always sets the tone. That's the most important thing that the leader does. And Walter always set the right tone. He set the right standards." You can set a leadership tone in a number of ways, but the one Cronkite set was a tone ... (more)

PRESENTATIONS ARE...LIKE MOVIES

The best presentations are like great movies. They have a logical beginning that draws you in, a plot that keeps you engaged, actors and actions, and some drama. When you structure any talk or presentation, think like Steven Spielberg. Even if you are presenting a business update or technical presentation you can still create some drama or tension.  The economy or a competitor or the deadline your team faces can be the source of drama; they can even be the bad guys or villains. Set up a problem you need to solve and you have instant tension. And the team that meets this challenge are... (more)

PRESENTATIONS ARE...TIMELY

When you speak in public, your words and ideas should grab an audience. One way to do that is to make your talk relevant and timely.  If you are lucky, your topic will be of interest because it IS up-to-the-minute and highly relevant. But many of us have topics that are not tied to a current event or recent happening. What if you are speaking on a technical topic? Then what? Examples will save the day! Use a number of examples that are in the here-and-now.  Describe how a person or group can be affected today by your technology.  Show your technology working in the current economic sit... (more)

Leadership Lessons From the Heart

CEOs lead by using their brains: they think about how to generate revenues, they ponder company vision and they constantly think about how to advance and grow their organization. Competitive analysis, differentiation, profitability, sustainable growth and innovation. Whew! Heady heads! And that's good stuff going on in the brains of business leaders. But in a down economy, you can tell real leadership by what is going on in executives' hearts. Shifting focus from profits to philanthropy is easy in good times, but in this bleak economic landscape, it takes a CEO with the right stu... (more)

Can You Hear Me NOW?

Normal 0 0 1 521 2975 Core Ideas Communication 24 5 3653 10.265 0 0 0 As an IT professional, you talk about IT issues all the time. But when you speak to a business crowd, well… it can sometimes be very challenging, to say the least. Have you ever been faced with this type of communication challenge? Let's say you're talking about cloud computing to your business users. After two minutes of speaking, your audience's eyes glaze over, brows furrow and zombie-like faces stare back at you. And no matter how many times you rephrase and restate your ideas, still, you're talking to a bl... (more)