Six Simple And Irresistible Alternatives To The Elevator Pitch
“The purpose of the pitch isn't necessarily to move others to adopt your idea, it’s to offer something so compelling it begins a conversation,” according to New York Times bestselling author, Daniel H. Pink. I recently talked to Pink about his new book, To Sell is...
America’s Happiest Employee
“You name it. I make it happen.” That’s what Rosalind (Roz) Searcy said when I asked her what she did for her employer, Zappos.com. I’ve met thousands of employees. I speak at their companies, conferences, or interview them for my columns and books. Most employees...
Five Star Hotel Inspires Five Best Practices by Apple
UniFocus is one the industry leaders in delivering smart performance tools for Labor Management, Time and Attendance and Survey Feedback Solutions that are guaranteed to increase performance and drive return on investment to hospitality professionals. Carmine wrote an...
Media Training: Anne Hathaway Artfully Diverts Today’s Matt Lauer
Media training is the practice of preparing spokespeople (executives, celebrities, experts) for interviews. Media interviews are easy to handle when all is good with the company or brand. It’s predicting and answering the more difficult questions that cause the most...
How Wegmans, Apple Store, and Ritz-Carlton Win Loyal Customers
Wegmans, the Apple Store, and The Ritz-Carlton are considered customer service champions in their respective categories. These companies field calls daily from people eager to learn their secrets (In fact, The Ritz-Carlton created a Leadership Center to teach its best...
High-Tech Dropouts Misinterpret Steve Jobs’ Advice
Steve Jobs dropped out of college so he could drop in to the classes that looked more interesting. Reed College offered the best calligraphy course in the country. In those classes Jobs learned about serif and sans serif typefaces, something with no practical...
Best Buy invests 50,000 hours in employee training on Windows 8
This might surprise some journalists, but many people still shop in physical stores. In the area of consumer electronics, 80 percent of category revenue is generated from in-store shopping. Best Buy is a key player, attracting 600 million visits to its stores each...
Constraints Are The Key To A Creative Presentation
I’m often asked, “How long should my presentation be?” I believe the Goldilocks zone is 18 to 20 minutes. If it’s shorter some members of your audience (especially investors, clients and customers) might not feel as though they received enough information. Any longer,...
Barack Obama: A Master Class In Public Speaking
President Barack Obama uses three public-speaking techniques to captivate his audiences. Like all of us, sometimes he has an off night. When he’s at his best, though, Obama is a gifted speaker who has something to teach all leaders in business and politics, regardless...
Apple Retail Reduces Stress of Shopping on Black Friday
Adding staff for the holiday season is not unusual in retail. What is unusual is how America’s most profitable retailer, The Apple Store, trains its employees to communicate with customers to reduce the stress and frustration of shopping on Black Friday and other busy...
Best Buy Invests 50,000 Hours of Employee Training To Attract Windows 8 Customers
Many customers shopping for a new PC this holiday season will be surprised by the new look and feel of Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system. “Live tiles” are the centerpiece of the experience. The vivid and animated tiles fill the screen and are built for...
Apple Elevates Steve Jobs’ Spiritual Partner
Jonathan Ive can look at a sunflower and see a computer. That’s why I’m excited to hear that Apple has given more responsibility to its chief designer. The announcement takes place in the context of a major executive shakeup. This week Apple announced that Scott...
Apple Retail Stores and the ‘Buying Brain’
Apple Inc. not only builds some of the most elegant products in the world, but it also masterfully uses technology to enhance the customer experience in its stores. Apple Stores provide three key lessons that business owners in any industry can benefit from. These...
2013: The Year of the Customer Experience
2013 will be is the year of the customer experience. Brands that create a better experience for their customers will stand a better chance of growing market share. Successful brand managers and recruiters realize, however, that the experience begins with the right...
A Rockin’ Presentation: Microsoft Exec Brings Passion To The Surface
Microsoft’s new Surface tablet has been met with some mixed, but generally favorable reviews. The New York Times product reviewer, David Pogue, calls the operating system “smooth, beautiful, and fun to use.” A blogger for the technology Web site, The Verge, said...
5 Ways Apple Store Employees Create Great Customer Experiences
Carmine recorded this video that was featured on monster.com
Apple Execs Use Clever Statistics to Make iPad Mini a Big Deal
If I told you that the Apple iPad Mini was 7.2mm thin, would you be excited about it? Probably not. What if I told you that it was as thin as a pencil? The product suddenly becomes more interesting, doesn’t it? Apple spokespeople have all mastered a communications...
Richard Branson’s 5 Elements of a Perfect Pitch
When billionaire entrepreneur and Virgin Group founder Richard Branson had the idea of launching Virgin Atlantic, he pitched it to his fellow directors who had no previous experience in the airline business. He delivered the idea simply, concisely, and effectively....
Richard Branson: If It Can’t Fit On The Back Of An Envelope, It’s Rubbish (the Interview)
Richard Branson doesn’t care for PowerPoint. He prefers eye contact and conversation. Branson doesn’t have patience for long, confusing presentations. He prefers short and simple pitches, even if they’re written on a beer mat. Branson also disdains sterile conference...
Why Ben Affleck Should Be Your Wardrobe Consultant
When director/actor Ben Affleck promoted his new movie, Argo, on shows like Bill O’Reilly and Jimmy Kimmel Live, he wore sharp-looking suits and ties. When he appeared at more casual events he still wore suits and high-quality dress shirts, but he lost the tie....
Saleswoman Seeks Better Boss: Will Accept 50% Pay Cut
My wife’s friend, “Susan,” is frustrated with her CEO and is looking for a sales position at another company. Susan makes well into the six figures, but she is willing to leave her job and take a 50 percent cut in salary to work for a more inspiring leader. Susan’s...
Small Biz Owner Earns Millions By Adopting Steve Jobs Presentation Style
Two days after Steve Jobs died I appeared on ABC’s 20/20 to discuss the seven lessons I believe he taught all business leaders and entrepreneurs. Number seven was “master the message.” You can have great ideas but if you can’t deliver those ideas persuasively, it...
11 Presentation Lessons You Can Still Learn From Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs is still the word’s greatest corporate storyteller. I’ve seen plenty of talented speakers in the past year and I've written about many of them in this column but I have yet to find someone as good as Steve Jobs. This is why I have spent so many years...
3 Techniques That Made Romney Look More Prepared Than Obama
Who was better prepared for the first 2012 presidential debate? If you monitored Twitter like I did, the overwhelming opinion favored Republican Mitt Romney. I tried to do as subjective a search as possible and tracked the keyword “prepared” along with the hashtag...
What Arnold Schwarzenegger Taught Me About Building a Successful Career
It’s difficult to have a conversation about Arnold Schwarzenegger without talking about “the secret.” In his new book, Total Recall, Schwarzenegger reveals details about his affair and the child he kept secret from his wife, Maria Shriver. Since I strongly believe...
Ryder Cup Captain: ‘Believing Was The Most Important Thing.’
Like many golf fans, I was shocked at how the United States Ryder Cup team let a big lead slip away, allowing the European team to retain the title. The European golf stars were well behind the U.S team on Saturday night but they received a healthy dose of inspiration...
The Five Steps Apple Store Salespeople Take To Sell You An iPhone 5
Apple sold five million units of the iPhone 5 in its first weekend. No doubt most of those customers were eager to buy the new phone and didn't need a lot of convincing. But now the real salesmanship begins and Apple Store specialists (salespeople) will educate...
3 Traps to Kill Your Team’s Creativity
This week I had the opportunity to deliver a keynote presentation to a group of new car dealers in British Columbia. The conference was held at a unique resort called Sparkling Hill. Although it had spectacular views of the Okanagan valley from every room, I was...
Why Apple Uses 67 Characters To Describe The iPhone 5
How would you describe the iPhone 5 in one sentence? I’ve been monitoring Twitter for one week since the new phone was first introduced. Thousands of tweets use the same adjectives, almost as if one person had written it. The posts say the iPhone 5 is “thinner and...
Marc Benioff Wows His Audience By Leaving The Stage
If you want to learn how to command the attention of an audience, take a lesson from Marc Benioff’s keynote at DreamForce 2012. During his Wednesday keynote to kick off the conference in San Francisco, the salesforce.com CEO rarely stayed on the stage. Instead he...