Showing posts with label speaking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label speaking. Show all posts

November 18, 2024

Are You Ready?

“It's a terrible thing, I think, in life to wait until you're ready. I have this feeling now that actually no one is ever ready to do anything. There is almost no such thing as ready. There is only now. And you may as well do it now. Generally speaking, now is as good a time as any.” Hugh Laurie 

The second anniversary is not far off. It was the day we heard the phrase - Global Pandemic. It began somewhere far away and quickly became something every human on the planet deals with every day. The coronavirus, Covid-19, variants, vaccines, masks, protests, economies, it's all been too much and we're not out of the woods.

Are We Ready? 

When I was a kid, my parents would try and tell me to enjoy life and not get too caught up in the minutiae. I was always close to my mom, but during the last few years of her life, we had even better conversations about her life, my life, and life in general. This is a woman who put me, my sister, and my dad on her back and somehow got us through. She worked from the age of 14 until she retired at 71. She passed away in August 2020 mere months after this global crisis began. She was born during the second world war and died during the worst human crisis in over a century. 

If I had told mom I wanted to be a clown in a rodeo, she would have told me to be the best clown any rodeo has ever had with no judgement. The pandemic has made me more reflective and I put my words to actions late last year when I took another leap in my professional life. I took a shot at something I'd never done before and so far so good. In fact, it's been excellent. Mom was right; don't worry about what others think.

Let's Stop Comparing 

One of the most overused cliches is that no one will wish they had spent more time at the office as they take their last breath. How do we know that? And if we replaced the phrase "at the office" with "going for it", that's a more powerful statement. As Mr. Laurie says, why wait until we're ready to do anything because we'll never be ready. The world has forever changed and normal left the building in March 2020. So let's take the leap.

If we're waiting for a sign, it's right in front of us. Change your career, get out of that crappy relationship, buy the damn car, if you like the hat then wear the hat, eat the cookie, stop overthinking everything. If you want that relationship, go for it. If you want to try that new job, don't wait for an invitation. Put the mobile device or laptop down and do it before you are ready. 

If we're never ready, then why are we waiting?
 __________________________________________________________________

June 19, 2012

How Can Leaders Use Comedy?

Crisp and clever writing can take a lifetime to master. Writing comedy can be the most difficult form of communication. It can create a viral explosion or fall on its face.

Chris Bliss writes and studies communication through translation and comedy. He may give you some ideas of how to create better lines of dialogue for your work, your leadership journey and other aspects of your life.


Kneale Mann

TED | Chris Bliss

January 22, 2010

Ottawa Business Summit | Clear As Mud

Coming up on February 3rd, I have the privilege of speaking at the Ottawa Business Summit.

Clearing Muddy Waters in Marketing and Social Media.

Hosted by Kathryn Schwab of PRceptive Communications

It also includes: Arash Mahin of VdoLife, Karen McNaughton from The Marketing Hub and Ottawa Business Journal’s Jim Donnelly.

Here’s an excerpt from Kathryn's website:

"This panel will speak about practical approaches to marketing and communications in the age of changing traditional media, the shifting landscape of new media and the muddy waters of social media.

The panel will discuss how business owners and managers should map marketing communications strategies to business objectives, choose the right “tools” to hit the right audience/customer, and look beyond the “band wagon” mistakes that many businesses are making.

In addition, the panel will bring valuable insights about traditional media relations and how it’s changed, why video is one of the fastest growing areas in marketing and what integrated marketing and social media really mean for SMBs."


Other speakers featured on this one-day power summit include:
Jim Treliving – the founder of Boston Pizza and someone you may know from Dragon’s Den, Stephen Beckta, Marie Boivin, Mary Cavanagh, Leslie Eisner, Pauline Fleming, Terry Ledden, Cara Rose-Brown, Garth Steele, Garry Watanabe, Rob Woodbridge and more to come.

The Ottawa Business Summit is February 3rd.

@knealemann
sustained engagement in the relationship economy

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© Kneale Mann • knealemann@gmail.com • people + priority = profit
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leadership development • business culture • talent development • human capital