I learned at Skip Barber’s racecar driving school that “when you spin, put both feet in.” This means that if you’re on the racetrack and your car spins out, press the clutch and brake hard, fast and simultaneously. It’s your best chance of stopping without crashing into the wall. The same rule applies to presentations.
Years ago, I was part of a multi-company team making a sales pitch to the c-suite of a large company we’ll call CompuGlobalDyne. (Each presenter was a principal in a consulting firm, and we had combined forces to sell a large consulting engagement to CompuGlobalDyne).
I presented last, so I got to watch the other presenters. It wasn’t pretty. The guy before me (let’s call him Rock) was especially bad—he had a 20-minute time slot and a 50-slide deck. The presentation was pretty dry up to this point, but Rock put the CEO of CompuGlobalDyne over the edge. The poor CEO was sighing and slouching in his chair, scowling, until finally he completely shut down into arms crossed in a death grip and a scowl. And Rock just kept clicking his slides, oblivious.
Finally, Rock finished his deck and passed me the metaphorical baton. In that moment I had a choice: present my deck and hope the CEO didn’t punch me, or just stop the presentation. The CEO was a big guy, so I opted to stop the presentation.
I stood up and said “I don’t think y’all are super happy with what you’ve seen so far, and I think I’m going to make that worse, so I’d like to relinquish my time and just let you go 20 minutes early.”
Two things happened. First, the other consultants whirled on me with crazy eyes thinking I had just ruined their sales pitch. Clearly, they were ignorant of the fact that our sales pitch was already dead. But, I had just violated what they thought was a cardinal rule of presenting: never stop, no matter how bad it’s going.
The second thing that happened was that the ticked-off CEO looked at me and said “well, we’ve sat through it this long, I want to hear what you have to say.” To which I replied “Sir, I’m quite certain you don’t want to hear what I have to say. Let’s just end this and part as friends.” And of course, you know what the CEO said next–“Let me hear your damn pitch!”
So, I said that I would make him a deal; I would show him 2 slides and speak for 2 minutes. If he wanted to hear more I’d keep going, but if he wasn’t interested I would stop. He did want more, so I ended up giving him the whole pitch.
- Page 1 / 3
- Continue
Mark Murphy Contributor
I solve the “people pain points” that keep leaders awake at night.
Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.
LEADERSHIP 6,279 views
How A+E Networks Cracked The Code On Recruiting For Attitude
You probably know that when new hires fail, 89% of the time it’s for attitude. Skills are important, but skills are comparatively easy to assess. Assessing attitude and whether someone truly fits your unique culture, that’s a different story. And that’s why recruiting for attitude is one of the biggest pain points facing today’s leaders.
It’s tough to find people with the right attitude just by throwing up ads on a job board. Anyone who applies is a stranger, and it’s harder to discover the true attitudes of a stranger than it is someone you already know.
Last week I sat down with Stacy Green, SVP of Human Resources at A+E Networks (A&E, History, Lifetime, H2, FYI, LMN), an organization that has cracked the code on recruiting people with the right attitude to fit A+E Network’s unique culture.
What makes the A+E Networks culture unique? After some deep conversation, three factors really stand out to me…
They’re Open (Really Open)
Nancy Dubuc is the CEO of A+E Networks, and she doesn’t just have office hours, she has “Office Ours.” Anyone in the company can sign up and talk about whatever they want, pitch show ideas, ideas on how the company or a respective department can run more efficiently, business ideas, etc. You can work in the mail room and come up with the next Pawn Stars, Storage Wars or Dance Moms. And it’s not just Nancy; every member of the executive team TISI -0.39% has their own method for engaging with people directly.
And while pitching new business ideas and shows sounds like a cool opportunity, lots of the initiatives directly impact the running of A+E Networks. The ‘green team’ was a direct result of Office Ours. During shoots, A+E Networks now endeavors to only hire environmentally friendly caterers, and the 12-member Green Team has also changed recycling, lighting, and even lowered coffee prices if you bring your own mug.
They’re Bold
We all know the line “you can’t solve today’s problems with yesterday’s thinking.” It’s true, and A+E Networks knows it. Their leadership model says to be Bold, Inspiring and Authentic. Bold means you have to take risks, and know that others will support you. Inspiring helps to focus the boldness and keep it from being a license to just throw crazy ideas against a wall and hope something sticks. Your ideas need to inspire yourself and others if you want to get them heard. And none of this works without being Authentic. At A+E Networks, if you want a direct answer, you get it. Stacy told me very directly “A+E Networks is not a ‘maybe’ culture. It’s ‘yes or no’ culture, and if you get a no, you also get the why behind the no.”
Their Work Is Heartfelt
Many companies have volunteer days and other opportunities for giving back, but few are able to link their core business to social responsibility as directly as A+E Networks. For example, A+E’s History channel has a long-standing commitment to veterans, in particular, highlighting and supporting the work of veterans who give back to their communities through disaster relief and community engagement. This Mission to Honor initiative includes Team Rubicon and The Mission Continues and raises the profile of veterans who have served and are still serving their communities. There’s also the HISTORY Take a Veteran to School Day program that connects America’s veterans with local schools, communities, and elected officials. The program began in one Connecticut school and has grown to include over 10,000 schools in all 50 states.
10 Tips For Communicating Across Generations
- Page 1 / 3
- Continue
