Sharon Stone Shows Her Balls
Business leaders should take a lesson from Sharon Stone. http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0128SharonStone28-ON.html
In Davos for the World Economic Forum, Stone was attending a panel discussion on African poverty. Stone surprised the crowd (maybe even herself) when she interrupted the proceedings by standing up and spontaneously pledging $10,000 to help buy mosquito bed nets to protect African children from malaria. She then implored others in the audience to do the same. Within five minutes, $1 million had been pledged.
Remarkable! Think about the alternative. A carefully developed fundraising plan. Targeted donors. A development staff to execute it. Weekly status meetings. A web site for donations. But Stone, with her surprising outburst, accomplished in FIVE MINUTES what would likely have taken months and months.
Business leaders take note. Stone did something very few business leaders have the balls to do today: she acted with spontaneity. More business leaders need to occasionally throw away the carefully crafted script and let their hearts do the talking. Today, everything in business seems to be thought and rethought, checked and double checked, and then put through enough filters to remove any last vestige of human doubt. But for leaders trying to get people to pay attention, to remember and most importantly, to believe – then they should consider pulling a Stone. People are craving a more human experience, and what could possibly be more human than a spontaneous outburst.
http://www.businessreform.com/article.php?articleID=10909
I remember giving a speech a few years ago introducing my plan for a new business our firm was entering. After about 15 minutes of boring the crowd to tears, I finally woke up (maybe it was the guy snoring in the front row that tipped me off). I took my speech notes off the podium, ripped them up in front of the crowd, and said "you all know what we need to do. Let's spend the rest of our time figuring out how to get it done". The best speech I ever gave was one I never gave.
Think Sharon Stone. Even if you don't do anything spontaneous, it's not an altogether unpleasant thought...
In Davos for the World Economic Forum, Stone was attending a panel discussion on African poverty. Stone surprised the crowd (maybe even herself) when she interrupted the proceedings by standing up and spontaneously pledging $10,000 to help buy mosquito bed nets to protect African children from malaria. She then implored others in the audience to do the same. Within five minutes, $1 million had been pledged.
Remarkable! Think about the alternative. A carefully developed fundraising plan. Targeted donors. A development staff to execute it. Weekly status meetings. A web site for donations. But Stone, with her surprising outburst, accomplished in FIVE MINUTES what would likely have taken months and months.
Business leaders take note. Stone did something very few business leaders have the balls to do today: she acted with spontaneity. More business leaders need to occasionally throw away the carefully crafted script and let their hearts do the talking. Today, everything in business seems to be thought and rethought, checked and double checked, and then put through enough filters to remove any last vestige of human doubt. But for leaders trying to get people to pay attention, to remember and most importantly, to believe – then they should consider pulling a Stone. People are craving a more human experience, and what could possibly be more human than a spontaneous outburst.
http://www.businessreform.com/article.php?articleID=10909
I remember giving a speech a few years ago introducing my plan for a new business our firm was entering. After about 15 minutes of boring the crowd to tears, I finally woke up (maybe it was the guy snoring in the front row that tipped me off). I took my speech notes off the podium, ripped them up in front of the crowd, and said "you all know what we need to do. Let's spend the rest of our time figuring out how to get it done". The best speech I ever gave was one I never gave.
Think Sharon Stone. Even if you don't do anything spontaneous, it's not an altogether unpleasant thought...
<< Home