"Mr. Cunneen had us laughing and crying." - Cancer Institute of New Jersey
This is one of a number of posts I have on YouTube which might have you Learning and Laughing.
For more details, Contact Conor Cunneen at 630 661 1220
Cheers and have a great day
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Showing posts with label funny motivational speaker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label funny motivational speaker. Show all posts
Friday, June 24, 2011
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Books on The Birthday Boy - Abraham Lincoln
Happy Birthday Abe!
Given that everyone has to make a comment today on the 200th birthday of the great inspirational leader and motivational speaker (who was also extremely humorous), I thought I should get in on the act and show what a well read chap I am!!
I’ve written quite a few book reviews related to this great motivational, inspirational speaker and writer. Below are reviews on:
- The Gettysburg Gospel: The Lincoln Speech that Nobody Knows
-Team of Rivals
- Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words that Remade America
THE GETTYSBURG GOSPEL: THE LINCOLN SPEECH THAT NOBODY KNOWS
Author: Gabor Boritt
It truly is amazing that so many words and books can be written about a speech that is but 272 words long. Gabor Boritt's book is an enjoyable and easy read on Lincoln's most famous speech. Much of the book deals with the immediate aftermath of the terrible Gettysburg battle with the author painting a vivid picture of the terrible scene which must have greeted the eye on July 4th. It is interesting that the famous address did not get immediate general approval. Boritt shows that the great leader’s speech was almost forgotten until the 1880's. As with most Lincoln supporters, the author attempts to show that the speech was not written on the train to Gettysburg and that Lincoln gave the speech considerable thought. The truth is no one knows, but a good argument can be made for the proposition that Lincoln must have given it little thought prior to the event.
Who in their right mind is going to travel from Washington to Gettysburg and DECIDE to present an address of only 272 words? The words came from the heart and from years of experience and empathy. Just as Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech was somewhat spontaneous (although a very similar speech was presented at Cobo Hall, Detroit some weeks previously), there is strong circumstantial evidence that Lincoln put this speech together at short notice.
I have no idea why the book is sub-titled "The Lincoln Speech that Nobody Knows," but Boritt does provide a number of slightly different versions of the speech in the appendix. Most of the differences are minor to put it mildly. The author's description of how the speech initially got little response but grew to be appreciated over time to be a work of genius is well developed. Paradoxically, the most enjoyable section of the book is the full text of Edward Everett's speech which I read fully for the first time. You can appreciate why Everett was seen as a great orator because of his ability to paint pictures with words although his two hour address can hardly be described as uplifting. Almost all of the speech was taken up with a chronological history of the events at Gettysburg (spoken from memory) and the aging orator failed to properly commend and eulogize the thousands who had given their life on the adjacent battlefield.
Paradoxically, the most enjoyable section of the book is the full text of Edward Everett's speech which I read fully for the first time. You can appreciate why Everett was seen as a great orator because of his ability to paint pictures with words although his two hour address can hardly be described as uplifting. Almost all of the speech was taken up with a chronological history of the events at Gettysburg (spoken from memory) and the aging orator failed to properly commend and eulogize the thousands who had given their life on the adjacent battlefield.
Everett did appreciate that his speech did not match Lincoln's eloquence. He wrote the President, "I should be glad if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes."
The book has copious appendices, bibliography, notes which provide a rich resource for serious students of Lincoln and Gettysburg. Overall, an enjoyable not too studious read on the topic.
MENTIONS
Ward Hill Lamon, Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln, Robert Lincoln, The Perfect Tribute, Garry Wills, Mary Lincoln, David Wills, Andrew Curtin, James B. Fry, William Saunders, John Nicolay, John Hay, Salmon Chase, Edwin Stanton, William H. Seward, Edward Everett, Seminary Ridge, Round Top, James C Conkling, Frederick Douglass
_____________
TEAM OF RIVALS
The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
Author: Doris Kearns Goodwin
The book’s premise is that Abraham Lincoln was not just a great President but one who also had the motivational ability to create a highly effective team comprised of many of his rivals. These were men who had hoped to become President. Instead, they took a subservient role to a President whom Goodwin writes about in hagiographic terms.
The team of rivals consisted of one time Republican presidential candidates William H. Seward, Secretary of State, Salmon P. Chase, Treasury Secretary, and Edward Bates Attorney General. The other major player in this detailed work is Edwin M. Stanton, War Secretary.
This is a very good read although the author is stretched at times to continually bring the overall premise together. The opening section of the book paints individual pictures of the major players, which I did not find particularly interesting. This I think is partly because some of the characters – Chase and Bates, at least to this reader are just not compelling in their own right. Thus it takes quite some time for the book to grasp this reader’s attention.
Although peripheral to the main story, the hardships of live during the first half of the 19th century are very obvious. Chase lost three wives and two daughters before he was forty four, while Stanton between 1841 and 1846 lost his wife, a daughter and his only brother.
Another fascinating and heart rending aspect portrayed is how the Civil War tore families apart. Four of Mary Lincoln’s siblings and three brothers-in-law fought on behalf of the Confederacy, while Chase’s son also too up arms for the seceding states.
Team of Rivals is basically a biography of Lincoln with a different twist. It is not as detailed as other works – especially in relation to some Civil War episodes, because the author tries to paint pictures of so many characters. Her portrait of Lincoln to some extent lacks objectivity. Every Lincoln weakness or vacillation has a logic or rationale.
Lincoln undoubtedly was underestimated by rivals and media. One Democratic newspaper referred to him as “a third rate Western lawyer … a fourth rate lecturer, who cannot speak good grammar.” As a lawyer and in his early presidential years, the term “inspirational” does not come to mind. To some extent, his behavior did warrant this lack of respect.
His lack of authority over his generals in the early stages of the war must have been disturbing for his cabinet. General McClellan treated him with a disdain and discourtesy that was mind boggling. Had Lincoln been more forceful with Generals Meade and McClellan, it is entirely conceivable the war would have ended much earlier. Kearns (and other writers) has tried to paint Lincoln as an accommodating, understanding head of state. It is probably more accurate to suggest as Martin Luther King did that he was at some stages a “vacillating” president. Much has been written about Lincoln’s leadership, but I think, the student of leadership can learn as much from what Lincoln did poorly as he did well.
Lincoln “grew” into the Presidency, winning over doubters and opponents slowly but surely with his down to earth, homely style. He most definitely has won over the author who paints Lincoln in very favorable terms no matter what the occasion. There is a tendency for the reader to become seduced by the portrait. Lincoln becomes more and more likeable, more and more presidential as the book develops. Ultimately, the reader does appreciate what a dreadful tragedy the death of this president was for the nation and almost certainly for what had been the confederate states. Although, no one can say for certain, it does seem likely that the assassinated president would have been able to salve much of the bitterness and hatred that followed the cessation of violence.
______________
LINCOLN AT GETTYSBURG – THE WORDS THAT REMADE AMERICA
Author: Gary Wills
This is one scholarly work. It is also a work that takes slow careful reading. The author devotes more than one page to each of the two hundred and seventy two words in the famous Gettysburg address.
Wills suggests that Lincoln was heavily influenced by the oratorical skills of the Greeks and also Transcendentalists – a nineteenth century philosophical movement much advocated by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau and other luminaries.
One fascinating aspect of the Gettysburg address is how brief it was. Lincoln was not the featured speaker at the event, indeed by some accounts he was invited as an afterthought. This may well be one of the reasons why his speech was so brief, particularly as short speeches were not the norm. In 1858, Lincoln and Stephen Douglas engaged in three hour debates, while Edward Everett delivered a two hour oration prior to Lincoln’s Gettysburg address. While the three minute address was out of character for the period or indeed any period, the speech proves the point “that less is often more.”
The book should be of particular interest to the Lincoln scholar, but beware, it is a tough book to get through, simply because it is such a detailed, intense work.
One of the many interesting elements in the book is the full reproduction of Everett’s speech. Everett was lauded as the finest speaker of his generation, but to be honest, I found his speech to be tedious, lacking in passion and being primarily a chronology of the events at Gettysburg. Everett wrote to Lincoln following their respective addresses, "I should be glad if I could flatter myself that I came as near the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes." How right he was.
_____________________________
_____________________________
Conor Cunneen is a Chicago based Irish keynote speaker – motivational, humorous, inspirational - on topics as diverse as BEAT the RECESSION, Foodservice, Cancer (a two time survivor), Business Growth and Presentation Skills, who likes to repeat keywords such as motivational, humorous, inspirational, Irish, Chicago based, Motivational Humorist in an ongoing effort to garner search engine attention and BEAT the RECESSION.
His Brand Promise is:E4 - Energize, Educate, Entertain AND Easy to work with.
Clients agree:
“In my close to thirty years of association work, I have never seen a speaker as well received as you.” Incentive Marketing Association
“Working with Conor Cunneen has been a pleasure both for our company and our clients. Conor is a great speaker who obviously knows the importance of a good and well planned speech according to the wishes of our clients.” SpeakersForum, Finland.
Given that everyone has to make a comment today on the 200th birthday of the great inspirational leader and motivational speaker (who was also extremely humorous), I thought I should get in on the act and show what a well read chap I am!!
I’ve written quite a few book reviews related to this great motivational, inspirational speaker and writer. Below are reviews on:
- The Gettysburg Gospel: The Lincoln Speech that Nobody Knows
-Team of Rivals
- Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words that Remade America
These and other reviews can be read at Book Reviews on my website.
THE GETTYSBURG GOSPEL: THE LINCOLN SPEECH THAT NOBODY KNOWS
Author: Gabor Boritt
It truly is amazing that so many words and books can be written about a speech that is but 272 words long. Gabor Boritt's book is an enjoyable and easy read on Lincoln's most famous speech. Much of the book deals with the immediate aftermath of the terrible Gettysburg battle with the author painting a vivid picture of the terrible scene which must have greeted the eye on July 4th. It is interesting that the famous address did not get immediate general approval. Boritt shows that the great leader’s speech was almost forgotten until the 1880's. As with most Lincoln supporters, the author attempts to show that the speech was not written on the train to Gettysburg and that Lincoln gave the speech considerable thought. The truth is no one knows, but a good argument can be made for the proposition that Lincoln must have given it little thought prior to the event.
Who in their right mind is going to travel from Washington to Gettysburg and DECIDE to present an address of only 272 words? The words came from the heart and from years of experience and empathy. Just as Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech was somewhat spontaneous (although a very similar speech was presented at Cobo Hall, Detroit some weeks previously), there is strong circumstantial evidence that Lincoln put this speech together at short notice.
I have no idea why the book is sub-titled "The Lincoln Speech that Nobody Knows," but Boritt does provide a number of slightly different versions of the speech in the appendix. Most of the differences are minor to put it mildly. The author's description of how the speech initially got little response but grew to be appreciated over time to be a work of genius is well developed. Paradoxically, the most enjoyable section of the book is the full text of Edward Everett's speech which I read fully for the first time. You can appreciate why Everett was seen as a great orator because of his ability to paint pictures with words although his two hour address can hardly be described as uplifting. Almost all of the speech was taken up with a chronological history of the events at Gettysburg (spoken from memory) and the aging orator failed to properly commend and eulogize the thousands who had given their life on the adjacent battlefield.
Paradoxically, the most enjoyable section of the book is the full text of Edward Everett's speech which I read fully for the first time. You can appreciate why Everett was seen as a great orator because of his ability to paint pictures with words although his two hour address can hardly be described as uplifting. Almost all of the speech was taken up with a chronological history of the events at Gettysburg (spoken from memory) and the aging orator failed to properly commend and eulogize the thousands who had given their life on the adjacent battlefield.
Everett did appreciate that his speech did not match Lincoln's eloquence. He wrote the President, "I should be glad if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes."
The book has copious appendices, bibliography, notes which provide a rich resource for serious students of Lincoln and Gettysburg. Overall, an enjoyable not too studious read on the topic.
MENTIONS
Ward Hill Lamon, Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln, Robert Lincoln, The Perfect Tribute, Garry Wills, Mary Lincoln, David Wills, Andrew Curtin, James B. Fry, William Saunders, John Nicolay, John Hay, Salmon Chase, Edwin Stanton, William H. Seward, Edward Everett, Seminary Ridge, Round Top, James C Conkling, Frederick Douglass
_____________
TEAM OF RIVALS
The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
Author: Doris Kearns Goodwin
The book’s premise is that Abraham Lincoln was not just a great President but one who also had the motivational ability to create a highly effective team comprised of many of his rivals. These were men who had hoped to become President. Instead, they took a subservient role to a President whom Goodwin writes about in hagiographic terms.
The team of rivals consisted of one time Republican presidential candidates William H. Seward, Secretary of State, Salmon P. Chase, Treasury Secretary, and Edward Bates Attorney General. The other major player in this detailed work is Edwin M. Stanton, War Secretary.
This is a very good read although the author is stretched at times to continually bring the overall premise together. The opening section of the book paints individual pictures of the major players, which I did not find particularly interesting. This I think is partly because some of the characters – Chase and Bates, at least to this reader are just not compelling in their own right. Thus it takes quite some time for the book to grasp this reader’s attention.
Although peripheral to the main story, the hardships of live during the first half of the 19th century are very obvious. Chase lost three wives and two daughters before he was forty four, while Stanton between 1841 and 1846 lost his wife, a daughter and his only brother.
Another fascinating and heart rending aspect portrayed is how the Civil War tore families apart. Four of Mary Lincoln’s siblings and three brothers-in-law fought on behalf of the Confederacy, while Chase’s son also too up arms for the seceding states.
Team of Rivals is basically a biography of Lincoln with a different twist. It is not as detailed as other works – especially in relation to some Civil War episodes, because the author tries to paint pictures of so many characters. Her portrait of Lincoln to some extent lacks objectivity. Every Lincoln weakness or vacillation has a logic or rationale.
Lincoln undoubtedly was underestimated by rivals and media. One Democratic newspaper referred to him as “a third rate Western lawyer … a fourth rate lecturer, who cannot speak good grammar.” As a lawyer and in his early presidential years, the term “inspirational” does not come to mind. To some extent, his behavior did warrant this lack of respect.
His lack of authority over his generals in the early stages of the war must have been disturbing for his cabinet. General McClellan treated him with a disdain and discourtesy that was mind boggling. Had Lincoln been more forceful with Generals Meade and McClellan, it is entirely conceivable the war would have ended much earlier. Kearns (and other writers) has tried to paint Lincoln as an accommodating, understanding head of state. It is probably more accurate to suggest as Martin Luther King did that he was at some stages a “vacillating” president. Much has been written about Lincoln’s leadership, but I think, the student of leadership can learn as much from what Lincoln did poorly as he did well.
Lincoln “grew” into the Presidency, winning over doubters and opponents slowly but surely with his down to earth, homely style. He most definitely has won over the author who paints Lincoln in very favorable terms no matter what the occasion. There is a tendency for the reader to become seduced by the portrait. Lincoln becomes more and more likeable, more and more presidential as the book develops. Ultimately, the reader does appreciate what a dreadful tragedy the death of this president was for the nation and almost certainly for what had been the confederate states. Although, no one can say for certain, it does seem likely that the assassinated president would have been able to salve much of the bitterness and hatred that followed the cessation of violence.
______________
LINCOLN AT GETTYSBURG – THE WORDS THAT REMADE AMERICA
Author: Gary Wills
This is one scholarly work. It is also a work that takes slow careful reading. The author devotes more than one page to each of the two hundred and seventy two words in the famous Gettysburg address.
Wills suggests that Lincoln was heavily influenced by the oratorical skills of the Greeks and also Transcendentalists – a nineteenth century philosophical movement much advocated by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau and other luminaries.
One fascinating aspect of the Gettysburg address is how brief it was. Lincoln was not the featured speaker at the event, indeed by some accounts he was invited as an afterthought. This may well be one of the reasons why his speech was so brief, particularly as short speeches were not the norm. In 1858, Lincoln and Stephen Douglas engaged in three hour debates, while Edward Everett delivered a two hour oration prior to Lincoln’s Gettysburg address. While the three minute address was out of character for the period or indeed any period, the speech proves the point “that less is often more.”
The book should be of particular interest to the Lincoln scholar, but beware, it is a tough book to get through, simply because it is such a detailed, intense work.
One of the many interesting elements in the book is the full reproduction of Everett’s speech. Everett was lauded as the finest speaker of his generation, but to be honest, I found his speech to be tedious, lacking in passion and being primarily a chronology of the events at Gettysburg. Everett wrote to Lincoln following their respective addresses, "I should be glad if I could flatter myself that I came as near the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes." How right he was.
_____________________________
_____________________________
Conor Cunneen is a Chicago based Irish keynote speaker – motivational, humorous, inspirational - on topics as diverse as BEAT the RECESSION, Foodservice, Cancer (a two time survivor), Business Growth and Presentation Skills, who likes to repeat keywords such as motivational, humorous, inspirational, Irish, Chicago based, Motivational Humorist in an ongoing effort to garner search engine attention and BEAT the RECESSION.
His Brand Promise is:E4 - Energize, Educate, Entertain AND Easy to work with.
Clients agree:
“In my close to thirty years of association work, I have never seen a speaker as well received as you.” Incentive Marketing Association
“Working with Conor Cunneen has been a pleasure both for our company and our clients. Conor is a great speaker who obviously knows the importance of a good and well planned speech according to the wishes of our clients.” SpeakersForum, Finland.
Friday, February 06, 2009
The Creep Who Outed Michael Phelps
Stand up you brave upstanding citizen.
Stand up and tell us who you are, so we can laud you for bringing to our notice the horrible crime that Michael Phelps has committed.
Stand up and show us what a wonderful law-abiding citizen you are.
Stand up - in order that the many companies who are so ethically challenged can hire you immediately to bring honesty, openness, good character, genuine friendship (‘I’m doing this for your own good,’) to the great unwashed.
Yes please stand up so America and the world can salute you.
Stand up and explain to Michael Phelps why you are happy that Kellog’s have pulled their multi-million dollar sponsorship.
Somehow or another I don’t think you will, but I hope you are proud of yourself, because you are probably the only one in the world that is.
Michael Phelps commented that it was “obviously bad judgment.” It was bad judgment. It was bad judgment smoking pot in such an open location, bad judgment in his choice of “friends” and to be honest bad judgment in smoking pot in the first place. But to that age group, pot smoking is the equivalent of driving 12 miles over the speed limit on the highway. The only problem occurs when you get caught.
As an inspirational, motivational, humorous keynote business speaker, I am impressed by inspirational, motivational personalities even if they are not Irish keynote speakers! Phelps is only 23 years old, a kid who has worked incredibly hard to become a genuine success based on phenomenal ability. To the surprise of the media, the man is human. His DUI offence after his first great Olympics was a much more egregious and potentially dangerous offence, but he is a powerful study in having a vision, working incredibly hard to achieve it and then making it happen. We can all learn from him.
Kudos to the major sponsors who are sticking by Phelps. This is a not a knock on Kellogg’s who market aggressively to kids and probably had to drop the gold medal star.
But I’d still like for that upstanding law abiding citizen who outed Phelps to make himself known so he can get the kudos he or she deserves.
Stand up and tell us who you are, so we can laud you for bringing to our notice the horrible crime that Michael Phelps has committed.
Stand up and show us what a wonderful law-abiding citizen you are.
Stand up - in order that the many companies who are so ethically challenged can hire you immediately to bring honesty, openness, good character, genuine friendship (‘I’m doing this for your own good,’) to the great unwashed.
Yes please stand up so America and the world can salute you.
Stand up and explain to Michael Phelps why you are happy that Kellog’s have pulled their multi-million dollar sponsorship.
Somehow or another I don’t think you will, but I hope you are proud of yourself, because you are probably the only one in the world that is.
Michael Phelps commented that it was “obviously bad judgment.” It was bad judgment. It was bad judgment smoking pot in such an open location, bad judgment in his choice of “friends” and to be honest bad judgment in smoking pot in the first place. But to that age group, pot smoking is the equivalent of driving 12 miles over the speed limit on the highway. The only problem occurs when you get caught.
As an inspirational, motivational, humorous keynote business speaker, I am impressed by inspirational, motivational personalities even if they are not Irish keynote speakers! Phelps is only 23 years old, a kid who has worked incredibly hard to become a genuine success based on phenomenal ability. To the surprise of the media, the man is human. His DUI offence after his first great Olympics was a much more egregious and potentially dangerous offence, but he is a powerful study in having a vision, working incredibly hard to achieve it and then making it happen. We can all learn from him.
Kudos to the major sponsors who are sticking by Phelps. This is a not a knock on Kellogg’s who market aggressively to kids and probably had to drop the gold medal star.
But I’d still like for that upstanding law abiding citizen who outed Phelps to make himself known so he can get the kudos he or she deserves.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Metallica Rocks, Madame Butterfly Flutters!
It’s been an interesting few weeks culturally. I saw Madame Butterfly last week and this week heavy metal band Metallica. Yahooo! Hey, I might not be very religious, but I do have catholic tastes when it comes to music.
As I stayed quiet for Madam Butterfly and behaved like an aging rocker at Metallica I pondered the lessons inspirational, humorous, and motivational, business keynote speakers – Irish or not, might learn from both performances. (The references to motivational, humorous, Irish, Inspirational business keynote speakers are a gratuitous effort to gain search engine attention). Anyway, back to the lessons!
Did the performances have much in common? Well you felt exhausted after Metallica’s non-stop hard-driving performance while you slept (just a little) during Madame Butterfly. I don’t know what real opera buffs think but the length of some of the scenes in Butterfly was a weakness. It sometimes took too much time to get to the point which is a regular failure for keynote speakers – inspirational or not.
On the other hand Metallica were in your face all the time, rarely pausing for breath which is great for that audience. If there was one minor weakness in the performance of the heavy metal icons it was they operated at two speeds – fast and very fast. Keynote speakers who do not vary their performance, pacing, voice projection will lose their audience very fast.
Metallica and Butterfly both provided awesome music. OK, I know some of you might not have that opinion of … of Madame Butterfly. Metallica and Madame Butterfly have great longevity and status because they make a connection with their respective audiences – something that is critical for a motivational keynote speaker.
The world’s best selling heavy metal band provided another crucial lesson to the budding keynote speaker irrespective if she is an expert on foodservice, humor, inspirational, cancer – whatever. The band really "turned up." Once on stage, they performed like their lives depended on it making good visual contact with all sides of the arena as they pranced around the stage located in the center of the arena.
Many motivational keynote speakers rarely change their material and rehash the same material over and over. Metallica did play some really good old material but the bulk of the show was comprised with songs from their latest and really powerful CD Death Magnetic. The lesson for the up and coming and even seasoned inspirational keynote speaker – Keep creating new material and new products. You’ll stay relevant longer and people will come back again and again. Metallica have been playing Chicago since 1983. Long may it continue.
And in an effort to come up with a really snappy end line, I’d have to say Metallica Rocks, Madame Butterfly Flutters. As Metallica fans will know ‘And nothing else matters.’
As I stayed quiet for Madam Butterfly and behaved like an aging rocker at Metallica I pondered the lessons inspirational, humorous, and motivational, business keynote speakers – Irish or not, might learn from both performances. (The references to motivational, humorous, Irish, Inspirational business keynote speakers are a gratuitous effort to gain search engine attention). Anyway, back to the lessons!
Did the performances have much in common? Well you felt exhausted after Metallica’s non-stop hard-driving performance while you slept (just a little) during Madame Butterfly. I don’t know what real opera buffs think but the length of some of the scenes in Butterfly was a weakness. It sometimes took too much time to get to the point which is a regular failure for keynote speakers – inspirational or not.
On the other hand Metallica were in your face all the time, rarely pausing for breath which is great for that audience. If there was one minor weakness in the performance of the heavy metal icons it was they operated at two speeds – fast and very fast. Keynote speakers who do not vary their performance, pacing, voice projection will lose their audience very fast.
Metallica and Butterfly both provided awesome music. OK, I know some of you might not have that opinion of … of Madame Butterfly. Metallica and Madame Butterfly have great longevity and status because they make a connection with their respective audiences – something that is critical for a motivational keynote speaker.
The world’s best selling heavy metal band provided another crucial lesson to the budding keynote speaker irrespective if she is an expert on foodservice, humor, inspirational, cancer – whatever. The band really "turned up." Once on stage, they performed like their lives depended on it making good visual contact with all sides of the arena as they pranced around the stage located in the center of the arena.
Many motivational keynote speakers rarely change their material and rehash the same material over and over. Metallica did play some really good old material but the bulk of the show was comprised with songs from their latest and really powerful CD Death Magnetic. The lesson for the up and coming and even seasoned inspirational keynote speaker – Keep creating new material and new products. You’ll stay relevant longer and people will come back again and again. Metallica have been playing Chicago since 1983. Long may it continue.
And in an effort to come up with a really snappy end line, I’d have to say Metallica Rocks, Madame Butterfly Flutters. As Metallica fans will know ‘And nothing else matters.’
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Innovation Drives GROWTH
As a keynote speaker on marketing and business growth, two quarterly results caught my attention yesterday – consumer goods giant P&G which announced a 33% profit gain and fast food chain Wendy's which announced a similar percentage change in profits, EXCEPT this was a negative number.
The results from these companies intrigue me because not so long ago, the respective positions were reversed. When P&G CEO, A.G. Lafley took the helm in June 2000, the company was - to put it mildly, struggling with poor growth prospects and a number of missed earnings reports. At the same time, Wendy’s was making strong inroads into the market share of a then sleepy McDonald’s.
So what caused the reversal of fortune for both companies? There is no simple answer, but undoubtedly much of the answer lies in Innovation. Wendy’s growth in the early part of this decade was very much fueled by the introduction of one new product in particular – Salad Sensations. Introduced in February 2002, these salads were the first reasonable quality salad available from a major fast food chain. The “innovation” helped change consumer perceptions of fast food, a perception change that was further accelerated when McDonald’s followed suit thirteen months later. Wendy’s unfortunately lived on their laurels and while claiming to be the innovators in the sector, introduced very few additional relevant products. The net result – Wendy’s has lost its independence, founder Dave Thomas is probably turning in his grave and Triarc – franchisor of the Arby’s chain, has picked up a great brand quite cheaply.
On the other hand, P&G truly understood the power of innovation. Today the company is perceived as being one of the most innovative CPG companies on the market. It has been so successful in the North American laundry care business that it has forced arch-rival Unilever to exit the market. Fiscal ’08 sales at $83.5 billion are double what they were six years ago. One example of successful innovation is the Fusion shaving system which attained billion dollar status in just two years – the fastest billion dollar brand in the company’s history. In the associated conference call announcing the year end results, Lafley stated “Innovation is what will differentiate the winners and the losers in our industry and in the current environment. Innovation drives consumer value and builds brand equity and trust over time.”
How right he is. Even as a humorous keynote speaker, I do my best to be innovative, introducing new keynotes / concepts on a regular basis. Not all motivational, inspirational speakers agree with this philosophy presenting the same material over and over again. I have recently finalized a new keynote, based on my experience as a keynote speaker who has had prostate cancer. Titled “It’s Only a Flesh Wound” (bowing the head to the wonderful Monty Python scene), I have had great reaction to a keynote speech which looks in a humorous but I hope insightful way at how you can overcome prostate and other cancers.
An article ranging from Wendy’s salads to prostate cancer is quite a jump, but the underlying message is constant. Innovation – get it right and you will grow. Rest on your laurels and you will be left behind.
*****************************************************************************
Conor Cunneen is an Irishman, a Chicago based humorous keynote speaker, or if the search engines are paying attention, a funny inspirational motivational business speaker on topics as diverse as foodservice, cancer, communication skills and humor.
You can contact this funny motivational business speaker at 630 718 1643
The results from these companies intrigue me because not so long ago, the respective positions were reversed. When P&G CEO, A.G. Lafley took the helm in June 2000, the company was - to put it mildly, struggling with poor growth prospects and a number of missed earnings reports. At the same time, Wendy’s was making strong inroads into the market share of a then sleepy McDonald’s.
So what caused the reversal of fortune for both companies? There is no simple answer, but undoubtedly much of the answer lies in Innovation. Wendy’s growth in the early part of this decade was very much fueled by the introduction of one new product in particular – Salad Sensations. Introduced in February 2002, these salads were the first reasonable quality salad available from a major fast food chain. The “innovation” helped change consumer perceptions of fast food, a perception change that was further accelerated when McDonald’s followed suit thirteen months later. Wendy’s unfortunately lived on their laurels and while claiming to be the innovators in the sector, introduced very few additional relevant products. The net result – Wendy’s has lost its independence, founder Dave Thomas is probably turning in his grave and Triarc – franchisor of the Arby’s chain, has picked up a great brand quite cheaply.
On the other hand, P&G truly understood the power of innovation. Today the company is perceived as being one of the most innovative CPG companies on the market. It has been so successful in the North American laundry care business that it has forced arch-rival Unilever to exit the market. Fiscal ’08 sales at $83.5 billion are double what they were six years ago. One example of successful innovation is the Fusion shaving system which attained billion dollar status in just two years – the fastest billion dollar brand in the company’s history. In the associated conference call announcing the year end results, Lafley stated “Innovation is what will differentiate the winners and the losers in our industry and in the current environment. Innovation drives consumer value and builds brand equity and trust over time.”
How right he is. Even as a humorous keynote speaker, I do my best to be innovative, introducing new keynotes / concepts on a regular basis. Not all motivational, inspirational speakers agree with this philosophy presenting the same material over and over again. I have recently finalized a new keynote, based on my experience as a keynote speaker who has had prostate cancer. Titled “It’s Only a Flesh Wound” (bowing the head to the wonderful Monty Python scene), I have had great reaction to a keynote speech which looks in a humorous but I hope insightful way at how you can overcome prostate and other cancers.
An article ranging from Wendy’s salads to prostate cancer is quite a jump, but the underlying message is constant. Innovation – get it right and you will grow. Rest on your laurels and you will be left behind.
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Conor Cunneen is an Irishman, a Chicago based humorous keynote speaker, or if the search engines are paying attention, a funny inspirational motivational business speaker on topics as diverse as foodservice, cancer, communication skills and humor.
You can contact this funny motivational business speaker at 630 718 1643
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