10 Lessons from Speaking to 200+ CEOs

What differentiates the top 1% of founders and CEOs from the rest? What makes them excellent in leadership and communications?

This is a question that has been with me for years. To find out, I have spoken to over 200 CEOs, founders and world-renowned experts on my Speak Like a CEO podcast.

To celebrate 5 Years of Speak like a CEO – we started out in November 2018 – I broke down 10 of my favorite lessons from this year’s episodes.

#1 “Communication is operationalized leadership.”

Matt Abrahams, who teaches strategic communication at Stanford and hosts the popular Think Fast, Talk Smart podcast stated in episode 213 that communication “is how we lead. It is critical to your success. Everyone needs to develop and hone their communication skills to make sure they can be as effective as possible.”

To me this is the pithiest way to sum up the importance of communication for leaders in any context. No communication, no leadership.

#2 “The hallmark of a great speaker and leader is their ability to recenter their nervous system.”

World-renowned voice coach and author Caroline Goyder showed us in episode 208 how our speech has an immediate impact on the nervous systems of others. And in leadership, “what you do to other people’s nervous systems is a big deal.”

It is crucial to know which technique works for you. For me personally, the best way for me to achieve calm is through the 4-6 breathing technique: breathe in for a count of four and exhale for a count of six.

#3 The 3 Ps of Presenting: Prepare – Practice – Present

How to prepare, practice and present with impact is a constant topic on the podcast. To capture the many insights we’ve gained, we have recently released Presentation Hacks: 50 Powerful Strategies to Captivate Any Audience. It is the one guide that helps you take your presentation game to the next level, and it is completely free.

#4 “Don’t wait for the perfect story, make your story perfect.”

In episode 206, Karen Eber talks about her new book ‘The Perfect Story’ which builds on her TED talk with 2m views.

To create perfect stories, in my view we need storytelling templates that go beyond the hero’s journey. Like the Hollywood 3-act structure: Excite, Disturb, Assure. (You find this and other templates with explanations in ‘Presentation Hacks’.)

#5 The Charisma Equation

Charisma is a learnable skill. As we have argued in my latest book “Message Machine”, you can break it down into its three components:

Charisma = Warmth + Competence + Presence.

BTW, charisma is different from charm. As the comedian Jimmy Carr said, “charisma is when you come to me, charm is when I come to you.”

#6 Authenticity means surprising people

Many CEOs on the podcast stress the importance of authenticity to be effective leaders. My definition of authenticity is that what you think, say and do is aligned. But there is another component.

Authentic people tend to surprise you every now and then. Their values and beliefs aren’t predictable, because they are independent thinkers and they stand by their views.

#7 Most change processes fail, unless …

Right now 4 out of 5 companies undergo some form of change, but 50-80% of change processes fail. Why?

Poor communication is a main culprit. As I discussed with Jörg Hellwig in episode 194, companies that get the communication part right have a much higher chance to succeed. They create excitement about the new and overcome internal resistance.

#8 The secret language of leadership

In my conversation with top speech writer Simon Lancaster (episode 193), we discussed how great leaders understand that they need to appeal to the instinctive, emotional and logical parts of our mind.

First impressions and metaphors appeal to the instinctive brain, stories and values appeal to the emotional brain, and killer facts appease the logical brain. That’s the apex of persuasion.

#9 “Communication is the new selling”

Victoria Lindner, the CEO of Mindsurance (episode 189), highlighted how communication has become the key to selling. Today’s customers are very sophisticated and want to do their own research before they are willing to enter a sales conversation. The upshot: Pre-selling and pre-suasion matter more than ever.

#10 “Start with building a brand”

Many of our guests have built global brands – or revived them like Ken Ohashi (episode 190). He became the CEO of Brooks Brothers, America’s oldest retailer, when it was bankrupt and has since led the brand to new heights.

And Johannes Reck analyzed in episode 195 how he had to develop a whole new skillset in communications, branding and marketing as the CEO of GetYourGuide to ensure the company would become successful. His learning: build a brand first.

If you don't have it already, you can download my guide to 'Presentation Hacks: 50 Powerful Strategies to Captivate Any Audience' here.

Celebrating 5 Years of Speak like a CEO

We have exciting plans for this newsletter and the podcast that we are going to share with you soon. In the meantime, in this week’s episode I go into more detail on what I have learnt interviewing 200+ CEOs and founders.

Listen on Spotify and Apple:

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Why Startups Fail

If you want your startup to succeed, you need to understand why startups fail. So why do startups fail? That question caught Harvard Business School professor Tom Eisenmann by surprise when he realized he couldn’t answer it. So he launched a multiyear research project to find out. In Why Startups Fail, Eisenmann reveals his findings: six distinct patterns that account for the vast majority of startup failures.

Two of the patterns stand out to me: ‘bad bedfellows’ and ‘false starts’. Bed bedfellows are parties besides the founders that can play a major role in a firm’s demise. Be strategic about who you partner up with. False starts are when startups overlook a crucial step in the lean start-up process: researching customer needs before testing products. Don’t waste time and money on a product nobody wants. This is an interesting read for founders at any stage of their entrepreneurial journey.

Have an inspired weekend!

Best,

Oliver

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