Loraine Antrim

I was listening to an old Bonnie Raitt song the other day, ‘Have a Heart.’ And the lyrics really hit home in terms of executive thinking and communication (clearly NOT Bonnie’s intended audience). Check out her opening lines: “Hey! Shut up. Don’t lie to me. Hey! Mister, how do you do? Oh pardon me I thought I knew you. Would you stand back baby cause I want to get a better look.” Here's a novel take: interpret the lyrics in light of what AIG’s CEO Edward Liddy said to Congress, and Bonnie’s words take on a WHOLE new light! Instead of "Have a Heart, " how about, "Have a see-through communication strategy." Well, that's not catchy enough for a Grammy or an MTV music video, but such a strategy might garner major kudos for an executive from his/her core constituents. With Enron as a backdrop, and our current economic troubles, we now have a new landscape that demands di... (more)

100 Ways to Kill Your PPT Presentation

A CEO once asked me, "As an executive coach, what are the top mistakes you've seen when business leaders give a presentation"? He was expecting just a few insights, I'm sure. But once I got thinking about all the mess-ups I'd seen, I just could not stop writing them down. What started as a Letterman "Top Ten List" took on a life of its own. So, for all you executives getting ready to present, here are 100 of the top mistakes I've seen over the years. 100 Ways to Bore Your Audience Don't have a story Show lots and lots of slides Don't have clear messages Have plenty of bullets and... (more)

Are You An IT Superhero?

At times, do you think you're a Superman or Wonder Woman? Pitted in a daily struggle between the IT department and the business units? We all know that IT managers juggle a number of hats and scramble to put out dozens of fires, and truly can be a superhero to their organizations. But did you ever think about what kind of superhero you are? Where do you rank in the Legion of Superhero's taxonomy? Are you an IT Wolverine, Green Lantern or Flash? Take the IT X-Men (or Women) quiz to see if you have the right stuff to be an IT Superhero. 1. Do you do it all? A one-man or one-woman sho... (more)

Can You Hear Me NOW?

Normal 0 0 1 521 2975 Core Ideas Communication 24 5 3653 10.265 0 0 0 As an IT professional, you talk about IT issues all the time. But when you speak to a business crowd, well… it can sometimes be very challenging, to say the least. Have you ever been faced with this type of communication challenge? Let's say you're talking about cloud computing to your business users. After two minutes of speaking, your audience's eyes glaze over, brows furrow and zombie-like faces stare back at you. And no matter how many times you rephrase and restate your ideas, still, you're talking to a bl... (more)

Leaders Should Just Lead

One has to wonder what business leaders are thinking sometimes when they utter things that they have to know are going to send waves throughout the universe. The iconic Warren Buffett opened up his mouth in May 2009 and turned the financial world on its head. In an interview, Mr. Buffett chose to express his views of the current economic times by saying, “this is an economic Pearl Harbor” and equated the current financial situation in the United States to “falling off a cliff.” These comments may seem innocent enough. But coming from a financial executive who has changed a whol... (more)