Beckham has 'IT'

To most Americans, David Beckham is a flash highly paid soccer player married to a pop singer and fashion diva. Most soccer fans would suggest that his period with LA Galaxy has not set the world on fire. Ideed to date it has been a major disappointment.

Beckham’s flare for publicity hides his greatest characteristic. The guy has a world class attitude, strength of character and dedication to his craft that is not unlike golfer Tiger Woods. For the uninitiated, Beckham is currently on a two month loan to Italian soccer giants AC Milan. At 33 years of age, he knows he must prove his fitness to England coach Fabio Capello if he wants to play in the World Cup next summer.

Many soccer commentators expected he would be a bit player for Milan. But selected for his first game this Sunday against Roma, he received rave reviews from the Milan manager and his co-players. Even the British press who love nothing better than to bash an icon were hugely impressed.

This is not the first time Beckham has proved his detractors wrong. Playing for England against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup quarter-finals, he was sent off for kicking out at an opponent. The tirade of abuse he received from the UK press and soccer ‘fans’ was sickening and there was real fear he would be forced to play abroad. You need to attend an English soccer game to appreciate the venom which opposing fans spew at opposition players. Beckham’s dismissal brought fan frenzy to new heights of profanity laced vitriol. Much of it was directed towards his wife Posh Spice. Beckham stuck it out and eventually won over the English public.

It was a triumph of perseverance and can do attitude.

Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson eventually tired of Beckham’s high profile and sold him on to Spanish giants Real Madrid where now England boss Capello was installed as boss. After Beckham announced (mid season) he would sign for LA Galaxy at season end, Capello famously announced that Beckham would never play for Madrid again. Beckham sucked it up, worked tirelessly and eventually forced a rare u-turn from Capello. The resilient Englishman played a vital part in Madrid ultimately winning the Spanish championship.

Once again, it was a triumph of perseverance and can do attitude. And now he has done it again in Milan.

Beckham has achieved so much. He has achieved this because of talent and ‘IT.’

‘IT’ is perseverance and can do attitude.
‘IT’ is what we can all benefit from.
‘IT’ is what we all need in these trying times.
‘IT’ will help you.

Perseverance and can do attitude – how do you rate?


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Chicago based Irish keynote speaker and business humorist speaks to corporations and associations on business growth and productivity interspersed with a large dollop of Irish blarney.

Brand Power

Never underestimate the power of a brand name, even if what underlies it is not good. Huh!

Arise, Mr. Bernie Madoff, a man whose reputation – his brand and brand name – evoked commentary like “pillar of Wall Street,” “the best of the best,” “a huge figure on Wall Street” and a man “who inspired confidence.”

Richard Nixon once in recounting the famous quote, “You can fool all of the people some of the time and some of the people all of the time” allegedly told a speech writer to concentrate on the latter group. Well this Madoff creep seems to have done that and oh how horribly successfully. This man’s brand image was so powerful that it appears even the SEC were in awe of him and failed to act on a number of tip offs.

We all need heroes. They help us to believe in our version of Santa Claus and sometimes even motivate us to great things, but the level to which people are put on a pedestal, which is then rarely checked for cracks is a human trait that can horribly backfire.

I still remember the first time I became aware of Enron’s Jeffrey Skilling. It was a few years before his downfall in the most notorious financial scandal of the decade. I happened on the latter part of an interview on a cable financial show as the interviewer fawned over him. It was actually the level of obsequiousness that first got my attention. ‘Who is this guy I thought?’ He is being treated like a god.’ And indeed that is how it continued until the walls came tumbling down. The brand image, the aura that surrounded him seemed to ensure a Teflon type of reporting and investigation, exactly the same as with Madoff. Elliot Spitzer was not only treated like a god, he thought he was one.

I’m struggling for a moral in all of this.

I do want Barack Obama to be as good as his brand is suggesting (that would mean he IS God), I do want Jamie Dimon to be the financial genius and guru that Wall Street claims him to be and in the light of Elliot Spitzer, I pray Patrick Fitzgerald has no skeletons in his closet.

I am one of the world’s great optimists. I KNOW my next golf shot will be my best one. I KNOW I will get home before the snow storm strikes. I KNOW my next pint of Guinness will be just magical (you don't have to be an optimist to know that). The problem with all of these scandals is that I’m starting to KNOW that I need to be a bit more circumspect, but I pray I will always return to “Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.”

What a Car Wreck

Lordy Lord! No matter how bad you think it is going to get for the US auto industry, it just gets worse. GM’s announcement of a 45% drop in car sales for October is mind-boggling. Some might argue that the Toyota sales decline of 23% is even more astonishing given that the Japanese behemoth has apparently been able to walk on water over the past twenty years. (Their success of course had nothing to do with walking on water – Toyota implemented the shocking concept of making good products which consumers wanted.)

Can GM survive? Can Chrysler survive? Can Ford survive? I don’t know but Chrysler seems to be the one that is in the most precarious position. I find it astonishing that the current triumvirate at Chrysler – Nardelli, Press and LaSorda are still correctly decrying improve product quality. Chairman Nardelli and President Press can not really be blamed for the Chrysler quality reputation and performance given their relatively short period in the job, but the company’s quality performance is just amazingly bad. In its most recent survey on car reliability, the 2008 Consumer Reports survey suggests that almost two-thirds of Chrysler brands are rated below average. How can this happen after so many years of saying “we must improve our quality”?

It is not too surprising that the government is baulking at providing additional support for a GM/Chrysler merger.

Steve Martin: The Performer and the Man

I watched Steve Martin on Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show recently and was once again intrigued by the difference between the performer and the man. Martin was promoting the paperback edition of Born Standing Up which reminded me of the review I posted on Amazon some months ago about this book. I thought I’d re-run it here.
*****
On the back cover, Jerry Seinfeld writes "Absolutely magnificent. One of the best books about comedy and being a comedian ever written." I thought this was standard hyperbole until I read the book. Seinfeld is spot on.

The irony is that I don't think I laughed once while reading the book - a few smiles, yes, but no side splitting laughter. Steve Martin off stage is a quiet almost shy person and this personality comes through in the book. He tells us very little about his private life although he does write with some angst about his lack of relationship with his father.

So why rate it so highly especially as the early part of the book is not very inspiring?

Martin shows just how difficult it is to make it in performance art. It took him well over a decade to become an overnight success. For the budding performer -comedian, actor, professional speaker, the book shows just what it takes to `make it.' Martin uses the word "precision" quite often in the book, originally in reference to an e.e. cummings quote "Like the burlesque comedian, I am abnormally fond of that precision which creates movement." The artist in Martin ultimately appreciated that every movement, every gesture counts on stage. When he writes "I tried to make every voice and gesture as crucial as jokes and gags," it reminded me of the thought and planning that the first great American humorist Mark Twain put into his performances.
If you want to learn about Steve Martin, this is not the book for you. Quite amazingly, he mentions his divorce twice in passing without ever telling you who he divorced. He was apparently married for fourteen years!

However, if you want a book on what it takes to `make it,' buy this book and learn that that "every second mattered. Every gesture mattered."
Great read for the wannabe artist or performer.

Palin - The Kapow Brand

A simple exercise which market researchers do when trying to define the brand behind the product is to ask consumers – “If this product was a person, who would it be?”

Taking a similar kind of line on the Sarah Palin product, who might she be? Well, two concepts came to me last night after her speech and the stunned reaction from Democratic commentators.

Palin reminded me of a young Oscar De La Hoya. This great boxer was (still is) immensely attractive and could punch the living daylights out of his opposition. Palin was a bit like that last night. The other concept she reminded me of was the wonderfully campy Batman TV series of the 1960s. The program always ended with Batman and Robin dishing out Biff, Bang, Wallop, Kapow to their opponents.

The Alaska Governor had this type of effect last night. I think it was fair to state most Democratic commentators were punch-drunk last night and not at all sure how to respond. In boxing parlance, she won the first round last night.

The issue will be, does she have stamina and the ring craft to take punches and punishment? Only time will tell, but the worrying thing for the Democrats is that after twenty months as Governor of Alaska (admittedly a very short period), her ratings are extraordinarily high.

Really messing up my super-hero analogies, is there a kryptonite out there that will cause major damage to an obviously competent( and obviously inexperienced) politician?

As a professional speaker on Business, Motivation and communication, I like to study and appreciate good communication.
One of the most impressive speeches I have heard in recent times is Irish rock star Bono's recent speech at the National Prayer Breakfast 02/02/06. This breakfast was attended by President Bush.
You can get speech text at http://www.data.org/archives/000774.php
The combination of a great artist who definitely has "the gift of the gab" with a powerful compelling message on Africa is what makes this speech compelling.

Good speech development included
* Personal anecdotes
"I remember how my mother would bring us to chapel on Sundays… and my father used to wait outside. One of the things that I picked up from my father and my mother was the sense that religion often gets in the way of God."

*Powerful evocative phrasing
"But in truth, I was wrong again. The church was slow but the church got busy on this the leprosy (he is referring to AIDS) of our age.
Love was on the move.

Mercy was on the move.

God was on the move."

AND

"God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house… God is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives… God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war… God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them."

AND

"A number of years ago, I met a wise man who changed my life. In countless ways, large and small, I was always seeking the Lord’s blessing. I was saying, you know, I have a new song, look after it… I have a family, please look after them… I have this crazy idea…
And this wise man said: stop.
He said, stop asking God to bless what you’re doing.
Get involved in what God is doing—because it’s already blessed.
Well, God, as I said, is with the poor. That, I believe, is what God is doing.
And that is what He’s calling us to do."

I am lucky to have seen video of the actual speech. The visual obviously reinforces the message because of the true emotion Bono feels and communicates with wonderful Irish passion. I do admit to bias.I happen to think Bono is the 21st century version of Mother Teresa, a person with great vision who not only talks but walks the talk. Indeed, George Bush commended Bono after the speech with a very humorous joke highlighting that the rock star was a "doer."

As a professional speaker on Business, Motivation and communication, I like to study and appreciate good communication.
One of the most impressive speeches I have heard in recent times is Irish rock star Bono's recent speech at the National Prayer Breakfast 02/02/06. This breakfast was attended by President Bush.
You can get speech text at http://www.data.org/archives/000774.php
The combination of a great artist who definitely has "the gift of the gab" with a powerful compelling message on Africa is what makes this speech compelling.

Good speech development included
* Personal anecdotes
"I remember how my mother would bring us to chapel on Sundays… and my father used to wait outside. One of the things that I picked up from my father and my mother was the sense that religion often gets in the way of God."

*Powerful evocative phrasing
"But in truth, I was wrong again. The church was slow but the church got busy on this the leprosy (he is referring to AIDS) of our age.
Love was on the move.

Mercy was on the move.

God was on the move."

AND

"God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house… God is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives… God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war… God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them."

AND

"A number of years ago, I met a wise man who changed my life. In countless ways, large and small, I was always seeking the Lord’s blessing. I was saying, you know, I have a new song, look after it… I have a family, please look after them… I have this crazy idea…
And this wise man said: stop.
He said, stop asking God to bless what you’re doing.
Get involved in what God is doing—because it’s already blessed.
Well, God, as I said, is with the poor. That, I believe, is what God is doing.
And that is what He’s calling us to do."

I am lucky to have seen video of the actual speech. The visual obviously reinforces the message because of the true emotion Bono feels and communicates with wonderful Irish passion. I do admit to bias.I happen to think Bono is the 21st century version of Mother Teresa, a person with great vision who not only talks but walks the talk. Indeed, George Bush commended Bono after the speech with a very humorous joke highlighting that the rock star was a "doer."

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