Personal Presentation: Crisp, Conservative, Consistent

Recently I visited a fellow speaker, meeting in person for the first time.  We met at his place of business, had coffee, and talked about his work in the community and with a local business organization.  It was my only in person meeting of the day.

Near the end of our conversation, he asked if I wore a suit every day.  I shared that I do wear a suit every day, as it's easier to take off a jacket & tie than to find yourself under-dressed and in need of a more professional look.  Sometimes it makes people wonder, "who's the guy in the suit?" - and I have a chance to shape their perception from a good starting point.  We even had a short conversation about a very colorful tie I had chosen to wear that day, something that would be appropriate for Easter Sunday.

Dr. Jeffrey Kaplan & Ferrazzi Greenlight

This past week I had the opportunity to attend a small-group training session with Dr. Jeffrey Kaplan, Managing Director of Training & Development at Ferrazzi Greenlight.  If you haven't heard of Ferrazzi Greenlight, it's a firm focused on strategic relationship management headed by one Keith Ferrazzi, bestselling author of Never Eat Alone and Who's Got Your Back.

In a nutshell, the message is this:  demonstrate generosity, intimacy, candor, and accountability.  :)  Of course, the trick is not knowing the four secret words...the trick is knowing what they mean and how they apply to our individual and corporate circumstances.  In our small group, Jeff painted a picture for us of what that might look like, and took us down the path of thinking through specifically how to realize these goals.

Jeff speaks to groups of all sizes, from our group of ten to stadiums of thousands.  He has a great story to share, and is - of all things - authentic.

First Post

This is the first post of Fortress Thinking's new blog.  Fortress Thinking is a shift in the way we think - and offers some concrete analogies to how we approach relationships, business, and life.  Enjoy!