Conversation Agent - Valeria Maltoni

Brand US of A

Whenever I travel to Europe, I am often confronted with opinions about brand USA cloaked as questions. Old neighbors and friends are curious to know if business is really like it is portrayed in the sitcoms and what I think about the current political climate. While there exist definitely strong views on those points, the most intriguing discussions I have are around American brands and lifestyle. By far one of the funniest list of reasons to love America (Italians often substitute the word for US of A) is the one compiled by author and radio/TV commentator Beppe Severgnini. As it... Read more →

Which is More Dangerous?

As reported on Il Corriere della Sera, Police in Italy have traced and charged a motorcyclist who mounted a miniature camera on the dash panel of his bike, a souped-up Honda 1000, and then drove at breakneck speed along various stretches of the A7 autostrada, which links Milan and Genoa. The man has admitted sending images to the Google Video portal, where they were discovered and immediately investigated by the authorities. He denies being the rider in the film. But police searching the man’s garage seized a partly dismantled motorbike, an outdoor camera and handlebar mount, gloves and a leather... Read more →

Design of Conversation: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

We often talk about joining a conversation in real time with a flexible agenda and a mind open to discovery. Can a conversation be designed to achieve a specific purpose? The job interview, a client presentation, corporate blogging, your next team meeting, to name just a few, are all conversations that can be designed for a specific outcome. The key is to know why -- why you're doing it and why the other party should care. Let's take the client presentation -- much has been said about the container, that is the visuals used to complement your message. The presentation... Read more →

Women and the Art of Meaning

Women are a woman's best friend. Peruvian photographer Mario Testino immortalized the message in a series of portraits of young African, European and American women who are HIV positive and are fighting the virus and want to help communicate awareness. The cultural center at Cappella Orsini in Rome hosts the visuals that are part of a larger exhibit on HIV and contemporary art closing on December 3. Sixty works by artists from all over the world give a face to the disease, which has been contracted by at least 40 million people globally according to data provided by the United... Read more →

We Have Too Much Wisdom

Or so it seems. Quantity of information may undermine quality of engagement. Think about how many times in a day you skim news, email messages and blogs, to name a few. Isn't it tempting to just read the reviews and executive summaries? How many times do you take an idea and spend time to savor it, take it to heart, work it into your life? The tyranny seems to be compounded by the fact that modern life is full of traps. Some of these traps seem to be set by marketers and advertisers who know just what we want --... Read more →

Reinvention of Image The Beatles Way

Love is in the air. Producer George Martin released the new album of reworked Beatles' songs this week. I remember all of the songs in the two double Beatles collections as they played from our family tape recorder one summer a long time ago. We were vacationing in the former Yugoslavia, in the beautiful island of Krk, across from Rijeka or, as it used to be called, Fiume. I wonder how we will welcome this new album, or if we will. However we will greet the music, one thing the news releases communicated to me may be certain -- it... Read more →

Thanksgiving Reflections

When it comes to giving thanks in a business context, I have seen few who execute on the idea as well as executive coach Beryl Byles. I learned about Beryl from a long time friend as I was organizing this year's Holiday Party for Fast Company readers' network, which she will be facilitating. Spend some time on her site and explore the letters through the PDF links. They are original, well-written and highly inspirational. I particularly like the one for 2004, which explores the similarities and differences of two representative "structures of people" called family trees and organizational charts. As... Read more →

Letter from a Poet to a Friend

I have written about the lost art of letter writing in a previous post. There is inherent intimacy in the hand written letter. Putting pen to paper requires a certain amount of courage as the ink cannot be rewritten so easily by using the delete key. It also requires a certain desire to connect to the other, investing our time in opening up to them. My favorite poet is Rainer Maria Rilke. Wikipedia definitions aside, he is German language's gratest 20th century poet. Let me show you the rhythm of intimacy and modern thought in his famous Letter to a... Read more →

Small is the New Big Caribbean Style

As described in the official web site, the smallest island in the world to have been partitioned between two different nations, St. Martin/St. Marteen has been shared by the French and the Dutch for almost 350 years. The borders are almost imperceptible and people cross back and forth without ever realizing they are entering a new country. What is interesting about the island is that while the Dutch side is being heavily developed in recent years with high-rise condominiums and hotels, casinos and American-like structures, the French side has remained quaint. On the Dutch side you can find more people... Read more →

Blogs are a Conversation

Or as Mike Sansone says, ConverStations. One of the most interesting aspects of blogging, besides indulging one's creative juices, is creating a new conversation. The connective nature of the blogosphere can provide clear visuals. You may see a post on a blog make its way through many in the span of a few hours. The other aspect of connectivity that fascinates me is the conversation that develops among peers. I found many interesting blogs that way. From Ann Michael's Manage to Change -- Making sense out of change. Ideas need to add up before they can multiply -- I found:... Read more →