Conversation Agent - Valeria Maltoni

Why Systems Thinking is Not the Answer

A few years ago I read an interesting column by Malcolm Gladwell for The New Yorker. Published in July, 2002, The Talent Myth is as true today as it was back then. The premise is still quite disquieting: This "talent mind-set" is the new orthodoxy of American management. It is the intellectual justification for why such a high premium is placed on degrees from first-tier business schools, and why the compensation packages for top executives have become so lavish. In the modern corporation, the system is considered only as strong as its stars, and, in the past few years, this... Read more →

The New Conversation

We live in the age of talk; do we know about and engage in the art of conversation? Think about it: talk shows, reality shows, trade shows, sales calls, all kinds of calls with requests all seem to indicate that we have lost the old art. Gianandrea blogged about the Age of Conversation and shared a book title with us. A good start. Greg Krauska asks me what resources I would recommend to someone who would like to learn more about the art of effective conversation. While my answer may surprise some -- the classics and the best fiction provide... Read more →

Parla Italiano? Italians "do it."

I can tell you that the only way I learned English well enough to be able to think in the language was by living here. And for those who will ask: yes, I also dream in English these days, although I tend to sing in Italian. By being fully immersed in the way people not only think, but act in the every day language of life, I learned what it means to function in American English. Lorelle Van Fossen over at ProBlogger has a terrific guest post on blog translations. It made me think that no matter how foreign the... Read more →

Re-Imagine! Your Beauty

When Tom Peters published his homonymous book in 2003, the point of exclamation was in refashioning the language for success in the twenty-first century. He combined the open, unrestrictive and endlessly personal invitation to imagine with the incredibly powerful “re” word. As explained in depth by Frank Luntz at the end of one of the most useful and dynamic books on the modern use of words you could read, when we take the best elements or ideas from the past and apply them to the present –- and future –- we win an audience. And having an audience today means... Read more →

The Sound of Silence

It's the place between words, a slight pause before listening and after talking: silence. Poets and philosophers have fallen in love with the idea of what is left unsaid: the space where nothing exists but the shapeless abyss. Sometimes defined a deafening void, silence is an art. It comes with its own grammar: forging words that go with any sound or message is no trivial thing. Silence is a dynamic and ever changing force. It's been revealed through the study of magnetic resonance that our brain is able to hear silence and it anticipates the sound. In fact, during a... Read more →

The Value of a Happy Customer

There is tremendous value in having happy customers. It's easy to justify spending time with a customer, especially when we continue hearing how happy they are with our product and service. There is also merit in your sales rep. maintaining a high energy level. And nothing keeps them pumped up like the feedback and company of a satisfied customer. But what happens when you discover that your field guys are spending all their time with the wrong customers? How can any of your customers be the wrong ones? This is the topic of today's post at FC Expert blogs. And... Read more →

Don't Rush Me!

We all know it takes time to do things and that when we feel rushed we do shoddy work. So let me sit here quietly for a moment at take a breather, will you? I cannot believe these people here. It seems like everything is so urgent these days. All right, all right, I’ll be right there. How can’t they see that I need time to gather information? I wonder what Jane and Connie are up to. Last time I walked on by and barely glanced inside Jane’s office, she seemed to be chatting on the phone with someone. I... Read more →

Marketing or Sales?

Remember that post of mine on how sales is from Mars and marketing is from Venus? The Fox School of Business at Temple University invited me to moderate a panel of marketing and sales practitioners today. The goal: to illustrate the differences between a career in marketing and one in sales. Before today I thought I was an odd duck. A corporate career in marketing started in the nonprofit world and carried on in 5 different industries and companies as diverse as you could imagine. Plus, a degree in linguistics to start with. I was not alone. My colleagues, all... Read more →

Beautiful Single Words

Words that work. This is the title of the insightful book written by Frank Luntz, dubbed hottest pollster in America by the Boston Globe. I'm only halfway so far, but I can tell you one thing: this is a keeper. And to those who take exception at the author's political work or frequent use of the pronoun "I" in his writing I say: get over it. Many of the illustrations from the world of politics are both insightful and fascinating to an outsider. Some of the references to business I would take the time to look at differently in a... Read more →

What's Your Exit Strategy?

Although very important for entrepreneurs and business owners, we would all be served well by having a well defined exit strategy. Similarly to your investment portfolio, an exit strategy needs to be recalibrated over time to make sure it serves you and not the other way around. Every business goes through a life cycle. It may be a sudden chapter 11, the sale to a relative, wanting to buy something else, or a market opportunity to sell. It is a good idea to consider how your business (and skill) will be valuated, before you get to that bridge and need... Read more →