Conversation Agent - Valeria Maltoni

How to Succeed Through Distributed Collaboration

The World Heritage Committee inscribed the porticoes on the list during the 44th session. The porticoes of Bologna have been listed on the UNESCO World Heritage site since January 2006. People have been using this network of covered areas for a long time (stretches date to 13th Century). This alone makes them of 'outstanding universal value.' Imagine being able to walk all the way from the city to the Sanctuary of San Luca atop the La Guardia hill without getting wet. And walking throughout the city protected from the heat. There's no other city in Italy like Bologna. Many of... Read more →

Work Impacts Much More than the Economy

“Truth be told, this move from the White House to the Pink House was something I'd been contemplating for a long time,” wrote Dan Pink. What Dan said, about missing making a difference was starting to percolate for many. There have always been people to strike out on their own. But twenty years ago, the why and how of this phenomenon became noticeable. A cover article he wrote in Fast Company about “free agents” attracted tons of attention: it was legitimizing a new way to work. Two years before the book's publication, I had started a form of social network... Read more →

What Happens When "Unit of Account" Takes Precedence over "Store of Value"

“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” How did debt, a moral obligation, become associated with sin? It's a long story. Debt in this sense of social obligation was recorded in the Sumer civilization around 3,500 BC. “I owe yous” (IOUs) were used as a credit system well before coins appeared in 600 BC. The introduction of a thing outside the obligation, created a new layer of meaning. Opportunists didn't miss a beat. Interest swiftly followed, with associated human effects. In his exploration of Debt Anthropologist David Graeber explains that economists referred to money in... Read more →

How Your Ideas can Become Better

Life doesn't stick to a script. Why would business? Do you enjoy when you receive a call from someone who's reading a script? How many conversations are exactly the same as others you've had in the past? Things you invent and come up with in the spur of the moment can be as good as those you labor over. The best sales people I worked with know that listening and being in the conversation with customers and prospects is the winning way. Experience shows when you have accumulated enough mileage to let go of the rules long enough to respond... Read more →

From Loss to Upside Through a New Narrative

At some point in his career, Joe Moglia went “from a company that had incredible stability to a company that was blowing up as the dotcom bubble burst.” Moglia also went from head football coach and defensive coordinator at a number of esteemed college teams to Wall Street. 17 years at Merrill Lynch, then as CEO and Chairman at TD Ameritrade. This conversation with Barry Ritholzt touches upon a couple of business pointers. Underestimating impact in the short term is common. The second lesson is about customers. Day traders, which was TD Ameritrade's niche, went out of business. Both show... Read more →