Conversation Agent - Valeria Maltoni

Want to Make an Impact? Prepare and Do.

“You are what you do, not what you say you'll do.” — Carl Jung Want to make an impact? Connect with your mind and examine your consciousness. Every other option becomes an act of vandalism or hubris rather quickly in the modern sense of the word.# For many involved in knowledge work, professional services, or even technology, an actual exchange of value is hard to measure beyond the immediate. But there's a way to prepare for and build over time. Put into this context, it's not obvious you could translate impact into positive effect, influence, or change quickly. But that's... Read more →

Words for the Year

The most important things are often the hardest. Each month this year had its challenges. It also had its gifts: that was the focus all along. A recap of the words that carried the day—and will take us into the future. January—impact February—culture March—belief April—habits / behaviors May—perspective June—change July—perception / behavior August—productivity September—attention / power October—role of corporation November—clarity December—lasting Lasting turns into impact through decision-making, and the cycle continues. Creators use words to expand their thinking, anchor action in meaning. Words are human footprints on the world. How lasting? What impact? Read more →

A Reading List for the Culturally Curious

“Looking at life from a different perspective makes you realize that it's not the deer that is crossing the road, rather it's the road that is crossing the forest.” Born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr., Muhammad Ali was an activist and philanthropist who became known in America and the world as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. His convictions cost him at least four years of peak performance. Sports Illustrated declared the heavyweight “Sportsman of the Century” in 1999. Ali won numerous awards throughout his career. But it was his appeal that won him a large following. As... Read more →

The 3-5 Books That Sit on My Office Shelf

This came as a question to me via Jose. It's very appropriate because companies pay me to write. That's also (but not only) why I read a lot. The other reasons include broadening cultural horizons, which often includes disagreeing with other authors. Rarely with the classics, though. Because the classics don't try to sell me a framework, mostly (more further down.) 3-5 books I reference often enough to keep on my office shelf. They've changed little over the last ten to twelve years. You'll see many references to the thinking, research and practice of the authors in my writing as... Read more →

Fast Gets all our Attention. Slow Has all the Power

If you're a futurist of strategist you're in the business of widening your perspective. This is useful for seeing better into potential futures, but it's also a powerful thinking tool for understanding what got you (or your client/company) here. This is important and often overlooked: what got you here, won't work (as well) or be sustainable in the future. It's valid when you go from individual contributor to manager as it does to go from today's success to tomorrow's. There's a reason why this is hard to imagine and even harder to do: Fast gets all our attention, slow has... Read more →

How Remote Work Will Impact Your Company's Strategy

[Calculated risk. Illustration by Andrea Ucini for Certo magazine] Before digital became a pervasive part of our lives, companies looked to the strategy introduced by Michael Porter to sustain long-term competitive profitability. Porter's 1979 five forces theory of competitive advantage# shaped a generation of leaders. Digital technology upset those assumptions. Speed of change opened the door to agility practices. It also created the “adapt or die” imperative. Responding to adaptive challenges is still important, but not in the tech industry ways. Ironically, the disembodiment of work and divorce from physical locations of recent months, revealed a new opportunity in the... Read more →

Innovating: Beyond the Sex Appeal

Innovation, like leadership, is a word that has tremendous sex appeal. But the real sexy part is what happens when it happens. For that, you still need to do the work. Use with care. The work includes figuring out that innovating is often about behavior change. Whether you're the company doing it or wanting to innovate, the consultants, the sponsor or partner in innovation, your behavior is also up for change. It's important to remember that innovation demands trade-offs. For example, satellite radio offers a broader selection, but you lose free music; online grocery shopping gets you home delivery, but... Read more →

How to Argue and Win Every Time

Do you have something to say? Could you benefit from improving how you argue your case? Are you looking for something concrete to help you? Given that my recent article on how to argue well went viral, it's safe to assume this is a hot topic. You may think this is a skill only lawyers need. But you'd be surprised at how far you can go when you can weave a strong argument. For example, you'll ace your pitch, and you'll find the real insight (or close to it) faster when you learn to argue well. I'm working with clients... Read more →

Are we Living at a Moment When Significant Change is Possible?

“The best way to predict the future is to create it,” said Abraham Lincoln. The future is hard to predict. Yet, that's not for lack of trying. A thriving trends industry says forecasts are in high demand. Futurists work outward from data and evidence, seeking to identify highly probable events. While unpredictable in scope, pandemics are undesirable parts of our past and highly probable events. But proceed with caution. Labeling an observation about what's going on “insight” doesn't make it so. Further, insights are not as useful to understanding changing habits, behaviors and attitudes and what will stick as you'd... Read more →

How to Help People Make New Choices

Reframing is a powerful tool in business. A small change of posture can make a big difference. The circumstances of our lives may matter less than how we see them, says adman Rory Sutherland. The global pandemic does provide a context of unprecedented scale (at least in my lifetime) to take a look at how we make decisions. Coronavirus didn't create many of the issues we're confronting today, it accelerated them. Companies were wrestling with change for a range of issues before—from hiring, working from home (WFH) and open office, to digital transformation, sustainable business models and innovation. As individuals,... Read more →