Tag: ethical behaviour

“The presentation secrets of Steve Jobs” by Carmine Gallo

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I like books which make me think, books that help me move on the path I choose. Books that bring out the best of my inquisitive instincts. “The presentation secrets of Steve Jobs” is such a book. It is loaded with unpacked and ready to use techniques of the best CEO of the times we are living in.

I believe each project manager is a CEO, by roles, if not by definition. It is one of our roles to come forth in front of various audiences of teams, stakeholders, sponsors. If you want to learn Jobs’ secrets behind being “insanely great in front of any audience” then you may want to read this book. If you’d like, you can do your own research into it. Only if you want to. Otherwise, Gallo did it for us. He unpacked Jobs’ magic in tiny bits to absorb with ease.

Gallo takes the reader through 18 scenes divided between 3 acts on Create the story, Deliver the experience, Refine and rehearse. In each act, there are doors and passages to simple, yet amazing techniques to apply in presenting to any audience. He highlights the basics of preparations and unveils what I see as the essence of it all: talk about things you are passionate about; rehearse, rehearse, rehearse; and be authentic.

“The biggest bluff” by Maria Konnikova

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Project managers are decision-making machines. Every day, our brains process enormous amounts of information and engage in decision-making almost incessantly. It gives us the feeling of being in control.

Maria Konnikova challenges that with “We humans too often think ourselves in firm control when we are really playing by the rules of chance.” From academic research to gambling/poker, “The biggest bluff: how I learned to pay attention, take control and master the odds” is a witty immersion into psychology, people reading and emotional nuance. The book is beating out a number of illusions we hold dear in decision making.

It is not rare in project management to attribute success exclusively to skill and dismiss pure luck. In all of honesty, some things are pure chance. It is up to how humble we are to recognise it.