As I look back over more than 40 years of business experience, several people still stand out as influencers.
As a rookie radio announcer at CKWW Windsor, my first boss, George MacDonald, called me into his office one day and said, “Mather, we’re making some changes around here and you’re one of them.” He was not known for his indirect approach.
Weeks earlier he had told me, “The art is to hide the art.” He was referring to my tendency to sound like an “announcer.” He suggested I was not speaking to a room full of people over the radio; they were in their cars, offices, or working at home with the radio in the background.
“Talk to them one on one,” he told me. Excellent baseball players make the game look easy. Professional actors get you lost in their performances. And effective salespeople help you buy, rather than simply pushing their products or services. Their art is invisible.
Another influence on me was Charles T. (Tremendous) Jones. Charlie was an inspirational speaker I was privileged to meet when I was an aspiring professional speaker. His little book, “Life Is Tremendous,” is a great read and contains plenty of valuable life lessons.
