Page 220 - The New Articulate Executive_ Look, Act and Sound Like a Leader

WHAT’S IT ALL WORTH TO YOU? 211

we wanted them to do?), and profitability (can we attribute our

growth, profit, and good fortune to how we position ourselves and
tell our story?).
Even how we answer the phone can have an effect on our future.
An inarticulate response in a meeting can torpedo an important
deal or sabotage a whole career. Poor eye contact and mumbling can
put an end to hopes of advancement in any organization.
Is it possible to put a dollar amount on the business value of good
leadership communications skills? I remember when the new CEO
of a company said to me, “You know, this stuff is great, but I don’t
know how to measure it. I don’t feel like I can get my arms around
it.” The CEO came from the finance side of the business, so he

tended to feel uncomfortable without specifi c yardsticks to mark
progress. He was challenging me to reassure him that the money he
was spending on speaker training was a good business investment.
My answer was simple. I told him I did not know, either, how to
render an exact measurement. But I reminded him of the fi rst time
we had worked together, shortly after he had become CEO. My
assignment was to prepare him for his first series of analysts’ meet-

ings. We met three times in two-hour sessions. The day after the
first analysts’ meeting, the stock shot up forty-five points, producing

a paper profit to the corporation of a little less than $100 million.

So I told him that by any reasonable measurement, if he credited
the work we did together for just one-tenth of 1 percent of that share
price increase, my fee was still just incremental by comparison. He
could only laugh.
Each of us has it within ourselves to shape our own destiny—and
it’s an exciting prospect to know not only that there is always room
to grow, but that it’s actually fun to constantly improve at whatever
we do. When I was a boy, I learned to ski. I still ski. When I was a
bit older, I learned to ride a motorcycle. I don’t drive a motorcycle
anymore, but I could if I had to. The same goes for playing tennis,
playing golf, and flying a plane.