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Do What They Do
When you look at interviews with CEOs, their responses nearly
always include a metaphor or analogy to underscore their points.
That should not come as a surprise. These execs are paid to see and
drive the future of their company. They may be good at detail also,
but, by necessity, they have to be visual conceptual thinkers as
well. They are in charge of the big picture, the long-term
performance of their companies, and goals that may take years to
achieve.
When CEOs talk, they instinctively reach for metaphor. For
example,
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 Elon
Musk, CEO Tesla
responding to a
cancellation of 63,000 orders for his Model 3 car. The number of
orders went from approximately 518,000 to 455,000.
“Those cancellations occurred over the course of more than a
year,” Musk said on the [analysts’] call. “I think [these
numbers] are inconsequential. With a small amount of effort we
can easily drive the Model 3 reservation number to something
much higher but there’s no point. It’s like if
you’re a restaurant and you’re serving hamburgers and there’s
like an hour and a half wait for hamburgers, do you really want
to encourage more people to order more hamburgers?”
A simple analogy put into perspective what initially looks like
a major setback for Tesla.
-
 Pedro J. Pizarro, CEO, Edison International, public utility
holding company
explaining his view of
Leadership
“I see a lot of people who want to be the hub, with their
people, the spokes, bringing them information. My visual for
leadership is that if the team is the wheel, I’m actually the
rim. I’m not the center.”
“My job is to keep the spokes together, keep the team together,
and really help that team perform, because they, collectively,
are going to have a lot more insights than I will. It also means
that when you have to go through mud, the rim goes first. That’s
the way it should be.”
A simple metaphor that says volumes about what it must be like
to work at Edison.
-
 Jesse
Woolley-Wilson, CEO, DreamBox Learning, a provider of online
math education software for children,
describing the key to success for a start-up
“In a start-up, you don’t know what tomorrow will bring, so you
have to be constantly learning and be adaptive to your
colleagues …for the team to really win….In the beginning, some
people didn’t like it when I used that phrase [benevolent
friction], because they felt friction is a negative thing and
they didn’t want any friction with their colleagues.”
“I would explain that if you don’t have pressure on
the carbon, you never get to the diamond. You can
still be very respectful, and assume everyone has a spark, but
we have to subject our ideas to the toughest scrutiny because
our work is important.”
A strong image for companies when they are at their most
vulnerable.
Bring Sweets to the C-Suite,
Metaphorically Speaking
Leave your senior executives with a metaphor unique to your idea,
service or product. Lists of facts and features are quickly
forgotten, but an image is forever. A website graphic designer I
came across years ago had one of the best metaphors I have ever
heard. It is still with me. She said, “If content is the body of
a website, design is its soul. We provide the soul.”
Be the one that resonates with C-Suite executives --use a metaphor.
Anne Miller
Make What You Say Pay! — with Metaphors.
If you like these newsletters, please share them with clients,
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 "The
best arguments
dazzle with metaphor"
Gerry Spence,
Media Commentator & Lawyer
The Original “Metaphorically Selling” that spawned a movement,
now with 25 New Stories. Available in print, ebook & (new)
audiobook formats.
Click here
7 Signs You Need A Metaphor (Visual Language)
-
Your listener is
not paying attention
-
Your listener is
stuck on an objection
-
Your listener is
confused
-
Your listener sees
no difference between you and your competition
-
You want to drive
home a point vividly and memorably
-
You have to wiggle
out of a difficult situation
-
You want to wow or
motivate a larger audience
The best firms hire brilliantly
& train relentlessly.
Having a Meeting?
Call today for fresh ideas to take your team to the
next level 212-876-1875 or
amiller@annemiller.com
"I've been to a lot of
training programs and yours was the best!"
-CRO, MediaMath
Metaphor Minute Archives
Play The Metaphor Game to Build Business
Graduation Time is Here
What's in a (Strategy) Name
Metaphor: The Billion Dollar Differentiator
Mind Opening Metaphor
More...
Links I like
www.changingminds.org
www.nurtureinstitute.com
www.americanrhetoric.com
www.salesopedia.com
www.salesrepradio.com
www.ted.com
www.takethecold.com
Great Resources:
www.suttoncreative.com
www.cartoonbank.com
www.sbsnet.com
www.videomystory.com
www.ceoshow.com
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Need A Winning Metaphor For Your
Presentation or Demo?
 Call
today for individual coaching or team workshops and learn how to
turn information that tells into a story that sells.
212-876-1875
amiller@annemiller.com
"Anne and I recently worked together on a speech I gave at a
large conference. She helped me turn a series of somewhat
interesting points into an expertly crafted, compelling and
actionable story. Together, we built a storyline with
attention-grabbing headlines. We worked and re-worked the
language, making sure every word was important. Finally, Anne
coached me on the delivery. The result was so exciting - I've
never been so well received in a speech before. Thank you,
Anne!" Kate Griffin, Vice President, CFED.org
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