I just returned from my NSA convention in New York (not National Security Administration, not National Safety Association but National Speakers Association meeting). Over the next few days, I’ll be posting about some of the speakers I heard while there and some of the other RICH experiences I had. It was fabulous being in New York. I LOVE the energy of that city and the addition of almost 2000 professional speakers with a theme of NSA Rocks made it even more energizing. At our opening, our members were encouraged to dress like rock stars and we had lots of rock music playing throughout the weekend - thus the title of this post adapted from the ACDC song Back in Black.

Our closing speaker today was Cathie Black, CEO of Hearst Publishing and author of the new book Basic Black: The Essential Guide for Getting Ahead at Work (and in Life). She had a great message but unfortunately for the audience (and for her), it was obvious that someone else wrote the speech which she practiced a few times then read it to us. Now she read very well and occasionally wandered from her script with supportive examples but her speech wasn’t nearly as effective as it could have been had she prepared a bit more and trusted her gut. She is a very powerful speaker who no doubt can move an audience. She has proven herself over and over again with many successes including leadership of USA Today and launching Oprah’s O magazine. I have little doubt she could have stood up in front of our membership and spoken extemporaneously with great success. Right out of the gate she broke one of her own rules from her book:

#1 Take risk that are calculated not crazy. It wouldn’t have been crazy in my view for her to  have taken risk with us. What did she have to lose? She wasn’t paid for her speech, we weren’t a group of executives evaluating her presentation and we weren’t shareholders, board members or a leading client. Taking a risk in presentation style or delivery would have underscored a valuable point and driven it home. She choose the safe route. Most do which is why few rise to the top. There’s certainly more dialogue that could occur here and I invite some discussion. Here are the rest of her points which I thought were excellent.

#2 The worst-case scenario is rarely as bad as you think

#3 Go two steps beyond what you are asked to do

#4 Know when to give up control

#5 Never stop learning

#6 Don’t personalize things that aren’t personal

#7 Make your boss look good