For business owners, one of the best ways of marketing one’s company is through public speaking.
And that is why I joined the Professional Speaking Association (PSA) (www.the psa.co.uk) a couple of years ago. For the first year, I was an Associate member and the second year, when I had my own speaking websbite (www.normanjacksonspeaker.com), I became a Professional Member.
The PSA has 13 Regions and more than 600 members throughout the UK and Ireland. Each of the Regions has regular meetings - so you can attend over 100 of these Regional Meetings with colleagues, who will help you speak more and speak better by learning from each other.
Every time I attend a meeting, I pick up numerous tips of speaking better - for example, for many years, I will have started a speech by saying something like “Good afternoon Ladies and Gentleman”, which in retrospect will have offended every lesbian, gay, bisexual and “trans” in the audience.
I now say “Good Afternoon, one and all”.
This last weekend was the PSA summit over three days, which was held mainly virtually. I was asked to deliver my best business tip, which I would like to share with you now.
For me, business owners do not look back in history enough to find out what worked for entrepreneurs many years ago - why re-invent the wheel ?, we can learn so much from the likes of Henry Ford, Andrew Carnegie, Benjamin Franklin and even the Romans, the Greeks and the Stoics.
That is why I would like to take you back to a dinner in 1890 in Pittsburg, USA - the host was Andrew Carnegie, the richest man in the USA - he was actually born in Dunfermline, Scotland and at the age of 12, he and his family emigrated to the USA. He worked for a number of companies but eventually started the Pittsburgh Carnegie Steel company selling to JP Morgan for the equivalent of $5.8 billion in today’s money and immediately donated 90% of it to Charities, Foundations and Universities - he was the Bill Gates of the 19th Century.
Also at the dinner was a chap named Frederick Taylor, who is widely regarded as the first Management Consultant - the first Management Guru.
Taylor was an amazing man - in 1881, he and his playing partner won the USA tennis doubles title and in 1900, when the Olympics were held in Paris, he came 4th in the golf.
In 1890 Carnegie was 54 years old whilst Taylor was 34. They had never met - and Carnegie, puffing on his cigar said to Taylor “You tell me you are a Management Consultant, well - if you can give me one tip to make my company grow, I‘ll send you a cheque for $10,000”
Without flinching, Taylor said “ Sir, please write down on a piece of paper, the ten things that you could do to make your company more profitable but the trick is to make the most important one the first item, the second item the second most important etc, and when you start taking actions, start with number one”.
Taylor knew (and Carnegie quickly cottoned on) that to do this Carnegie, would have to review the whole of his company. A couple of days later, Taylor received a cheque for $10,000, the equivalent of $250,000 in today’s money.
So how about that ? - I am giving you arguably one of the best business tips for nothing, a tip that Andrew Carnegie paid the equivalent of $250,000.
Is that value or is that value?