Mark holds the Certified Speaking Professional designation from the National Speakers Association (NSA) and is a member of the Speaker Hall of Fame. He was recently honored with the Cavett Award, the highest honor the NSA bestows on its members, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the speaking profession. In 2020, Global Gurus named Mark the #5 Leadership Authority in the world.

Don’t Wait

Orison Swett Marden was one of the earliest and most prolific writers on success and what would become the self-help genre. In his book Pushing to the Front (Volume 1) published in 1911 he wrote: “Don’t wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great.”

Eloquence

I don’t often use the word “ought” but I’m making an exception: if you’re a leader, you really ought to read Peggy Noonan’s column Declarations in the weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal. Her insights are consistently exceptional. This past weekend she wrote about Barack Obama and his speaking skills. She agrees that he…

Decisive Victory

How many important conquests have ended in a whimper? How often have leaders declared victory too soon? When is it prudent to declare success? These are important considerations for leaders. Cloudy outcomes are more common than decisive victories. Credibility is undermined by prematurely declared success or a fizzled outcome and followers are discouraged or even…

Eloquent but Empty

Those were the words John McCain used to describe Barack Obama’s campaign promises. While I’m not sure I agree, it was a lovely turn of the phrase. Unfortunately I find McCain’s promises to be substantive and boring. That’s a problem for him. Leaders, including politicians, are always challenged to deliver meaningful and substantive messages in…