Interview with Batman

Imagine if you could ask the Batman a few questions. What could you learn from him about how to run your business? And how is the Batman like an entrepreneur?


GT: Why the Bat theme?
BM: I want to frighten my enemies. And bats frightened me as a child.

GT: Why do you want to frighten people?
BM: Because it gives me an edge. I am not as powerful as some of my enemies. I am not as powerful as most of my colleagues. So I need an edge. I chose to be frightening.

GT: What scares you?
BM: Not being ready for my enemies.

GT: Do you feel intimidated by your more powerful colleagues?
BM: Yes – but I never let them know.

GT: How many hours do you work a week?
BM: How many hours are there in a week?

GT: What drives you?
BM: The vision to accomplish my goals.

GT: You appear to be a loner. Why do you work with the Justice League?
BM: Because associating with powerful people makes you more powerful.


George Torok
Business in Motion

Batman

Overnight Success

Everyone would be a success if they lived long enough. For some that is 50, 100 or 500 years.

If you had enough time – you could to anything.
Anyone could complete a marathon if they had enough hours, days or weeks.

How much time do you think you have?
Do you have a few years, decades or a century? You don’t really know. Maybe you need to move faster. Moving faster always means making more mistakes. Are you comfortable with that trade?

You have less time than you think.
You are lucky if the doctor tells you, “You have 6 months to live.” Because then you know, then you might focus on the goal.

OK – now what will you do differently to accomplish what you want?
What will you do less of? What will you do more of? Who will you spend more time with? Who will you spend less time with?

If you wait till everything is right – how long will you wait?
Forever. Leaders and entrepreneurs learn to make decisions when they don’t have all the information. They decide and act when they have 50%, 60% or 70% of the information. That takes guts and that is what gives them success.

Some business owners tell me that they became successful overnight by doing the right things for 20 years. Sometimes it is 12 years – sometimes it is 25. Outsiders always describe their success as an overnight success.

George Torok
Overnight Success (Still counting the years)

Business in Motion

Success: Do what others won’t do.

Success is not that difficult to understand.

Reaching success is difficult to do.

In most cases, success is simple. Success is easy to figure out. But success is unpopular and reaching success is difficult to do.

In most business you will be successful if you do what others in the business are not willing to do.

To be successful in your business ask yourself these questions:

What are you not willing to do?
What is your competition not willing to do?
What among those answers will you do?


George Torok
Business in Motion

PS: Reaching success is simple – but often difficult and uncomfortable.
How uncomfortable are you willing to be while achieving success?

Continuous Learning

The best entrepreneurs and the most successful CEOs are constantly learning. They are reading books, magazines or newsletters. They are questioning themselves and others about them. They are building and maintaining contact with other CEOs and colleagues. They are continually looking for smarter people to connect with.

“I am constantly amazed at how stupid I was two weeks ago.”
Alan Weiss

Imagine how much and fast you are learning if you can admit to that statement. What do you know today that you did not know two weeks, two months or two years ago? If the answer is nothing – imagine what you might have missed.

What are you doing to be a continuous learner?
What are you doing to connect with smarter people?
What are you doing to learn more today than you know yesterday?

“A wise man can learn from a fool. A fool can learn from no one.”
Peter Urs Bender


George Torok
Business in Motion

Executive Speech Coach Blog

What’s new on my Executive Speech Coach Blog

This is a new blog that might be interesting to executives, managers and sales professionals who deliver business presentations.

If you speak in front of others and your livelihood depends on it – then you need to read the Executive Speech Coach Blog. It will feature presentation insights and tips gained from my speech coaching and presentation skills training.

Plus you will learn about upcoming presentation resources and programs.

Here are some of the recent posts from my Executive Speech Coach Blog:

Presentation Question One
Before you deliver your speech or presentation you must ask yourself one critical question. If you ask yourself this question before every presentation you will create a better presentation and write it faster.


Cliché hell
Please stop using clichés. It is like vomit - Regurgitated bile. Hell is a place where everyone speaks in clichés. Most of us are already suffering from listening to clichés. Some of us are guilty of spreading them.


Do Not Think on your Feet
Stop trying to think on your feetIt is too dangerous. When you try to wing it you leave too much to chance. You might be sharp today. Or, you might be ill or even in a foul mood.


Donald Trump on Boardroom Presentations
Watch Donald Trump on the Apprentice. You might notice these unwritten rules about surviving in the boardroom with Mr. Trump.


Speech Anxiety: Overcoming the Fear of Public Speaking
By John Robert ColomboThis article addresses these questions about speech anxiety and the fear of public speaking.Why do we fear public speaking?Is speech anxiety normal?What can we do to face our public speaking fear and speech anxiety?


George Torok
Speech Coach for Executives

Smart leaders read books

“I won’t read.”

I was shocked. And the people around me were too.

This was a meeting of presidents and CEOs who wanted to grow.

They were invited to a special meeting to hear me speak on marketing insights and hear about how they might grow as individuals, and as business leaders.

This person won the draw for a copy of my book. It really doesn’t matter what book it was. What is significant is that he clearly stated, “ I won’t read this book. I don’t read books.”

What is the difference between one who can’t read and one who won’t read?
Nothing. They are both ignorant.

What good is a leader who chooses not to learn?

The next time you are choosing a leader you might ask her, “What books have you read on leadership lately?”

It doesn’t matter what the book was. It matters only that she believes in learning.

If the response is – “Oh, I don’t have time to read books” - watch out. This person believes they already know everything.

One CEO told me, “Everything I need to know is in the bookstore. So I buy and read lots of books to stay ahead of the competition who are too lazy to read.”


George Torok
Business in Motion

PS: When you hire people – ask them about the last book they read on their area of expertise.

PPS: You cannot afford not to read.

Business in Motion - The Blog

This blog is an extension of my radio show – Business in Motion.

Business in Motion is a weekly 30-minute interview radio show on 93.3 CFMU from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It is community radio hosted by McMaster University.

Over the past ten years I have interviewed well over 400 business leaders, entrepreneurs, authors, and influencers. Learn more about past radio guests.

On this blog you will find insights from my interviews and personal learning, excerpts from interviews, and business resources that might help you grow.

To expand the lessons from my radio interviews I have added interviews by email. You will read some of them on this blog.

This blog is especially helpful for business owners, entrepreneurs and CEOs.

George Torok
Host of the weekly radio show, Business in Motion

Business in Motion – the business radio show

Business in Motion is a weekly radio show. Your show host and creator, George Torok, interviews business guests. The show is the only local radio show that specializes in featuring business. In fact, I don’t know of another radio show that just talks about business for 30 minutes. There might be lots of radio and TV programs that trash business. The purpose of this radio show is to show that business is in motion – that things are constantly changing – and that business is constantly adapting to survive.

Business in Motion is meant to be learned from and inspired by business. Now that is something different.

So tune in every Friday at 12 noon to Business in Motion on 93.3 CFMU – broadcast from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Visit the website of Business in Motion at www.businessinmotion.ca

George Torok
Host, Business in Motion

Success is Simple but not Easy

All the secrets to success are known.

All the secrets are simple.

Success is simple.

Success is not easy.

The critical element to success is not in knowing – it is doing.

Knowing is simple.

Doing is simple but not easy.

Success is achieved by doing the simple things that are boring and painful.

It is like running a marathon. It is simple – left foot, right foot. What could be simpler? But it is not easy. It takes 30,000 steps to complete.

Success is simple – but not easy.

George Torok

http://www.businessinmotion.ca/