Motivational/Inspirational speakers - what do they do?
Discussion
I've recently been contacted by 2 former school friends on LinkedIn & Facebook who have a profile full of inspirational quotes, invites to seminars & networking events etc. They both have similar generic websites with photos of them smiling and giving presentations in hotels to a crowd of smart-casuals, and full of corporate buzzwords and how they can improve profitability, calling themselves "entrepreneurial experts" or "motivational queen" etc.
In my 20+ corporate years, I've never been to one of these networking events, and besides seeing these websites and profiles, I tend to just think "spam" and move on.
They both come across to me like Apprentice candidates - lots of ambition and self-belief, but neither seem to have much in the way of the conventional trappings of success or much in the way of any tangible experience of running a business, besides charging people a lot of money to talk in corporate-speak. Neither of them were particularly stand-out at school, one was even considered a bully.
Both also have written books, or at least got their name on a white label, and offer one to one coaching courses, but despite lots of words on their websites, I'm still not actually sure "what they do"?
In my 20+ corporate years, I've never been to one of these networking events, and besides seeing these websites and profiles, I tend to just think "spam" and move on.
They both come across to me like Apprentice candidates - lots of ambition and self-belief, but neither seem to have much in the way of the conventional trappings of success or much in the way of any tangible experience of running a business, besides charging people a lot of money to talk in corporate-speak. Neither of them were particularly stand-out at school, one was even considered a bully.
Both also have written books, or at least got their name on a white label, and offer one to one coaching courses, but despite lots of words on their websites, I'm still not actually sure "what they do"?
Edited by S11Steve on Wednesday 18th January 11:20
I've had the pleasure of listening to some after dinner speakers at various management events - Dame Ellen MacArthur was the one that really impressed me, and I can see that these people have got a place to speak. After all, they have reached the top of their game and have some good experiences and entertaining stories to share.
But some dude who has worked in a shop for a couple of years, done some admin work, maybe sold a few bits on ebay, suddenly becomes a business guru, I don't get it. I can't see how any self-respecting MD would hire one to try to shake up a business. It reminds me far too much of the e-book businesses that were around 10 years ago - set yourself up as a "multi-revenue-stream" entrepreneur and tell people they can buy your e-book, put their name on it and emulate your (perceived) success...
I've looked at these FB profiles again of my former school mates, and both are connected to hundreds of people all doing the same thing, and using the same buzzwords.
But some dude who has worked in a shop for a couple of years, done some admin work, maybe sold a few bits on ebay, suddenly becomes a business guru, I don't get it. I can't see how any self-respecting MD would hire one to try to shake up a business. It reminds me far too much of the e-book businesses that were around 10 years ago - set yourself up as a "multi-revenue-stream" entrepreneur and tell people they can buy your e-book, put their name on it and emulate your (perceived) success...
I've looked at these FB profiles again of my former school mates, and both are connected to hundreds of people all doing the same thing, and using the same buzzwords.
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