The New Zealand Leadership Institute runs programmes for emerging and established leaders that have a freaky impact on the people lucky enough to find a place on them. I was at the graduation of the third Future Leaders cohort today (supporting LTW’s own Angus Blair) and here were thirty extraordinary people whose defining trait was humility and a desire to be of service.

Joline Francoeur of the Auckland Uni Business School pointed out that in a country the size of New Zealand it doesn’t take that much to reach critical mass. A few more cohorts of these guys and the sky’s the limit.

An hour earlier, the New Zealand Institute (no relation) was launching its latest think piece. Having told the Emperor that he had no clothes on with ‘A Goal is Not a Strategy’, they are putting their money where their mouth is with ‘Plugging the Gap’ – a clear, concise and specific recipe for generating more international Kiwi success stories. The innovation ecosystem they are prescribing is perfect for LTW clients and we are big fans.

And to round things off, Andy at the ICEHOUSE is pushing many of the same themes in his inimitable style. Plus he’s doing what he does best: organising coalitions around the key goals.

All three of these organisations and the passionate people who work there are getting us to critical mass faster than the doom-and-gloomers can imagine. It was a great day.

You want your audience to remember you and your message, not your slides. Gorgeous visuals can therefore be your biggest enemy in a presentation.

When I find my audience distracted by my visuals instead of listening to me, I walk over and hit the ‘B’ key. Check out what happens.

It has the dramatic effect of shifting all attention in the room to you. It gives you a chance to demonstrate how well you know your message. And it tells people that you personally want to share the idea with them, because it matters that much to you.