Management and Leadership

What a pleasure to listen to John Stewart, Group CEO of NAB. I went to a luncheon today where he spoke and his easy-going, relaxed style certainly was a show-stopper.
He spoke about the possibilities of a recession and also the profitability of Australian banks.
What really struck me was how he used the power of story-telling and used metaphors to enliven the main points he was making and also to ensure audience engagement.
In order to make the point that the markets overseas are over-heated and are over-reacting to situations, he made this analogy:
If everyone in this room agreed to do business together BUT there was one person in the room who had a contagious disease. If you simply touched that person, you would catch the disease, what would you do?
This is what is happening in the markets, where investors have perceived problems in one sector and has over-reacted by not doing business anywhere at all.
John could be a roving ambassador for LEGO SERIOUS PLAY. He is able to get messages across through the power of stories and through the use of analogies - all that LEGO SERIOUS PLAY stands for.
John ended his discussion with a plea to establish centres of excellence in Australia so that young people don't leave to take up positions elsewhere in the world. We need to keep investing in education at all levels, he said.