The Hungarian data visualisation company Prezi is one of the most-watched businesses around. Its co-founder Adam Somlai-Fischer is a former architect turned digital creative. We met for a quickfire conversation beneath the gorgeous vaulted industrial arches of London’s St Pancras Station. This is my interview for Professional Manager magazine.
Author: Matthew Rock
How to cut it among the world’s elite comms leaders: 18 habits
While writing for the UK’s Chartered Institute of Public Relations and the Chartered Management Institute, I’ve been able to observe and study the changing habits of the upper-echelon leader. Here, from achingly white teeth to an insistence on “10X” performance, is what it takes to get to the top table in comms. This article, which I loved writing, is from the Q2 edition of Influence magazine.
Too much information: Yuval Harari on communications
In the spring of 2017, I got the chance to interview Professor Yuval Harari, author of Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow. This is a mind-bendingly interesting book, and I relished the chance to talk to Professor Harari. My interview was for the Q2 edition of Influence, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations magazine. Perhaps most strikingly, Harari believes that peace and quiet is the new symbol of wealth and power. He, like many of the world’s elite, does not carry a smartphone.
An interview with Brigadier Suzanne Anderson
At the end of 2016, I visited Sandhurst, home of the British Army officer, to meet Brigadier Suzanne Anderson, one of the most senior women in the army and the woman responsible for soldiers’ and officers’ individual development. We had a hearty breakfast in an oak-panelled room with a large animal skin hanging on the wall, and she explained how the army is now giving soldiers the tools to survive in the civilian world, from the very day they sign up. Here’s the full interview, which was originally published in the winter 2017 edition of Professional Manager, the Chartered Management Institute magazine.
The essence of the memorable speech
Not long after the Brexit vote, I was invited to a private press event with Lord Dobbs (aka Michael Dobbs, author of the original novel House of Cards). We discussed, among other things, how to give a truly memorable speech. He, having worked close-up with former PM Margaret Thatcher, had fascinating things to say on the subject. This article, “The essence of the memorable speech”, was originally published in Professional Manager, the official Chartered Management Institute magazine.
The new habits of the highly influential
My article about the evolution of business leaders, from portly curmudgeons to passionate visionaries with a taste for triathlons. This, “The new habits of the highly influential“, was originally published in the spring 2017 edition of Professional Manager, the Chartered Management Institute magazine.
Make your data beautiful
The shortcomings of bullet points, and other insights about presenting data. This feature, Making Data Beautiful, was originally written for the September/October 2015 edition of Accounting Technician magazine.
