Jackie Danicki is throwing a party "in my honor" (or should I say "honour"?) in London on July 29 when I’ll be there. Evening. In Chelsea, I think.
I’ve gotten a few emails from London folks looking to meetup. This would be a convenient time to do it. Send me an email and I can beg and pray for Jackie to add you to the list.
Name: Massimo Chiasera
Network: Ben Casnocha –-> SF University HS –> SF-Zurich Initiative –> Patrice Siegrist –> Massimo Chiasera
“You know, it’s life. It’s just people and feelings.” – Massimo Chiasera
I first met Massimo last summer when I was in Zurich and we hit it off. I spent a bunch of time with him when he studied English in San Francisco last fall. He’s a total stud – he speaks 4.5 languages, is in a prestigious law career track in Zurich, was recently invited to enter a doctoral program, plays in a professional jazz group, and is wrapped in a big, shiny Italian humor and Swiss professionalism bow. Massimo will do big things and I’m blessed to have the opportunity to learn from him and to count him as a friend. This Quotable came out of just one of many fun conversations. Thanks Massimo for three extraordinary days.
(Part of my Friends of Ben series)
A few days ago I was sitting in a beautiful dining room at a lodge / resort in Vermont and at the conclusion of our dinner people started doing toasts. There was a silence after a couple toasts, and then my friend Dan Saper stood up and said, "Well, my father told me never to miss an opportunity to give a speech, so…" It was a great opener which got some laughs.
At another table I was sitting next to Dan’s dad, Jeff Saper, Vice-Chairman of Wilson Sonsini, the premier law firm for Silicon Valley technology companies. After Dan said his bit, Jeff — who’s a great guy and super successful — said with a laugh that some time ago he told Dan to use that opening line at another function and Dan’s been using it ever since.
It reminded me that a few good opening/closing lines go a long way in public speaking or interpersonal relationships in general.
Yesterday my friend Geoff Shaw had to deliver a brief speech. He received a very flattering introduction. Every time you are introduced to give a speech it will be flattering! The simple way to respond to it is: "Thanks Jane for those kind words." Geoff had a better response: "Geeze, I wish my parents had heard that. My father would have loved it and my mother would have believed it!" This is a great way to both accept the praise and be self-deprecating.
What interpersonal, universal techniques do you employ?
Friend Auren Hoffman has started a cool company called Rapleaf. In a nutshell, Rapleaf is a portable ratings system for buyers and sellers (think eBay feedback system but open and portable).
When I met with Auren a few weeks ago we talked about how important it is for start-ups to hire the right people from the start. "A" people are worth an order of magnitude more than "B" people though their compensation does not always account for this added impact enough. So, Auren’s willing to pay top dollar to get the right guys and gals on the team.
They’re looking for a non-engineer to do everything that is not engineering-oriented including:
Among the other qualifications, Auren says the right candidate must "laugh a lot and generally be very happy." Yes — I think happiness should now be on every job spec. Unhappy people do not make good employees.
If you’re interested, check out their product and email [email protected]
Friend of Ben Jeremy Dann, author of the novel Anecdotal and business/innovation writer/consultant, is launching a series on his blog called the International Court of Social Injustice.
Our panel of internationally renowned legal scholars, etiquette experts and party ethicists will adjudicate any alleged social crimes.
You can submit your "friendettas" to him via email and they’ll "arbitrate" the wrongdoing. Jeremy’s a good guy with a sense of humor — this should be interesting.
Here’s a pic of Jeremy and me getting together at a hip SF cafe recently:
