John Jenson was part of an all-star line-up of speakers at the 2010 Vistage National Chief Executive Conference, which also included Guy Kawasaki and Patrick Lencioni.  Jenson spoke on the final evening of the conference, just prior to the presentation of our inaugural Vistage Member Leadership Awards.

Weaving personal reflections with practical advice, Jenson said that if you want to influence me, you should “know me, show me that you’re real, and move me.”  His inspiring storytelling style served as the perfect aperitif for a night dedicated to celebrating Vistage member stories from across the country.

More impressive still, Jenson led a workshop earlier in the day; he also attended and took notes during several other presentations.  Seems Jenson was following the same advice John Gardner offered to Jim Collins when Collins joined the faculty at Stanford – Stop just trying to be “interesting” and invest time on being “interested.”   To his credit, Jenson displayed a healthy combination of both.

It stands to reason that the more “interested” we are, the more “interesting” we can be.  How about that for positive influence?