Dr.John Izzo is “a leading business strategy expert, a best-selling author, a community leader, and an avid conservationist.”And if you visit his website, you would discover that he is much more than that.

Dr. John Izzo recently spoke at the TEDxVancouver conference on the topic of “The Defining Moment for a Generation-In-Waiting.” It was an interesting video to watch and the comments below wrote “motivating”, “inspiring”, “captivating” and many other complimentary responses. It then occurred to me to think why would someone become a social influence, to be admired by others.

For one, I think it is the “experience”. It is not until you have experienced something can you talk about it persuasively. It could be something that others also experienced, it could be something that others does not wish to experience, or it could be something others desire to experience. One occasion or another, experience provide things that books just can not substitute for.

Secondly, I think it is the words that he used to engage with people. Using “us”, “we”, to make the audience feel that they are in the same situation, using words such as “pride” and “our generation” to make the audience bring up a sense of belonging and collaboration.

Lastly, the strong statistics that he brought out at the beginning of this video present to the audience the hard facts that support his argument.

This video gave me the urge to google him and find out more about him. I think being able to persuade others through talking is an accumulated skill that is very valuable to possess. Find out more of the videos from the TEDxVancouver conference here.

The talk of the week is all about Research In Motion (RIM), or their new official name, BlackBerry. The new BlackBerry Z10 has not been yet released but it is already making its appearance on ebay. This new technology has completely abandoned its signature keyboard and switched to touch screen to compete with other smartphones on the market.

Where there’s popularity, there is always fans, and that goes for the people who can wait hours even days for new gadgets in front of retailer stores. Some avid BlackBerry fans cannot bare the waiting queue and started bidding for the Z10 online for more than $3000.00; even when they know that it is expected to sell for $150.00 in Canada with a three-year contract, and Koodo is selling it contract-free for $550.00.

The value that consumers place on a product or service is significant. The higher they value, the more they are willing to spend on it. Whether it being “I want to be the first to have it” or “I’m getting it because it is a BlackBerry”. BlackBerry also fully understands the value-based era and Z10’s selling price is more than double the price of a typical BlackBerry Curve. I would say that the launch of Z10 in a market that is hot for touchscreen smartphones is a bold move because it is moving away from what is it known for, its keyboards, to what other brands are selling. It shows the consumers that BlackBerry are just as capable as any other cellphone company. On the other hand, it also blurs the image of a typical BlackBerry in consumers’ minds.

Post inspiration is here