Endorsements
What Industry Leaders and Clients have
to say about
Jerry Weissman, In the Line of Fire, and Presenting to Win
In the Line of Fire: How to Handle Tough Questions...When it Counts
“In my role at Cisco Systems, I am confronted with challenging questions
from customers, government leaders, press, and analysts on a daily basis. The
techniques used in this book, In the Line of Fire, are spot on; providing
straightforward ways to be on the offense in all communications situations.”
Sue Bostrom, SVP Internet Business Solutions Group and
Worldwide
Government Affairs, Cisco Systems
“In an era where businesspeople and politicians unfortunately have proven
their inability to be honest with bad news, I believe this book should be prescribed
reading in every business school, and for every management training
session. In fact, I hope it is read by a far wider audience than that. It’s
just what our society needs right now.”
Po Bronson, author of the bestselling What Should I Do With My Life?
“Jerry Weissman tells the tales of the makings of presidents and kings, the
dramas of the dramatic moments of our time, and in each episode he uncovers
the simple truths behind what makes great leaders like Ronald Reagan
and Colin Powell loved and trusted. Great truths made simple and compelling
for any leader to use.”
Scott Cook, Founding CEO, Intuit
“Jerry’s book is a must-read for any presenter facing tough and challenging
questions from their audience. This book provides the fundamental foundation
on how to prepare, be agile, and take charge no matter how difficult
the question.”
Leslie Culbertson, Corporate Vice President Director of Corporate
Finance,
Intel Corporation
“During one of the most important periods of my career, Jerry used the concepts
in In the Line of Fire to prepare me and my team for the EarthLink IPO
road show. He helped us field tough questions from the toughest possible
audience: potential investors, but the same skills are necessary for every
audience.
Sky Dayton, Founder EarthLink and Boingo Wireless, CEO SK-EarthLink
“Jerry Weissman helped prepare my management team for our recent IPO. I
sat in on some of the sessions and was most impressed with Jerry’s innovative
ways of teaching and optimizing effective executive communication
methods. This training, encapsulated well in his new book, In the Line of
Fire,” paid off handsomely during our numerous road show presentations.”
Ray Dolby, Founder and Chairman, Dolby Laboratories, Inc.
“Whether you’re a classroom teacher or the President, this book will help
you be an effective communicator. This book is so insightful, reading it feels
like cheating. Tough questions no longer test my limits.”
Reed Hastings, Founder and CEO, Netflix
“Even the greatest start encounters tough questions. Read Jerry’s book before
you need it, or you’ll be in deep sushi.”
Guy Kawasaki, author of the bestselling The Art of the Start
“Have you ever been faced with a tough question? Jerry Weissman shows
how it’s not necessarily what the answer is. It’s how you answer that will
allow you to prevail and win!”
Tim Koogle, Founding CEO, Yahoo!
“Jerry’s technique is both masterful and universal because it finds common
ground between audience and speaker, hard questions and direct answers,
all with a very simple principle: truth.”
Pierre Omidyar, Founder of eBay and Omidyar Network
“I’ve been asking tough questions for half a century and listening to variously
brilliant, boring, evasive or illuminating answers. Jerry Weissman’s
book will help anyone…anyone…answer even the toughest questions.”
Mike Wallace, Senior Correspondent, Sixty Minutes, CBS News
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Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story
"I've taken the training. If you pay attention to what Jerry
Weissman tells you (and it's hard not to), you'll be a measurably
better public speaker. And that leads directly to success."
Stewart Alsop, (former) Fortune columnist and Venture Partner,
New Enterprise
Associates
"Building a great company takes many years. Ruining its prospects
can take less than an hour. Presenting to Win will let you tell
the story right."
Alex Balkanski, General Partner, Benchmark Capital
"Read this book and get a Masters Degree in effective communications
in one afternoon.
The executive teams that we have invested with have used Weissman's
communication techniques to dramatically improve team productivity
and shareholder value."
"The most effective approach to communication skills that I have
seen in 34 years of investing in and working with superior growth
companies."
David F. Bellet, Chairman, Crown Advisors International Ltd.
"Clear, concise, and high-impact communications are necessary
for every business executive in today’s high-speed world. Jerry
Weissman provides leaders with simple tools they can draw on quickly
in order to maximize the return on all of their communications efforts."
Sue Bostrom, SVP, Internet Business Solutions Group
and
Worldwide Government Affairs, Cisco Systems, Inc.
"Jerry Weissman is an expert in helping leading technology executives
improve the clarity and substance of their communication. Jerry does
an excellent job of giving sound recommendations that will lead to
better communications and leadership."
James W. Breyer, General Partner, Accel Partners
"Jerry transformed my presentation skills by helping me think
of the WIIFY and Aha! factor, and this helped me take my company
public in 1998. Today, through this book, you can acquire the same
skills on 'how to present to win' for a fraction of what it cost us
to learn from Jerry. It is a must for professional success."
K. B. Chandrasekhar, Founder, Exodus Communications, and CEO, Jamcracker,
Inc.
"Jerry Weissman's approach is light years ahead of the rest of
the world. My guess is that Presenting to Win will become a classic
within its genre. Great job!"
Thomas M. Claflin II, Chairman, Claflin Capital Management, a Boston-based
venture capital firm
"Presenting to Win is the shortest path to applause for any presenter.
It will be your bible for the PowerPoint Age. It's loaded with easy
actions and real examples that really work. I've used them. I know."
Scott Cook, Founder, Intuit
“Inspiring leaders must possess great communication skills.
They are one of the essential ingredients used to mobilize followers
and move nations and markets. This book tells readers how to develop
those skills.”
Bill Davidow, Founding Partner, Mohr, Davidow Ventures and author
of Marketing High Technology, Total Customer Service and The Virtual
Corporation
"During one of the most important periods of my career, Jerry
used the concepts in Presenting to Win to prepare me and my team
for the EarthLink IPO road show. He helped us hone our message so that
it could be crisply communicated to our audience, and in the process,
we gained a better understanding our own strategy than ever before.
Jerry teaches you how to tell a story, which is more critical to success
than most people think."
Sky Dayton, Founder, EarthLink and Boingo Wireless, and the CEO of Helio
“Jerry’s classic is the definitive encapsulation of a
true ‘maestro’ playing his ‘A’ game. His techniques
were an absolutely critical success factor in Luminous raising $80mm
in one of the toughest market environments I’ve ever seen. There
isn’t a successful entrepreneur I know who won’t benefit
from leveraging his persuasive, maximum-impact presentation principles.”
Dixon R. Doll, Founder and Managing General Partner, Doll Capital
Management
"Young entrepreneurs with deep domain knowledge are frequently
unable to organize and present their vision, or their company's story,
in an orderly, crisp and compelling fashion. Jerry Weissman has armed
a succession of evolving executives with those critical skills. This
seminal book cogently describes how he does it. Presenting to Win
is an essential read for any CEO who intends to raise capital, wishes
to elevate the visibility of his/her company in the financial community,
or aspires to more credible communication with the company's employees."
Irwin Federman, General Partner, U.S. Venture Partners
“Practical and sound advice on how to communicate effectively.
Critical for effective managers. This advice is powerful whether
you are selling a project or a company.”
Allan Ferguson, Senior Partner, 3i Technology Partners
"For many years, I have witnessed Jerry's magic as he helped
our portfolio companies to formulate and communicate their unique
selling propositions in a style that optimized the appeal to investors.
It was not until I read his book that I started to see how valuable
it would be to apply his methods personally in presentations that I
make regularly to my partners and to our investors. I would think that
everyone who does business presentations could benefit from this easy
to read, easy to apply book."
Flip Gianos, Managing Director/General Partner, Interwest Partners
"It was a pleasure to read Presenting to Win. Jerry has been
a master for so many of our CEOs from Alpha Partner days to current
AVI. His book should provide excellent background and conditioning
to any executive in need of clear and persuasive communication skills.
It carries the reader from "point A" to "point B" in
a coherent and thoughtful manner. I should hope that any reader will
feel capable and compelled to adopt the methodology in their next
presentation to win!"
Brian J. Grossi, General Partner, AVI Capital Management
“The perfect presentation has the potential to impact the most
important events in your company’s life: financings, mergers,
partnerships. Despite this, most executives and entrepreneurs continually
fall short when it comes to delivering a crisp, clear message in
a compelling and concrete fashion. Luckily for them, the master, Jerry
Weissman, has decided to share his secrets in Presenting to Win."
Bill Gurley, General Partner, Benchmark Capital
“Compelling, no-nonsense script to clear, winning communication!
A must have.”
Grant Heidrich, Partner Emeritus, Mayfield Fund
"Learn from the master on how to craft and deliver an effective,
winning presentation. I have made over a thousand presentations over
the past decade and have found Jerry's methodology and tips, which
he outlines in his book, of tremendous value."
Jos Henkens, (former) Managing Director, Advanced Technology Ventures
"Jerry Weissman's presentation coaching is world class. A person
contemplating a presentation without utilizing his expertise is like
a soldier going to battle without weapons."
Jay C. Hoag, Founding General Partner, Technology Crossover Ventures
"Jerry is The Man when it comes to making great pitches. If your
pitch doesn't get a whole lot better after reading this book, something
is wrong with you."
Guy Kawasaki , Managing Director and Chairman, Garage Technology Ventures,
and author of bestselling The Art of the Start
"Perception is often as, if not more, important than reality.
Great presentation is more important than great substance in creating
that perception. I don't know anybody who has more experience than
Jerry in creating great perceptions."
Vinod Khosla, Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers
"Jerry Weissman makes the challenge of producing and delivering
effective presentations delightfully simple. Read it and benefit!
Now I remember why I hired Jerry those many years ago!"
Tim Koogle, Founding CEO, Yahoo!
"Jerry's help has been of enormous value to many of my companies
over the years (at Venrock). Jerry has a unique ability to guide
management teams to clearly identify and convey their key messages in
a manner best suited to obtain the desired impact on their target audience.
The transformation can be magical at times and we have found that not
only does the management team appreciate his advice but the target audience
also as they are able to understand the key issues faster and more
clearly than otherwise possible."
Patrick Latterell, Founder and General Partner, Latterell Venture Partners
"I read Jerry's book with great interest. The content is both
interesting and
informative, and the writing is easy to understand and read. Jerry
is a pro's
pro. If there were a MBA in Power Presentations Jerry's book would
be the
bible!"
Mel Lavitt, Vice Chairman, C.E. Unterberg
Towbin
"An absolute necessity in your arsenal to gain an edge in the
capital raising battle."
Andrew J. Malik, Managing Director, Investment Banking, Lehman Brothers,
Inc.
"Jerry Weissman has had an enormous impact on the companies that
I've managed: First Tuesday and now Ariadne Capital. Through his
sessions and techniques, he's helped me to bring everyone onto the same
page with a clear statement of what we're trying to achieve and to get
credit for what we're doing by telling a better story. His latest book
is testament to the fact that 'Form is Content.'"
Julie Meyer, CEO, Ariadne Capital, European venture capital group
"Jerry’s book Presenting to Win is, like his consulting
practice, totally on-point and practical. Jerry has worked with many
of the companies I took public as an investment banker or invested
in as a venture capitalist. He made a huge difference in each and every
situation. The best evidence is that even the most polished CEOs
in the valley made dramatically more effective presentations with his
expert guidance. Since Jerry can’t work with everyone individually,
it is terrific to have his approach and thoughts available in Presenting
to Win.”
J. Sanford Miller, Senior Partner, 3i Venture Partners
"Jerry's methods in Presenting to Win helped us raise our own
first venture fund with twice the commitments we needed in half the
time. Those same methods then helped many of our portfolio companies
not just in their presentations, but had a significant impact in
the marketing of their products."
Andy Rachleff, Partner, Benchmark
"A great read for all of us who have ever struggled with any
aspect of our public speaking skills. Presenting to Win contains
the same timeless techniques that helped me 11 years ago."
Jeff Raikes, President, Microsoft Business Division,
Microsoft Corporation
"Presenting to Win should be required reading for any business
executive who will be presenting to any group of internal or external
constituents. Having been a technology investment banker for nearly
15 years, I've seen thousands of road show and company presentations,
and many of them failed to incorporate the tips and techniques outlined
in Presenting to Win. I've sent dozens of clients to Jerry over the
years, and they have always emerged with crisper, clearer, and more
effective presentations."
Michael J. Richter, Managing Director, Los Angeles, Quarter Equity Partners
"Weissman's organization of a CEOs thoughts and presentation
usually created 15-25% more value to the company from institutional
investors"
"Weissman's work with our CEOs when taking them public usually increased
their valuation by 15 to 25%."
Sandy Robertson, Founder, Robertson, Stephens
"Jerry Weissman always knew how to get the best out of a presentation.
This book is the next best thing to hiring him as an advisor, and
a lot less expensive."
Dick Spalding, venture capitalist, entrepreneur, and former client
"Jerry helps you focus on the substance of your presentation
rather than just its form. He forces you to think clearly and succinctly.
As a result not only does your audience understand your business
better, you do too. "
Christopher Spray, Senior Partner, Atlas Venture
"I took your course to prepare for the Abaxis IPO, but what you
taught me I have used every time I get in front of people, not only
in formal presentations, but in just everyday communitcation. And,
now as a VC, I listen to 300–400 presentations a year. It's just
incredulous how so many entrepreneurs don't know how to present their
companies in a clear concise way that that would get you excited about
them as an investment."
Gary Stroy, (former) Managing Director, USA, Walden International
"Jerry's concepts on visual presentation techniques are simple
and yet extremely powerful. They make the difference in getting the
message across in a constrained time limit. A must read for all high
tech managers."
Anthony Sun, Managing General Partner, Venrock Associates
"After you spend years builidng your startup, there's a fleeting
moment in time where perception meets reality in the creation of
the market value around it. There's not a person in the Valley that
has coaxed more multiple points out of the market at that point than
Jerry. His coaching on how to really efficiently organize and explain
ANY subject matter is proven, and shows in his book."
Bill Tai, General Partner, Charles River Ventures
"Many people don't know who Jerry Weissman is or why he's known
as "The Wizard of Aaah's." However, for those of us who've
had a chance to work with him or be coached by him, he is revered
as "’the
professor of effective presentations’." Presenting to Win
identifies the simple rules of a master and communicates those rules
in a refreshing way. Jerry shares personal experiences with industry
icons that help the reader see the practical side of the process.
You'll quickly conclude that you'd really like to have Jerry on your
team for your next big presentation!"
T. Peter Thomas, Co-founder and Managing Director, ATA Ventures
"Value simply cannot be realized unless it is communicated. Untold
wealth has died on the vine because it was not effectively presented
to key constituents in the value chain. In this respect, Mr. Weissman
and his methods are responsible for the realization of tremendous
value in the American economy over the past 15 years. Nobody teaches
the art and science of business presentations better than Mr. Weissman.
He is more than the best in his class . . . he created the class. I
have recommended him to dozens of companies. With his help, they have
dramatically improved the effectiveness of their internal and external
presentations. In Presenting to Win, he makes his powerful techniques
accessible to every person who cares about truly realizing value in
their business presentations."
David M. Traversi, Managing Director, 2020 Growth Partners, LLC
"There are those rare people who can stand up in front of an
audience and deliver an impromptu, high-impact message. For the rest
of us, there is Jerry Weissman, who helps us create a high-impact
presentation. His methodology lets you go beyond the jargon of any profession
and develop a presentation that will be meaningful to your audience.
Miraculously, your confidence will soar. He helped me and many others
in business... and I am glad to see that he wrote a book. Beyond the
logic of preparing presentations using his methods, the book is full
of little nuggets that I will want to refer to over and over again.
And so will you."
Les Vadasz, (former) Executive Vice President, Intel Corporation
"We pay big bucks to get Jerry to coach our company CEOs on how
to tell their story, and it’s worth every penny. Now everyone
can learn about Jerry’s secret sauce for the price of a few lattés."
Barry Weinman, General Partner, Associated Venture Investors,
and co-founder of Allegis Capital
"This is a practical guide to creating persuasive presentations,
a skill
required of most contemporary business professionals. Jerry makes
it
easy to learn how to craft the message and deliver the punch that
gets
the audience to agree with the premise: Getting to Point B. More
powerful than features to benefits, understanding the audiences WIIFY
(What's in it for you) is a vital part of winning presentations.
Should be read and used as a reference guide for those who seek success
as a result of doing their homework and building a presentation that
works. Jerry has trained a number of the AVI portfolio company CEOs
and CFOs prior to their IPO road shows. His methodology works
exteremely well."
Peter L. Wolken, General Partner, AVI Management Partners,
Special Limited Partner,
Diamondhead Ventures
"’Everything must communicate Aha!s’ has been
my cry in marketing for 30 years. What you say and don't say, what
you do and don't do, it all says something. Now Jerry finally gives
all of us the answer on the how to communicate effectively. Thanks,
Jerry, the business world really needs this book."
Sergio Zyman, former Chief Marketing Officer, Coca-Cola, Chairman
and Founder of ZMG, and author of Renovate Before You Innovate,
The End of Marketing As We
Know It, Building Brandwidth, and The End of
Advertising As We Know
Itand Chairman and Founder of Zyman Group
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