A lesson shared is a lesson well-learned
Having invested nearly a decade of study and life experience into his research, Mark Pollock has shared his findings with thousands of leaders, managers and teams all over the world.
He has given seminars to over 200 companies and non-profit organisations including Accenture, Canon, Credit Suisse, DHL, Ernst & Young, Fujitsu. the Harvard University-based Leaders for Tomorrow Programme, KPMG, IBM, Mars, Microsoft, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, P&G, Pfizer, PWC, Red Bull, Shell, Unilever and Vodafone.
Leadership Speaker:
Mark presented at our 2007 North American Leadership Conference in Chicago . It was attended by 200 of HSBC's senior managers across Canada and the USA. Given the complexity of today's financial services industry, Mark's insight into the motivational challenges facing our management teams was accurate and his suggestions and ideas were equally relevant.
Many thanks for making it to our Leadership Conference in London. Your contribution was truly impactful. Feedback from everyone I've spoken to underlines how motivating and stimulating your contribution was.
Business / Motivational Speaker:
Mark spoke at our 2007 sales conference in Austria. The impact was instant and the messages continue to affect our people. His delivery was awe-inspiring and truly humbling, which forced us all to take a step back and consider how we face challenges and make decisions. Empowering our teams to take action and avoid excuses is key to our success as a business and Mark's story demonstrates how to do that.
Mark spoke at our 2008 Conference to the whole Mars Ireland Business. Mark's personal humility, remarkable achievements and genuine honesty really touched and inspired many of the team, myself included. Whilst Mark may not be the most famous motivational speaker I would recommend him ahead of the usual celebrity list
Mark's presentation helped animate our theme for the day ?Making it Happen'. The messages in the stories he shared were easy to understand and easy to translate into an individual's own outlook. It was an inspirational presentation which transported people into a reflective mood at how everyone's own actions can change the overall outcome.
Your account of how you have overcome the loss of sight and continued to live your life and "make it happen" was humbling. But more than that, it was truly inspiring and invigorating as you challenged each one of us to reflect on and recognise how we choose to live our lives. You illustrated by personal example how we make decisions and that, by deciding what we want to change and what we want to see persist, we can find a powerful way through obstacles that originally might have seemed insurmountable. You also recounted your experiences with great style, honesty and humour. I can tell you that everyone who heard you has since spoken of you and been energised.
The feedback from your talk "Making it Happen" has been fantastic. I know a number of sceptics who attended the talk have been raving about it ever since. People have asked me when your book is coming out as they would love to read it themselves and also pass it on to the many others they have spoken to about you. Since your session many people are beginning to make it happen in terms of their work and career goals in Canon - there really is a different atmosphere around the place.
When facing uncertain times, Mark displays an attitude and perspective that reminds us that we really are in charge of our own destiny. And, in hearing how he has overcome his own difficulties, he demonstrates the power that resides within all of us to 'make things happen.
Mark tells his story in a way that is both profound and touching. He provides his audience with a real insight into his personal struggle to overcome his fears and achieve his business and sporting ambitions while dealing with becoming blind in his early 20s. He is living proof that if you have a positive outlook and are focused on your goals, you can do anything you want to
One of the great strengths of your message is that it does lead the listener to look at their situation and question their responses and to reflect on those attitudes. We may not control the environment and may not be responsible for the situation we find ourselves in, but we are responsible for our actions and responses. I guess one of the reasons why people got so much out of your talk was that it was aimed as much at helping them develop as people as it was helping them be better corporate employees. We sometimes forget that we hire whole people whose life outside of the office needs to be balanced (whatever that is), otherwise the output we get is not sufficient.
Your talk in Bangkok was awesome? The thing that grabbed me was your message that unless you get motivated to achieve your dream, you'll never get there. Even after a huge setback (such as losing your sight), you can still achieve your dreams and goals if you remain focused and determined. As you highlighted, in order to achieve your goals you need to make it happen rather than either talk about it or make excuses why it can't. That is what we are all trying to achieve now.
As Mark will tell you, there are two types of people, those who make it happen and those who make excuses. Thanks to his talk, I and all of us are now in the right camp of making things happen.
Your presentation in Belfast was a real wake-up call and reality check. You reminded me of a lot of what I had heard before, which over time, had got lost in the pressure of non-important issues and a 'victim' mindset! I just wanted to let you know that your message hit home and that the rest is up to me now (if I want it to be).
Mark had over 40 participants on the Harvard University-based Leaders for Tomorrow Programme sitting on the edge of their seats thinking whether they should change how they were responding to their situations. Mark is a compelling and challenging speaker.
Mark's talk was the highlight of Irish Shell Health and Safety Week. His strength of character, determination and great sense of humour are an inspiration.
In half an hour, you made me realise that I have only myself holding me back. Thanks to your inspirational words and inspiring story, I'm starting to think that no matter how far-fetched my visions seem now, if I put the work in they will become less and less of an impossibility
