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Chicago Bulls Farm Team

September 21, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Is it possible that the Chicago Bulls Basketball Team has a secret farm team in Mississippi?  That was the question I asked myself as I stepped out of the truck with my son-in-law’s dad in Mississippi.  We went to a friend’s house to pick okra.  His friend and choir member Mr. Ware had a group of bulls in the yard.

They seemed very friendly and were gathered together in a group grazing.  Directly behind them was a basketball court.  And like a flash it hit me.  The Chicago Bulls might have a secret farm team right here in Mississippi.  I took out my flip camera and started to shoot a video.  Holding the flip video camera in one hand I started to shoot the video and this is where the fun began.

I wanted to make sure that I captured the bulls in the background as well as the basketball court.  Not exactly sure what I would say I started talking and capturing the video. Almost on cue when I paused, the bulls started to make noise.  It was like they knew I was taking a video and speaking about them.   They started to walk toward the camera as if they were being introduced to go out on the basketball court.

Why share this story and video with you?  Well first of all it is really funny and I thought you would enjoy it.  But more importantly, I wanted to bring to your attention the a few presentation points:

  1. Be Prepared – I had my flip camera in my pocket and was ready to take a video of any topic that I found interesting and that others would enjoy.
  2. Be Observant – There are probably things in your life that are of interest to others or that you could use to illustrate a point.  Keep your mind open to the possibilities and you will be amazed what new things you will see.
  3. Extend, Aim, Shoot – Before starting the video I extended my arm folding the flip camera as far away as possible.  Then I leveled it with my face and then started the video.  This made it appear that someone else was shooting the video but it was all done alone.
  4. Slow Movements – The best way to transition from one subject (me) to another (the bulls) is to do it slowly.  This way the person viewing the video does not feel like they are being rushed and can change their focus from one subject to another in transition.
  5. Expect the Unexpected – There was no way to predict how the bulls would respond. When the bulls stared making noise I did not laugh (I wanted to but did not), I acknowledged the fact and added it in the narrative of my video.
  6. Smile and Enjoy – Remember that your personality will show through on video so do not forget to smile and be pleasant during your presentation.

I am interested in your remarks on this video and the presentation skills that I have added here for your review.   Remember to have fun and share your creativity with others.

Filed Under: Humor, Speaking, Video Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Who Ate Chicken Little

June 29, 2010 by 7 Comments

While reading a fellow blog challenge member’s blog a memory came back to me that I would like to share.  The blogger Rob of “The Mid Life Opportunity” blog posted an article on “Leaving the Rat Race – The Mid Life Devil’s Advocate View” which spoke about raising livestock, chickens and pigs, for meals as a cost saving measure.
The entire concept brought me back to a story that my mother shared with me.  She told me she received a chick for Easter when she was a little girl.  This was a customary practice for a number of people to do at Easter for their children.   My mother named the chick, Chicken Little. Usually the chick would run around the house for a little while and then die.  But Chicken Little did not die but grew up to become a chicken. When it was large enough to eat her grandmother killed it and had it for dinner.

My mother’s aunt who lived with my mother and her grandmother could not bring herself to eat Chicken Little.  The fact that was Chicken Little was considered a pet by my mother’s aunt and an animal rose to serve as a meal by the rest of the family. It is a mindset and it is your mindset that will determine what you will do.

So I ask you if this was the situation today in your family and you were raising an animal who some people in your family considered as a pet, would you kill and eat it.  Just to finish the story my mother and everyone else in the family, except her aunt, ate Chicken Little.  Her grandmother said that “Chicken Little was smooth like butter”, when she was eating it.  Not everyone could eat Chicken Little but when you are hungry there is not much choice.  So I ask you again would you eat Chicken Little?  Please share your comments below.

Filed Under: Humor, Relationship, Video Tagged With: , , ,

Your Business Card

June 27, 2010 by 8 Comments

Do you have a business card?  If you do not you need to get one.  You do not want to attend a networking group or interview without one.    Your business card says something about who you are.  It should have your name, title, email and phone number at the least on it.  Some people like to place a saying about their business or what they are known for on the back of the card.

I thought this was a good idea and use to have a saying on the back of my business card until it was suggested that I leave the back of the card blank.  This was done to allow the person who I left the card with a place for them to write a note on the back of my card.  People write where they met you,  their impression, or as a reminder to send your some type of communication.  I left the back of my business card blank from that time forward.

I recommend using a high quality stock paper for your business card and recommend getting the card laminated too.  Your business card will feel rich in hands of the person you give it to and leave a good first impression. Be sure to obtain the business card of the person you are speaking too.  It is an opportunity for you to reach them again in the future.

Filed Under: First Impression, Job Search, Video Tagged With: , , ,

A Resume Folder

June 26, 2010 by 4 Comments

Do you have a folder for your resume?  If not I recommend that you get one.  It is an opportunity to stand out of the crowd.  Remember you are trying to become not only memorable but unforgettable. By placing your resume in a resume folder you are saying that you take care and forethought in presenting yourself.

I suggest getting a resume folder that is color coordinated with your resume.  I like to use Ivory 20 to 24 pound bonded paper.  If you go to an office supply store you will be able to purchase a matching resume folder.  Why do I suggest Ivory over White colored paper?  Ivory color is easier on the eyes of the reader.  It is your goal to make your correspondence, cover letter and resume as easy to read as possible.

If you are on an interview you want to ensure that you have a least five copies of your resume with you.  Why? You do not know how many people you will be interviewing with.  You would like to give each person a copy of your resume.  Asking that the interviewers make copies of your resume says to the interviewer that you came unprepared.  Do you want that to be the impression you leave with the interviewer?  I do not think so.

Being prepared means that you also have copies of your references.  Why?  Your interview might go so well they may make you the offer and ask you for them.  You may be asked to complete an application for employment and they want to do a background check.  Either way you are prepared and do not have to think about who you would use and what their correct contact information.

Being prepared for the interview will only work to your benefit in the long run.  Feel free to add your comments below.  I enjoy hearing from you and answering any questions you may have.

Filed Under: Resume, Video Tagged With: , , , ,

Food For Thought

June 24, 2010 by 4 Comments

Have you ever heard of a business allowing a competitor to come into their physical plant and run their business out of the same physical plant?  Well that is exactly what Mr. Lawrence Hackney owner of the Wood Pit BBQ restaurant did.  A fellow competitor, James Turner, who owned a restaurant and catering business in Newark, New Jersey, saw his business go up in smoke as a result of a fire which started next door to his restaurant.   Mr. Turner had clients like Prudential that he had contacted to serve and no place to do business.

Mr. Tuner first found refuge in a church kitchen in Newark, but it did not have a smoker and his specialty is smoked BBQ.  In stepped a retired municipal court judge, Ernest R. Booker who frequented both BBQ restaurants.  Mr. Booker informed Mr. Hackney of the fire that Mr. Turner had experienced and wondered if he would consider helping Mr. Turner out.  Mr. Hackney reached out to Mr. Turner and said “Listen, I have a barbecue pit and two smokers. You’re welcome to smoke your meats.”  This began an unlikely pairing of two competitors working together in harmony for the better good.  You can read more  about this story at New Jersey.com

Why share this story?  To illustrate a point that we all know about but rarely see in the business world today, genuine care and concern for one another even if that person is a competitor.  As leaders in the organizations and companies which we have responsibility for leading this would be considered counter intuitive, but I would like to challenge you to look at this from a different prospective.  Not the prospective of destroying your competitor but rather partnering and growing with your competitor.

Partnering with a competitor in today’s economy will not only help save jobs and reduce unemployment but it also says something about you as an individual and the mission of your company.  Having more competition in the market place makes our economy stronger and will ultimately result in a wider variety of products going to market.  I believe that we have to stop thinking about limitations as leaders of companies and organizations but rather look at the possibilities of alternatives never attempted before.

Following the example of The Wood Pit owner, Mr. Lawrence Hackney, we all would benefit if businesses looked for opportunities to partner with businesses which may suffer the loss of closing down permanently.  The fact that this is not usually done, but it feels right to do is the reason that we should.  This is why my mastermind group decided to meet at The Wood Pit BBQ Restaurant.   We learned about the story from one of our members Pat Ferdinandi and thought that this would be an excellent place for us to meet.  You see in our master mind group we are all speakers so you might think that we are in competition.  This could not be further from the truth.  We share information with each other in an effort to make us better in our own speaking businesses.

This may sound counter intuitive, but it really is not.  We believe there are a number of clients who can benefit from our individual services and topics.  We improve individually by providing the best information in our own unique styles to our clients.  So we are not really in competition, because we are all individuals with our own unique way of presenting.    The advantage of sharing information allows us to reduce our learning curve through our own unique experiences that we openly share with each other.  This is the same thing that Mr. Hackney did with Mr. Turner.

I would like to leave you with this food for thought.  What kind of city state or country would we have if every business realized that they would benefit from a collaborative working relationship with potentially faltering competitors?  Just take a moment to think about this question.  If you live anywhere near Montclair, NJ I would urge you to visit The Wood Pit BBQ Restaurant.   It is worth the trip, some of the best BBQ I have ever had, and the sauce is out of this world.  Besides, a leader who willingly would help competitor in the same line of business is running a business that we all should support.

Filed Under: Business, Leadership, Relationship, Speaking, Video Tagged With: , , , , ,

What is Your Brand Identity

June 22, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Have you considered what your brand identity is for your business?  What are you known for in the market place and how do your clients connect the fact that you offer what they need?  These are important questions that you need to answer and how you answer them can have a dramatic impact on the success of your business.

What would you say if I told you for less than $100 you can have the opportunity to find out the answer to these and a number of other questions on branding that can have a positive impact on your business?    My friend Lethia Ownes is travelling across the country conducting a 7 city tour to help you answer these questions in a seminar in a city near you.  In fact her tour will reach the half mark this weekend with her appearance in Baltimore.

Are you near or can you travel to the Baltimore area this weekend to hear her?  I highly recommend it. You can find out information at the Irresistible Brand 7 City Tour. For a limited time you may have the opportunity to bring a guest for free.  That is right, buy one ticket and bring a guest along at no additional cost.  If you have not had the pleasure of hearing Lethia speak here is a video of her discussing the Irresistible Brand 7 City Tour.

I hope that you enjoyed the video.  Take a look to find out more about this unique opportunity to listen to a certified Personal Brand and Social Media Strategist talk about developing Your Irresistible Brand.

Filed Under: Branding, Business, Relationship, Soical Media, Video Tagged With: , , , ,

The 2010 NBA Finals Winner Is

June 18, 2010 by 2 Comments

Predicting the winner of the 2010 NBA Finals was an easy task.  If you watched the game you know that the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers played in a classic rivalry that is an integral part of NBA basket ball history.  It was a surprise to no one that both teams were going to play their very best.  But no one would have predicted that this series would go to a seventh game.

Well I made a video prediction of the winner of tonight’s 2010 NBA Final’s seventh game.  Check it out.

Now for my prediction, who will win this deciding seventh game? To your surprise I predict two winners.  Yes two.  The first winner will be the team with the best team work.  Yes both teams have great players and individual stars but if they do not play together as a team they will not win.  The second winner is the viewing public.  They will experience some of the best basketball playing on the planet.

I would like you to take the knowledge of this concept and apply it to your work environment.  Regardless of your position, CEO, Vice President, Director, Manager or Supervisor you want to develop a winning team.  You know that developing a winning team has a positive impact on your company’s bottom line.

But just as important, developing an effective team will have a positive impact on your customers.  The one thing that no one can afford to do is to lose a customer.   Great team work can result in enhancing customer loyalty, as a result of team members going the extra mile because they feel empowered to do so.  My talent is working with your team member to help them develop into a more effective strength focused working unit.  Please feel free to share your thoughts about team development or improvement you would like to see in your team members in the comments below.

Filed Under: Relationship, Team Work, Video, Your Talents Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Daily Goals – Do You Have Them?

June 14, 2010 by 6 Comments

So many of us talk about the goals that we have and that is it.  It does not go any further, it is just talk.  I suffer from the same problem so I know what I am talking about 😉 .   If you suffer from the same problem no need to worry.  I would like to share a strategy that you can use to address this problem.

Writing down your goals makes them real and not just a dream that you have.  Putting a date to the goal makes it a focused goal that you can work toward.  We have all heard that goals need to be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely but writing it down brings it to life.

So let’s talk about the things you accomplished today.  Those are goals that you reached.  Why don’t you write those accomplishments down on paper so you can see them?  It is good to look at them and realize the number of accomplishments you completed today.  In our fast paced world we don’t spend the time acknowledging our accomplishments.  Please take the time before you eat dinner to write down your accomplishments for the day, when you do please include those things that you did not have a chance to complete today.  These unmet goals are opportunities for tomorrow’s success.  Make sure you write a to do list or a goal sheet and pursue them for tomorrow.  Do not feel bad about not reaching those goals.  Develop a plan and go out tomorrow and make it happen.

Filed Under: Leadership, Video, Your Talents Tagged With: , , ,

Leadership in Toastmasters

June 13, 2010 by 2 Comments

Looking for an opportunity to become a leader?  Consider joining a Toastmasters Club.  Toastmasters is an International Organization that helps members become better communicators and leaders.   To be honest, I believe Toastmasters is the best kept secret for anyone who is  determined to improve themselves, willing to work and not afraid to leave their comfort zone.

I joined Toastmasters because I was deathly afraid of speaking in public and it was something I had to do more of as a Director of an Admissions Office in a level one trauma center.  I will discuss my accomplishments in Toastmasters in a future posts.  But I do want to talk to you about leadership.  In a Toastmasters club there are 7 leadership positions (Club Officers) and it is their job to help the club member reach their goals.

The individual member goals help the club become a distinguished club. There are several levels of being distinguished, from distinguished to select distinguished and president distinguished.  I am currently an Area Governor in my Toastmaster District and responsible for 5 clubs.  I work with the club officers to help them become distinguished.  If a club meets all 10 goals they will be president distinguished.

Last year I presented a workshop which focused on Toastmaster Club development at the Spring Conference in both New York and New Jersey.   Below is an excerpt from that presentation which focuses on the Distinguished Club Program (DCP).  There are a number of acronyms in Toastmasters.

So many times the idea of club development is a boring topic to present in a workshop so I decided to spice it up by being a Michael Jackson Impersonator (This was before Michael’s untimely death).   I preformed a different Michael Jackson song parity for each segment of my club development workshop.  Humor is one of my talents and I love to make people smile.  I hope you liked the video and if you are not a member of Toastmasters consider joining a club near you.

Filed Under: Leadership, Speaking, Toastmasters, Video, Your Talents Tagged With: , , , ,

Building Your Irresistible Brand

June 11, 2010 by 5 Comments

Do you have a dream or idea about your business?  Have you thought of developing products and services for people you know can benefit from them? But you have not been successful because you have not determined your brand identity.  This is a problem that a number of us face when we are starting a new business.  The best thing to do is to get someone to help you.  You need someone who can provide you the strategy you need to be successful.  You need someone with a proven track record and results that you can measure.

That person is my friend Lethia Owens.  Lethia is a certified personal branding and social media marketing strategist with a track record of measurable proven results. She knows there are a number of people across the country that could benefit from the information she has to share so she decided to meet the people where they are.  Lethia has embarked on a 7 City Tour that extends from one end of the country to the other.   Check out her TV news interview below.

I met Lethia about 5 years ago at the National Speakers Association Annual Conference in Orlando, Fl and she is a dynamic international speaker.   When she was in the process of putting this tour together she asked if I would be a co-manager of her affiliate program for the tour.  I accepted and would like to invite you to become an affiliate too. 

If you are not familiar with the affiliate process it is a great way to help others and make money too.  With that said I must reveal that I will make money as an affiliate if you purchase from the links in this post.  But if you become an affiliate you can make money too.  You will get all of the details from clicking the 7 City Tour Link and scrolling to the bottom of the page and click the “Earn and Learn” Affiliate program link.

If you cannot attend one of the tour dates yourself consider sending this information to a friend who can.  Better yet there may be a way for you and your friend to attend the tour at a city near you for the price of one admission.  Check out the city and tour information for details.  You and your business will benefit from the information that Lethia has to share.  If you plan to come to the New York City Tour I look forward to meeting you there.

Filed Under: Branding, Business, Soical Media, Video Tagged With: , , , , ,
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