Last week I was the after lunch speaker at a regional manager’s conference for Weingarten Realty. The theme was “The Power of Team” and my sixty minute presentation was entitled “Extraordinary Performance: The New Norm for Tough Times”. The challenge? Keeping people awake and engaged after the ... Views: 2040
Having experienced much frustration with unreturned calls from vendors I wonder how these people stay in business. Whatever happened to common customer service? In this economy how can they afford to ignore customer calls?
I came across a blog from speaker colleague Bruce Turkel a branding ... Views: 1329
It took 17 years for me to master the piano and become a professional entertainer. It's taken 10 years to become a good motivational speaker. The Beatles and Bill Gates each put in 10,000 worth of practice to reach the levels of excellence they did.
Overnight success is a myth.
Original ... Views: 1566
She’s gone. The legendary Queen of daytime TV talk shows said her last farewell in a surprisingly quiet fashion. No guests, no celebrities, no cars for audience members, no gadget giveaways.
But yet, it was an extraordinary performance by an extraordinary woman.
Oprah Winfrey spoke for ... Views: 1120
It’s Not All About You
So a colleague bad mouthed your work, the client didn’t like your product, a friend doesn’t call any more, you get one bad evaluation after your speech.
What to do? Stop and rethink. It’s not about you.
They don’t know who you really are. They can’t get inside ... Views: 1247
In researching content for my topic on Extraordinary Performance I came across this article by Peter Bregman at Fast Company and thought it worth reprinting to help deal with a difficult colleague, motivate better teamwork, boost morale and productivity...
Stress doesn't discriminate between ... Views: 1276
Houston we have a problem.
Last week was the huge Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) with over 70,000 delegates from all over the world visiting our fair city. As an Aussie expat living in this great country, I had the pleasure of attending a fancy schmancy luncheon ... Views: 1152
As the eyes of the world focus on the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton I tip my hat (or should that be fascinator?) to an outstanding performance by the Brits. They are SO all about pomp and ceremony. And we are SO intrigued we’ve been watching it for months.
Why?
In this ... Views: 1292
As a keynote speaker on peak performance one of the points I emphasize is accountability.
Recently the Today Show interviewed Galia Slayen who built a life size Barbie to demonstrate the unhealthy body image the iconic doll represents to young girls as part of National Eating Disorders ... Views: 1792
Polo. "Tis the sport of kings they say.
Jolly good and all that.
As a motivational keynote speaker on peak performance it was fascinating to watch a game at the Houston Polo Club to draw some parallels between business and sports. The ponies are trained for years to stop on a dime and turn ... Views: 1225
As the world mourns the death of a Hollywood legend, I recall vividly the night I met the man with the striking violet eyes. I was totally and completely mesmerized…
The place was Gstaad, Switzerland in December 1981 and the height of ski season. Gstaad is the playground of the world’s ... Views: 1459
Who would have thunk it? A grand piano at an engineering services exhibit booth? What’s the world coming to?
The world is coming to realize that extraordinary is what it takes to stand out from the crowd and succeed in today’s marketplace.
In this case it was the NACE Corrosion 2011 Expo in ... Views: 1325
Associations have to hold meetings. They need to attract new young members while at the same time retaining seasoned members interests.
How do you do that? How do you avoid snooze fests at meetings? Hand out Red Bull?
The Institute of Real Estate Management in Houston is a group that ... Views: 1498
Having just returned from visiting my family over the holidays in Adelaide, South Australia, I discovered how Americanized I’ve become in my thinking. Not a bad thing. Just different from how I grew up in this Down Under city of one million people.
Over the Christmas and New Year period ... Views: 2664
After stumbling across the following article on Linked In, I totally had to reproduce it (with permission of course).
Author Colleen Slaughter (www.coachforauthenticleaders.com) shares a simple solution for worry warts that create so much stress for themselves it often leads to being ... Views: 2443
As the world’s eyes focus on the Vancouver Winter Olympics our minds are filled with hopes and aspirations of the athletes: the glory of victory, the agony of defeat, the dreams that are fulfilled or crushed in a matter of seconds, the years of training that bought them to this moment. Can you ... Views: 1335
In today’s economy and competitive workforce there is no room for mediocre skills.
Gen X & Gen Y are competing for the same jobs as baby boomers. Gen X & Gen Y bring all kinds of digital know- how to the job table. Baby boomers bring years of experience. The younger generations have no clue ... Views: 1679
Do you know what Billy Joel, Henry Ford and Lance Armstrong have in common? They never gave up. They failed their way to success with passion and persistence. One look at history reveals this is the single most common thread of all successful people - they faced their fear and did it anyway. ... Views: 1543
Was your last meeting one big snooze fest? Whether you’re an association executive, on a program committee, in corporate meeting planning or staff development training the challenge to maintain people’s attention is huge. With four generations in the workplace today meetings can be a headache to ... Views: 2597
Are you Linked Up to here and Twittered out to there? Do you have your best mug shot on Face Book? In today’s high tech world of texting, tweeting and emails there are more communications but less personal contact. This translates into a greater risk of being misunderstood with the written word. ... Views: 1454
Are you tired of hearing nothing but doom and gloom about the economy? Perhaps you’ve recently lost your job and all you’ve heard is how many other people are out of work and are now competing for the same job. Don’t you wish the media would start focusing on some uplifting practical solutions ... Views: 1178