On the first day of the conference, I conducted a 3-hour MasterClass on Extreme Leadership, where I introduced the principle of Cultivating Love (as in LEAP–Love, Energy, Audacity and Proof), and opened the idea up for discussion.

Given the cultural business norms in the region, for many, Love in the context of work was a rather surprising idea, and for others, very hard to accept. We had quite a lively debate on the subject. At one point, I even thought I may have lost them altogether. So, when they actually came back after the break, I was–honestly–more than a little relieved.

In the end, the response from the group was excellent. And on a personal note, I found the discussion very stimulating, and the people exceedingly warm, friendly and gracious.

On Day Two, I presented the Greater Than Yourself approach to leadership, and they received the idea with open arms and seemed to embrace it with great enthusiasm.

Time will tell–which is true for all of us, of course.

Later, I had the chance to sit down with local radio host, Richard Dean, and do an interview for his show on The Dubai Eye. We talked about some of the cultural differences between the US and Dubai, and I think you’ll find it interesting. Please have a listen and let me know what you think:

Afterward, one of the participants came up to me and said that, while he enjoyed my presentation–that I spoke well, used slides well, was funny and entertaining, etc.–he didn’t think I’d really modeled what I was teaching. Which is very tough feedback when the topic is authenticity, you know?

Needless to say, I was devastated, and I fretted and obsessed about it for the rest of the day. Was that guy right? Was it true? I’d felt like I was being myself; at least, I seemed real to me. But had I been coming across as disingenuous, or even–heaven forbid–cheesy?

That evening, I called Terry–the master himself–told him what had happened and asked for his counsel.

He said two things to me which literally changed everything about the way I’ve approached my work since:

1. You can’t connect with everybody all the time. Sometimes people just aren’t going to “get” you, and this guy just may have been wrong.

2. Assume he was right and go from there.

That’s become one of my personal gems of life-altering advice: whenever you get negative feedback, understand that it may be wrong/misguided/untrue, etc. But if you assume (for a moment, at least) that it’s right, what could you do differently from now on?

What’s the best bit of advice, coaching or counsel you’ve ever gotten from a mentor, colleague, family member or friend? We’ve been talking about this at the Greater Than Yourself (GTY) Project group on Linkedin. Please join us there or add your contribution in the comments section below.

More to come on this topic soon…

Technorati Tags: advice, blessingwhite, greater than yourself, leading out loud, mentoring, terry pearce

The legendary (in the speaking world, at least) Holli Catchpole and her gang are the best in the business. A cliched phrase, no doubt, but not in this case.

As evidence, take a look at the exemplary company I’m in (the other speakers they manage, in other words):

Tony Alessandra, Rick Barrera, Jim Cathcart, Lisa Ford, Keith Harrell, Art Holst, Scott Klososky, Cam Marston, Nido Qubein, Ross Shafer, Peter Vidmar, and Desi Williamson.

Yep. Feels good to be home.

Technorati Tags: keynote speakers, management, speakers office, speaking business

Not because of the money or visibility. But because of the feeling you’ll get when someone, somewhere, reads your book and then sends you an email like this:

“Dear Steve,

The Radical Leap worked in reverse for me. I quit my job and literally walked out of my 35th floor corner office in downtown and entered the streets of Houston. By night fall I was either going to end up in a bar…or…

Well, I ended up in a book store and ran across The Radical Leap.

This was in 2004 and exactly what I needed to hear at exactly the right time.

I now own several businesses. I do what I love…and I’m working on launching a new web based legal services business next year.”

See what I mean?

Now, that’s the real currency for an author.

Technorati Tags: the radical leap, writing

The organization receives a lot of philanthropic help from the entertainment industry, and is very well known, therefore, around Southern California.

Veronica Estrada, one of their many inspiring alumni, tells her story. It just may inspire you to become a mentor, too.

Here’s Veronica:

“My mentor Michelle Kelly and I were matched by the Fulfillment Fund when I was in high school. When we first met, I thought of her as this nice white woman from Minnesota. I would have described myself as super ghetto. Everything about us was different, even our language. She’d have to stop me to ask, ‘Wait, what does G mean?’ And I told her ‘G. You know, like gangster? Cool, G means cool.’ Michelle had friends who did triathlons. The only running my friends did was from the police, because I had friends who sold drugs and I thought that was normal. I figured, when I was done with high school, I would just drive a cab like my parents did to help the family. That’s as far as my goals went.

I grew up in South Central. Every day when my dad came home from work, he would have to give money to these guys who hung out in front of our apartment building. He had to pay them so he wouldn’t get hurt, and so they wouldn’t hurt us. There were always helicopters circling. Michelle took me to a different side of town where everything looked safe and green. She was actually able to make me think that I could go to college. She took me to the Fulfillment Fund’s Destination College events and she made me apply to go on their college trips. Being on a college campus was the first time I thought someone like me could actually go there.

Michelle helped me apply to twenty different colleges. She let me use her computer, because my family didn’t have one. I ended up at my first choice, Pepperdine. I didn’t really feel like I fit in at first. I talked differently. I wasn’t blond. I hadn’t even seen a surfboard up close before! My parents were cabbies. But Michelle taught me I didn’t have to be hindered by my past that my future was wide open. And she convinced me that I had as much of a right to college as anybody. She also helped me realize my passion and ability for finance. All of my hard work paid off when I landed a full-time job right out of college. I now work in the Private Banking division of one of the world’s top banks.

I went back to my neighborhood’s high school a few years ago to tutor. While I was there, the school was locked down because a student had stabbed a teacher and was threatening other students. Nothing has changed there. But I have changed. When I was right in the middle of it I couldn’t do much about it. I honestly thought that was just how people lived. But the Fulfillment Fund gave me hope that my life could be different, and that it WOULD be different. They taught me that I could survive and then come back and actually make some changes. I want to, and I WILL make things better for them. And I do think anything is possible, thanks to my mentor Michelle, and to the Fulfillment Fund.”

Technorati Tags: Fulfillment Fund, greater than yourself, mentoring, philanthropy

In Mr. Pannier’s words, the group “aims to be a community for leaders who have chosen to follow the Greater Than Yourself (GTY) philosophy to be extreme leaders at work and beyond. We can make a huge difference by encouraging and helping people to take on GTY projects of their own and sharing the lessons learned in the process.”

Thank you, Martin, for thinking this up and making it happen. I’m excited to see the insights and experiences that emerge from this community.

If we’re already connected on Linkedin, you’ll likely get an invitation from me. (And if we’re not, here’s my profile).

Otherwise, come on over and check it out. All are welcome. Please join in.

Technorati Tags: community, greater than yourself, leadership, linkedin, martin pannier

Technorati Tags: conference, Dubai, leadership

“Greater Than Yourself is a concept that I’ve practiced for years. I’m hopeful that my fellow administrators are as excited as I am about the possibilities [of GTY]. We spend so much time trying to devise methods to improve our students’ test scores — I can’t help but think that truly investing in the success of our teachers will help them view their students as bundles of positive potential and not just conduits of testing data; if our children are encouraged to be greater, then morale, self-image, behavior, and test scores should improve! The thing I miss most about my time as a classroom teacher is the personal, positive impact I could make with my kids. After reading your book, I’m seeing now that I can still have a far-reaching impact on lives — I’ll just do it through the people that I invest in one at a time. I haven’t settled on my GTY project yet, but I have two 6th grade teachers I’m praying about. Thanks for writing and inspiring and reminding me what is so very good about teaching.”

And thank you, Bob, for being what is so very good about teaching.

Technorati Tags: education, greater than yourself, leadership, teaching

Technorati Tags: Add new tag, audio, extreme leadership

Taylor Mali is not just a poet, he’s a full-time, WORKING poet, which I had thought was a bit of an oxymoron, to say the least. More important, he’s a major force in the poetry slam movement (a movement that’s generated some controversy–as any interesting one does), and a past-president of PSI.

Even more important, he’s an outspoken advocate for educators, which, as readers of this blog know, is an increasingly fervent focus for me.

While the message in this video is crucial for all of us, you may want to watch it with your local boundary-defying teenager.

Because, “it’s not enough, these days, to simply question authority. You gotta speak with it, too.”

Technorati Tags: education, leadership, poetry, taylor mali