MIKKI WILLIAMS' BLAH, BLAH...BLOG

MikkiLeaks: I Did This On Purpose by Phil Liebman

noreply@blogger.com (Mikki Williams) — Mon, 12 Oct 2015 11:00:00 +0000

In accepting the noble and dangerous assignment of investigating and exposing truths for Mikki-Leaks, my promise to you, my readers, has been to provide the information you need to know on a need to know basis, with hopes that I may help you become heroic business leaders. So what do you need to know about having a purpose or knowing as much about “why” you lead as “how” you lead others?

It’s easy to dismiss the “need” for a clear sense of purpose driving our businesses as the fodder of self-help books and the mumbo-jumbo of self-proclaimed business gurus. No person or business ever became successful by simply writing a vision or mission statement. How we think may be critical to how we perform, but the idea that we “Think and Grow Rich” is no more plausible than believing that hope is a viable strategy.

I believe it is clear that nothing worth accomplishing has ever been achieved without the dedication of hard work, commitment and, like it or not, some luck. So why, then, does having a deep sense of purpose make a difference in achieving your best or realizing your potential? How is having a purpose all that different from hoping for the best?

I would address the question by suggesting that purpose is what aligns our thinking with the necessary action to be taken. Purpose links directly to planning. In fact, it is what guides our plans. Without purpose the actions we take tend to be random or misguided. Luck becomes a more needed ingredient in accomplishing what we set out to do. But leading with purpose we can understand what we need to “be” in order to do what needs to be done. In other words the characteristics that enable us to plan for what we want to happen, plan around what we do not want to happen and even plan for the unexpected, all come from understanding the purpose behind our actions.

On a day-to-day basis, what we plan are simple decisions we make by habit. A good example could be when to have lunch and what to eat. The simple purpose is to make sure there is time to grab a bite and then decide based on what you feel like or would prefer to eat, or sometimes just what is simply convenient to our circumstances. I don’t really feel like eating my yogurt but don’t have time to go out and get a sandwich. Or I don’t have time to sit down and have a sensible, healthy lunch so I’ll whip through the McDonalds drive-through and eat while driving to my appointment.

Having a greater purpose provides further guidance. Rather than a Pavlovian reaction to it, either by the fact that it's noon or simply that we feel hunger (followed by stuffing our face with either whatever is convenient or tempting), we might instead determine that eating is really about health and nutrition. A Big Mac, fries and a Coke would solve the hunger, and perhaps be an efficient use of time but not be at all efficacious if the purpose driving my thinking about lunch suggests that I need more than fat and empty calories. In fact, I might prefer to stay hungry than make a poor choice based on how I see the need for a mid-day meal to “perform.” Or, I might even be prepared with some healthy choices packed with me in my car for just such circumstances.

The same is true with every set of choices and decisions we face. We can up the level of performance only when we have a clear idea of what is truly important. That translates into understanding not only the purpose of our actions but what it is we ultimately intent to achieve or accomplish. This is efficacy.

There really can be little doubt that for your company, or any company, to sustain a high level of performance there must be a driving force. That driving force is a matter of leadership. For leaders to perform in a highly effective manner, you must connect to some sense of purpose and then be able to instill that purpose into the DNA or the habits of the organization. The greater the purpose is, the stronger the driving force will be.

It is imperative to separate cause and effect when thinking about purpose. Making money or profits is not the purpose-driven cause - it is the consequence of having accomplished something that is ideally valuable and hopefully worthwhile.Knowing why your company is designed to do whatever you do is the foundation of purpose. The more noble the purpose, the less the possibility that the cause is contrived. In fact, the greatest causes tend not to be had by people - people tend to be had by them. The cause has its teeth in the leader of the organization and she cannot shake its grasp. That might be a lofty notion and I am not suggesting that success in what we do requires that kind of passionate engagement with a cause but I am quite certain that to improve your company’s performance, and yield greater profits as a result, you must have a sense of purpose beneath your feet and in front of the people you lead. Once you have defined your purpose and the purpose for your organization - you can then fully define your role and the role of your employees in accomplishing whatever it is you do. This is the key to driving the highest level of real performance possible. It may be the single key to unlock the greatest potential of yourself, your people and your organizations.

My purpose now is to adjust my disguise and slip effortlessly out of sight in search of the next thing you need to know.

Recommended Additional Reading: Harvard Business Review published a piece by Nick Craig and Scott Snook titled “From Purpose to Impact.” It is available at www.HBR.org. It furthers the thinking as to why “purpose” is vital to any organization’s success in wonderful and explicit detail.

Phil Liebman is a Vistage Group Chair, a Fellow at the Thayer Institute for Leadership Virtuosity and the Founder of the BullFrog Group - helping CEOs become better leaders. You can reach him by email at phil@Strat.com - or by phone at 845.262.8611

i: LinkedIn
w: TheBullFrogGroup

From the Brilliant Dave Nelsen, SOCIAL MEDIA GURU GUY!

noreply@blogger.com (Mikki Williams) — Mon, 17 Aug 2015 01:05:00 +0000

Travel Apps

While I don’t have an objective measure to prove it, I believe that I am at least twice as productive as I was 5 years ago because of the various apps I use on my smartphone and tablet. I’m constantly surprised at how many business owners haven’t yet embraced this amazing new technology.

Here’s a typical example of how I use apps for improved productivity, in this case for travel.

Yesterday, I did morning and afternoon keynote presentations for groups in Houston, TX. At 4:00 PM. As I headed out into the unbelievable Houston rush hour traffic using Uber (a transportation app) to the airport, my TripIt app told me that my flight was cancelled. This was a serious problem. I had to be in Canton, OH by morning or I’d miss my next speaking engagement.

So I fire up my FlightBoard app, which shows every flight out of Houston during the next four hours. I see that Delta has a 5:50 PM departure running 15 minutes behind schedule and I can make that because Waze (my social GPS app) has a deadly reliable estimate of my arrival time at IAH (5:03 PM in case you’re curious).

So I fire up my Kayak app and discover that the Delta flight to Pittsburgh (via Altlanta) is available for less than $200. I buy the ticket and then launch my Delta app to get my boarding passes. I add these to my Apple Passbook app so they’ll be available on my Apple Watch when I reach the airport.

I board my Delta flight bound for Atlanta and we pull back from the gate 15 minutes late as projected. Unfortunately, within one minute, the pilot stops the plane and shuts down the engines. I can’t help but remember that DELTA is an acronym that stands for Doesn’t Ever Leave The Airport, but this time it’s not actually their fault. It’s a thunderstorm that has the entire airport under ground stop.

Finally, the lightning passes and we take off to Atlanta. As soon as the wheels touch down, I switch my iPhone out of “airplane mode” and receive a TripIt update. I’ll transcribe it for you here:

TripIt Pro [10:00 PM]: DL54 arr term N, gate E-35. 8m to make conn @ ATL DL1072 term N, gate E-16.

In short, I’ve got 8 minutes to make my connection. Did I mention that I’m sitting at the very back of the plane because I purchased my ticket just 90-minutes before departure?

FlightBoard also tells me that the Pittsburgh flight is indeed leaving in 8 minutes but upon finally disembarking, I run to gate E-16 anyway. Not surprisingly, when I get there the gate area is deserted, save for one friendly agent who says “Man, I held it for you as long as I could.” I’m sure it wasn’t even close.

So now I call my travel agent’s emergency 24-hour hotline for help. According to the agent, the next flight to Pittsburgh, Akron, Cleveland or anywhere close departs Atlanta at 8:30 AM tomorrow. This is really bad news, as my 3-hour keynote in Canton is scheduled to start at 8:00 AM. I’ll miss it entirely.

So back to FlightBoard. Miracle! It’s now 10:20 PM but the 10:04 PM Delta flight to Cleveland is showing a 60-minute delay. My travel agent can’t see it (or book it) in her system because it’s past departure time. FlightBoard shows the gate is B3. While I’ve got plenty of time to make it there, I run anyway. Long story short, I make the flight with time to spare. I’m the only guy on the plane who’s happy that it’s running behind schedule.

Before we take off, I use the Hertz app to book a car in Cleveland, and the Marriot app to book a Springfield Suites hotel in Akron. My Google Maps app shows that the hotel is roughly 2/3 of the way along the preferred route to my meeting in Canton, so I’ll have just a 30-minute drive in the morning.

Yes, it was short night but the iPhone alarm roused me on time, the Waze app found me the fastest route and informed me (always with a half mile advance notice) about police locations, objects on the road, and such. And Gas Buddy found me a place for a final “bio break” and energy drink just before my destination.

It all worked out OK and the client was delighted. Five years ago, this happy ending would have been impossible. Embrace your apps business people.

MikkiLeaks: Musings From A Musement Park on The Jersey Shore

noreply@blogger.com (Mikki Williams) — Tue, 11 Aug 2015 18:39:00 +0000

Lessons From a Happy Panting Golden Retriever on a Hot Summer Day…

Well, it’s no secret. They are here. Actually they’re back: The Dog Days of Summer. The phrase conjures some weird images for me - especially being an unabashed dog-lover. And in particular being in love with a certain Golden Retriever named Bella. Her rich luxurious tasseled coat and feathers seems to be a cruel adornment on the 3-H (hazy, hot and humid) days we have here in The Hudson Valley. Her fun and sun loving proclivities leave her panting long after she retreats like a spoiled brat back into the shelter of our (thankfully) air-conditioned home. The secret is that I feel the same way.

I thank my lucky stars for air-conditioning. And we can thank one star in particular, Sirius, the dog star for the actual reason the hottest part of the summer in the northern hemisphere is called “the dog days.” Sirius is the brightest star in the Earth’s night sky and the prominent star in the constellation Canis Major, or Greater Dog. The reference can be traced all the way back to the ancient Greeks with mention made by Homer in The Iliad to the discomfort of summer under the dog star bringing of “heat and fevers to suffering humanity.”

The ancient Romans referred to the “days of the dog star” to describe the sweltering heat of summer. The Old Farmer's Almanac traditionally identified the Dog Days as beginning July 3 and continuing 40 days. Bella reminds me to keep my head down and keep smiling, in spite of the heat. We’ll miss the summer when it’s past and the winter makes me rue our frigid late-night walks that always seem too long for me and not long enough for her and that thick coat of hers.

My promise and duty to my faithful readers of Mikki-Leaks is to help you know what you need to know and think about what you need to think about and expose the secrets some among us would prefer you not to learn about. It isn’t that these “powers that be” don’t want you to know - it may be that they prefer you to believe that you do know, rather than have you inclined to be curious and inclined to be constantly learning and growing. There is an old saw, “knowledge is power,” but don’t be misled. It’s a dirty little trick foisted upon you by those seeking to remain in power. Real power comes from curiosity and learning. When we approach the world from a place of “knowing” we are typically hopelessly locked in our beliefs and opinions and dangerously unaware of what we don’t know and need to know. When we are confident in what we believe we know we cut off the need and even our ability to learn. Friedrich Nietzsche wrote, “

All things are subject to interpretation. Whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth.” Learning allows us to interpret, unlearn and then reinterpret things to evolve our understandings about and our relationship with the ever-changing world we must navigate through. There is no human truth that will set you free. Curiosity might.

In my leadership work as a Vistage Chair I recognize this state of stubborn and certain knowing as a CEO disease rampant among people who for one reason or another have assumed their post as leaders of their respective organizations. So how do we balance the “need to know,” or at least the need to look as though we do, with the need to be a role model for perpetual growth and learning? And isn’t this necessary in order to have our organizations and even our lives perform to their potential?

Learning equals life. We cannot grow without learning. This is true of both physical and intellectual growth. Babies, human and animal in the wild, all must “learn” to suckle, to recognize their mother, to communicate their needs and wants and to mobilize themselves. Without all of these things they will fail to thrive and eventually could not survive. Instincts don’t replace learning, they simply direct it. In our youth and beyond we continue to learn how to grow in order to survive. We learn to interpret our surroundings and the world. We learn to care for our needs. We learn to recognize danger, measure risks and nurture our curiosity in order to discover opportunities and solve the problems we uncover. Some of us learn to lead others. And some learn to lead great organizations, even nations. I refer to people as either “knowers” or “growers.” When we stop learning we stop growing and at any age that is to our peril. What are you doing do learn and grow? Are you leading others by making it necessary for those you care for and about to help them realize their potential? Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote, “Treat a [person] as he appears to be, and you make them worse. But treat a [person] as if they were what they potentially could be, and you make them what they should be.” It would be my guess that the secret to great leadership, and perhaps leading a fulfilled and successful life, is to contribute to the potential of the people we can serve. It is what I am aiming to do with you here. So before the enemies of the truth discover where I am hiding and try to extinguish my insidious curiosity I will escape to my air-conditioned safe-house and wait out the remaining dog-days of summer.

I Did It!!

noreply@blogger.com (Mikki Williams) — Mon, 10 Aug 2015 23:01:00 +0000

TOUCHDOWN! GOAL!!!
I have a lot on my Experience List (lots I've checked off) but one major goal was to speak in every U.S. state, every Canadian province and on every continent except Antarctica (where I can't wear my stilettos!).
And I'VE DONE IT! Just got back from Montana, the last state I needed to hit this milestone.

WOO HOO!!!

Montana was everything I dreamed it would be: wonderful people, breathtaking beauty, spectacular mountains...and dead, stuffed animals everywhere!

What's on your experience list?

Slack to Improve Team Collaboration by Dave Nelsen

noreply@blogger.com (Mikki Williams) — Tue, 14 Jul 2015 18:34:00 +0000

Here's something to think about: You and all of your company's employees spend, on average, a little

more than 40% of your time working email. Is there anything in business that consumes 40% of your resources, or even 4% of your resources, that you've never tried to optimize?

Here's another thing to consider. Email was invented in the 1960s. Back then none of us had ever imagined an iPhone, or a PC, or a CD player, or a pager, or a VCR or a microwave oven. Heck, I'm not sure I'd yet seen a color television. One of my friends did have a black and white television to which his parents had applied a translucent color overlay. The top 20% was blue and the bottom 20% was green. It turns out that few programs feature a shot showing both grass and sky but if they did, then yes, my friend had a color television. Mostly, people on his TV just looked ill.

So a lot has happened technologically since the 1960s. We've stopped sending telegrams (fun fact: the second 'T' in AT&T now stands for 'T' ... as there are no more telegrams). We've stopped using VCRs. While I use its technological replacement, the DVR, even that is threatened as I now stream from Netflix, Apple, and Amazon, or use YouTube. We've stopped wearing pagers. We've even relegated CDs to the past and are now moving beyond their replacement, MP3s + iTunes to streaming services including Apple Music (love it!), Pandora, and Spotify.

And yet we're still using email. Oh yes, and microwave ovens, although they have evolved; they rotate your food and figure out how long to cook it automatically. And there's been massive technological progress in microwave popcorn.

Back to email.

It's more or less the same technology I first experienced in 1982. And so I've supplemented it with Dropbox, Evernote, Wunderlist, and texting...on my MacBook Pro, iPad, iPhone, Apple Watch, and of course "the cloud." Do you think perhaps it's time to say goodbye to email? Absolutely! So what then?

Say hello to Slack. First, to establish its credibility as an important company/product, Slack is funded by a veritable Silicon Valley dream team comprised of Andreessen Horowitz, Accel Partners,

Kleiner Perkins, and Google Ventures. It doesn't get any better than that.

The Slack product was launched in 2013 and, according to Wikipedia (so it must be true), attracted 8,000 customers in the first 24 hours. Hopefully, none of these companies (or the hoards that came afterwards) are your competitors. It's simply shocking that a small team of smart coders could create a system that's actually better for employee collaboration than email...more than half a century later. (Now I'm making myself feel old.)

So what is Slack? Go to www.slack.com and find out. Watch the video created by Sandwich Video, about how they themselves use Slack after they were hired by Slack to create a video about how companies use Slack. Talk about recursive self-references. Wow!

As I've advised with other new communication tools (Yammer, Chatter, anything social media, or social networking), find a few volunteers in your organization to run a small-scale trial among themselves. Not to be too stereotypical but they probably won't be the employees who were using email back in 1982. Actually, it's a good bet that they weren't even alive in 1982. Interestingly, that year was the beginning of the Millennial generation.

After 30 days have them report on the pros and cons of Slack vs. email. My guess is that the ‘pros’ will prevail and your competitors will hate me. But your employees won't.

You can find more formal details here:

Dialog Consulting

To contact Dave directly:

Dave@DialogConsulting.com

MikkiLeaks: Honoring Our Heroes by Phil Liebman

noreply@blogger.com (Mikki Williams) — Fri, 10 Jul 2015 21:14:00 +0000

My driving purpose in life has me working with CEOs and other top executives because I believe they all have the potential to be my heroes. And I have hopes that I can help you become my hero as well. This begs the question: Who are YOUR heroes? I had always disliked being asked that question. I struggled to point to any one person and definitively say he or she is my hero. I would find myself making it up to suit the context of whatever discussion we were having.There were plenty of people whom I greatly admired but few I knew well enough to consider their actions heroic. I could count my mother and father and my mother's father among the heroes in my life, and could rattle off some great heroes out of history but struggled to identify living heroes beyond those I knew intimately.
Then about ten years ago when I became a TEC/Vistage Chair I came to realize that the people I admired most were the people I had been inviting into my professional world and into my groups. These men and women, through their inventiveness, dedication, and skill at accomplishing things, and above all else their caring, were doing more to benefit society than I had previously experienced when I idealistically immersed myself in politics and government. I came to see that through their ability to create value and solve problems these business leaders were better able to benefit the social, economic and cultural needs of our communities and the world. And the evidence of their good work is all around, in the dedications on libraries, hospitals, university research centers, and even a few towns named for them. I had discovered who my heroes truly are.
Do you ever think of yourself as a hero? Or whom you might be a hero to?
Are you courageous? Do you have an insatiable desire to do or to make things better? If so, you could certainly be one of my heroes. What does it take for someone to be one of yours?
A Final Thought on One of My Heroes
I began working on this month’s contribution to MikkiLeaks over the long Independence Day weekend. One of my historic heroes happens to be Benjamin Franklin. Beyond being an inventor, a statesman and signer of the Declaration of Independence, Franklin was also a successful businessman and entrepreneur. In 1727 in Philadelphia Franklin established The Junto, a club for mutual improvement. Its purpose was to debate questions of morals, politics, and natural philosophy, and to exchange knowledge of business affairs. They also were a charitable organization that made a subscription public library of their own books. Franklin credited his business success on having this resource available to him, and Juntos, built on the same principles, exist to this day around the world. In good measure it is quite similar to the resources provided to the CEOs I work with through my Vistage Groups and is experienced worldwide by more than 18,000 Vistage and TEC members. Perhaps it's a resource you'd like to explore.

Phil Liebman is a Vistage Group Chair, a Fellow at the Thayer Institute for Leadership Virtuosity and the Founder of the BullFrog Group – helping CEOs become better leaders. You can reach him by email at phil@Strat.com - or by phone at 845.262.8611 or Visit www.TheBullFrogGroup.com

Don't Call it an iWatch by Dave Nelsen

noreply@blogger.com (Mikki Williams) — Fri, 12 Jun 2015 18:36:00 +0000

I ordered my Apple Watch on the first day one could: April 10, 2015. Unfortunately, I didn't rise in

the middle of the night to do so at the earliest possible hour. So I had to endure an interminable 4 - 6 week wait. The watch finally arrived on Friday, May 15. In case you're curious, I got the larger (42 mm) version with a stainless steel case and black leather magnetic closure band. It runs $699 but throw in AppleCare and taxes and you're well north of $800.

My first impression was that it was beautiful and much easier to set up than I'd expected. Maybe you read the article by the New York Times reporter who claimed that it took him four full days to start to get the hang of it. That's probably because he tried to test virtually every major function and app ASAP. That's not how the rest of us will get started. It's easy and intuitive if you go one function at a time.

The main thing I like about the watch is that it's always with me, even when my phone isn't. That first day I was doing an online registration for one of my vehicles and needed the current mileage from my car's odometer. I left my iPhone sitting on my desk and walked out to the garage. Of course, that's when an important call came in (doesn't it always). Normally, I would have missed it and a game of voicemail tag would have continued. But not this time. I was still within Bluetooth range of my iPhone (reportedly up to 300 feet) and my wrist started ringing. Magic.

Which reminds me about a few things that you need to know. First, the Apple Watch also includes WiFi which can greatly extend the range. But that emphasizes a key point. The vast majority of Apple Watch functions rely on the iPhone. You can't even set it up without first pairing. So if you own a Samsung Android smartphone, you'll have to get the Samsung Gear 2 smartwatch instead. I hear that it's pretty cool too.

Back to the Apple Watch and my favorite features so far. That's always the second question I get from someone seeing it for the first time (the first being "Can I see it?"). Mostly, it comes down to using it as an iPhone remote control.

For example, two weeks ago I was riding in a shuttle from Monte Verdi to Montezuma in Costa Rica while listening to Jimmy Buffett songs in shuffle mode (I just had to work that in). FYI, I have exactly 50 Buffett albums containing 589 songs, albeit with lots of duplicates. The iPhone was in my pocket. Whenever a repeat came on, no problem. Just use the Apple Watch to skip to the next one. What album was that song from? Just check the song name and album title on the Apple Watch. Need to change the audio volume ... You get the idea.

When I run I use the Nike+ app. In the past I had to hold the phone in my hand in order to see my stats in progress (or depend on the more limited audio readouts). Now I can put the phone in my armband and glance at the watch instead. AND I can see my heart rate too, although not in the same app. For whatever reason (likely privacy), Apple does not allow third-party apps like Nike+ to access health data.

Flying from Pittsburgh to Denver a week ago I used a boarding pass on my Apple Watch. And in Denver I paid for my venti Americano at Starbucks using it instead of the iPhone (or even the more primitive credit card which can too easily be hacked). Pretty much anything in your Passbook app can be used on your Apple Watch.

Still, the Apple Watch doesn't have all the desired apps yet. Most notably it doesn't yet track your sleep and doesn't include my favorite social GPS app, Waze. That said, I'm very optimistic about the future of Apple Watch. If you haven't tried one yet, get down to your closest Apple Store. Tell them that Dave sent you.

You can find more formal details here:

Dialog Consulting

To contact Dave directly:

Dave@DialogConsulting.com

MikkiLeaks: In Search of Intelligent Life, by Phil Liebman

noreply@blogger.com (Mikki Williams) — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 15:54:00 +0000

MikkiLieaks

In Search of Intelligent Life

by Phil Liebman

Just when I showered-off the stench and dried off after last month's back-flip into the deep web for my readers, the headlines were screaming with news regarding the standoff in Congress over privacy versus security and the USA Freedom Act. I cringe every time I hear the words "intelligence community" and "government" used in proximity to each other. Now, I may be just a bit crazy, but how crazy is the big-leaker, Edward Snowden? Many see this political crisis as being entirely his fault. Some see him as a treasonous criminal - but others want to declare him a national hero. What's really crazy is that Snowden has been tearing-up the speaking circuit while in exile by appearing via video feed to a wide range of audiences around the world, and even here in the United States. Snowden might be crazy - but he certainly isn't stupid. There is inescapable irony in the fact that the NSA he betrayed is dependent on tight lips while the other NSA (National Speakers Association) embraces those who blab. This guy is apparently hard-core NSA through and through.

Have you ever noticed that "crazy" and "intelligent" are often compatible characteristics? How often does it seem that the most brilliant people are also cracker-barrel nuts? It's not that they are deliberately being "outrageous" - they simply cannot help themselves. It was Steve Jobs who said, "The people who are crazy enough to believe they can actually change the world are the ones who actually do."

It turns out that to understand the relationship between intelligence and success in life you have to deep dive into what intelligence really is. Which takes me back to the brilliant insight of former President William Jefferson Clinton when he famously suggested that the conveyance of the truth can depend on what the meaning of "is" is. Clinton showed us that intelligence and common sense sometimes leave town on different tracks.

And that leads me to where I want to begin this train of thought: intelligence is generally how we distinguish the human race from other life on our planet. Yet my golden retriever seems much smarter than some people I know. It turns out we actually know much more about intelligence and the implications for human potential than we did just 25 years ago when in 1990 the concept of social intelligence, or as it was to be coined, "Emotional Intelligence," first came to light. It suggests that core intelligence or IQ is not the singular predictor of anyone's success in life. Interestingly, long before science developed a standard for measuring human intelligence, any parent could readily see how much or little "common sense" their child exhibited. IQ is accepted to represent what you were born with while common sense is acquired, or even "whooped-into" any kid who wasn't "smart" enough to figure out how to develop that for him/herself. Nowadays beating common sense into people doesn't seem all that smart - just ask Adreinne Peters - who discovered that playing for the NFL doesn't qualify him as a child-rearing expert.

Emotional Intelligence (EIQ, or more commonly referred to as EQ) can be measured by a variety of assessment tools including the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQI). There are also numerous free resources that can be found online. The great thing about EQ is that it can be improved by increasing self-awareness and by learned behaviors. Even better news is that emotional intelligence seems be a better predictor of one's personal success than core intelligence - so testing and retesting could actually be a smart thing to do.

So what is intelligence? A simple dictionary definition is "the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills." Basic intelligence is about processing the information we are exposed to in some way that we can make useful. But it doesn't speak to whether the person who is just getting by is actually brilliant at sleeping late and staying beneath the radar or whether the brilliant mind that could discover the cure for cancer will ever find or create the opportunity to emerge into someone who will actually achieve that. Those aspects of intelligence are more closely linked to the social context of emotional intelligence and suggest such things as the ability to defer gratification and therefor to devote yourself more diligently to an intended outcome, or the ability to collaborate or communicate to inure the good will and support of others.

People with even average core intelligence and high degrees of emotional intelligence seem to feed off of, and at the same time, inspire others. Combine a truly great mind with a highly socially competent being and you have all the ingredients for greatness one can imagine.

Albert Einstein suggested, "The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination." Well, imagine that! I'm not looking to show-up Einstein, but my own study of problem solving and idea generation has shown me that the best outcomes come from a combination of critical thinking, collaboration and creativity. The best solutions and opportunities are borne of the perfect blend of IQ and EQ in combination, ideally from several contributors working together.

This led me to what I think is the biggest secret I am leaking to you here today, thanks to the great work of a good friend of mine. It's the idea that operating out of a sense of purposeful contribution is what connects people's social intelligence with their greatest potential for success. If IQ is about how you process information, and EQ is how you make what you process work in the context of the world you live and operate in, it is knowing why, and for whom you do what you do, is something larger and truly beyond your own interests that truly distinguishes the most successful and influential people in the world.

Suzanne Livingston has spent many years developing her concept of what she calls the Contribution Approach™. Starting with the perspective that why people do what they do is as or more important than what they do, Suzanne observed that people naturally want to work together with other people who strongly believe what we strongly believe. If you want a clear and well-researched explanation of how this works read "Start with Why - How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action", by Simon Sinek or look up his TED talk. Suzanne's early work dealt with shifting the selling paradigm by helping move from transaction-based leveraging principles to contribution-based relationship building. She saw that when people are clear about what their unique contribution to others is through what they do or provide then those who would benefit from that are naturally more receptive to the possibility of engaging with the that person. There is no need to leverage and sell in the conventional sense. But in order for that to occur, your sense of contribution must be authentic: what you do is not about yourself, it is about your contribution. It's not just the contribution you make - it is connected to the belief that what you contribute is absolutely vital and necessary with the same fierceness that a mother bear is devoted to her cub. Dr. Lee Thayer describes that as being "had by your cause" as opposed to having a cause. It is irresistible to us and become irresistible to others.

Recently, collaborating with Suzanne, I began to see that her Contribution Effect is an important expansion of understanding and working with our EQ. When we can focus our attention, not only on the social context in which we operate, but on that context being larger than ourselves, and it is truly "why" we do what we do there is common ground and interests that enable us to connect on a much higher and fundamentally more engaged level with the people who believe what we believe and want what we want. Working with, or doing business with these people becomes a matter of a shared purpose and a common good.

I believe that Contribution Intelligence may be the most critical level of intelligence we have at our disposal. And it's really no secret that the most successful people in the world function with this sense of giving, paying forward and serving a greater good. It is the reason why I write Mikki-Leaks for you.

I've spent much too much time spilling my guts and singing like a canary out here in the open for one month. For my own safety, and yours, I had better go back into hiding. Remember - shhhhh.

Some resources sited in this Month's column:

Simon Sinek - Start with Why on TED

Leadership - Thinking Being Doing - by Dr. Lee Thayer

Suzanne Livingston - on LinkedIn

MikkiLeaks

noreply@blogger.com (Mikki Williams) — Wed, 06 May 2015 19:35:00 +0000

The Worldwide Crisis for Anyone Looking to Source Fairy-Dust
by Phil Liebman

Here is a scandal in need of being exposed. And you will have read it first and exclusively here in Mikki-Leaks, folks.

If so many people depend on fairy-dust as a “sprinkle-on” solution to their problems and fertilizer for opportunities – it would seem that it would be in great abundance – or even selling at a premium due to enormous demand. But disturbingly, it just seems to be off the market. How can this be? Is someone hording the world’s supply?

I checked on AMAZON.com – and they sell small bags – but just between you and me it looks fake. OK – so there is novelty Fairy Dust available for “princess parties” for your 8-year old. But I’m looking for the industrial strength magic potion – the kind that will turn my unimaginably ordinary Website idea into the next AMAZON.COM. I even checked on Alibaba.com – figuring surely someone in China knows a guy who knows a guy who can get me this stuff. But it seems that if it exists anywhere – it might be only on the “deep web” and requiring knowing how and where to acquire Bitcoin – to arrange delivery from some unsavory sordid source. Not even something this courageous author of Mikki-Leaks is willing to venture. But I bet Satoshi Nakamoto, the recluse legend in hiding who was exposed last year as guy who invented Bitcoin had plenty of fairy-dust to nurture and build his idea.

If I can’t source the stuff, I figure there has to be a work-around. Maybe the next great idea is whatever can replace fairy-dust. Fairy-Dust 2.0? I called an alchemist I know who is purported to at one time to have been a noted expert on Angel Dust (who so happens to currently also be an advisor to a chain of Medical Marijuana Dispensaries and a few pot-boutiques in Colorado) – and posed the idea of developing synthetic fairy dust to him. He suggested that everyone is going “organic” these days – so this was obviously a bad idea. Then it struck me. Maybe “The Next Big Thing” is organic fairy dust. Just the thought of it made me dizzy and feeling a bit like Tinker-Bell.

This dragged my thinking away from the deep web – and into the Deep Thought of Dr. Lee Thayer. Lee knows more about fairy dust than perhaps anyone on the planet. Why not reach out to the foremost expert? (His book “How Executives Fail” is a must-read primer for anyone looking to understand the absolute power of fairy dust. * see source below) Well, Lee let me on to a closely guarded little secret. “Fairy Dust” doesn’t exist. The novelty stuff on Amazon is really as good as it gets.

It turns out that organizations that surpass all others have known this all along. The have found organic alternatives in how they think, who they deliberately choose to become – and in the way they go about doing things. They perform better than their competitors because they make it necessary for themselves to do so. They undertake to prepare to be so fully competent that they not only outperform their competitors – they outperform themselves everyday. If there is anything out of the ordinary – even resembling the power of magical potions – it is the connection their leadership has with a deep and unyielding sense of purpose. And the understanding of what it takes to prepare, align and conduct the people within their organization to perform at their highest potential – such that the organization can perform beyond it’s perceived boundaries.

Leadership is such a buzzword today – I almost hate to bring it up. How many books have been written on the topic? There are countless seminars, workshops – even full university degree programs dedicated to leadership – yet when we look around, why are there so few outstanding leaders among us? As Lee Thayer told us, it isn’t that those extraordinary leaders have gotten their hands on fairy dust – or likely even sold their souls to The Devil. And more perplexing is why all this research, prescription and motivation for great leadership has not turned out into the world all the leadership we could ever need or handle? Actually, another one of Dr. Thayer’s works, “The Competent Organization” might be more the answer than any of the solutions above.

The answers, much derived from Lee Thayer’s experience, is that extraordinary leaders know what very few others know. They understand that nothing you “know” is the answer. It’s about being constantly curious – and always learning. It’s about what you are thinking about – and whether you are thinking about the right things at the right time. It’s about what you are made of – whether you have the “right stuff” to demand excellence and constant growth from yourself and the people you lead. (If you don’t currently have what you need you may be able to find it within yourself – if you are willing to do the hard work that requires.) It’s about being the kind of leader that cares so unwaveringly about something greater than himself or herself – that they instill not only a great sense of purpose in the people that choose to surround these rare leaders – but they also make it necessary and possible for those who can – to become extraordinarily competent, caring and committed as well. If you could bottle that – we could sell it by the barrel – and call it Newly Improved, As Seen On TV, All Natural, Organically Certified Leadership Power Powder. I got your “fairy-dust.”

Reporting from somewhere in the kiddie-pool section of the Deep Web – wearing inflatable swimmies and nose-plugs – looking for the “Next Big Thing” to leak to you – provided my swimmies don’t leak first. You can also always find me at www.TheBullFrogGroup.com- Shhh… PRL

List of Secret Resources Cited in this Leak:

How Executives Fail – Available on Amazon.com :
http://tinyurl.com/BFG-How-Executives-Fail

The Competent Organization – Available on Amazon.com:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/BFG-THe-Competent-Organization

Dora The Explorer Inflatable Swimmies @ swimoutlet.com
http://tinyurl.com/BFG-DORA-Explorer-Swimmies

Phil Liebman is a Vistage Group Chair, a Fellow at the Thayer Institute for Leadership Virtuosity and the Founder of the BullFrog Group – helping CEOs become better leaders. You can reach him by email at phil@Strat.com - or by phone at 845.262.8611

MikkiLeaks

noreply@blogger.com (Mikki Williams) — Thu, 09 Apr 2015 18:49:00 +0000

Beating the Odds

by Phil Liebman

Here’s news - ripped straight from the headlines: Apple’s CEO Tim Cook was distinguished top among the world’s greatest leaders by Fortune Magazine. He is one of my newest heroes! ( I strongly suggest you read the article http://fortune.com/2015/03/26/tim-cook/)

Not a bad way to fill Steve Job’s shoes - especially in the face of the enormous expectations that were laid before him. So if the announcement appears on the front page of one of the most widely respected and read business publications - you may rightfully wonder, “What’s the secret?” that qualifies this to appear in Mikki-Leaks?

I’ve been told that the influence of leadership on any organization - either good or bad - may have a net impact of perhaps 15% of the total performance. Now 15% is nothing to sneeze at - but it also doesn't account for the ongoing and seemingly unstoppable performance of Apple. From a philosophical (Phil-O’Sophical - as some of my friends, Vistage members and clients will remind me) perspective - it isn’t the percentage or the odds that matters - it’s whether you win or lose in the end that counts. One in a million are nice odds - if you happen to be that one. Not so much if you are swimming with the rest. The secret is being prepared to step into that position if it should happen to present itself as available to you.

Clearly - Tim Cook seems to be entirely prepared for most anything that comes his way. Still, he might be the luckiest man on earth. And if he is, chances are he's earned that. Being prepared is a combination of being competent and being conscientious and driven with a clear and palpable sense of purpose.

Chance plays an enormous role in our success. In fact, profit is almost inextricably linked to risk. It’s a basic theory of investment strategy: the direct correlation of risk to reward. The lower the risk one is willing to take the lower the rewards you would expect. Safe bets are either a table set for small returns on your investments or are rigged to direct a big payoff by design. Large risks can yield huge rewards simply because of the increased odds that you will lose. Smart investors seem to know this and dumb gamblers never learn this. But as a CEO or any business leader it is vital that you understand that perhaps your single most important job is to manage the risk against the potential of the yield you are aiming (not hoping) for. Remember the old adage that “hope is not a strategy”? Ao hoping for a return on investment is not a sufficient means to managing the inherent risks of running a business, where you place all your assets at risk every day you engage, or even prepare to engage your enterprise with the market. Your real capital, human capital and reputation capital are all exposed to risk that you cannot control. And the things you seemingly can control and choose to risk in pursuit of whatever vision you have for the potential, are the future you design for your organization. Tim Cook does a phenomenal job of this at Apple. You would do well to do an exemplary job of this at your company too.

I tend to define the term “entrepreneur” differently from most people. I don’t choose to accept the view that it has anything to do with the age or size of a company, or whether it is breaking molds, disrupting markets or changing the world. Those may be the results of the idealism that is wrapped up in entrepreneurialism but not the basic foundation. I believe that an entrepreneur is simply someone who chooses to take extraordinary risk in pursuit of unreasonable expectations of returns.

Now, by definition, start-ups place everything they invest at risk. The raw numbers provide clear evidence of the overwhelming risk of failure in virtually any business one starts. I also believe that most actually fail because the founder simply doesn’t understand the dynamics of this risk, and approaches the daunting odds entirely unprepared to manage them at all. Or they fail because they play not to lose. By attempting to avoid risks they don't get the lift of the returns that would get their capital restored and make growth possible. When they do succeed it is often simply by accident.

My goal is to help people become deliberate in their pursuit of success, and take those who have beat the odds on The Journey from Accidental Success.

We can all learn from Mr. Cook, in the enormous risks he has embraced, and the intelligent ways he has then taken to managing them.

Now, here’s my parting shot: Can you beat the odds? And is this even politically correct? Or these days are we supposed to reason with them? Talk them down? Or somehow rehabilitate them? Be careful. You don’t want people pointing at you and whispering to their friends, colleagues or family, “That person over there is an unrepentant odds beater.”

Like they say about the lottery: “Hey, you never know.”

Phil Liebman is the CEO, Founder and Chief Leadership Catalyst at The BullFrog Group, where he has the privilege to work with heroic leaders to help create a world that is made better through the efforts of the men and women who lead and run successful businesses. He is also a freelance writer, speaker, Vistage Chair and a Fellow at the Thayer Institute for Leadership Virtuosity.

MikkiLeaks by Phil Liebman

noreply@blogger.com (Mikki Williams) — Mon, 16 Mar 2015 12:00:00 +0000

MikkiLeaks!
A new column for my eZine written by my dear friend, fellow Vistage Chair, Phil Liebman from my home city of New York... because I adore his writing style and his infinite wisdom I “volun-told” him, to become my newest monthly columnist.

MikkiLeaks!!!

Classy-Fide Information - Available on a “Need-to-Know” Basis...

That YOU need to know!

by Phil Liebman

For years I wrote a weekly piece - Monday Morning CEO - Confessions of an Accidental Success. I had come to understand that many people who run companies were like me. They stumbled their way into success, if they were lucky enough to survive the fall to the top. They perhaps bootstrapped a worthy idea for a business, or may have even been a member of the lucky DNA club and taken over a family business, or even bought an existing one and were lucky enough to have purchased the right company at just the right time...but like me, had no clue what it would take to build a sustainable businesses going forward. (I was fortunate to get out alive when mine crashed and burned twenty years ago.)

We assume that what got us here will get us there. And then there’s that terrifying reality that often lurks in our heads at around 3:30 AM suggesting, “What if that’s not true?” So, I began to think: we need to expose the truth! But look what happened when Edward Snowden tried that. He’s shivering in an old army blanket in a perfectly damp and chilly caviar and vodka crypt somewhere under the Kremlin. All Putin has to say is, “It’s nice work if you can get it.”

The secret is learning how to become a deliberate leader rather than an accidental success. And how does one find such secrets? Well, continuing my own string of improbable luck, I happened upon one of Mikki’s Ezines boasting that she was a member of, and pretty darn high up, with the NSA! And when I discovered that she meant the "other” NSA - I thought my luck had finally run out. There would be no way to wiretap the phones and intercept the private emails of the greatest business and thought leaders from around the world.

But as luck would have it the search for truth and the unearthing of secrets wouldn’t end there. Mikki graciously offered me this spot each month to share with you the secrets of what it might take to deliberately lead a successful business and a successful life. She told me I could do this as long as I like, with the possibility I could bust out early with good behavior. (OK, so I’m doomed.)

Each month I will share my personal truths about deliberate leadership, secrets stolen from the news, heavily guarded ideas that only a very select few people ever get to see (well, until the authors’ publishers made them available for purchase on Amazon) and occasional home-movies posted on YouTube. So, in the meantime I recommend you read “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson. That should keep you busy until next time.

And it may inspire you to see how such a deeply flawed human being can create a company that sought to, and then did, change the world. There is hope for me yet.

In order to hide my true identity I am pretending to be myself. No one will ever think of looking for me here.

All Stressed Up and No Place to Go

noreply@blogger.com (Mikki Williams) — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 19:30:00 +0000

Stressed spelled backwards is desserts.

Stress is nothing new, we all have it - whether it's good stress (no, that's not an oxymoron) or bad stress, it's part of life. As we work faster, longer, harder, and juggle the demands of work/life balance, stress is a topic of necessity and interest.
Much of it is about how we look at things...you can be undone by stress or you can use it to your advantage; use it as the impetus to move forward, or to stay still for a moment.

Some stress relieving tips:
1. Read any book by Hans Selye, the "father of stress management."
2. Meditate
3. Take yoga
4. Take Fridays off for a personal day
5. Take a bubble baths
6. Get some exercise
7. Volunteer - helping someone else is a great stress-reliever
8. Paint, sculpt, write...do something creative

If all else fails, here are my three favorite tips:
1. Use your master card to pay off your visa
2. Make a to do list of things you've already done
3. When someone says, "have a nice day," tell them you've made other plans

Should Your Business Go the Way of Google+?

noreply@blogger.com (Mikki Williams) — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 16:32:00 +0000

Another great article from my good friend, speaker and social media guru, Dave Nelsen.

He's so smart!!

On a single day in early March, two compatriots independently sent me different articles about Google+. The story from CNN Money was titled, “Google+ is about to be broken up.” The piece from The Independent (a UK publication) was titled, “Google Plus might be dead, as ‘Streams’ and ‘Photos’ take its place.”

As a devoted Apple fan I find it rather odd to be helping tout Google, Apple’s archenemy in mobile. Google ‘stole’ countless ideas from Apple’s iOS (aka iPhone operating system) for their Android operating system and today powers more than 6-times as many smartphones globally as Apple. Of course tablets (iPads, which also run iOS) are a different story, still favoring Apple.

For whatever reason - probably because everybody likes to see big successes (people or companies) stumble - these articles present the Google+ “evolution" as negative news. The Germans have a specific word for the secret delight that we all take in seeing another’s misfortunes: Schadenfreude.

But is Google+ really failing?

Perhaps you’re familiar with compete.com (aka an independent, third-party measurement service) that tracks unique monthly visitors to virtually all websites. According to compete.com between February 2014 and January 2015 (the most recent data available as I write) Google+ (plus.google.com) grew by almost 40% and now exceeds 65 million monthly users (about 20% of the US population).

Also according to compete.com, after peaking in March 2014 Facebook.com visitors actually declined by 4% through January 2015. It now looks like a definite down trend. Yes, according to these stats Facebook is still 2.5 times larger than Google+, but a year ago Facebook was more than 3.5 times bigger. Of course this is just one measure; it doesn’t tell the whole story (level of engagement, etc.). Still, Google+ doesn’t exactly look dead to me.

Breaking up is not the same thing as being dead. In fact, it looks like Facebook is breaking up too. Have you noticed that Facebook never integrated Instagram (a $1B purchase) or WhatsApp (a $22B acquisition)? At the same time Facebook now offers an enhanced news feed as a separate app (Paper) ... and their texting function as yet another separate app (Messenger). I now use these various apps far more than Facebook.com.

Facebook and Google+ are both doing essentially the same thing ... not because they’re failing, but because all businesses must adapt to the mobile revolution. They’re being driven by the tsunami of smart mobile devices, which now outsell traditional computers by 6-1 (and are pulling away). I predict that someday Google+ and Facebook will be held up together as models of leaders that made the early transition - from the web to mobile - that all winning companies will make to survive.

Google clearly cares deeply about succeeding in “social” (Google+ is their fourth try, following Orkut, Wave, and Buzz) and they have awesome market power. You would ignore Google+ (or the resulting collection of social/mobile/communication apps that evolve from it) at your company’s peril because Google also dominates mobile (Android), search and video, services that are together evolving under a new umbrella called Google “My Business.”

Remember that half of all Internet traffic starts with a search. Google will happily send traffic to your competitors if not to you. Even as an Apple fan, I plan to be Google’s friend too.

You can find more formal details here:

Dialog Consulting

To contact Dave directly:

Dave@DialogConsulting.com

Speaking Tip: Be YOU-nique!™

noreply@blogger.com (Mikki Williams) — Mon, 15 Dec 2014 13:00:00 +0000

Let's take a trip back in time:

"Purple!" Mr. Big Name Speaker exclaimed, examining my brand new media kit, my first attempt at a professionalspeaker's marketing tool. I idolized his status and thought at first he was expressing delight. But then he said, "Professional speakers don't use purple. Corporate America is not purple." He smiled indulgently. I thought he was going to pat me on the head. "If you're going to make it in this business, you're going to have to conform. First thing you need to do is re-do your media kit in gray, burgundy, or navy blue. Just not purple." He said it the way he might have said, "diarrhea."
That was more than 25 years ago and my media kit is still purple.

Rule #1 Be You-nique
Don't let anyone tell you you shouldn't do something, just because no one else does it. Find your style, or as Larry Winget says, "exploit your uniqueness!"
Look, listen, learn; adapt never adopt; find your USP (unique selling proposition) and use it to your advantage. Mr. Big Name Speaker also kindly advised me to "tone down" my wardrobe. "A black or navy blue suit and pearls would be perfect," he said.
Hah! Well, you see how that turned out!
Yes, I'm outrageous, and that doesn't work for everyone. And maybe I've lost business because of it. But I'm alright with that. I am who I am and it's more important for me to be authentic than to be someone I'm not, just for the sake of the almighty dollar.
Find your USP, and then go with that, however different it may be. Be authentic. And the almighty dollars will come.

Speaking Tip: We Learn Best When We Laugh

noreply@blogger.com (Mikki Williams) — Mon, 08 Dec 2014 19:16:00 +0000

"Shtick" is good!
It makes your audience relax and have fun, and it's been proven that we learn best when we laugh; our defenses are down and our endorphins are running wild. It may not be your style to be outrageous (like moi!), but audiences respond best to presentations with humor, interaction, fun and stimulation for all the senses. And they want content with clear messages that come with specific how-tos that can be readily implemented.
A speaker who sprinkles her speeches with stories will captivate and hold the audience's attention longer than those who just postulate theories.

Someone Make This For Me!

noreply@blogger.com (Mikki Williams) — Wed, 26 Nov 2014 20:39:00 +0000

I need this! Can you imagine how delicious this is?
Make it. Then invite me over!

Christmas Cheesecake with English Toffee Filling
Makes 12 servings

Prepare this cake a day ahead.

Crust:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (from about 5 ounces graham crackers)
1/2 cup toasted almonds, finely chopped
1/2 cup English toffee bits (such as Skor)
2 tablespoons (packed) dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
8 ounces chocolate-covered English toffee (such as Skor or Heath bars), cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Topping:

1 16-ounce container sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Assorted candies (such as gumdrops and holiday M&M’s)

Preparation

For crust:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix first 5 ingredients in medium bowl. Add butter; stir until moist clumps form. Press mixture over bottom and 1 inch up sides of 10-inch-diameter springform pan. Bake crust until just set, about 5 minutes. Set aside. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.
For filling:
Beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until blended. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, blending well after each addition. Beat in both extracts. Pour half of mixture into prepared crust; sprinkle with toffee pieces. Pour remaining mixture over. Bake until edges are puffed but center is barely set, about 55 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare topping:
Mix sour cream, sugar and vanilla in medium bowl until smooth. Pour topping over hot cheesecake. Bake cake until topping is just set, about 5 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool 10 minutes. Run knife between cake and pan sides. Chill cake uncovered overnight.
Remove pan sides and place cake on platter. Garnish top with candies.

Ahhhhhh...sunshine!

noreply@blogger.com (Mikki Williams) — Mon, 24 Nov 2014 19:45:00 +0000

Happy to be decompressing in Playa del Carmen at Paradisus Playa del Carmen La Esmeralda after the crazy-busiest two months on record!
I'm so excited to have this time to do nothing except the five S's: sun, spa, sightsee, shop...and one more. I'll let you guess what that one is...

Go Get This Book!

noreply@blogger.com (Mikki Williams) — Wed, 15 Oct 2014 21:23:00 +0000

A Boy Becomes a Man In Nam:

Understanding the Cause of PTSD

by Chuck Reaves

I have known Chuck Reaves for decades and know what a prolific speaker and writer he is. Never more so than in his poignant recapturing of his experiences in Vietnam. Chuck is a decorated Vietnam veteran who explains how the military experience can create PTSD. For veterans this book is a valuable tool in understanding their own PTSD and for explaining it to their family and friends. For war protesters during the time of the Vietnam War, it brings closure and greater understanding.

The forward was written by Captain Jerry Coffee, a POW in the Hanoi Hilton for seven years. The book closes by offering the reader ideas for earning their own medal and for being a hero.

NOW GO GET THIS BOOK!

Social Media in China (Not Exactly as We Know and Love It)

noreply@blogger.com (Mikki Williams) — Wed, 08 Oct 2014 18:33:00 +0000

My good bud, fellow Vistage speaker, and fantastic contributor to my eZine, Dave Nelsen, always has the most interesting posts. This article will be in the eZine in another week but you get it here first!
Check the ezine archives for Dave's previous columns - they're always timely and informative.

Social Media in China (Not Exactly as We Know and Love It)

by Dave Nelsen

As I write this, I’m on one of the fastest trains on the planet, moving at exactly 304 km/h (over 185 mph) between Shanghai to Beijing. Indeed, I’m on a two-week journey through China. My brother’s here on a two-year rotation as part of his job.

China is an amazing country, full of amazing sights, and amazing people. But there’s one thing here that’s amazing in a different way ... and it’s a reminder to us in the United States (and many other places) to be truly appreciative of the Internet as we know it, NSA monitoringand all.

My brother and his family were not home when my wife and I arrived at their Shanghai apartment. Having been offline for 24-hours, my first move -- after locating his wine collection -- was to jump on his WiFi network to synch email, check Facebook, access ...

Oops! You can’t access Facebook in China. Well, I’ll just have to read my birthday wishes after the fact. Not a huge deal.

Instead, since we’re in the midst of the so called Hong Kong Umbrella Rebellion (I mean in time rather than place) I’ll entertain myself by checking Twitter to see what’s happened in the past day. No, you can’t go there either.

No worries. I’ll use the NYTimes App on my iPad to access the latest news. Fail! Nytimes.com is blocked too.

I’ll just have to use Google to investigate which websites I can access from China. No, you can’t do that either. Google, Gmail, Google+ ... they’re all blocked.

Then I remember; I’ve saved some documents from my brother on my Box.net or Dropbox account. It’s time to read them. I’ll have to check both sites.

You guessed it. They’re both blocked.

Maybe his Internet connection is down? No ... Speedtest.net shows throughput speeds approaching 100 Mbps, the fastest residential Internet service I’ve ever seen. Netflix is awesome!

With a bit more work, I eventually discover that Yahoo is sometimes available, perhaps whenever they’re not featuring “objectionable” content on their homepage. Lowly Bing (sorry Microsoft fans) is virtually always available and boy does it pop, as long as you don’t search for the wrong thing.

By the time my brother got home, his Internet connection was entirely offline. And strangely, his WiFi router’s SSID had reset to the original factory default (dd-wrt if you’re curious). I’ve never seen anything like that before. It must have been a fluke firmware failure.

Not a problem. He has a spare router. A few hours later we have it configured (including with proper security settings) and his Internet connection comes back. We’re online just in time for bed so I am confident that can get to work first thing in the morning.

Or not. By then, the new router had suffered the same fluke reset crash. What incredibly bad luck, don’t you think?

You can draw your own conclusions from my story, but here’s my takeaway: Next time you’re frustrated with a favorite website taking ten seconds to load, be appreciative of the Internet as you know it (in the US). It’s amazing!

To Post or Not to Post...That is the Question

noreply@blogger.com (Mikki Williams) — Thu, 02 Oct 2014 13:30:00 +0000

I saw an interesting post on my friend David Avrin's Facebook page where he talks about about receiving a message from someone he doesn’t know who challenged his wisdom of posting trivial things such as the breakfast cereal he likes, strange people he sits near on a flight, or funny comments about his kids. "You are an international business marketing expert," this person wrote. "This makes you look like an amatur!"

David’s response was: "Speaking and consulting is not who I am, it is what I do. And while I would never want to do anything to harm my reputation, I believe that people do business with people they like and people they trust. Social media can really 'humanize' someone that you may only know from their books or presentations. As I teach in my work: 'If you want people to be interested, you have to be interesting.' I try to keep my connections 'connected' by mixing it up. Besides, I have fun with it."

I couldn’t have said it better myself. We are people first and speakers second, and we engage with others through our personality. Whether I’m speaking, coaching or whatever, I am true to myself…it’s called “authenticy”.

I am who I am.

And that phrase reminds me of the occasion of my “21st" birthday party this year when my dear Michael Allosso (below) and his equally fabulous wife Peggy created and sang their customized rendition of “I Am What I Am” from La Cage Aux Folles aka The Birdcage movie with Robin Williams and Nathan Lane. And to quote myself, “If I wasn’t born a girl, I would be a drag queen today.” It all just seems appropriate.

To the tune of "I AM WHAT I AM" (La Cage aux Folles) if you can’t hum it, go to YouTube!

She is what she is

Queen of show biz

Warmly contagious

Glitz with a big brain

Never mundane

Always outrageous

It's her night: we're her minions-

Mikki's presence gels us

Her night! So we'll wear whatever clothes

She tells us

Part Mame, Part Les Mis'

We all enjoy that Mikki is what she is

She is what she is

Every a.m. and every p.m.

She bangs her own drum,

Telling us all to carpe diem

And so what if she's raunchy,

Likes it in the trenches?

We know she's one of Chicago's

Biggest mensches

Chair, speaker, a whiz

We're proud to say "Hey, world,

She is what she is!"

She is what she is,

Likes what she likes,

All right, she's picky

Go look at her place;

Watch her perform

All right she's shticky

Be loud!

Don't just say your words.

And it Begins All Over Again...

noreply@blogger.com (Mikki Williams) — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 22:05:00 +0000

I took off the whole month of August for a writing sabbatical - to work on my website revamp (wait til you see it!), and my book (it's coming soon...no, really!). So for the entire month of August I didn't do any traveling or speaking (well, just once!) or coaching, and you know what? I missed it!

I got a lot done but I'm back at it now; speaking, coaching, my Vistage meetings, Speakers School...wow! So I hit the ground running in September, and October is even more jam-packed. And I'm excited. Happy to be back out in the world with all my peeps!
Check out my calendar - see if you can come to one of my presentations. How fun would that be?

I Love This Book!

noreply@blogger.com (Mikki Williams) — Fri, 19 Sep 2014 20:01:00 +0000

Prosperity in the Age of Decline
How to Lead Your Business and Preserve WealthThrough the Coming Business Cycles
by Brian and Alan Beaulieu

In the spirit of full disclosure, Brian Beaulieu is my Vistage member and I adore him but...if I didn't love this book then I simply wouldn't review it!!! But...I did love this book, not only for the on-target economic trend forecasting (94.7 accuracy) but for the valuable insights that will help guide your investment strategies or at the very least, make you more knowledgeable about what lies ahead and how that will affect you in business and personally. Who wouldn't want to be armed with info that will help us make better-informed decisions, be proactive in that decision making, feel confident
that we are on top of our competitive advantage, deal with the uncertainties that lie ahead and plan intelligently? And if you read between the lines, you'll know this is a great gift for your kids or anyone you know who will be facing the future even longer term.

NOW GO GET THIS BOOK!

Mikki and Michele's Marvelous Meanderings Through Italy

noreply@blogger.com (Mikki Williams) — Wed, 25 Jun 2014 18:20:00 +0000

DAY ONE
Flight was great, slept thru turbulence (am told), checked in to Grand Cavour Hotel near Piazza della Signoria. To lunch at Buca Dall'Orafo, we shared panzanella, mushroom torte and spaghetti with clams (a la vongole) Amazing!!

To Church of Santa Croce to see the tombs of Michelangelo, Gallileo, Dante Aligheria, Rossini and Machiavelli,,,all entombed in the same church, even this little Jewish gal was in awe. Walk, walk, walk to shoe shopping, saw THE most dazzling Italian man ever, I couldn't speak, what a surprise that is. Saw the David, now looking to find a real David, went to Gelateria for the most outrageous gelato (baci and coffee crunch) then to the most Mikki store in Florence, Luisa Via Roma and no didn't buy anything but drooled a lot over the pricing. Walked over 10 miles so we can now enjoy our flights of pasta tonight. Just half hour to get ready and post this...will post some photos from today when we come back from dinner if I don't collapse first from the 7 hour day one walk, shop, tour. Buona Sera.

DAY TWO

Couldn't find the guy who went with the Maserati but did get kissed by Cupid, is that a sign?

Went to the leather market and yes, I already had to buy a new suitcase, yikes! Found shoe nirvana in Florence then back to lunch at Gilli at Palazzo Vecchio. Even the store bodyguards are "bellissimi" Walked 13 miles which hopefully nullifies the daily gelato),
lovely dinner at La Giostra, top ten restaurant in Florence.
Packing for Rome tomorrow, arriverderci!

DAY THREE

Took the high speed train (first class of course) from Florence to Rome and checked into the fabulous boutique Art Hotel on the Via Margutta. Immediately dropped our bags and hit the Italian ground running for some more shopping, what else?
After that we walked (averaging about 13 miles a day) to the Pantheon and heard a gorgeous choir

while I stood in awe and managed to take some touristy photos. Walked to Piazza Navona and saw the Fountain of the Four Rivers, amazing.

Then to lunch at Obika, mozzarella bar and had the most delicious meal of mozzarella, sun dried tomatoes and fresh anchovies with foccaccia. My taste buds were singing.

Walked to THE gelato place, Giolitti and had coconut and nutella, now really!!!!

Took a ride down the luxurious Via Veneto, home of La Dolce Vita, then to the top of the Spanish Steps where I had my caricature done then walked down the famous steps back to hotel.

Dinner at Le Sorelle then a walk to Trevi Fountain to throw some coins in but alas, alack, it was under construction.

Oh Italia, soccer, cigarettes, gelato, motor scooters and so many men and shoes and so little time.

DAY FOUR
Got up VERY early to take a taxi by myself (like a big girl) to Vatican City for my tour. Yes, tour!! I hate tours but…it was that or wait in VERY long lines, which I hate more than tours. So this li’l Jewish gal from NYC did the holy tour of the Vatican, The Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica and it was beyond amazing.
As I sat silently in the Sistine Chapel, I was brought to tears by its magnificence and tonight my gratitude journal will overfloweth. I will admit I could have done the 4 hour tour in 2, but nevertheless it was awe-inspiring.

Here's a photo of me with my Vatican guide, Alex, who speaks five languages. Now realllllllly!

I finally managed my Italian currency enough to get back to hotel and meet Michele for lunch. It was time for “real” pizza!
Walked another 15 miles today, over to the Roman Forum and the Coliseum and found a Warhol exhibit which was a great surprise. Sidestep, oops detour...another fab shoe store. OK, OK, four days, four shoes. Just sayin’.

On the way back we stopped for our daily gelato then to hotel to catch Italy lose to Uruguay in soccer, not a lot of happy Italians tonight. I am starting to enjoy a daily cappuccino, something I never did at home. There is a distinct flavor difference here.
No, not done: back to our fantastic Art Hotel to change shoes then out again. This time to the Villa Borghese, the home of the Borghese family, the most powerful family of the Renaissance period, patron of the arts, extreme wealth as obvious in the mansion and park-like grounds. Opulence abounds. Back at hotel yet again and dressing for dinner with Michele’s Italian friends and packing for Capri tomorrow (can’t wait!).

Oh yes, how could I forget to post the shoe store of the day? Then there was the Smoke Me shop that I did NOT go into. I also believe there are tremendous opportunities here for entrepreneurs in deodorant and toilet paper, but that's another story.

DAY FIVE

So, dear friends, another incredible day as we left the hotel by Mercedes to be driven to Capri.

Well, sorta. Raphael drove us to Positano for lunch and along the way showed us the birthplace of Hercules and an island owned by Rudolph Nureyev with tales to tell. Did not know that Positano was named for Poseidon or that Sorrento is where all that amazing mozzarella I've been consuming is from. And yes, I had a Limoncello, which if you don’t is as close to a sacrilege as you can get…and remember I went to all those churches.

The drive up the Amalfi Coast was nothing short of breathtaking. After lunch, drove to (no, not me, silly, we had a driver) Sorrento to catch the hydrofoil to Capri.

Well!!! Well!!! I have been all over the world and Capri has just made it into my top three most beautiful along with Santorini and Monte Carlo. It is ridiculously, outrageously gorgeous. And our hotel has to be the best - Hotel Punta Tragara.

After checking in, we went to Anacapri…you guessed it…shopping, via a hot pink convertible taxi. Had sandals made by a cobbler, had our daily gelato and walked and walked and walked. We have done over 60 miles since we got to Italy.

Back to hotel to change for dinner at Villa Verde then to the famous Quisisana Hotel for cappuccino as a fellow Vistage Chair Alan Weinstein walked by. Now really!!

Tomorrow the beach, woo hop! La spiaggia! Buona Notte da Capri.

DAY SIX
3 Sangrias, 1 Prosecco and 1 Limoncello plus 1000 steps up and down to the beach make this day in Capri one for the history books. OK now seriously, if there is another more beautiful place on earth, stand up now or forever hold your peace. Seriously, Capri!!!!
Had a leisurely breakfast on terrace of hotel overlooking the Med. Then the steps!!! But so worth it. For a gal who cherishes “experiences” this was one of the best.
La Fontelina Beach Club is all on volcanic rock, no sand, no beach, just fabulous rock formations dotted with beach chairs and mattresses (yes you read that right) Then what? More shopping, sillies:-) and time to explore more off beaten pathways on this incredible island. I picked tonight’s restaurant Le Camarelle which was perfection…beautiful, outdoors, Italian singers serenading us and perfect weather. I’m a happy camper:-)

DAY SEVEN

Breakfast and lunch on the veranda of our gorgeous hotel Punta Tragara in Capri (which defies description it is sooooo beautiful) then to the spa, followed by a lazy day at the pool and a ride down the funicolare until…our private boat ride around the island with Franco.

I took over 100 photos, one more gorgeous than the next…the yachts, the volcanic formations, the crystal clear aquamarine waters, the homes and then…and then…and then…the green grotto, oh me oh my. Next we motored to a cove that shoots out water so they call it champagne cove and the water looks like a rainbow. The speaker is speechless!
Took their fabulous fun open air taxi to Anacapri (Ana means above) so yes, it’s quite the elevation and had cocktails, (yes I did it again and many of you know I DON”T drink!) but had a Bellini at the Caesar Augustus Hotel, a Relais and Chateaux property which are my favorites around the world.
Back to our hotel to dress for our last dinner in this magical paradise called Capri and dine at Mamma’s ristorante.
What a week! Headed to Naples tomorrow then back to Rome for the night before heading home on Sunday (for 12 hours before I leave for CA). Buona Notte!

I Love My Job!

noreply@blogger.com (Mikki Williams) — Fri, 02 May 2014 19:09:00 +0000

There are so many perks for what I do, but the best is when I receive awesome letters like this from my clients. See why I love my job?

Hi Mikki,
Well it's been 3 months since you left us awestruck at our national sales meeting and people are still talking, laughing and reminiscing about your presentation and workshops. I have been in this industry for 26 years and have been to countless sales meetings and I truly can't recall a speaker who in such a short time, could have the immediate and lasting impact that you had. I think people are still singing “oh Mikki you’re so fine, you’re so fine you blow my mind, hey Mikki…hey Mikki!..” to this day!
It was more than just cracking us all up, which you sure did, but your inspiring stories, valuable lessons and actionable ideas gave us something to learn from and sink our teeth into. I heard from so many of our top producers that your workshops were the best they've ever attended. Boy, I never knew there were so many synonyms for “fantastic” until I read the reviews from your sessions.
Selecting a main stage speaker can always be a bit stressful, as the success and mood of the meeting can be greatly influenced by the enjoyment and perceived value from the audience. Thank you for making us look so smart for inviting you to our meeting, and for making our producers so happy they came! Your talk catapulted our morning and set the stage for the rest of the conference to be a smash. I’ve told everyone that if they are looking to excite, encourage, inspire, and crack up their attendees at their next conference….then look no further, just “Slip ‘em a Mikki”!!
Thank you!
Lisa

Chair Excellence Award

noreply@blogger.com (Mikki Williams) — Wed, 05 Mar 2014 20:39:00 +0000

I just received another Chair Excellence Award for leading two groups for Vistage, the world's foremost executive organization. It's been my honor and pleasure to work for them for 12 years and to guide two groups of THE most amazing people!

Here's a little about Vistage:

Work on Your Business with CEOs,

Executives and Owners Just Like You

Since 1957, Vistage has made a difference by bringing together groups of successful executives across a broad array of industries. The goal: more success. Each group is designed to help members help each other improve their businesses and their lives.

Vistage groups meet once a month to solve problems, evaluate opportunities and work on an assortment of strategic and operational issues. They are confidential forums of experienced executives who rely on each other for wisdom and counsel.

If you want to know more about Vistage and how you can benefit, call me: 312.664.8447 or send me an email for more info mikki@mikkiwilliams.com.

If I can't be your Chair I can help you find the right one for you anywhere in the country.

MIKKI WILLIAMS' BLAH, BLAH...BLOG

MikkiLeaks: I Did This On Purpose by Phil Liebman

From the Brilliant Dave Nelsen, SOCIAL MEDIA GURU GUY!

MikkiLeaks: Musings From A Musement Park on The Jersey Shore

I Did It!!

Slack to Improve Team Collaboration by Dave Nelsen

MikkiLeaks: Honoring Our Heroes by Phil Liebman

Don't Call it an iWatch by Dave Nelsen

MikkiLeaks: In Search of Intelligent Life, by Phil Liebman

MikkiLeaks

MikkiLeaks

MikkiLeaks by Phil Liebman

All Stressed Up and No Place to Go

Should Your Business Go the Way of Google+?

Speaking Tip: Be YOU-nique!™

Speaking Tip: We Learn Best When We Laugh

Someone Make This For Me!

Christmas Cheesecake with English Toffee FillingMakes 12 servings

Preparation

Ahhhhhh...sunshine!

Go Get This Book!

Social Media in China (Not Exactly as We Know and Love It)

To Post or Not to Post...That is the Question

And it Begins All Over Again...

I Love This Book!

Mikki and Michele's Marvelous Meanderings Through Italy

I Love My Job!

Chair Excellence Award

Christmas Cheesecake with English Toffee Filling
Makes 12 servings