photo credit: Sean Davis

Well, we’ve all been hearing about Ford’s success in spite of the recession — the Los Angeles Times reported that they had a $2.7 billion profit for 2009. How did they do it, and what can you learn from them as you lead your organization?

CBS Sunday Morning did a segment on Ford’s success and they said they (1) hired a CEO that had never been in the car business, (2) didn’t ask for bailout money and (3) reinvented themselves. They’re now confident of survival.

Another thing: They don’t just depend on their CEO to bring new ideas from outside. One of our speakers, Danny Cox, was hired by Ford to deliver a keynote presentation to over 200 Ford employees and suppliers at the “roll out” of a new model. Here are some excerpts from Danny’s keynote and from the plant manager’s letter:

1a. Great leaders work on the #1 priority. When finished, they don’t go to #2, but to the NEW #1 and so on down the list.

1b. Danny’s signature story: “If you’ve got a frog to swallow don’t look at it too long, and if there’s more than one, swallow the biggest one first.”

How Ford applied it: Now each morning we have a quality meeting. We search for the plant’s biggest “frog” and assign a team to go to work on it to solve it permanently. Then we select a new #1.

2. Habit’s goal is to freeze you at your current level of confidence, which makes for repeated yesterdays.

How Ford applied it: Signs are going up all over the plant reminding us to break old habits and try new things.

3. Keep your people informed on new ideas. They love to feel “in” on anything new.

How Ford applied it: A plant-wide communication meeting is scheduled to reveal new ideas and directions. On the stage with me will be a frog mascot (costumed) and an 18-foot blow up frog. The enthusiasm is building! You were right on the money.

["How Ford applied it" quotes are from the Ford plant manager who brought Danny into speak.]

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To bring Danny’s insights to your audience and succeed like Ford, submit an inquiry via Danny’s profile page or call us at 615-526-6600 today!

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Posted under Leadership Development, Motivational Speakers

Patrick Lencioni’s newest book, Getting Naked: A Business Fable About the Shedding the Three Fears That Sabotage Client Loyalty, lands on shelves this week. From Amazon.com:

Written in the same dynamic style as his previous bestsellers including The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Lencioni illustrates the principles of inspiring client loyalty through a fascinating business fable. He explains the theory of vulnerability in depth and presents concrete steps for putting it to work in any organization. The story follows a small consulting firm, Lighthouse Partners, which often beats out big-name competitors for top clients. One such competitor buys out Lighthouse and learns important lessons about what it means to provide value to its clients.

Click through to read Amazon.com’s exclusive Q&A with Pat, where he answers questions such as “Why do you use the term naked and where does it come from?” (Hint: It’s not just to be catchy. Pat — through his speaking and consulting — helps CEOs and their teams build healthy organizations, and they found that by being completely transparent and vulnerable — “naked” — with clients, they could build amazing levels of trust and loyalty.)

Pat is one of our favorite speakers here at The Speakers Group, and we’re not alone — the Wall Street Journal has named him one of the most in-demand business speakers. If you’d like to learn more about bringing Pat to your next event, we’d be happy to speak with you. Just submit this form to tell us about your event, or click here to read more about Pat first.

Posted under Book Review, Leadership Development, Motivational Speakers, Organizational Excellence, Speaker News, Speaker Recommendations

Here we are at the end of another year! If your year hasn’t gone according to plan, you’re not alone. Be it the economic meltdown, the meetings industry crisis, or other circumstances, 2009 has been “interesting.” There’s always much to be thankful for, though, and we’re very grateful here at The Speakers Group. Thank you for reading our blog; thank you for allowing us to be of service as you seek out the best speakers for your meetings. From all of us at TSG, we wish you a wonderful 2010! May it be your best year yet! Please let us know how we can help you toward that goal.

Now, since this is a blog after all, what better way to close out the year than to revisit our nine most-viewed blog posts of 2009:

1. Social Media Speakers: 10 to Know
   Social Media / Social Networking has been on most everyone’s mind this year. Corporations, associations, hospitals, and even government entities have sought out social media expert speakers to help their attendees better understand the relevance of the social web in their endeavors. To help event planners in their search for a social media speaker, we published this starter list of “10 to know.” Our roster of social media speakers has grown since then, so you may want to check out our more extensive listing at http://SocMedSpkrs.com as you plan for 2010.
2. Twitter for Meeting Planners: How to Make It Work for You
   You may remember 2009 as the “year of the recession” or “year of the meetings industry crisis,” but it was also the year of Twitter. We all had to figure out where Twitter fit into our business, including meeting planners. Twitter offers some great opportunities in managing events and connecting with attendees, and we offered a few tips in this post.
3. 9 Business Speakers You Need to Know in 2009
   To kick off the year, we highlighted nine business speakers who were either well established and as relevant as ever, or who were on the way up with some fresh insights. If you’re planning events in 2010, these are still some great speakers for your consideration, addressing topics such as sales, leadership, employee morale and marketing.
4. Janine Driver on Body Language and Successful Selling
   We first came to know Janine Driver after an appearance on The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch. She’s a dynamic, engaging speaker, and a leading expert on reading body language who helps business professionals make this skill a powerful tool in their repertoire.
5. TSG Keynotes Magazine
   Seth Godin wrote in his blog this week that “The scalable, profitable strategy [of differentiation] is to change the game, not to become the most average.” In the speakers bureau world, everyone says “we have the best service” or “we have the best speakers.” The truth is, most of us have really good service, and most of us have the same great speakers. We’re trying to change the game here at The Speakers Group, though, thinking of ourselves as Speakers Bureau 2.0. It’s a work in progress, but TSG Keynotes came as a result of this mentality. Instead of publishing another speakers bureau catalog — which is no different than what you can find online — we published, for the first time, a mini-magazine packed with helpful meeting planning/speaker booking insights rather than speaker profiles. Our aim: to be a meeting planner’s or business leader’s most valuable partner for booking speakers. How can we be better for you? Let us know.
6. Top Motivational Speakers on Video
   When you’re ready to book a speaker, what is your #1 evaluation tool? Usually, it’s a speaker preview video. In this blog post, we put together a few videos from top motivational speakers. Want to see our full – and growing – library of online speaker videos? Visit our online speaker video viewing room here.
7. Social Media and Your Meeting: No Longer An Optional Topic
   The social media topic is back! Three of our top nine blog posts of 2009 relate to social media – another testament to the relevance of this topic this year? In this blog post, we highlighted how far-reaching social media is, affecting various industries and meeting types. Have you included social media in your meetings this year? We’d love to hear your story in the comments section below. Any advice to share with your fellow planners?
8. Peter Guber Interview – The MAGIC is Story
   I had the pleasure of sitting down with Peter just a few blocks from his office in Hollywood last year – wow, what a guy! Peter is a business genius – just look at his resume – and one of the most charismatic speakers I’ve seen. As one of the most successful entertainment executives of all time, Peter knows what makes a good story, and he brings those insights to business audiences nationwide. He’s a pretty fresh face on the speaking circuit, so if you’re looking for a dynamic addition to your meeting agenda in 2010, give us a call and we’d love to help you consider Peter.
9. The Cat’s Pajamas Video – A Cappella Corporate Event Entertainment
   At #9, it’s The Cat’s Pajamas! Never heard of them? I hadn’t either until I happened upon this quartet singing in a lounge on a cruise a couple of years ago. There are many great a capella groups to choose from, but you won’t find a foursome more talented and entertaining than these guys — and they’re budget friendly! Watch this highlight video if you’re looking to add some “wow!” and fun to your event in 2010.

And with that, 2009 is in the books. Thanks again for stopping by, and I hope we’ll have the chance to work together in the year ahead. Happy New Year!

Posted under Corporate Entertainment, Event Management, Motivational Speakers, Planner Tips, Social Media Speakers, Speaker News

We’ve done a lot of negotiating at The Speakers Group this year. Wait, for speakers? I thought speakers weren’t supposed to negotiate. Something about fee integrity… Yes, speakers negotiate. The secret’s out.

With meeting budgets slashed, speakers, speakers bureaus and other vendors in the meetings industry have had to adapt to meet clients’ needs. And that’s what we’re here for, right? To meet our clients’ needs? Yep, that’s what we do. Sometimes the negotiation involves money; sometimes it involves services. It always involves increasing value. Creating win-win engagements.

What has negotiation meant to you this year? To your organization? To your meeting attendees?

Negotiation happens. The worst thing you can do is ignore it. The best thing you can do is prepare for it. If you – and your people – need help, look no further than Ed Brodow, author of Negotiation Boot Camp: How To Resolve Conflict, Satisfy Customers, and Make Better Deals, and creator of the number-one customized negotiation skills training seminar in the United States.

Here’s a tip from Ed appearing in today’s Forbes.com article titled “Nine Things You Didn’t Know You Could Negotiate“:

“You can negotiate anything. It’s all about confidence and realizing that nothing is set in stone.”

When companies (such as Microsoft, Cisco, IBM, Seagate and many others) engage Ed to deliver his Negotiation Boot Camp seminar or a related keynote, sellers learn how to create satisfied customers at higher prices, buyers learn how to make better deals with vendors, and executives learn how to resolve conflict. The end result always looks something like this:

“Ed’s programs have received high marks from all our employees who have been participants (sixteen seminars). Everyone who talks to a customer and everyone who talks to a supplier needs to go to this one!” – Baker Hughes

Want to learn more about Ed Brodow and how he could contribute to your next meeting or conference? Contact us at The Speakers Group today and we’ll get you in touch with Ed to help you explore the possibilities.

Posted under Leadership Development, Organizational Excellence, Sales Management

Business today needs a new paradigm, because “business as usual” is just not working anymore. Environmental consciousness is exploding; public distrust of business is at an historic high; many employees and customers are disconnected from the companies they work for or buy from; suppliers feel squeezed; communities often organize to keep certain businesses out. The traditional approach to business is like an old operating system that is no longer adequate and needs to be replaced. It is becoming increasingly evident that the old operating system of capitalism is simply not up to the demands being placed upon it in the new millennium.

At the same time that its reputation is deteriorating, the reach and impact of business in the world is growing. Business today has greater power than ever before to enhance or to diminish overall well-being in society. As its power and influence grow, so too must its sense of responsibility and stewardship. (from ConsciousCapitalism.com)

Under that premise, a group of pioneering business leaders gathered at the Catalyzing Conscious Capitalism (C3) Summit in Austin, Texas, last week, seeking to deepen their understanding and practice of Conscious Business™. Here’s a highlight video:

At The Speakers Group, we’re honored to represent Jeff Klein, President of the Conscious Capitalism Alliance and author of the recently released book, Working for Good, who spoke at the event. Here’s a video introduction to Jeff:

If the Conscious Capitalism theme resonates with you and your organization and you would like to empower and mobilize your team toward “Working for Good,” consider Jeff’s Working for Good Engagement Experience for your next meeting or conference. We’d be happy to help you evaluate the program and how it could benefit your organization – just give us a call or send an email.

Posted under Innovation Speakers, Leadership Development, Motivational Speakers, Organizational Excellence, inspirational speakers