When corporate comedian Judy Carter was selected to be the closing keynoter for Hong Kong’s top business leaders, she realized she had a problem: “How would my American comedy translate to an Asian audience?” she wondered. The problem was magnified when, after giving the client an outline of her talk, they responded with a list of 45 items she couldn’t mention – including the economy, relationships, and even, dogs. What’s a comedian to do?!

Judy Carter in China

Judy wondered how she could take her humor – and all of its American references – and translate it to be funny for the Asian corporate culture. Then, bingo!

“I realized that there’s one thing that unites all of us,” Judy said. “No, it’s not love. It’s technology! Whether you live in Kansas, New York, or Beijing, computers, emails, and system breakdowns are the new international language of despair.”

So, with her revelation, Judy created a new talk that featured the “Top Signs You Have Too Much Tech Stress.” Among them:

• When you talk without your blackberry, your thumbs still move
• You stay in a bad relationship – because you can’t handle any new upgrades
• You’re up at 3am to go to the bathroom and you check your email on the way back to bed
• You find yourself arguing with inanimate objects
• You have to text your kid to take out the trash
• When your friend tells you about a “hot looking server at Hooters” you think he’s talking about the IBM networked to the cash register

The end result? Judy was a hit! (Read the article in the South China Morning Post.)

Clients – from coast to coast and around the world! – consistently rave about Judy Carter. If you’re looking for a “comedy makeover” completely customized for your event, to help your attendees battle a depressed economy, consider Judy. You’ll be glad you did!

Posted under Corporate Entertainment, Corporate Entertainment Reviews, Keynote Speaker Reviews, Motivational Speakers, Speaker News, Speaker Recommendations

Did you see Marcus Buckingham’s “I Hate My Job” interventions on Oprah on Friday? The show was essentially a follow-up report on four women who had been a part of Marcus’s strengths workshop and coaching in Chicago over the past few months. These women all faced different circumstances in their lives, but they were all “burned out” in one way or another before Marcus came on the scene. After he had helped them discover and pursue their strengths, though, it was amazing to see the change in their lives – more energy, more hope, more vibrance, more passion… more happiness!

Have you ever thought about how many of your employees may hate their jobs? According to the stats shared on that Oprah show, more than 80% of people are unhappy in their jobs. Odds are, some of those people work for you and your company.

As business leaders, we have a responsibility to take care of those who have placed their lives in our hands. And of course we have a responsibility to ensure that our business remains profitable and successful. But don’t the two go hand-in-hand? How successful can your business really be if 80% of your employees are dissatisfied at work? Or, how much more successful could your business be if 80% of your employees were satisfied at work? Perhaps that is the bigger question!

I had the opportunity to spend a couple of days with Marcus Buckingham on his Go Put Your Strengths to Work book tour last year, and as I watched audience members stay “tuned in” throughout his presentation about the strengths movement, and as I saw people stand in line to meet him and thank him for the work he was doing, it was clear that this man was on to something that could change lives, and change organizations.

If you want to take your organization to new heights, sure, you should check your profit margins, rethink your marketing strategy, sharpen your sales tactics, and so on. But don’t overlook how much could be gained by taking the time to see if your people are working in areas of their strengths every day. If not, they’re likely to be unhappy and working at sub-par performance levels. It’s not easy to re-align people and their duties, but since when does being easy have anything to do with being right? When you set people up to play to their strengths every day, you’ll have stronger employees, who make a stronger organization.

Don’t take my word for it, though. Just look at the four women on Oprah. Look at Marcus’ research statistics. The proof is out there.

Posted under Keynote Speaker Reviews, Speaker News

Neil Rackham first became a household name in the professional selling world with the release of SPIN Selling, a revolutionary work based on a study of more than 35,000 sales calls in 23 countries over a 12-year period. He has since written follow-up bestsellers, including Major Account Sales Strategy and Rethinking the Sales Force. Now, he spends much of his time consulting the world’s top sales forces, speaking at corporate sales meetings, and teaching at leading universities. He is truly the world’s “Professor of Professional Selling.”

Over the last three weeks, Neil addressed more than 3,000 business leaders in New York, Brazil and Mexico. I had the privilege of traveling with him in Brazil and Mexico, where he shared the platform with noted authorities such as General Colin Powell, Tom Peters, Terry Jones and others. What an awesome experience! I’m always reminded of just how powerful Neil’s presentation is when I watch audience members come up to him afterward. While there are many great sales motivators, there are few sales educators who can impart such practical, yet astounding insights — in a dynamic, engaging style — that are proven to boost sales performance. Today’s sales pros are hungry for solid food.

To anyone who plans sales meetings, I strongly recommend that you take a look at Neil Rackham’s available programs — and check out the July/August issue of Harvard Business Review which features an article co-written between Neil and Philip Kotler, titled “Ending the War Between Sales and Marketing.”

Posted under Keynote Speaker Reviews

Completing my weekend tour of client visits, I spent yesterday at a leading healthcare company’s physicians meeting in Dallas, Texas… what a great group of people! Joel Zeff was their featured speaker, and it was his fourth engagement with this particular organization in 2006. Needless to say, they like him a lot! This was my first chance to see him in person, though, and now I know why they keep bringing him back… what an amazing speaker! He easily ranks as one of my favorites, out of hundreds whom I’ve worked with over the past seven years.

What makes Joel so great? Think of a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. Chocolate? Good. Peanut butter? Good. Together? Yummy! Joel’s presentation is sort of like that. The peanut butter inside is a dynamic, relevant business message that could stand very well on its own. The chocolate coating outside is hilarious, unpredictable improv comedy entertainment. (If you’ve ever seen Whose Line Is It Anyway? on ABC, or on Comedy Central, you have some idea of what I’m talking about.)

By combining years of business experience with years of improv comedy training, Joel has truly created the perfect program. There are many outstanding speakers available and many outstanding entertainers, but I haver never seen someone combine a message with entertainment so effectively.

And another bonus with Joel: improv comedy is always tailored to the audience, because they submit ideas and play along throughout the program… making for an even more memorable program for your attendees.

Joel Zeff Speaker Preview on YouTube

Posted under Corporate Entertainment Reviews, Keynote Speaker Reviews