never eat alone blog

Keith Interviews Guru Singh

If you haven't already checked out my interviews with Guru Singh on youtube, I hope you'll check them out, along with Guru Singh's blog and online community, where he wrote some kind words about me yesterday.

Topics covered in the interview include "What is a Sikh,"  overcoming self pity, mastering your emotions, and more.

Thank you Guru Singh!

Tip 118 - Create A Genius Factory

A snippet from this week's Tip of the Week:

"My consulting company is constantly pushing clients to give group problem solving a try. With that in mind, I’d like to walk you through some of the basics, distilled from years of experience leading group sessions and training the world’s most successful companies to do the same."

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Need Help Growing Your Business?

Then join me, along with Michael Port, Andy Sernovitz, and Stephanie Diamond for a call on Wed, May 14, at 3pm ET to learn how to earn more, work less, and create the business you've always wanted.

In this teleseminar we'll discuss Michael's new book, Beyond Booked Solid, and hear how he built a wildy successful consulting and training company.

This is a great group of experts. Andy Sernovitz is the author of Word of Mouth Marketing and founder of Word-of-Mouth Marketing Association. Stephanie Diamond is the former AOL Marketing Director and author of Web Marketing for Small Businesses.

Can't make the live call?  That's ok.  Go ahead and click this link to register anyways, so you can get access to the recording afterwards.

See you on the call!

Lucky Author

Driving to the gym yesterday before our Mother's Day brunch back home in Pittsburgh, we were hit by a falling tree while passing St. Vincent Cathedral.

Polo doesn't sound so unsafe any more! But as far as I'm concerned, my polo accident, a multiple-ton tree falling on my car, these moments tell me something: I'm a lucky guy! They could have been MUCH worse!

You can try to walk through life carefully, making calculated risks and hedging your bets -- and then life comes and throws a 200-foot pine tree at you. So why not just go at it full throttle?

Create Your Own Genius Factory

I want all the companies I work with (and all of you guys, of course!) to check out Malcolm Gladwell’s fascinating piece about scientific progress and Nathan Myhrvold’s company Intellectual Ventures. IV's success can be read as an incredibly inspiring example of how group problem solving spurs innovation – which is exactly why my consulting company trains companies around the world to do it.

Gladwell describes IV this way:

“In 1999, when Nathan Myhrvold left Microsoft and struck out on his own, he set himself an unusual goal. He wanted to see whether the kind of insight that leads to invention could be engineered. He formed a company called Intellectual Ventures. He raised hundreds of millions of dollars. He hired the smartest people he knew. It was not a venture-capital firm. Venture capitalists fund insights—that is, they let the magical process that generates new ideas take its course, and then they jump in. Myhrvold wanted to make insights—to come up with ideas, patent them, and then license them to interested companies.”

Myhrvold hoped Intellectual Ventures would file 100 patents a year. Instead they’re filing 500 patents per year, “with a blacklog of 3000 ideas.” As Bill Gates puts it in the piece, “I can give you fifty examples of ideas they’ve had where, if you take just one of them, you’d have a startup company right there.” (Even though Gates is a major investor, i.e. biased, I hear he’s had some small success in business so I’ll trust him.)

You might be thinking, “It worked because they were geniuses.” I'm sure that didn't hurt, but there was still some magic that came out of putting them together -- ideas flourished beyond all expectation. Malcolm writes:

“Ideas weren’t precious. They were everywhere, which suggested that maybe the extraordinary process that we thought was necessary for invention—genius, obsession, serendipity, epiphany—wasn’t necessary at all.” 

Although Gladwell's more interested in the idea of multiplicity in scientific progress than group problem solving per se, it's clearly part of the IV phenomenon. Working in groups takes us farther, faster – having others to push us helps us close out blind alleys and move past false assumptions. Stay tuned for a possible upcoming Tip of the Week on some tools to make group problem solving as effective and productive as possible.

My consultants often find that companies give up on group problem solving before it can be successful because they haven't put the right foundation and process into place to reap the rewards. So how about you, what's your feeling on group problem solving? Like it? Hate it? Speak.

Tip 117 - Zip it!

Below is a snippet from this week's Tip of the Week:

"Admit it: You like to gossip. Who doesn't? Gossip is popular for the same reason that shows like Desperate Housewives are hits. It's cheap entertainment that lets us escape into someone else's problems rather than confront our own. Gossip is often a form of schadenfreude - delighting in someone else's misfortune.

You might be thinking, "That's not me, I don't do that." Maybe you don't, but I bet there has been a time you've used gossip to curry status at work or in other peer groups. Information is currency. You might feel that by showing others you're "in the know" on the latest gossip, you're upping your place in the pecking order.

Resist that urge."

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Read and Discuss

In April's issue of The Meeting Professional, check out the piece "Beware Budget Bungles: Managing Your Budget in Uncertain Economic Environments," by Suzanna de Baca. There's a lot of great, timely insight, and she includes a few quotes from me on how to tailor conference agendas when times are tight. As you might guess, I recommend a focus on relationships and maximizing an event's "ROI" - Return on Intimacy.

Also check out this W Magazine article on Arianna Huffington, the incredible author and media maven who we are fortunate enough to count as one of Ferrazzi Greenlight's Thought Leaders. The article mentions one of the things that I find especially admirable about Arianna:

"...she has a ready laugh and the ability to create an instant intimacy. 'She can do anything—give a speech, a toast, tell a story,' says director and writer Nora Ephron, a longtime friend. 'But she can also sit there and make you think you’re the only person on the planet.'  Known for her sharp wit and her trademark Gabor-sister accent, 'she’s as fast on her feet as any comedian,' says Ephron."

Not everyone's such a natural at creating instant intimacy - but you can learn to become better at it. Those who've read Never Eat Alone know that I recommend skipping small talk and sharing your real interests as one way to start creating a bond. I'd love to hear how you create instant intimacy - or your struggles in trying - in the comments.

Tip 116 – When You Say The Wrong Thing

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Tip 116 – When You Say The Wrong Thing

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Below is a snippet from this week's Tip of the Week:

"Recently I hosted a dinner with a great group of friends and people I wanted to meet. One of my guests was a particularly good friend, a guy I care about and respect deeply. Until recently, this guy was a high profile CEO. But due to politics, he was let go – despite the fact that everyone knows he's a total superstar, both in his performance at that company and in every position prior....."

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HBS Interview

I enjoy mentoring and helping young people, so I try to make time when I am asked to participate in things like this Harvard Business School article.

Tip 115 – Transform Your Career With Peer Support

Tip 115 – Transform Your Career With Peer Support

Peer support should be institutionalized in every company, but you don't need a corporate mandate to get started. Today, I want you to reach out and find one friend at work. Arrange for a good long lunch to talk about where each of you is going and share your one-year goals. Then keep it up! Or suggest turning your monthly staff meetings into peer support groups. In another example of peer support, my cousin-in-law Wendy is a real estate agent who has teamed with another agent – not just to sell more homes, but to inspire each other to constantly do better. Wendy is the type of person who lives by lists, so she pushes her partner to stay organized. Her partner, on the other hand, pushes Wendy to make more cold calls to homeowners trying to sell their own homes. "We complete each other," says Wendy. That's team selling...

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Message from Comedian George Carlin

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.  We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul.

We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete...

Remember, spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember, to say, 'I love you' to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

If you don't send this to at least 8 people....Who cares?                  George Carlin

The Last Lecture

I knew about this "Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" lecture from friends, but learned about the TV show and that the book is coming out this week from Energy Bus author Jon Gordon's newsletter: 

"By now you probably have heard about Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch and his last lecture. Well, Randy recently passed the six-month mark since his terminal diagnosis. On Wednesday, April 9 (10 p.m. ET), ABC’s Diane Sawyer will host a special about Randy and his impact on the world. It’s an inspiring story that I hope you’ll watch and read. Randy’s new book, written with Jeff Zaslow will be out this week as well."

To learn more, go to www.thelastlecture.com.

Tip 114 Go Green, Live Rich

There are seven aspects to my personal success wheel: health & wellness, spirituality, job & career, intellectual & cultural pursuits, finances, deep relationships and, very importantly, giving back.

That’s why I’m so pleased to share that financial guru David Bach is making a major contribution to the earth – and encouraging you to do the same – with his new book Go Green, Live Rich: 50 Simple Ways to Save the Earth (and Get Rich Trying). It is his passion project. His personal transformation to environmentalist began when he moved into a “green building.” He stopped needing prescription drugs for his allergies, his son’s asthma disappeared and they both slept better. He started educating himself on the environment and felt compelled to write this book.

Here’s an insightful business tip from the “Go Green At Work” chapter:

“By telecommuting just two days per week, over the course of a year an employee will drive 3,000 fewer miles, save approximately $430 in gas and eliminate 3,120 pounds of CO2 emissions. The benefits to an employee include more flexibility, commuting money saved, less stress and overall increased satisfaction in his or her job. Employers can reduce office space, have less furniture, reduce operating expenses, and benefit from lower employee absenteeism, lower turnover and increased employee productivity.”

The book is in stores April 8th, but you will get over $2,000 in free bonuses when you buy the book online at www.greengreen.com between April 1st and 11th. For each and every copy purchased online through his special offer, David will donate $1 to Waterkeeper Alliance, an organization dedicated to preserving and protecting our waterways from pollution. So, 100,000 books purchased = $100,000 donated to keep our water clean! Plus for each of the first 1,000 books sold, a tree will be planted by Gaiam to help fight climate change.

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The Law of Gravity

There's a new customer focused marketing book out by a few really savvy guys out of Florida who have spent the last several years refining a message that seeks to expand upon how we maximize relationships and the law of attraction in our businesses. The book is called "Gravitational Marketing: The Science of Attracting Customers." Check it out at http://www.gravitybook.com/gifts/.

Tip 113 Slash Your Marketing Budget

As CMO at Deloitte and then Starwood, I hated it when other marketers measured themselves by the size of their budgets. When you're running a business, take your marketing budget and push that money back where it belongs – in operations, into the hands of anyone who can make a difference to the customer... 

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