|
|
| Issue No. 55 September 2012 |
| Welcome! If you enjoyed last month you'll be craaaaazy about this month!The purpose of this ezine continues to be inspiration, humor, business, personal and just plain fun: aka the don't-take-yourself-so-seriously ezine. |
|
Announcing a NEW COMPANY!
(Because Mikki doesn't have enough to do.)
Why Outrageous Orators? Why now? OO (as it is affectionately known in our office) is Mikki's response to clients asking for speaker referrals for topics not in her expertise or because her calendar was too crowded to do the gig herself or because the client did not have a budget to accommodate her fee structure. Mikki built a career on being unique so would she create just another standard speakers bureau? Noooooooooo! There are no pics, no bio's, no fees, no names...just topics. Choose from our list or contact Mikki with your own topic, your theme, your preferences and your budget, and she will get you the most "outrageous" speaker to meet your needs and objectives.
I hired Mikki for our trade association in the petroleum industry after I saw her knock
the socks off a huge audience of entrepreneurs in Las Vegas. But before she presented
for us I needed a speaker on leadership on short notice with a limited budget and
instantly Mikki sent me the perfect speaker.
Ned Bowman
Executive Director
Florida Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association
|
|
|
|
|
August was as busy as ever with a mixture of biz and pleasure with a little more on the pleasure side. 
 | |
Michael Markulec, Lumeta
|
I took half the month off but when I was doing my biz thing, you can see me at Lumeta in New Jersey with CEO, Mike Markulecthen. Then with Chip Lewis, Managing Director, PSA in Hunt Valley, Maryland.  | |
Chip Lewis
|
And on to Bodek and Rhodes in Philly with Mike Rhodes, CEO.  | |
Mike Bodek
|
I got together with my team at Risdall Marketing Group who are the new force behind me and I am their new training director. How would you like this training room - a table full of candy,  and neon everywhere...my kind of
place!!! Enough biz...here's the fun stuff: the opening of the Magnificent Mile Shopping Festival, spearheaded by my talented Vistage member, Kelly Wisecarver, had me participating in the Running of the Heels - a 60 yard dash in 2" heels.  That called for a reward at the new Sprinkles ATM. What, you don't know Sprinkles? Only THE best cupcakes in the universe and now available through their cupcake ATM. Lots of gal pal timeouts with my monthly 6543 - missing the 3 (I'll let you figure that out). We enjoyed the new restaurant in my 'hood, Hash House a Go Go. 
Here I am in New York with BFF, Kathy aka Petal,  dining at Manhattan street side bistro when Treat Williams, the actor, walks by who I dance-trained and hadn't seen in $%#& years. Had time in Mew York for a brunch and hug from "my Julie" (son Jason's ex),  And finished off the summer with "my Sam" at Wrigley for the Springsteen concert  (that's me pouting  over taking public trans (which would have been only the second time in 12 years). Alas, alack, it was so crowded we couldn't get on and wound up in a cab. Yay me!! |
|
|
|
I LOVE THIS BOOK!
| |
TAKE THE STAIRS
7 Steps to Achieving True Success
by Rory Baden
 Yes, I read a lot of self help, motivational, inspirational books. What makes one different from the other? I don't know if there's any new profound information on the self-help horizon but just as I say to my audiences, it's all about timing. Sometimes it's just the right time for you to hear the message. Or maybe it's delivered in a fresh or unique style that appeals to you at the time. Or it affirms something you already know but are struggling with at the moment. It's all good! I believe this book does all that. To quote the author, as clich� as it may sound, "The challenges we face today are not a matter of skill, but a matter of will." We all have the capacity to make significant changes in our lives and this book has some real how to's. "Action is the inevitable prerequisite for our success. The last time you came up to a set of stairs and an escalator, did you "take the stairs?" It's a metaphor for how we live our lives... Now go get this book!
|
 | |
Join me and some of my fabulous friends for fun and informative tele-conversations!
The next tele-conversation is on
Friday, September 28th at 12:00 pm CST.
No cost, no obligation.
Just CLICK HERE to register.
Lanny Goodman Topic: The End of Management
Have more time, make more money and have more fun by creating a company that runs itself
Lanny Goodman is the offspring of two Ph.D.s, a nuclear physicist and a cultural
anthropologist. His response to his parents' academic expectations was to become a hippie and get a degree in fine arts. (It was the 60s after all.) Ten years later and in his second business, he decided he needed to get some business education and earned an MBA in financial management. This odd combination of disciplines has turned out to be the ticket to becoming a premier strategic planning consultant and designer of companies. Since all companies are designed, usually not very intentionally, thinking about company design turns out to be a very productive exercise for business owners. In particular, designing companies that run themselves and free up to 90% of the CEO's time, which is Lanny's specialty.
- Hiring an employee into a traditionally managed organization is like buying a
supercomputer and using it to write emails
- Odds are good that 90% of what you do every day could (and should) be done by others. What could you do with that extra time personally and professionally?
- Traditional management as we have all known it was based on 17th century science. What might a company built on 21st century scientific principles look like?
Contact information:
Phone: 1.505.884.7300
Email: lanny@lannygoodman.com
Free download for my book: www.lannygoodman.com
|
|
25 FOR 25
|
In recognition of my 25th year as a professional speaker I am going to attempt to list my 25 favorites of various categories over this year. One of my favorite quotes is from Yoda... "There is no try, only do."
So here goes...
TOP 25 FAVORITE MUSICALS THEATRE PRODUCTIONS:
1. A Chorus Line 
2. Phantom of the Opera
3. Burn the Floor
4. Tommy
5. Seesaw
6. Wicked
7. The Producers
8. Pippin
9. Hello Dolly
10. South Pacific
11. Fiddler on the Roof
12. Carousel
13. Dream Girls
14. Sweet Charity
15. Chicago
16. Jersey Boys
 17. West Side Story
18. Gypsy
19. Damn Yankees
20. Guys and Dolls
21. La Cage Aux Folles
22. Avenue Q
23. Mame
24. Man of La Mancha
25. How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying 
|
|
CREATIVE CAPTIONS
|
I love creativity and as a wordsmith I love double entendres, alliteration, onomato... whatever the heck that one was. One of my quirky habits is collecting names of businesses that display any of the above. Here are two of my favorites:
Two Guys With Their Minds In The Gutters (gutter cleaning business)
Hats in the Belfry (hat shop) 
|
|
SHOE-BE-DOO STORIES
|  Guess who this is.
Lady Gaga.
And guess who was just named the Lady Gaga of speaking...!
|
|
WONDERFUL WEBSITEings
| |
I come across so many and so many are shared with me that I thought I'd share with you.
http://livemocha.com
Livemocha offers courses in 38 languages - because being
monolingual is so pass�
|
|
MIKKI MOUTH:
Quotations I Wish I'd Said and Some I Did Say!
| 
Enjoy a quote each month from my book - some funny, some poignant, some professional, some just darn cute!
"I had high heels in my highchair and I'll have them in my wheelchair."
--Dolly Parton
Amen, sista!
(That's not Dolly, that's me!)
Order your copy today!
|
|
TITILLATING TRIVIA
| |
What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers,
and laser printers all have in common?
(Scroll down to the bottom for the answer)
|
|
SOCIAL MEDIA GURU GUY
|
Dave Nelsen 
Dave's formal title is President, Dialog Consulting Group.
From 2005 to 2009 he was CEO of TalkShoe, a social media company now serving more than one million monthly listeners...and the fabulous company I use to produce my monthly teleseminars.
In Case You Missed It: Facebook's Vision of the Future
It's a big idea that's important to any type of business. Like me, you may have missed it initially. It's in Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's letter to his shareholders. It articulates Facebook's compelling vision of the future:
"We think a more open and connected world will help create a stronger economy with more authentic businesses that build better products and services. As people share more, they have access to more opinions from the people they trust about the products and services they use. This makes it easier to discover the best products and improve the quality and efficiency of their lives."
Notice the phrases "authentic businesses" and "opinions from people they trust." Think about this paragraph in total: It is a paradigm-shifting idea. Whether you sell to consumers or to other businesses, it means that information is flowing freely; it means that there is no place to hide imperfections.
Whether or not Facebook (specifically) is a useful tool for your business is irrelevant. Rather, it means that in the future your business will succeed only if you and your products are truly the best.
In a world of "perfect information" it's likely that only the best player will win. Assuming that there are nine competitors in your space, random chance gives you a 10% chance of being that winner.
It's time to do an honest assessment. If your prospects and customers knew EVERYTHING about your business and about each of your competitors, would they pick you? If not, it's time to start re-engineering your products and services (involving your customers), enhancing your customer support processes (to be more responsive, faster, better...), and even upgrading your hiring practices.
Indeed, if your culture is not the best among all of your competitors, in a world of perfect information, who is going to work for you? Not the best and the brightest, that's for sure (see www.GlassDoor.com for motivation).
With Facebook membership now approaching 1 billion people, a more open world is already upon us. Make certain that your business is ready.
You can find more formal details here:
wesocialize.biz
To contact Dave directly:
dave@WeSocialize.biz
|
|
LIFE LESSONS...FUNNY, FIT OR FABULOUS
submitted by John Godoy
|
|
|
ECON RECON
|
Introducing my newest columnist, the "economist with a personality" (my title not his) ...
Brian Beaulieu  is Vistage's chief economist, one of the country's leading economists, MY Vistage member, a phenomenal speaker, brilliant businessman and a special friend. CEOs worldwide rely on his forecasting as they plan their business year. And for anyone trying to understand the economy, Brian speaks and writes in English not in that foreign language called economicspeak. Enjoy!
Changing Expectations
The Federal Reserve makes a false assumption that feelings about the future drive economic trends. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's Jackson Hole speech defended prior Federal Reserve Board actions and made the case of another round of quantitative easing (QE3) in the relative near term. There are several options available to them, the details of which are not important for this discussion.
One of the more intriguing was a belief that the Federal Reserve Board could manage people's expectation of the future, and that would in and of itself make the future better. The theory is that actions follow group belief. That could also be stated that we regularly succumb to self-fulfilling prophecies be they positive or negative. The problem with that is that business confidence indicators are not statistically reliable leading indicators.
I just looked into this subject and determined that the business confidence index for the U.S. and China are not reliable. This means that the Fed can work as hard as they can to change people expectations, but that does not change the future.
Economic realities and trends determine the future, not our feelings about that future.
|
|
THE HAPPY COOKER
|
That was the name of one of my businesses and oh, come on, I know guys cook, too. 
Fall Salad of Corn, Cherry Tomatoes, and Oven-Roasted Green Onions
Makes 6 servings
 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1� tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
1� tablespoons Dijon mustard
1� teaspoons sugar
1 cup olive oil
6 tablespoons sour cream
18 green onions
6 cups fresh corn kernels
3 cups halved cherry tomatoes
Combine first 4 ingredients in food processor. With machine running, gradually add 3/4 cup oil. Transfer mixture to medium bowl. Whisk in sour cream. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper.
Preheat oven to 450�F. Place onions on rimmed baking sheet. Brush with remaining 1/4 cup oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Cool. Cut into 1-inch pieces. Transfer to a large bowl.
Cook corn in large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Drain; add to onions. (Dressing and onion-corn mixture can be made 1 day ahead. Cover separately; chill.)
Add tomatoes and dressing to onion-corn mixture and toss.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
|
| HE WHO LAUGHS...LASTS! |
 Skiing: I do not participate in any sport with ambulances at the bottom on the hill. --Erma Bombeck
|
|
MIKKI'S MANTRA
| |
Be outrageous...
it's the only place that isn't crowded.
|
|
INSPIRATION
| |
Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife Lisa, and their little boy Shane were all very attached to Belker and they were hoping for a miracle. I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn't do anything for Belker and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home. As we made arrangements Ron and Lisa told me they thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.
The next day I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker 's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away. The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion.
We sat together for a while after Belker's Death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, wh o had been listening quietly, piped up, "I know why." Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation. It has changed the way I live.
He said,"People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life - like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right? Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.
Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like:
When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.
Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
Take naps.
Stretch before rising.
Run, romp, and play daily.
Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.
On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree. When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body. Delight in the simple joy of a long walk. Be loyal. Never pretend to be something you're not. If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it. When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently.
By: Karen McNeill
|
|
VISIONARY VOLUNTEERISM
|
Visionary - adjective (esp. of a person), thinking about or planning the future with imagination or wisdom
 I speak of volunteerism is my speeches. I tell stories to inspire and challenge audiences to volunteer as individuals, as responsible business and community leaders. as parents/grandparents, and to get their children involved early. By the way, volunteerism is the number one way to raise self-esteem. What are you doing in this visionary effort? Each month I will give you a link to a site where you can volunteer. Please send me a link to your favorite volunteer opportunity to post.
http://www.changingthepresent.org
At Changing The Present you can help make the world a better place, one gift at a time. It's easy to give these gifts to your friends and also use them for your own charitable giving.
|
|
MIKKI ON THE MOVE
|  Check out where Mikki will be speaking and piggyback your company or association event. Or just invite her to dinner or shopping! Click here for her calendar: Mikki On The Move |
 | |
The next Speakers School is in session on
February 7-9, 2013 in Chicago
Day One: Presentation Skills
Day Two: Learning Lab
(Your opportunity to practice what you learned in Day One. You must have completed Day One to participate.)
Day Three: Getting Booked
Speakers School is for people at all levels; novices, wannabes, CEOs, professionals or anyone who needs to improve their communication skills.
And who doesn't?
REGISTER NOW!
OR...BRING SPEAKERS SCHOOL TO YOUR COMPANY.
IT'S A GREAT VALUE.
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION IS THE CORNERSTONE TO SUCCESS.
Help your employees improve their presentation skills, whether they're
speaking in front of a group or in a one-on-one situation.
Successful business people know it's important to have an edge these days, and Speakers School provides that with Mikki's how-to techniques you can use, not theories you'll forget. Excellent communication skills set you and your staff apart and help take your business to the next level.
CALL NOW FOR MORE DETAILS: 312.664.8447
OR SEND AN EMAIL TO REQUEST MORE INFORMATION.
|
|
Become a fan on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, connect with me on LinkedIn, catch me on YouTube, look for me on Plaxo:
    
Don't forget to check out my blog:
Would love for you to join my Facebook Fan page. Just click the icon below:
In case you've missed past issues of the ezine
Click here to visit the archives.
|
| To book Mikki for your next event as a keynoter, emcee, panelist, seminar or workshop leader (she doesn't do floors or windows) or for more info on Vistage, Speakers Schools, Coaching or Consulting or anything else that's on your mind, contact Mikki or Samantha |
|
MIKKI WILLIAMS, CSP
|
Mikki Williams, CSP (certified speaking professional, an honor bestowed on less than 600 speakers worldwide) specializes in business dynamics and human potential. She has been named one of the top speakers in the country by Meetings and Convention Magazine along with Zig Ziglar, Tony Robbins, Colin Powell, Lou Holtz and Mike Ditka. Mikki is also one of the top tier speaker resources for Vistage International, the world's leading executive organization, and Group Chair of two of their peer advisory boards in Chicago.
Her company Mikki Williams Unltd. produces Speakers Schools in Chicago three times a year, a monthly ezine: Hair She Is...!, a blog: Mikki Williams' Blah Blah...Blog and a monthly tele-Conversations series: Mikki & Friends. She is sought-after for business, life and presentation skills coaching through her firm Coaching, etc... She also facilitates The Mikki Mouth Club, an annual subscription-based presentation skills coaching membership.
If you need other speakers she can book you the best through her Outrageous Orators...speakers who rock, an uncommon speakers bureau.
To hire Mikki or learn more about any of these services:
CALL ME: 312.664.8447
FAX ME: 312.664.8460
E ME: mikki@mikkiwilliams.com
SEE ME: www.mikkiwilliams.com
|
|
Mikki and Sam enjoying a beer at the Springsteen concert. Yes, Mikki had a beer and almost took the subway...what a night!!!
Thanks for spending time with us!
Answer to Titillating Trivia:
Q: What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers,
and laser printers all have in common?
A: All were invented by women.
|
|
|
|
If you enjoyed this ezine and know others who would like to receive it, please forward this along to friends, family and colleagues! Use the "Forward e-mail" link at the bottom of this newsletter.
To unsubscribe please use the link at the bottom of this newsletter (but we'd rather you didn't!).
All contents � 2008, except where indicated otherwise. All rights reserved worldwide. Duplication or reprint only with expressed permission from Mikki Williams. All trademarks are property of their respective owners. All contents provided as is.
In our extensive research we've made every attempt to be accurate in attributing quotes, poems, jokes and the like, and want to apologize in advance if we have not given proper credit or given it erroneously. If you are the owner of the rights of any of this content, please contact us so we may arrange for appropriate permission and give credit.
|
|
|
|
|
