The Business of Meetings

We have the great pleasure of speaking to Joe Calloway today! Joe is a multi-faceted character who has had a remarkable career as a speaker! Since retiring from the speaking industry, he has involved himself in many different ventures.  Whenever Joe speaks, there is always something to learn! In this episode, he tells his fascinating story and shares some valuable nuggets from his vast experience. He talks about preparing for keynotes, his way of selling, and entrepreneurship. He also explains how he motivates himself to keep going when times get tough, discusses what he has learned from his involvement in the wholesale Kentucky bourbon business, and talks about the happy process of figuring out life after retiring. We hope you learn something new today and enjoy listening to our captivating conversation with Joe Calloway! Joe Calloway’s bio: Joe Calloway is an investor and entrepreneur who lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with his wife Annette. They have two daughters, Cate and Jessica. A former business consultant and speaker, Joe worked with companies ranging from Coca-Cola and Verizon to Delta Air Lines and American Express. Joe also worked as an advisor with small to mid-sized businesses, as well as professional services groups, non-profits, and government organizations. Joe has presented workshops at leadership events in countries around the world including Italy, Sweden, South Africa, England, Swaziland, Canada, Mexico, and throughout the Caribbean. He is a member of the Speakers Hall of Fame. Joe is a Principal in The Disruption Lab and has served as Executive In Residence at Belmont University’s Center For Entrepreneurship. He is a partner in Barrel Stock Trading Company, a company in the wholesale Kentucky bourbon business. Joe is the author of eight published business books, including Becoming A Category of One: How Extraordinary Companies Transcend Commodity And Defy Comparison, which received rave reviews from The New York Times, Retailing Today, Publishers Weekly, and many others. His other books include Be The Best At What Matters Most, Magnetic: The Art Of Attracting Business, Keep It Simple, and his latest book, The Leadership Mindset. Joe is an investor in and active advisor to two successful start-up companies, Gilson Boards, a snowboard and ski manufacturer, and EVAmore, an online event and booking company. He is a partner in several real estate developments throughout the mid-South. Joe Calloway’s story Joe started his career traveling from city to city as a subcontractor, doing full-day pre-packaged training program workshops geared mostly for business managers. After that, he started doing workshops of his own. That later evolved into keynote speaking, which Joe continued doing for more than thirty years. Changing his content regularly Joe has a low threshold for boredom, so he found it fun to regularly change his topics and content because that kept his interest level high.  Many irons in the fire Joe has “been there and done that”, and he wanted to do something new. So, three years ago, he went from doing keynotes to doing about a year of small group workshops with senior leadership teams for mid-sized companies. He also did some executive coaching and real estate projects, and got involved in the manufacture of snowboards and skis and the wholesale Kentucky bourbon business.  Preparing for keynotes When preparing for a keynote, Joe always personalized what he would say. He had a lot of material which he put together differently each time he spoke. Selling Many speakers spend most of their time marketing and selling. Joe did not do that because bureaus were his pipeline, and they did the selling. Joe knew that if he did a good job, then word of mouth, referrals, and repeats would take care of the selling. So, he kept working on his upcoming speeches to make them as good as possible. Quitting Over time, doing speeches became less and less exciting for Joe. Eventually, he did not want to do them at all, so he emailed every bureau that represented him, saying that he would no longer be doing keynotes and asking them to remove him from their websites. Conversational presentations Over time, Joe developed a preference for doing more conversational presentations. Entrepreneurship Joe points out that entrepreneurship is not for everyone, and the journey of most entrepreneurs is a hard one.  The trap entrepreneurs can fall into People can fall into a trap when they get an idea and fall in love with it. When they put their idea out into the marketplace, they may discover it is not marketable.  Helping college seniors Several years ago, Joe was the entrepreneur in residence for Belmont University’s Center for Entrepreneurship. He helped college seniors who were starting companies navigate their way. Gathering information The early stages of entrepreneurship are about gathering information and getting your business off the ground.  Clarity As an entrepreneur, you need to be clear about what you want and love to do. The beauty of entrepreneurship is that you can run your business in any way you want to.  Things could go wrong When Joe gets a good idea, he thinks about all the reasons why it might not work. He also considers that there will be downturns in the economy and understands that other problems could arise.  Motivation to keep going A long time ago, Joe learned that when something goes wrong, it is probably normal- even if it is awful. Knowing that, and adopting a constructive approach to any situation, helps him get through tough times. He has also developed a network of other speakers over the years who support one another when times are hard. Bourbon Getting involved in the wholesale Kentucky bourbon business has been a catalyst for Joe to learn a whole lot more about the fascinating bourbon industry! Retirement Since retiring, Joe has been trying to figure out how to live without the day-to-day engagement he is used to having with his various businesses.  Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website Connect with Joe Calloway On LinkedIn  Books mentioned: Buy Then Build by Walker Deibel  

We have the pleasure of speaking to someone truly fascinating today! Eric Maddox is the person who led the team in the capture of Saddam Hussein. He has had a tremendous impact on the world and has received numerous prestigious awards for his achievements!   In this episode, Eric tells his story, talks about his experiences, shares his methodology for the art of Empathy Based Listening, and discusses how that methodology allowed him to track down the exact location of the spider hole in which Saddam Hussein was hiding.  We hope you enjoy listening to our conversation with Eric Maddox today! Eric Maddox’s bio Eric Maddox is an author, motivational speaker, and consultant who teaches audiences worldwide about the art of Empathy Based Listening. He is the author of the book Mission: Black List No.1 (Harper Collins, 2008), which details his lead in the search and capture of Saddam Hussein. After graduating from the University of Oklahoma in 1994, Eric enlisted in the U.S. Army, where he was a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division, a jump master, and a graduate of Ranger School. He then reenlisted in 1997 as a Chinese Mandarin linguist and interrogator. In 2003, he was sent to Tikrit, Iraq, where he joined a Delta Force team searching for high-value targets on the infamous Deck of Cards. After five months and over 300 interrogations, Eric was able to track down and eventually give the team the exact location of the spider hole in which Saddam hid. For this, he was awarded the Legion of Merit, the National Intelligence Medal of Achievement, the Defense Intelligence Agency Director’s Award, and the Bronze Star. Following the capture of Saddam, Eric was hired as the first-ever civilian interrogator by the Defense Intelligence Agency, where he went on to conduct over 2,700 interrogations of prisoners from 25 different countries. Having served in the U.S. Army and Defense Intelligence Agency for 20 years, Eric now devotes his work full time to teaching what he learned during that time to audiences worldwide—the art of Empathy Based Listening. Joining the military Eric grew up in Oklahoma. After graduating from the University of Oklahoma in the late 1990s, he joined the U.S. Military, became a paratrooper, signed up to study Chinese Mandarin in the foreign language program, and trained to become an interrogator. He was working as an Intelligence Collection Officer against the Chinese government for the U.S. Military when 9/11 happened, and America went to war in Afghanistan and Iraq.   Unexpected orders Three months into the war in Iraq, Eric received unexpected orders to join a Delta Force team to track down everyone in the infamous deck of cards in which Saddam Hussein was the Ace of Spades.  Interrogating prisoners After joining the Delta Force team, Eric began interrogating the prisoners that were brought in. Even though none of the techniques taught in the military about interrogation worked, Eric was determined to figure out what it meant to be Iraqi, Sunni, and Shiite.  Trust While listening to and communicating with the prisoners, Eric discovered that people subconsciously use communication to figure out how much they can trust one another. The challenge  Everyone has their biases and agendas. The challenge for Eric was to overcome his own biases and agendas, so he could understand the perspective of others and get to know what the world meant to them.  Empathy Based Listening He discovered that engaging with people on that level was empowering to them, and that level of empowerment was the key to making people willing to talk to him and work with him. He calls that Empathy Based Listening. Cooperation As a result of Eric focusing on the prisoners' needs and what he could do for them, the prisoners became extremely cooperative throughout the 300 interrogations with the Delta Force team. Finding Saddam  The cooperation of the prisoners led to the Delta Force team (that Eric was working with) capturing Saddam Hussein’s bodyguard. The bodyguard then led the Delta Force team directly to the spider hole where Saddam was hiding.  The first civilian interrogator for the Defense Intelligence Agency As a result of the capture of Saddam, Eric got pulled out of the United States Army. Then, the Defense Intelligence Agency hired him as their first civilian interrogator.  The art of listening Over the following ten years, Eric did 2700 interrogations and eight deployments of prisoners from 25 different countries. In all the interrogations, he focused on the art of listening. A clear picture When you listen to someone’s story, remove the biases of how you see their story. Then you will get a clear picture of how they see the world and how the world matters to them. How to listen to someone if you want to sell them something To sell something to someone, let them know that you are listening to them to get them. Once you have established that, they will tell you what they want and need without asking about the price. Eric’s Influence Equation Add your value proposition to the level of respect you show someone and the worthiness you see in them. Put that into the power of the empathy-based trust you have built with them, and divide all of it by what you fear in your relationship with them. (We tend to fear not making a connection or not understanding what someone needs.) Eric’s process Eric has a six-step process to get to understand people. The first step is to build their trust. Priorities If you are easily distracted, you need to have the priorities to guide your focus, because our brains cannot multitask.  Breadcrumbs (What you need to listen for when talking to a prospect) Listen for and focus on the words and statements in every sentence your prospect most wants you to hear.  Building trust To build the level of trust you need to make people want to partner with you, start your conversation with three minutes of empathy-based listening. Then, start picking up the breadcrumbs. Presentations at events Get to know what kind of overall experience the audience needs to get from the event. Then gear your presentation around that. Zoom Know that there is the potential for building as much trust with someone on Zoom as there is with meeting them face-to-face. Build the right mindset, stay focused, and prevent yourself from becoming distracted while talking.  Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website Connect with Eric Maddox Email Eric: info@ericmaddox.com On his Website

Today, we have the honor of talking to the phenomenal Mary Kelly! Mary is one of the most sought-after speakers on leadership! She is a retired Commander of the US Navy, a Ph.D., CSP, and a CPAE.  Mary has a fascinating story to tell and some great insights and experiences to share! In this episode, she talks about good leadership, planning, and building a culture to encourage decision-making. She explains how to show your people that you care and allocate your time in the most valuable way. She also discusses discipline and developing healthy business habits. We hope you enjoy our engaging conversation with Mary Kelly today!   Mary Kelly’s bio   Mary uses US military strategies and tactics and applies them to business systems, helping owners and teams maximize time, capital, and resources.   Profiled in Money Magazine, Entrepreneur, Success, Forbes, Men’s Health, MENSA, MOAA, the Wall Street Journal, and hundreds of other publications, Mary transforms leaders and their businesses.   Each of Mary’s 15 leadership books has its own wine label.  Mary’s story Mary grew up in Dallas, Texas. While trying to figure out her life, she was accepted into the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. That did three things for her: It gave her a world-class organizational experience in the educational world. She learned about engineering and leadership from those she considers the best people on the planet. She got the opportunity to serve her country. Serving her country While growing up, Mary was not sure what it meant to serve her country because she had never met anyone in the military.  25 years of active duty Mary initially intended to spend five years in the Navy. However, she felt the work she was doing was very important, and she could not leave. So she wound up doing about 25 years on active duty, mostly in Asia. After retiring from the Navy Mary was a professor at the Naval Academy and thought she would continue with that after retiring from the Navy. However, a colleague in the National Speakers Association saw her speak at a conference and suggested that she take her leadership talks on the road. So Mary decided to spend the next three to five years trying that out.  Women in the Navy When Mary joined the Navy, less than 3% were women. Now, women make up about 14% of the Navy personnel. Women in the Navy have to prove that they have the right to be there. They also have to be better than they would be in other circumstances. Trying to prove herself motivated Mary to work harder. Using power for good Many people tend to underestimate the power of showing up. When Mary’s boss showed up at the hospital after one of her petty officers got admitted, she saw how he used his power for good and realized how much of a difference showing up for your people can make. Good leadership Leaders should lead in a way that makes people want to follow them. Their direction should be so good that people become excited, even when things get tough.  Planning Many people feel there is no point in planning anything when everything keeps changing. When people become overwhelmed, over-stressed, or paralyzed with inactivity and fear, leadership needs to kick in.  Good leaders know where they are going Good leaders have a vision, and they are good communicators. They are flexible and have contingency plans. They know where they are going and show up every day, even when the plans change along the way.  Building a culture that encourages making the best decisions Your people need to trust you. They need to know that you’ve got their back, and you support them, even when they make a wrong decision. Give your people enough grace to allow them to try things, push the envelope, and fail.  Making tough decisions People don’t have to like you to respect you or follow you. Team members expect their leaders to be decisive, even when it feels uncomfortable. Leaders have to make tough decisions, and that often involves firing people. Even though firing someone is hard, it sometimes has to be done to strengthen the rest of the team.  Compensation packages Good leaders should take the time to make sure their people know what their compensation package is. Being part of something bigger A leader’s job is to make people feel, believe, and understand what they do is more than a job. Your people need to know that they matter and what they are doing is part of something bigger than themselves. PIVOT Mary uses the acronym PIVOT to teach people what they need to show up with every day: P – Purpose I – Influence V – Volatility O – Opportunities T – Technology, Training, and Tactics Care and appreciation People need their leaders to care for them. They want to know that their first-line supervisors appreciate, value, and respect them and need them in the workplace. First-line supervisors can achieve that by showing their people that they trust them. They should also take an interest in their people’s personal and career development and have conversations with them, even when there is no problem.  A five-minute plan Mary has a five-minute plan, called The Year In Review Plan, to help leaders decide how to allocate their time, and understand what they need to do that nobody else can do. There are often others that can do things for you better than you can do them yourself. Mary’s Not-to-Do List Mary created a template for a productivity planner that anyone can use. It helps people to understand what they do not need to do. You can download it for free at www.productiveleaders.com/free.  Discipline Those who want to own a successful business need to be dedicated, disciplined, and determined. Discipline is all about creating and following a schedule that sets you up for success. Mary structures her day in fifteen-minute increments, from 6 am to 6 pm.  Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website Connect with Mary Kelly On her Website

Today, we have the great pleasure of speaking to Kimberly Gerber, the Founder and CEO of Excelerate. Kimberly has had a fantastic corporate career! She started with Starbucks and became a COO before the age of 32. Twenty years ago, she started a company that focuses on executive leadership.  In this episode, she talks to us about the great resignation, how to motivate your team and the kind of competence and grit, and the executive presence people need to get promoted to executive leadership. She also shares five leaps senior leaders need to make when going up to the executive level.  We hope you enjoy our engaging and informative conversation with Kimberly today! Kimberly Gerber’s bio As the Founder and CEO of Excelerate, Kimberly Gerber has developed a transformational coaching process that combines high-touch experiences with cutting-edge science and technology to deliver programs that accelerate the thinking, behavior, and results of our clients and the companies they lead.  Before founding Excelerate in 2002, Kimberly was a Fortune 100 executive herself. She understands the unique responsibilities that come at the executive level and has created programs like the Executive Accelerator to help executives think strategically, elevate their presence, finesse their communication, achieve their goals and provide sustainable business results in a productive environment.  Kimberly has achieved an unparalleled 100% client rehire rate and has transformed over 1,600 leaders across over 100 companies, including Verizon, Allergan, Whirlpool, USC, Revance, KPMG, Biogen, UCLA, Wescom, and more. An early taste of leadership at the highest level Kimberly had some unique opportunities very early on in her career. While in grad school, she worked for a home care agency and quickly got promoted. She eventually became General Manager and then partner, and then started a home health care firm of her own and grew it to a multi-million dollar business within months. That gave her an early taste of what it was like to be a leader at the highest level. Leadership in Fortune 500 companies Kimberly went on to do marketing for several Fortune 500 companies. She noticed that many of the principles that work in marketing for consumers also work for people. She saw that the leaders who knew how to communicate with people and cared about the impact they had, were unique in their ability to create results and develop a strong fan base within their organizations.  Strong leadership Kimberly is passionate about helping leaders become the very best they can be. She loves working with executives because leaders who can lead at their highest potential can create a better experience, and a better world, for many other people. What has changed? Leadership within organizations has evolved. It is no longer the top-down leadership that it was twenty years ago. Now there are more opportunities for people to have a voice at all organizational levels. That means that leaders have to be better communicators. A generational shift A generational shift has happened in the last twenty years. As a result, many younger leaders are in high-level positions today.  More energy Ten years ago, most of Kimberly’s clients were in their fifties. Today, most of them are in their early forties. She likes working with younger executive leaders because they have more energy and vitality. They also have a longer runway. That changes how they lead and the strategic risks they are willing to take. Visibility Today, leaders are also more visible, so they are under more scrutiny. A challenge for younger leaders The challenge the younger leaders of today face is that they lack the depth of experience many C-level executives had in the past. So, they have to be confident, nimble, and responsive and find ways to figure things out quickly. They also need to have an excellent executive presence in any environment. The five leadership leaps Even excellent senior leaders need to leap to reach the C-level because C-level executives no longer have anyone looking out for them or checking in on them. The stress level at the C-level is also exponentially higher. Kimberly talks about five leadership leaps senior leaders have to make when going up to the executive level: Self-leadership, self-awareness, self-confidence, and self-regulation. Strategic leadership. (Many people today do not know the difference between a strategy and a tactic.) Organizational leadership. (This involves a shift in relationships in the organization.) Executive team leadership. (Bringing people together to work in alignment without telling them what to do.) External leadership. (Showing up with executive presence, being articulate, and making on-the-spot wise decisions.) Entrepreneurs Entrepreneurs are executives, so entrepreneurs also need to navigate those leaps.  Leaders Good people leaders do not necessarily make good executives because they might not have the grit and executive presence they need to succeed at an executive level. Identifying the people who should be promoted Kimberly guides her clients to look for three characteristics in the individuals who should be promoted: Competence Grit Strong executive presence (or the potential for developing it) Women Women still tend to be more timid than their male counterparts in certain areas. To avoid being overlooked for a promotion, women can ask for more responsibility, do more proactively, demonstrate a desire to learn, and never rely on their work to get noticed. A personal PR plan Kimberly’s clients create personal PR plans to ensure their work gets noticed. A personal PR plan is like marketing. It involves identifying your talents and making sure the world knows what they are so that you can be known for them, hired for them, and trusted for having them.  Changing people’s perception of you It takes less than six months to change the way people see you if you align in a way that corresponds with who you are. The great resignation The news is full of stories about “the great resignation” because so many people in Corporate America are leaving their jobs. After the pandemic, people are fatigued and burned out, and they have seen different ways of doing things. They are leaving their jobs because, amongst other things, they want flexibility, and they do not want to work around the clock.  Kimberly’s Executive Accelerator Program Kimberly has an Executive Accelerator Program. It is a combination of a live and an online program designed to help executives make the five leaps and become the best versions of themselves, so they can be the best leaders they can be.  Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website Connect with Kimberly Gerber On LinkedIn On Website Email her – kgerber@iexcelerate.com  Book mentioned: Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg

We have the great pleasure of speaking to another rock star in our industry today! Terry Matthews-Lombardo is an experienced professional in the meetings and events industry. She plans meetings all over the world and recently wrote a book called Meetings Mayhem, in which she shares real-life stories to teach planners how to cope when projects go wrong.   In this episode, Terry tells her story. She talks about MPI (Meeting Professionals International), what you will gain from volunteering, and the benefits of having a second act. She also discusses what went into writing her book, shares some funny stories from the book, and offers some excellent advice for people starting a new business. We hope you enjoy listening to our delightful conversation with Terry Matthews-Lombardo today!  Terry Matthews-Lombardo’s bio Terry Matthews-Lombardo has spent her professional life in one aspect or another of hospitality management. In the beginning, it was just her smile and that newly-minted college degree in hotel management that got her hired at WDW, working the front desk at the Contemporary Resort Hotel at a time when it was the largest facility in the South East. After checking in (plus or minus) two zillion guests, and having only one attempt to launch a suitcase over the counter aimed at her head after being told – with a smile – “I’m sorry, there is no room reservation with your name on it, and we have no more availability this year. . .”, she and her smile successfully moved on to other industry positions. Those included being the Chief Flight Attendant and Trip Director for an international charter airline where she traveled the world, a Certified Meeting Professional that still kept her on the move globally while contracting and managing over 100+ yearly meetings, and taking a management position in Special Events on Team One at Universal Studios FL as they announced to the world they were arriving in town and meant business. Today, still working successfully as an Independent Planner and Trip Director, Terry has also added writer, author, and speaker to her bio and feels that there’s a good story to be told from every trip and event in which she’s involved, along with lessons in life management. Sometimes it will be a direct flight path and other times a detour, but that’s what will make this an interesting ride together. Terry’s story Terry has a degree in Hotel and Hospitality Management. Before she ever heard of meeting and event planners, she always imagined she would become the General Manager of a hotel.  Her first job was at the front desk of Walt Disney World, at the Contemporary Resort Hotel in Orlando, Florida. After some time, she moved on to working on conventions. The PGA Merchandise Show Terry was working in conventions at the Contemporary Resort Hotel when the PGA Merchandise Show started taking place there. Initially, the show had only some table-top displays around the perimeter of the ballroom. Subsequently, it grew to become a city-wide show that uses the entire Convention Center. Branching out Terry loved the hotel side and thought she would spend her entire career working there. However, after several years at Disney, she decided to branch out because she felt that Disney was too large an employer. Even though it was a wonderful place to start her career and get training from Corporate America, she felt like she was just a name and a number. A leap of faith Terry got the opportunity to be an international flight attendant for a private charter. So she left Disney, took a leap of faith, and joined the private charter even though it was a brand-new startup charter airline. It took her all over the world, and she had some wonderful experiences! Her first job as a meeting planner  After that, she got her first meeting planning job with an Orlando-based association. From there, her career started to take off. MPI Around that time, Terry also joined MPI. That had a huge impact on her life. MPI was instrumental in changing the global mindset around professional meeting planning and getting businesses around the world to understand that meeting planning is a viable profession and industry.   Why should you volunteer? It is fun to volunteer, and when you do, you get back ten times more than you put in! Volunteering allows you to expand your network and connect with more suppliers, industries, and planners who can help you. You can never have too many people in your professional network! Ten years Terry thought about writing her book for at least ten years before she got down to doing it. She is a meeting planner, mother, homeowner, and dog mom, so she had to figure out how to add another element to her over-challenged, full, and busy life.  A new industry Writing was a new industry for Terry. She started writing a monthly blog to make her presence known. She also solicited magazines to get assignments to write articles for industry magazines.  Collecting stories When she got serious about collecting stories about five years ago, Terry started taking notes and getting permission from people to write their stories. Once she created an outline in mind, writing the book was a fairly easy task. The biggest takeaway The biggest takeaway from Terry’s book is that no matter what happens behind the scenes, you have to put on a show once the curtain goes up. Some funny stories There are some funny stories in Terry’s book. One of them is about a well-endowed man who got part of his body caught up in the roping on a catamaran during an incentive program in Mexico. Another is about a hotel convention planner who was told to hire a stripper to get up on the stage and interrupt a professional speaker while doing his presentation. That did not go down well with the all-female audience! Preparing for unforeseen problems  As a planner, Terry has grown more from the challenges she has experienced than from her successes. She has included some learning lessons at the end of most of the chapters in her book.  A second act Terry encourages everyone in the industry to create a second act to divert them, and stop them from getting too consumed with what they are doing in their careers.  Terry’s second act is focusing on her alter ego as a writer, and doing presentations to guide others to find another passion in their career journey.  Business advice If you start a new business, Terry recommends focusing on what you can provide for your clients in addition to what you want your business to be. Be willing to “stand in the hole” and do whatever it takes to assist your clients with realizing their vision. Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website Connect with Terry Matthews-Lombardo On her Website On the telephone: (407) 492-4004 Email Terry at tml@cfl.rr.com  On LinkedIn Terry’s World Travels Terry’s book, Meetings Mayhem, is available at all book stores  Other Book Mentioned: The Alter Ego Effect by Todd Herman

I am delighted to be talking to a long-time friend and fabulous leader in our industry today! Jochem-Jan Sleiffer (JJ) has tons of experience in our industry! He is the Area President of Operations for Hilton for the Middle East, Africa, and Turkey.  In this episode, JJ discusses his career, shares his thoughts on what will happen in the industry in the future, and talks about skills needed within the industry. We hope you enjoy today’s encouraging and optimistic conversation with JJ Sleiffer! JJ’s bio JJ Sleiffer is responsible for Hilton’s portfolio of hotels in the Middle East, Africa & Turkey. Across this dynamic region, Hilton has more than 170 hotels across eight market-leading brands and is rapidly growing with more than 177 hotels in its pipeline. In his first year in the region, he was ranked #2 in the 2020 Hotelier Middle East Power 50, the annual ranking of the industry’s most influential figures.  JJ’s background Before his current position, which he assumed in January 2020, JJ spent three years as Hilton’s Senior Vice President Operations, Continental Europe. In the role, he oversaw operations in multiple markets from Russia to Iceland and the Iberian Peninsula. Having joined Hilton as Chief Steward at Hilton Amsterdam in 1990, he has subsequently held multiple positions across Europe over the past 30 years. As well as several General Manager positions in countries including Germany, France, Greece, and Belgium, he previously led Hilton’s Northern and Central Europe region. JJ graduated from high school in Huizen, the Netherlands, before obtaining a bachelor’s degree in Facilities Management (1990) and has subsequently attained an EMBA degree in Hospitality and Tourism Leadership (2014). Joining the meetings and events industry JJ knew from a very young age that he wanted to work in the hotel business. As soon as he was old enough, he got a job at a local restaurant during the summer holidays, washing dishes. A year later, he worked as a porter at a local hotel. The following year, he started working in the hotel breakfast room, carrying plates.  A great opportunity While studying Facility Management, JJ was offered the opportunity to do a six-month internship at Hilton. He started working as a Chief Steward for Hilton a year later. After that, he spent eight-and-a-half years in Brussels in various roles in food and beverage, meetings, banqueting, and sales. He moved on to Athens, then London, then back to Brussels, where he became a General Manager. After that, he moved to Paris, became the Area Manager for France, then Vice President for Northern Europe, and then Vice President for Eastern Europe and Western Europe. Since January 2020, he has been the Area President of Operations for the Middle East, Africa, and Turkey. A great company to work for! As a company, Hilton gives its team members great career and learning opportunities! They offer online learning, and Hilton University has a library of approximately 5,000 courses for people at every level within the organization.   Mentors It is vital to find a mentor in your organization. If you are in a small organization, you can look for a mentor outside of it to ensure that you keep on growing. Leaders Leaders should promote people to positions that challenge them. That will help them to learn faster. Advisors All businesses- even small businesses, should have an advisory team to help them to keep on growing. It is helpful to have advisors who are not in the same business as you and do not think in the same way as you. Growing your business To grow your business, you have to challenge yourself and be willing to be pushed beyond any boundaries you may have set for yourself. One of the team Starting as a dishwasher and rising through the ranks in the hotel made it easy for the rest of the team to accept JJ as one of them after he became the General Manager. Aligning the expectations In the hotel business, the expectations of the operator and owner of the property need to be aligned. For that to happen, good communication is vital. Something special When groups of people get together and have face-to-face contact, it is something special! That is why JJ feels confident that the hotel, hospitality, and meetings industries will soon come back again.  Coronavirus COVID forced people to act quickly and do things differently, whether that involved scaling up or down or changing their business model.  Hilton managed to change its business model and become event-ready for the meetings industry quite quickly after the start of the pandemic.  What JJ learned from the pandemic JJ learned that in times of crisis, teams work together a lot better than in normal times. People are also more willing to share information in times of crisis. Promoting the hospitality business as a whole The message JJ has been hearing from the various panels he is on is that we should stop promoting one hotel chain and promote the hospitality business and the destination as a whole. A positive business People see the hospitality industry as a positive business to be in right now. Hilton has 167 hotels in the Middle East, Africa, and Turkey currently. They will be opening another 150 hotels in that region within the next three to five years.  A big growth market Saudi Arabia is a big growth market for Hilton. They operate fourteen hotels there currently and will be opening another forty hotels within the next three years.  Developing local talent Hilton has a Manager of the Future program through which they develop locals because their goal is to operate all their hotels with local talent. Saudi Arabia has a lot of potential talent because most of its population is very young, and they will all need to find work.  Finding people with the right skills Hilton has specialized programs to grow local talent quickly and provide opportunities for locals through the organization. They focus mainly on doing that in all their markets.  Vacancies Hilton has 800 staff vacancies, so they will look at increasing their pay grades. There is no employment market in the Middle East, so they will have to fly people in and actively recruit people from surrounding countries to fill the vacancies. That is a challenge because competition for the best talent is fierce.  Internal training programs Hilton is known for developing people. They have many internal training programs to grow and develop their new employees, so people do not have to come from hotel school to work for them.  Culture  People like to join Hilton because it is known as a great place to work and their culture is all about the people. They have recently ranked fourth-best workplace in the Middle East and fourth-best workplace for women in the GCC.  Skills Those who might consider working for Hilton need to be energetic, creative, passionate, confident, open, and digitally savvy. They also need to be interested in serving people. Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website Connect with Jochem-Jan Sleiffer On LinkedIn

Today, we are excited to speak to Keith Roberts! Keith is a true inspiration! He has had a fascinating journey as an entrepreneur, digital marketer, author, and Founder of the OAK Journal. His tools have helped change the lives of many, and are sure to do the same for many more going forward. In this episode, Keith discusses his purpose in life and inspires others to become the very best version of themselves. He also shares his knowledge and experience, talks about the OAK Journal, explains what he is doing to help kids in the future, and shares some valuable tools that you can apply immediately to help you in your journey as an entrepreneur. We hope you enjoy our conversation with Keith Roberts today! Keith Roberts’ bio Keith Roberts is an author, entrepreneur, and keynote speaker. He created the OAK Journal to fulfill his personal why - Through kindness and generosity to help others see who they could become. Keith regularly speaks to entrepreneurs, start-ups, and corporate clients to empower them with the tools to achieve any goals. You will learn to be the best version of yourself through positive psychology and scientifically proven techniques. Keith’s life purpose is to inspire others to be the best possible version of themselves. He continuously accomplishes this with science, spirituality, and gratitude. Growing up in the 80s Keith grew up in the 80s. He was expected to follow a safe career path and become an engineer. However, when his seventh-grade teacher described an entrepreneur as someone who would have a life of hardship and go bankrupt many times, Keith set his sights on becoming a successful entrepreneur. Photography Two years later, he watched a photo develop and fell in love with photography. After leaving school, he went to Brooks Institute of Photography, got a degree specializing in undersea photography, and spent several years working for Bob Carey from the Tutu Project, a foundation that raises money for breast cancer survivors. After that, he worked for Vic Huber, the world’s top automotive photographer, and then broke out on his own and spent a year struggling as an artist. Graphic design Keith got a job at Barnes and Noble as a graphic designer. After a couple of years, he started running a business at night. Then he got into doing freelance design work and later web design. Zenman  Keith started his agency, Zenman, in April 1998. It grew into becoming one of the top agencies in Colorado. Keith sold Zenman at the beginning of 2021, but he still works there.  Not a path he would choose again Even though he learned a lot and gained valuable experience from running the agency, he would not choose that path again because egos got involved, it took a lot of money to keep it going, and there were too many peaks and valleys.   The OAK Journal The OAK Journal is a 90-day-structure journal based on positive psychology and neuroscience. It helps people set goals and then achieve them. It is based on the life-changing practice of starting each day with ten minutes of meditation, ten minutes of reading, and ten minutes of journaling. The Entrepreneurial Master’s Program Keith found the Entrepreneurial Master’s Program at MIT life-changing. It inspired him to create the OAK Journal.  Great results It took three years before Keith and his partners had a version of the OAK Journal that they were ready to present to the public. It was designed for entrepreneurs and highly driven individuals, so Keith was shocked to find that people suffering from depression and other challenges got the same results. A life-changing tool A life-changing tool from EMP is The Four Sevens: Imagine you have seven years left to live and write down the things you would like to accomplish. Do that again for seven months, then seven weeks, and finally, seven days. That will clarify what truly matters in your life. Finding your icky guy (Ikigai) Ikigai is a Japanese term that means life purpose or reason for being. It consists of four concentric circles representing what you love, what the world needs, what you are good at, and what you can be paid for. It helps you find the center of all those things so that you can have financial freedom and the time to do what you want. That will keep you happy and let you live a happier and longer life. Success If you want to be successful in today’s world, you need to be authentic. Don’t be a hypocrite, and walk your walk. Personal branding Keith hates personal branding because it’s not authentic. Your company might be a brand, but you are not!  Keith Roberts’ thoughts on character The best measure of a person’s character is how they treat someone who can do nothing for them. Finding a balance between authenticity and respect There is a fine line between being authentic and remaining respectful, and it is hard to find the middle ground. If we try to change history, we will be forced to repeat it. On the other hand, we should not be offended by descriptive words that are not insulting to anyone or anything.  Entrepreneurship is essential Entrepreneurship is essential. Keith believes that politicians are not going to save the planet, but entrepreneurs most certainly will.  Meditation and mindfulness Keith has seen that high-performing individuals from all walks of life practice meditation. Meditation and mindfulness clear the mind, bring focus, and inspire creative thought.  Good leadership Good leaders stay in touch with their workforce. Leaders get the best results when they have an intimate connection with everyone in their organization and treat everybody with equal respect.  The Acorn Journal COVID has been a lot harder on kids than it has been on adults. Keith decided to create the Acorn Journal to help this generation overcome the challenges of the last eighteen months of social distancing and isolation. It will be similar to the OAK Journal, but for tweens, and will be given away for free. Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website Connect with Keith Roberts On his Website OAK Journal Email Keith: keith@oakjournal.com Book mentioned: The Lies My Teachers Told Me by James W. Loewen    

Today, we are delighted to be speaking to Terry Brock! Terry is a legend in the speaking and meetings and events industries. He has tons of experience as a speaker. He has traveled to more than 44 countries to talk about technology and earned almost every award you could imagine for speaking.  In this episode, Terry talks about his fascinating experiences, shares plenty of tips, and explains how to use video to improve your business relationships.  We hope you enjoy listening to our lively conversation with Terry Brock today! Terry Brock’s bio Today, more than ever, you need to know what is happening with technology and business and how to benefit from the changes.   Today’s guest is ideally suited to help you understand what is happening and take advantage of the opportunities. Terry Brock is a Communications and Marketing Advisor who works with clients around the world (44 countries and counting!) showing them how to present in a video to get the results they want.  He’s a member of the Speaker Hall of Fame, has earned the Certified Speaking Professional designation, and has received the highest award given by the National Speakers Association (1 person per year), the Cavett. He recently was asked by Ace Hardware to be their Chief Retail Advisor training their retailers around the world in video. He was asked by Skype to be their Chief Enterprise Blogger and worked with them to serve their 43 million monthly customers. His clients include sole proprietors to Fortune 10 companies.  Building relationships For Terry, the meetings industry is all about communicating, building relationships, and connecting with people. He enjoys speaking to many different kinds of organizations, from Fortune 10 companies to solo practitioners, and showing people how to leverage technology to build relationships. He is always open to learning something more and something new. Terry’s career journey Terry has been a professional speaker since 1983. He started speaking in the third grade when he stood up in front of his church to read the Christmas story. After college, he worked in radio and newspaper, and then went on to get an MBA in Marketing. After completing the MBA program, Terry taught himself to use a computer. He started using spreadsheets to help people invest in real estate. After that, he started doing spreadsheet training.  Then, Terry found a company in Atlanta looking for someone to do training on the very same spreadsheets with which he had been working, so he started working for them.  Training CPAs Terry met someone from the Georgia Society of CPAs and started training CPAs to use spreadsheets. From there, things started growing. The National Speakers Association After speaking for five years, Terry landed up speaking to CPAs in New York City. One of the speakers told him about the National Speakers Association. He decided to join the organization and also got involved with the local chapter.  Getting involved  Getting involved in the National Speakers Association made a big difference for Terry and opened many doors. It gave him training and motivation and taught him all he needed to build relationships, help others solve their problems, and become a great speaker. He initially became the Co-chair of a speaker’s school that the NPA was offering, then VP of Finance for the Atlanta chapter, and eventually President of the Atlanta chapter.  Technology Technology has always been a vital part of what Terry has been doing. He loved being around people, so he also started talking about relationship marketing and blending technology into that. Blockchain and cryptocurrency Lately, Terry has become excited about speaking about Bitcoin, blockchain, and cryptocurrencies at conferences because they open up possibilities for people everywhere. Video Terry considers video to be one of the most powerful business tools today. He believes that video has some distinct advantages. If you do not know how to communicate effectively using video, you will hamper your career. The future Terry thinks that in the future, we will be using both video and in person. Having good audio  You need to have excellent audio when using video. If people cannot hear you or you cannot hear them, they will go somewhere else. Make sure that you have an external microphone positioned so that you are looking into the webcam. The background Be aware of what you have in the background and what is going on behind you when you do video.  Video messaging If done right, video can be a valuable tool for connecting because it can humanize the virtual experience. Send a video of yourself rather than a letter or text to connect or give someone a message. You communicate your emotions better that way because people can see your facial expressions and how you react. A shift Business owners will need to make a shift in the future when managing their teams and client relations. Many people prefer working remotely. They focus better and can get more done in that way.  Managers Managers need to understand that we are going into a new world. They should learn to adapt, be flexible, focus on results, and assign tasks based on objectives rather than on the number of hours that get put in.  Using technology in the right way Technology should be used appropriately and to its best advantage, focusing on getting the best results. Technology problems Many problems caused by technology can get solved by using time-honored non-technological principles like filtering emails and using time-blocking. Successful people Terry knows many successful people who got ahead by being kind, gracious, giving individuals, and treating people with decency, honor, and respect.  Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website Connect with Terry Brock On his Website      

Today, we have the pleasure of speaking to Bruce Turkel once again! Bruce has just published his sixth book called Is That All There Is?. Bruce shares many heart-warming stories in the book about people who have made changes in their lives that are sure to move, motivate, and inspire you! In this episode, Bruce discusses his journey and his latest book. He also talks about change and figuring out what you truly want in life.  We hope that you find our conversation with Bruce Turkel as enjoyable and inspiring as we did! Bruce Turkel’s bio Useful. Valuable. Enjoyable. These three words sum up Bruce Turkel’s communication philosophy and style. Whether he’s helping his ad agency clients develop robust, memorable brands, keeping audiences riveted and entertained during one of his many speaking engagements, writing another compelling post for his popular blog, or giving useful branding and advertising advice on a national news program, he lives and breathes this philosophy. Bruce conveys the importance of building strong brands to his clients, audiences, and readers, and shows them how to build their own brand value. Driven to see clients enjoy greater revenue by changing consumers’ perceptions, Bruce employs a uniquely powerful combination of creativity and marketing acumen to help them make their brands more valuable. Bruce follows the fearless business approach of embracing what’s new and adopting what works in his quest to provide outstanding value for clients and audiences. How does Bruce create successful campaigns? His first step is to understand what’s always in the back of customers’ minds – their own needs and wants and what you can do for them.  The personal journey that inspired Bruce to write his latest book Bruce has always been interested in the graphic arts. He studied art and design in college. Then he went to New York to work as an Assistant Art Director for an agency. He returned to Miami, worked for several art agencies, and after a few years, he started a design firm.  The business grew and eventually became a successful brand management firm with clients like Bacardi, Hasbro, Miami Tourism, Nike, and American Express. They even opened offices in Latin America.  After many years, Bruce began to find his business less and less appealing, so he decided to change. Keeping a journal Bruce’s successful friends kept picking his brains and telling him how unhappy they were with what they were doing. He wondered why they were all coming to him until he realized they were doing it because they thought what he was doing was creative and fulfilling. His standard answer was to tell them to get a journal, keep notes, and write down their experiences because others might want to know about them. Bruce reinvents himself  Bruce got tired of doing the same thing over and over again. Then, it dawned on him that he was advising everyone else to do what he wanted to do, so he decided to reinvent himself and started focusing on what he truly wanted. One of the things he did was write his latest book to help people who have achieved some level of success in their lives solve the problem of “is that all there is?”. Change The internet, the democratization of information, globalization, and technological advances changed how things work. Almost overnight, anyone could buy anything from anywhere at any time, and competition grew exponentially. Also, with everyone having a smartphone, having specific knowledge about something was no longer a competitive advantage. Waiting  Because the change did not happen overnight, and there have been no cataclysmic results, most people want to wait until something better comes along before they decide to change.  Rethinking Then, the pandemic happened. Supply chains shut down instantly across the world, we could no longer travel, and almost everyone started working from home. That forced people to take a step back and rethink how they were living their lives. Bruce Turkel’s book The point of Bruce’s book is to give people some proven and actionable recommendations for implementing change in their lives. He advises people not to rush and to make thoughtful changes. We all want the same things Almost all of us want the same things. We want to be happy, satisfied, good providers, and live up to our values. Learning from history We can learn from history. Viktor Frankl wrote the book Man’s Search for Meaning. In it, he spoke about what he experienced in concentration camps and explained that when you’re powerless, everything you have can be taken away from you. What cannot be taken away, however, is how you respond. The Greek Stoics said the same thing. Know what you want Get to know yourself and what you want, even though that might not be easy to do. Figuring out what you want is usually harder than figuring out how to get it. Bruce has put many exercises he used to help his clients figure out what they wanted in his book. What matters to you? If you keep what matters to you and what your values are in mind, it will help you stay on the right path. That will also help you move forward positively. Changing beliefs Before writing his latest book, Bruce believed he had to focus all his time and effort on running his business, and he had to be the best at what he did. Now, he believes that he has to be the best at who he is. He bases his future opportunities and potential clients on the quote: “People don’t choose you because of what you do. They choose you because of who you are.” Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website Connect with Bruce Turkel On his Website Books mentioned: Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl What Got You Here Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith    

We are delighted to be speaking to Sue Hershkowitz-Coore today! Sue is an amazing speaker, full of energy and enthusiasm! She has also authored two books about writing and choosing the right words to convince whoever you are talking to.  In this episode, Sue talks about her journey and tells some amusing stories about how she got into public speaking. She shares her knowledge about creating emotional certainty, using email etiquette, and communicating with people from different cultures, and offers advice for anyone considering starting a speaking career. We hope you learn a lot from listening to today’s conversation with Sue Hershkowitz-Coore! Sue Hershkowitz-Coore’s bio Internationally recognized communications researcher and sales trainer with multiple degrees and honors from prestigious universities, Sue Hershkowitz-Coore helps audiences increase profitability, professionalism, and productivity through improved communications. Skillfully blending persuasion research, business trends, anecdotes, insights, and studies from the social sciences into practical training, Sue has developed a winning communication system that creates amazingly successful and profitable customer relationships. Sue has authored Power Sales Writing (now in its 2nd printing: McGraw-Hill) named among the “Best Books for Sales Success” by Selling Power magazine, and How to Say It to Sell It! (Prentice Hall/Penguin). She provides a fresh, practical look at how what you say, and how you say it, can skyrocket success.  Speaker Sue is a past officer, board member, and President’s award winner of the National Speakers Association, a founding member of Meeting Professionals International’s Women’s Leadership Initiative, was designated an MPI “Platinum” speaker for 12 consecutive years and named “Best in Class″ by Professional Convention Management Association.  Sue’s educational degrees include a Masters of Counseling and a Fellowship supported by the University of California at Berkeley. Her presentations take her around the world including very recent appearances in China, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Australia, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Spain, France, Canada and Mexico, and the US of course. Sue was awarded "Best Hospitality Sales Trainer - 2021" by LUXLife, the luxury lifestyle magazine. Sue’s journey Sue taught seventh and eighth grade English until her son was born. She wanted to spend more time with him, so she gave up teaching. Later, she started knocking on doors to earn a living. While pitching a bank, her enthusiasm made up for all she lacked in terms of professionalism, so they hired her. Everything else Sue achieved in her career came about as a result of that original presentation.  Becoming a speaker Sue credits the National Speakers Association (NSA) for teaching her the fundamentals of being a professional speaker. Writing a book Listening to Larry Winget explain the steps you need to take to write a book at an NSA meeting motivated Sue to write her first book, Power Sales Writing. Larry suggested writing down 110 ideas, and then fleshing them out. On her flight home, Sue came up with 102 ideas. After that, she started writing the book.  Publishing her book When trying to find a publisher for her book, Sue got 42 rejection letters. So, she published the book herself. Then an agent saw the book and offered to publish it, but Sue refused. Part of a series Later, Sue was asked to do a second version of her book. That book resulted in her being invited to be part of a popular series of “how-to” books for business communication.  Customer-centricity Some of the most well-known brands in the world are Sue’s clients. She teaches their salespeople that everything needs to revolve around the customer. Over and above that, they need to move away from transactions and towards emotional certainty.  Choosing brain-friendly words to create emotional certainty Research has shown that some words activate positive neurons in the brain and conjure up positive and pleasant images in the mind’s eye. Other words, however, activate negative neurons in the brain and cause people to imagine negative things. Most of us fail to realize how often we self-sabotage by using words that are not brain-friendly. Moving to the next level To move to the next level of emotional certainty, salespeople need to create excitement and focus on customer-centric outcomes. Cross-cultural etiquette and best practices for email and texting etiquette Always honor the recipient when sending an email to someone in another country. When communicating with someone from a different culture, honor whatever their expectations are. Do not mention your name at the start of an email. Remember to give your name when texting someone for the first time. Be as authentic as possible when writing an email and infuse your message with positivity. Do not cross the line between being friendly and familiar when emailing or texting a client or customer. Do not send texts to your clients in the middle of the night. Choose your words carefully. People do tend to judge others by the tone and language they use in an email. Connecting with someone on LinkedIn When writing a message to connect with someone on LinkedIn, take a moment to do some research. You can read their home page, their “about” section, and quickly learn about the company they work for. Use some of that information to personalize your message. Remember that it is a business relationship, so be careful not to invade the personal space of the person to whom you are sending the message. Keep your message short, and never try to sell anything. Advice for starting a speaking career First, determine where your passion lies, and what matters to you. Then, figure out how to make that matter to the buyer. Always communicate from your heart, and keep on creating new content. Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website Connect with Sue Hershkowitz-Coore On LinkedIn On Facebook On Website