One of my favorite TV shows is ABC’s The Shark Tank. For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, budding entrepreneurs pitch their business to a group of 5 very experienced, Venture Capitalists who decide on the spot whether they will invest in the company. It’s a fascinating look at the ins and outs of creating an effective pitch. Some do it brilliantly, others not so much. But the best part of it is the questions being asked of the entrepreneur by the VC’s. They effectively remove the emotion from it, and help to immediately determine whether or not the business is viable and scalable. (We’re all a little too close to the forest to see the trees about our own ideas.)
While I like all the VC’s for different reasons (even if they can be in your face and obnoxious), my favorite VC on the show is Daymond John. He was the founder of FUBU, an apparel company he started from the ground up and grew to $350,000,000 in sales. He also happens to be a very engaging and fascinating professional speaker and we just booked him for a gig with one of our clients. I know they’ll enjoy hearing from him, but perhaps most of all, they’ll enjoy the questions he’ll ask them. Without high quality questions, it’s hard to get high quality answers. And it’s also exceptionally difficult to rely only on yourself to come up with those questions.
So who are you surrounding yourself with that will ask you the hard questions that will give you greater clarity? Daymond John would be pretty high on my list! Who is on yours?
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
It's great being wrong...
I had the amazing opportunity to go speak to a group of inmates in a maximum security prison located in Lansing, KS this week. I have to admit that my initial reaction to the offer was tinged with a small degree of concern. After all, I've seen all the same movies you have and had an opinion about what I would find when I got there. As we checked in and the gates locked behind us, I got a very small sense of what it might feel like to be locked up. Looking up at the prison walls and the barbed wire and the guards with guns is an intimidating sight.
I was up there for a program that actually works with inmates on their business plans for when they get out. They are called the InnerChange Freedom Initiative (http://www.ifiprison.org/) and they are doing some incredible work. The recidivism rate for the general population in this maximum security prison is 60%...not very encouraging. But for those who are involved in this program, the recidivism rate drops all the way to 8-12%! That just shows that giving these guys some encouragement and skills as well as something to focus on makes a huge difference in their lives.
As a business owner, I was asked to both encourage the guys as well as give them some ideas for running their own businesses when they get out. I was introduced to the 125 inmates and given about 20 minutes to share. (I went about 23...it's tough to only speak for 20 minutes!) We talked a bit about having a vision, staying focused and creating their future through their thoughts. Afterwards, I had probably 40 of the guys come up and personally thank me for being there. They were very appreciative that anyone would come in and spend some time to help them with their plans. I found them to be exceptionally polite with great questions and tremendously appreciative. I was moved by the stories of Torrance, who has his Masters degree and is pursuing a Doctorate, and Rob who I can promise you will do very well on the outside. Chris has a well thought-out business plan for a window company, and Loren is going to rebuild his dad's barn that was wiped out by a tornado. Kyle is going back to the very poor community he grew up in to rehab run-down houses so people can have something to be proud of. All these guys will change their communities for the better as a result of the efforts of IFI and a ton of personal initiative.
I went in thinking this would be a good way for me to give back to the community at large and came out deeply moved that they had really given so much to me. The stories of these guys will stay with me, and encourage me to keep giving back to those who are less fortunate...I would ask all of you to find some small way you can give back to your community. I'm heading back to the prison to do a 2hr workshop on basic business skills in the next couple weeks.
Share your talents and gifts with those who don't have the same opportunities. Have fun with it and let me know what things you wind up doing.
I was up there for a program that actually works with inmates on their business plans for when they get out. They are called the InnerChange Freedom Initiative (http://www.ifiprison.org/) and they are doing some incredible work. The recidivism rate for the general population in this maximum security prison is 60%...not very encouraging. But for those who are involved in this program, the recidivism rate drops all the way to 8-12%! That just shows that giving these guys some encouragement and skills as well as something to focus on makes a huge difference in their lives.
As a business owner, I was asked to both encourage the guys as well as give them some ideas for running their own businesses when they get out. I was introduced to the 125 inmates and given about 20 minutes to share. (I went about 23...it's tough to only speak for 20 minutes!) We talked a bit about having a vision, staying focused and creating their future through their thoughts. Afterwards, I had probably 40 of the guys come up and personally thank me for being there. They were very appreciative that anyone would come in and spend some time to help them with their plans. I found them to be exceptionally polite with great questions and tremendously appreciative. I was moved by the stories of Torrance, who has his Masters degree and is pursuing a Doctorate, and Rob who I can promise you will do very well on the outside. Chris has a well thought-out business plan for a window company, and Loren is going to rebuild his dad's barn that was wiped out by a tornado. Kyle is going back to the very poor community he grew up in to rehab run-down houses so people can have something to be proud of. All these guys will change their communities for the better as a result of the efforts of IFI and a ton of personal initiative.
I went in thinking this would be a good way for me to give back to the community at large and came out deeply moved that they had really given so much to me. The stories of these guys will stay with me, and encourage me to keep giving back to those who are less fortunate...I would ask all of you to find some small way you can give back to your community. I'm heading back to the prison to do a 2hr workshop on basic business skills in the next couple weeks.
Share your talents and gifts with those who don't have the same opportunities. Have fun with it and let me know what things you wind up doing.
Monday, March 14, 2011
10 Lessons Learned When Hiring a Celebrity
Through a 20+ year history and more than 17,000 events with my company, I have received many requests from our client base in the US and around the world looking to have a celebrity partner up with them in some way at an event.
While this isn't meant to be a complete list, here is a guideline to keep in mind if you are thinking about hiring a big name celeb for your event/organization. (There are always exceptions to the following commandments)
1. Celebs are not interested in showing up to your fundraiser just because it's a good cause. They receive literally hundreds of requests for appearances, many of which are for good causes. Unless they are tightly aligned with your cause, they almost never take a date with a new group and certainly not for free.
2. Celebs are not cheap! I have received requests for A-list celebs to show up at an event/endorse a product/give a speech for as little as $5,000! If you want to get an A-lister and you're not close personal friends with them, it is likely to cost you a minimum of $100,000 and up to $1,000,000 for the top tier.
3. Many clients have attempted to get a celeb through a "friend of a friend" who went to school with them. This almost never works. There is a protocol required to put a serious offer through the proper channels and the celebs friends rarely understand the process.
3. If you are hiring an entertainer/band, the appearance fee is only the beginning. You also need to keep in mind that you'll have travel for several and a production rider that could cost an additional $25-100,000. Even if it's not a band, you will potentially have a private plane and first class expenses all the way. Be prepared for it.
4. When you are ready to take an offer, only do so if you are ready to sign the agreement and send in the deposit immediately. When you verbally take an offer to them, they look at that as a firm and binding offer. You can't change your mind about it after taking the offer to them. You may find yourself paying the bill for 2 acts if you do this.
5. When you take them the firm offer (before they accept) please include everything you want them to do while on-site with you. If you want a meet & greet, book signing, or whatever, bring that in up front. Do NOT take new requests back to them 3 weeks later, and then another request 2 weeks after that. You are more likely to be summarily refused, but if you include everything in the initial offer, you might be surprised at how much you can get them to do.
6. They do not book their travel 4 months in advance in order to save you money. They book their travel a few days before the event typically. So don't be surprised when the travel expenses come in at a pretty high rate. You can minimize this by putting a cap on expenses in the initial offer (i.e. $100,000 plus $10k for travel).
7. There is likely to be an out clause for A-listers, media personalities and the like. This gives them the right to back out of your event within 30 days of the event (actual time can vary). Ask about this if they don't mention it up front.
8. Don't be afraid to mark up their contracts if there are things you have issues with. Most celebs use boilerplate contracts which are not customized to your event except for the fee, date and location. If there is something in the agreement that doesn't apply, remove it.
9. Follow the production riders exactly. There is a story about the band Van Halen requiring green M&M's be removed from their bags of M&M's. They didn't do that to be difficult. They did it to test the group hiring them to see if they were paying attention to the details. If the green M&M's were in there, they always knew it was going to be a tough show (and it almost always was), because the promoter didn't take their requests seriously. If they weren't tending to the M&M's, then other things were likely missed, too, like proper equipment, etc.
10. Don't expect quick responses. You may need an answer this week, but it can frequently take two weeks or more to get a response. We have booked celebs for some events where it took us 4 months to get a positive response. Doing things last minute is very tough to do.
Working with celebs/athletes is never an easy task. There is a ton of work that goes into it, but if you can make sure you remember these 10 lessons, you'll be in a better place.
And with that said, the usual question is whether it's worth it to go through the extra hassle. Nearly every case study I've seen points out that the extra time and expense is typically more than made up for in extra bodies in the seats, funds raised, etc. Done the right way, it is usually a shortcut to bigger results.
While this isn't meant to be a complete list, here is a guideline to keep in mind if you are thinking about hiring a big name celeb for your event/organization. (There are always exceptions to the following commandments)
1. Celebs are not interested in showing up to your fundraiser just because it's a good cause. They receive literally hundreds of requests for appearances, many of which are for good causes. Unless they are tightly aligned with your cause, they almost never take a date with a new group and certainly not for free.
2. Celebs are not cheap! I have received requests for A-list celebs to show up at an event/endorse a product/give a speech for as little as $5,000! If you want to get an A-lister and you're not close personal friends with them, it is likely to cost you a minimum of $100,000 and up to $1,000,000 for the top tier.
3. Many clients have attempted to get a celeb through a "friend of a friend" who went to school with them. This almost never works. There is a protocol required to put a serious offer through the proper channels and the celebs friends rarely understand the process.
3. If you are hiring an entertainer/band, the appearance fee is only the beginning. You also need to keep in mind that you'll have travel for several and a production rider that could cost an additional $25-100,000. Even if it's not a band, you will potentially have a private plane and first class expenses all the way. Be prepared for it.
4. When you are ready to take an offer, only do so if you are ready to sign the agreement and send in the deposit immediately. When you verbally take an offer to them, they look at that as a firm and binding offer. You can't change your mind about it after taking the offer to them. You may find yourself paying the bill for 2 acts if you do this.
5. When you take them the firm offer (before they accept) please include everything you want them to do while on-site with you. If you want a meet & greet, book signing, or whatever, bring that in up front. Do NOT take new requests back to them 3 weeks later, and then another request 2 weeks after that. You are more likely to be summarily refused, but if you include everything in the initial offer, you might be surprised at how much you can get them to do.
6. They do not book their travel 4 months in advance in order to save you money. They book their travel a few days before the event typically. So don't be surprised when the travel expenses come in at a pretty high rate. You can minimize this by putting a cap on expenses in the initial offer (i.e. $100,000 plus $10k for travel).
7. There is likely to be an out clause for A-listers, media personalities and the like. This gives them the right to back out of your event within 30 days of the event (actual time can vary). Ask about this if they don't mention it up front.
8. Don't be afraid to mark up their contracts if there are things you have issues with. Most celebs use boilerplate contracts which are not customized to your event except for the fee, date and location. If there is something in the agreement that doesn't apply, remove it.
9. Follow the production riders exactly. There is a story about the band Van Halen requiring green M&M's be removed from their bags of M&M's. They didn't do that to be difficult. They did it to test the group hiring them to see if they were paying attention to the details. If the green M&M's were in there, they always knew it was going to be a tough show (and it almost always was), because the promoter didn't take their requests seriously. If they weren't tending to the M&M's, then other things were likely missed, too, like proper equipment, etc.
10. Don't expect quick responses. You may need an answer this week, but it can frequently take two weeks or more to get a response. We have booked celebs for some events where it took us 4 months to get a positive response. Doing things last minute is very tough to do.
Working with celebs/athletes is never an easy task. There is a ton of work that goes into it, but if you can make sure you remember these 10 lessons, you'll be in a better place.
And with that said, the usual question is whether it's worth it to go through the extra hassle. Nearly every case study I've seen points out that the extra time and expense is typically more than made up for in extra bodies in the seats, funds raised, etc. Done the right way, it is usually a shortcut to bigger results.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Good to Great is Wrong...
At least that's the somewhat controversial idea that was put forth by Adam Hartung, author of Create Marketplace Disruption. He is a former Coopers & Lybrand partner and former Director of Thought Leadership for CSC. In studying arguably the largest set of databases of information on corporate America, it became extremely clear that Collins missed the mark. In fact, if you had invested in any stock market index you would have outperformed the 12 companies highlighted in Good to Great.
And what about the myriad of companies that have implemented his strategies? The reality is that the more these companies applied the ideas, the more likely they were to fail, and the faster they would fail! The more focused on execution an organization becomes, the LESS effective they become. The reason for that? They become too 'locked in' to their current thinking and they miss what is happening in the marketplace. And by the way, the same thing happened to those who followed the advice of some of the other management "guru's" like Tom Peters, Gary Hamel and the like.
Hartung claims there are only 4 things companies need to do to get unstuck.
1. Get future oriented. We spend so much time worrying about how to fix the things we have always done, we miss what is happening in the market. Microsoft has missed the marketplace. Apple has not by continually thinking about where things are going, not where they've been.
2. Focus on competition, not your customers. Our customers don't know what they really want, plus they have a vested interest in lying to us. They will always say they want it better, faster, cheaper. But Apple's customers never went to them and said they really wanted a portable music device. Apple focused on what their competition was doing and did something new and unexpected.
3. Change your approach and avoid getting locked in. The market transitions way more quickly than it ever has before. Nike focuses on what we want to do as a means of recreation, not just on selling us shoes. That enables them to not get locked in to being a "shoe manufacturer."
4. Set up "whitespace teams." You need to spend 20% of your time creating new and different ways of doing business. What % of your business comes from non-traditional sources? If it's not at least 20%, then you're putting yourself in position to get swallowed by the marketplace when it shifts. You don't want to be creating nicer classified ads in newspapers when the marketplace doesn't care about them anymore.
So, how much of your time is spent on current stuff vs new stuff? We all need to spend more time on new stuff in order to make sure we survive the next big wave...and it will most certainly come. The only question is whether you're in a boat ready to ride the wave, or standing on the beach and will get washed away.
Pretty compelling thoughts from Adam, and it has certainly made me think about our business, too. Let me know your thoughts on this.
And what about the myriad of companies that have implemented his strategies? The reality is that the more these companies applied the ideas, the more likely they were to fail, and the faster they would fail! The more focused on execution an organization becomes, the LESS effective they become. The reason for that? They become too 'locked in' to their current thinking and they miss what is happening in the marketplace. And by the way, the same thing happened to those who followed the advice of some of the other management "guru's" like Tom Peters, Gary Hamel and the like.
Hartung claims there are only 4 things companies need to do to get unstuck.
1. Get future oriented. We spend so much time worrying about how to fix the things we have always done, we miss what is happening in the market. Microsoft has missed the marketplace. Apple has not by continually thinking about where things are going, not where they've been.
2. Focus on competition, not your customers. Our customers don't know what they really want, plus they have a vested interest in lying to us. They will always say they want it better, faster, cheaper. But Apple's customers never went to them and said they really wanted a portable music device. Apple focused on what their competition was doing and did something new and unexpected.
3. Change your approach and avoid getting locked in. The market transitions way more quickly than it ever has before. Nike focuses on what we want to do as a means of recreation, not just on selling us shoes. That enables them to not get locked in to being a "shoe manufacturer."
4. Set up "whitespace teams." You need to spend 20% of your time creating new and different ways of doing business. What % of your business comes from non-traditional sources? If it's not at least 20%, then you're putting yourself in position to get swallowed by the marketplace when it shifts. You don't want to be creating nicer classified ads in newspapers when the marketplace doesn't care about them anymore.
So, how much of your time is spent on current stuff vs new stuff? We all need to spend more time on new stuff in order to make sure we survive the next big wave...and it will most certainly come. The only question is whether you're in a boat ready to ride the wave, or standing on the beach and will get washed away.
Pretty compelling thoughts from Adam, and it has certainly made me think about our business, too. Let me know your thoughts on this.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Is there value in hiring a motivational speaker?
The value of hiring a great motivational speaker...
There is always a question of what kind of results really happen when you hire a motivational speaker. Recently one of our speakers, Brian Biro, did a big event for a Fortune 500 company in Lake Tahoe. Brian is one of the most dynamic and impactful speakers we've had the opportunity to work with, and there are still questions about whether you can really move an audience to action with the right speech.
The feedback below is important on 3 fronts.
1. You'll note there was initial skepticism about the value of bringing in a speaker like Brian...much like many people who question the value.
2. They also share some of the results that happened at the event because Brian was such a great fit for this company.
3. Finally, pay attention to the suggestion that is made for how to improve the results of the session by involving the attendees up front.
(The format of this feedback is in a Q&A style. The client at the company was approached by another prospective client who was thinking about booking Brian. The contact offered this feedback.)
- Did he meet (or exceed) your objectives? o Brian significantly exceeded our expectations for the event. I was referred to Brian from another internal group that had a great event with him but in a much smaller setting (30 people) than what I needed (200+ people from all geographies of many different experience levels (executives to high potential junior employees)). Candidly, I had some pre-event reservations about Brian’s ability to connect with a group of executives that are very pragmatic, process-oriented, less impressed with motivational speakers, etc…it’s a challenging group! But I was blown away by Brian’s ability to connect and make the message we needed him to focus on relevant for the entire audience – again, all experience levels – and do so in an authentic, genuine way. His energy infects the audience immediately but the lasting impression and message sticks long after his in-room energy fades. I’ve attached a sample of post-event survey feedback on Brian’s portion of the event – a chance for you to see how others speak on his behalf and how they’ll apply his message.
- What was/were the best take-away(s)? o For my group, it was 1) the simplicity and consistency of the message about what breakthrough performance means to individuals and how to then apply it to teams and organizations of all sizes, and 2) following his keynotes we used his Team Possibility Workshops format to apply his teachings/principles for brainstorming and working on our Operations-specific challenges.
- Did you experience aha moments? o Yes, everyone did and in different ways and at different times. Some personal, some professional - it depended on the individual and what they’re facing in their personal/professional life which crossed into their professional/personal lives.
- What could have been improved or done differently? o Off the top of my head, I can’t think of anything I’d do differently or ask Brian to do differently. Even Brian’s event costs were well below what other big name speakers charge (Ken Blanchard, Marcus Buckingham, etc.) and in these tight budget times it was a welcome bonus. What was really important for my group was that we not only hear the message, but apply it. If I were to suggest something to really focus on that you control (outside of Brian’s message), it’s to work with your teams to define up front – solicit input, ask for feedback, etc. – on some topics that you want to solve/address/start problem solving, etc. during the Team Possibility Workshops. This was a big win for my skeptical group. I used their feedback as a way to generate buy-in that the topics they wanted to talk about/problem solve/etc. were their choice and by the time Brian is done speaking, they’re ready to tackle them with zest. Brian was an excellent help in providing counsel on how we structured the workshops. I’ve attached our topics as an example of what we worked on in my group.
In this instance, I'm certainly suggesting that Brian does a fabulous job for companies that are looking to engage their workforce and grow their leaders. However, the more important aspect is how to make the entire event more successful by engaging everyone involved. That will always make it much more valuable to your attendees and will make the impact that much greater for you.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Keith Harrell will be missed
One of the great things about being in this industry is the opportunity to work with some absolutely incredible human beings. In my twenty years in this industry there have been many who have profoundly touched my life, inspired me to dream big dreams and to try new things. Keith Harrell was one of those people. I first worked with him in the early 1990's. He was a powerhouse of a speaker who was the same off stage as he was on stage. He had a powerful faith and was a passionate believer in people.
Keith died unexpectedly yesterday and he will leave an enormous legacy and an enormous hole in the industry. Anyone who had the chance to work with him came away the better for it. I will always remember the kindnesses Keith showed me in the midst of some challenging times in the not too distant past. I am hopeful that all those whose lives have been touched by Keith in the past twenty years will take a moment to remember the impact he had on them and, more importantly implement his advice into their lives.
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