Great Speakers: Zig Ziglar

As reported by Forbes Leadership, "Zig Ziglar: 10 Quotes That Can Change Your Life," on 28 Novemeber 2012  --  Zig Ziglar died today at age 86. A World War II veteran, Zig Ziglar became the top sales person in several organizations before striking out on his own as a motivational speaker and trainer. With a Southern charm and lessons grounded in Christianity, Ziglar wrote over two dozen books and amassed a following of millions who were encouraged by his lessons for success.

Below are 10 quotes from Zig Ziglar that have the power to completely change the direction of one’s life.

10) “Remember that failure is an event, not a person.”

9) “You will get all you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want.”

8 ) “People often say motivation doesn’t last. Neither does bathing—that’s why we recommend it daily.”

7) “There has never been a statue erected to honor a critic.”

6) “People don’t buy for logical reasons. They buy for emotional reasons.”

5) “Expect the best. Prepare for the worst. Capitalize on what comes.”

4) “If you go looking for a friend, you’re going to find they’re scarce. If you go out to be a friend, you’ll find them everywhere.”

3) “A goal properly set is halfway reached.”

2) “Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.”

1) “If you can dream it, you can achieve it.”
 (source: Forbes Leadership)

Zig Ziglar - Attitude Makes All The Difference

March Madness: Ugly Uniforms By Adidas

As reported in the Wall Street Journal, "This New Look Is Madness," by Jason Gay, on 28 February 2013 -- Look: I know there is a lot to be discouraged about in college sports and most of it is very serious business involving the lives of student-athletes and the abundant hypocrisies of the system. But I want to talk about these ridiculous new basketball uniforms.

And sure, I hesitate a little bit to talk about these uniforms, because the whole point of these uniforms is to get people to talk about them, and by talking about them, I am slipping right into the clever, diabolical plan, a howling cog in a slick publicity operation. I am a tool and a sucker! Not to mention I will sound like a crabby old man on a park bench, holding two fistfuls of sunflower seeds, yelling at the pigeons.

But whatever. I can't help it. I will be the tool. I will yell at the pigeons. These uniforms are silly.

The uniforms are pictured here. They're from Adidas. I know these aren't the first ugly college basketball uniforms and they won't be the last. They are not the worst college basketball uniforms, not even close. In the mid-1990s the University of Kentucky Wildcats wore some denim-style uniforms that resembled the kind of thing you would put on a cat on its way to a Garth Brooks concert. Kansas State had two-tone purple uniforms that looked like Barney sharing a bunk-bed with Grimace. Baylor University has been wearing bright yellow neon uniforms that can be seen comfortably from Saturn.

And I don't despise new uniforms as a rule. I secretly like those neon Baylor uniforms. I liked those deeply wild football uniforms Under Armour did for the University of Maryland, the ones that split the state flag like Harvey Two-Face. I almost always like the uniform absurdities that come from the University of Oregon, which are outrageous but also Bowie-esque and possibly hallucinogenic. That's the right kind of creative crazy.

These new basketball outfits are the wrong kind of crazy. The fashion victims here are Cincinnati, Kansas, Notre Dame, Baylor, UCLA, and Louisville. They will be worn as the 2013 postseason begins. According to a news release from Adidas, they feature "quick drying Revolution 30 technology" and "ClimaCool Zones" and "limited-edition impact camo design" and other terms that must sound amazing in an elevator full of marketers. But someone has to actually wear this stuff. Look at the players in this picture. Do they seem excited to you? No. They look like they've been drafted en masse by the Charlotte Bobcats.

There has been a lot of chatter about how these uniforms appear to be inspired by the regrettable early '90s sportswear brand Zubaz, and I guess that's amusing in some kind of ironic way, but the ironic Zubaz revival has been old news for a while. (Also: must every fashion statement be revived? We need more Zubaz like we need more Color Me Badd.) The youth pandering is obvious: these uniforms are for designed for third-graders who have just washed down a case of Ring-Dings with a case of Mountain Dew. They are desperate to be cool to a demographic that doesn't yet know what is cool. I don't even know what to do with the short sleeves.

Mostly, this change provokes sympathy. How I feel for the Bruins of UCLA! Kansas fans are already petitioning the White House to stop the new Jayhawk uniforms. Careful observers noted that tradition-obsessed Indiana is an Adidas school; where's the wacky Hoosier revamp? (Journal college sports reporter Rachel Bachman reached out to Indiana, where a rep replied: "We wouldn't consider a change.")

It's the Notre Dame uniform that's really the piece de resistance, no? I don't even think of basketball. All I want is a Shamrock Shake.

Adidas is capable of sublime design. It designed the greatest two tennis sneakers in the history of humankind, the Rod Laver and the Stan Smith. The company's trefoil logo is an iconic piece of art. It does many other things well. But less is always more, and these uniforms are more, more, more. Public freakout is part of the formula. You can't help but suspect that this is what happens when schools go in for the big sponsorship agreements. They become part of a bigger machine.

This is a minor tempest to be sure. I'm sure I sound like a loopy hyena. I know I'm making too big a deal of it. These uniforms will be ridiculed on social media for a while and do their job of grabbing brief attention. Adidas will sell some gear, and it will come and go, probably soon to be forgotten. But the devolution of design isn't usually a single abrupt act. It is a slow drip of surrenders and alterations until you no longer recognize something you once loved. It is why office buildings looks like shoe boxes and people walk onto airplanes dressed to weed the garden. Style matters. Design counts. OK I'll go yell at the pigeons now.  (source: Wall Street Journal)

This Week's Theme: March Madness

As reported in Forbes Sports Money, "March Madness Packs Economic Whallop!," by Leigh Steinberg, on 20 March 2013 --  From schoolyards to office buildings all across this country millions
of people are involved in basketball predictions as the circus known
as “The Final Four–The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament” has come to
town. Sixty eight college teams are competing for the right to be
crowned champion of the US in men’s basketball.

The games have begun and the economic bonanza will follow. Billions of
 dollars will change hands among bettors and the NCAA and its’ schools
will be infused with new riches.

The first source of revenue is broadcast rights. In 2010 CBS Sports
and Time Warner‘s Turner Broadcasting signed a $10.8 billion deal to
broadcast every game of the men’s basketball tournament for 14 years.
Time Warner and CBS will split coverage until 2024. That is more than
$770 million per year, which is a percentage increase of 1,877% over
the last 30 years. In 1982, CBS paid just under $50 million for three
years of rights. Adding the inflation value to the CBS 1982 package,
the comparison is $39 million a year compared to $770 million. The
NCAA itself will bring in $777 million this year, 90% of which comes
from the tournament television and other media rights. Last year $478
million of the revenue went back to Division 1 schools, with more than
a third of that based on the schools’ success in the tournament.

In 2011, according to Kantar Media, CBS and Turner were able to
generate $738 million in advertising for the tournament. GM was the
top advertiser and they spent almost $58 million in advertising the
March Madness event. The cost of an ad for the championship game was
$1.24 million. This year, the expansion in content platforms allows
fans to watch the games on live streaming on their computer, mobile
phone, tablets and cellular phones. Last year, there was a $3.99 fee to watch all
 the games on the March Madness app. The high point in viewership for
the tourney was over 30 million fans that watched the 1992 final game
 featuring Michigan versus Duke.

The Universities benefit mightily in the exposure. When Virginia Commonwealth University made the 2011 Final Four, donations to its
athletic department gained 376% and overall giving to the school by
46%. Alums remember their university allegiance and feel pride when
their team is involved. After Butler University made it to the finals
in 2010, their applications increased 41% and the value of the
publicity and exposure they received was estimated at $639 million.
Coaches have bonuses in their contracts for making the tournament–the
University of Florida’s Billy Donovan receives $37,500.
The host city will be a beneficiary. More than 75,000 fans packed the
the Superdome last year in New Orleans. That marked the first hosting by the
 Superdome of the event since Hurricane Katrina. The mayor’s office
estimates that the games infused $134 million into the city.
 Regional host cities also benefit.

It is gambling–basketball pool card–that generate the most economic
activity. The Final Four is second only to the Super Bowl in amount of
wagers placed in Las Vegas with some $80 million wagered. That is an
infestimal percentage of the overall dollars wagered as this event
reaches far beyond hard-cord college basketball fans to reach into
every sector of American life. Estimates are that some $12 billion
will change hands over the course of the tournament.

And what do the actual participants in this event–the players
receive? They have a scholarship that at a school like Duke, costs
around $228,000 for four years. Of course the most talented players in
college basketball attend school for one year now and then enter the
pros. Is the system fair to players? You decide.  (source:  Forbes Sports Money)

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Income Inequality by Nick Hanauer

A TED Talk on Income Inequality by Nick Hanauer

This Week's Theme: C.P.R. and Emergency Rescue

Here is a step-by-step guide for the new CPR:

1. Call 911 or ask someone else to do so.

2. Try to get the person to respond; if he doesn't, roll the person on his or her back.

3. Start chest compressions. Place the heel of your hand on the center of the victim's chest. Put your other hand on top of the first with your fingers interlaced.

4. Press down so you compress the chest at least 2 inches in adults and children and 1.5 inches in infants. ''One hundred times a minute or even a little faster is optimal," Sayre says. (That's about the same rhythm as the beat of the Bee Gee's song "Stayin' Alive.")

5. If you're been trained in CPR, you can now open the airway with a head tilt and chin lift.

6. Pinch closed the nose of the victim. Take a normal breath, cover the victim's mouth with yours to create an airtight seal, and then give two, one-second breaths as you watch for the chest to rise.

7. Continue compressions and breaths -- 30 compressions, two breaths -- until help arrives.

Lectern Etiquette

Lectern Etiquette

Lectern Etiquette - Don’t Abandon the Lectern!

There are accepted conventions of meeting protocol which are a part of a well-run meeting. While these conventions may seem formal, their use contributes greatly toward a well conducted meeting.

Do NOT leave the lectern unattended.

Always wait at the lectern until the next speaker arrives. Shake his/her right hand and say a few words of greeting before walking away.

Control of the Meeting

•  Each portion of the meeting is under the control of one of the key meeting officials: the Presiding Officer (host club president or deputy), the Toastmaster of the Meeting, the Table Topics Master, and the General Evaluator. (This control may symbolized by the possession of the gavel.) 

• Control of a meeting is passed from one person with the shaking of hands when another person comes to take control of the meeting at the lectern. This is called passing control of the meeting. Thus, the President passes control to the Toastmaster of the Meeting who later passes it to the Table Topics Master and then to the General Evaluator.

• The usual method of passing or returning control of the meeting is for the person in control to shake right hands.

Acknowledging the Toastmaster

• Whenever you take control of the meeting, you acknowledge the person who yielded control to you. This can be done by a simple 'Thank you’. 

• If you are the person yielding control, you do not sit until you have been acknowledged.

Example: The Toastmaster, Lucy, introduces the prepared speaker, Ricky. Lucy waits at the lectern until Ricky arrives. She shakes Ricky’s right hand and wishes him well. However, Lucy does not sit but remains standing or waits off to the side until Ricky acknowledges her by saying, "Thank you, Madam Toastmaster." Only then should she sit.

Applause

Whenever anyone is called to come to the lectern, applaud that person from the moment she or he rises from their seat until they reach the lectern. If you are the person in control, lead the applause. This helps create a welcoming environment for anyone coming up to the lectern. (source: Bern Toastmasters Club of Continental Europe)

A Toastmaster’s Promise

Being a Toastmaster means more than simply making a commitment to self-development. Everyone who joins a Toastmasters club is making a commitment to the club, to its members, and to the organization as a whole.

A Toastmaster’s Promise

As a member of Toastmasters International and my club, I promise . . .

• To attend club meetings regularly;
• To prepare all of my speech and leadership projects to the best of my ability, basing them on projects
• in the Competent Communication manual, Advanced Communication manuals or Competent Leadership manual;
• To prepare for and fulfill meeting assignments;
• To provide fellow members with helpful, constructive evaluations;
• To help the club maintain the positive, friendly environment necessary for all members to learn and grow;
• To serve my club as an officer when called upon to do so;
• To treat my fellow club members and our guests with respect and courtesy;
• To bring guests to club meetings so they can see the benefits Toastmasters membership offers;
• To adhere to the guidelines and rules for all Toastmasters educational and recognition programs;
• To maintain honest and highly ethical standards during the conduct of all Toastmasters activities.