In ways, the current troubles impacting the world economy I believe has something to do with our universal embrace of technology, Its demand for immediacy, the overwhelming display of data and finality of the action. It is sometimes like having a loaded gun in your hands in a crowded room and mindlessly pulling the trigger. We’ve all sent e-mails and wished you could retrieve it once it was gone. There are several TV commercials that point to how easy it is to buy stock using computers.

Balancing Technology with Careful Thought

We have consciously or unconsciously relegated our thinking to machines and being thoughtful is seen suddenly as a liability.  Technology is wonderful and can be extremely efficient but it should not be counted on in predicting the future, that’s our job to get wrong.

Purpose of Leadership

We are all on our way to a place that has no roads, no one has ever been there and our Technology only has the past to work with. Leaders get you into stuff and good Leaders get you out.  It’s essential that Leaders know who they are leading and make decisions that get all of them to where they want to go. Let’s face it, getting to the wrong place fast is not much good or worth the price.

Oprah’s Favorite Things is an annual segment that appears on The Oprah Winfrey Show. In the segment, which is typically aired during the holiday (or summer) season, Winfrey shares products with her audience that she feels are noteworthy or that would make a great gift. In addition, the audience members present during the taping of the episode receive items from that year’s list for free.(Wikipedia)

So in the tradition inspired by Ms. Winfrey, from time to time Positively Powerful will endorse, recommend, and salute to the skies some of our favs. We won’t be getting a commission for this or anything in return, but will be doing this because it is true to our cause. We believe in transformational education, learning, and sharing brilliance. So please meet TED! TED is not a person.

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader.

The annual conference now brings together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).

This site makes the best talks and performances from TED available to the public, for free. More than 200 talks from our archive are now available, with more added each week. These videos are released under a Creative Commons license, so they can be freely shared and reposted.

We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world. So we’re building here a clearinghouse that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world’s most inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other. This site, launched April 2007, is an ever-evolving work in progress, and you’re an important part of it.

You can join TED for free. You’ll receive regular emails on what going on it the world. Here is a clip with anthropologist Helen Fisher, PhD on “The Science Of Love And The Future Of Women.”

There’s a great book recommended by Dr. Adrienne Anderson, CEO of Global Consortium called “Boomers, Xers, and Other Strangers.” She a maven of the link between social policy, economics, and diversity. (Not the flavor of the month kind of diversity but the diversity that is global and drives business strategies.)

Then click on Marcia Petrie Sue’s website where she offers “makes good sense and dollars” tips. For the rest of her strategies, click here:

Tear Up historical job descriptions. I mean really people aren’t doing what’s written on them, so there is a gap between reality and the written word. Gen Y wants the reality of the job, not some over stated litany of words that is outdated. (Who doesn’t?)
Become a facilitator or mentor. Dump your roles as an authority. It does not work with Gen Y. (Aren’t you glad there’s a benefit in dropping the all-knowing, all-seeing mantle?)

One more quick tip, check out your use of technology. Some of the best advertising is now on YouTube and that’s where you’ll find Gen X and Y. Get your viral marketing going if you haven’t already. Join and contribute to The Positively Powerful Learning Network where the focus is on learning that makes a difference. There are brilliant people everywhere like you. Share your tips about creating organizational wins with and through the diversity of generations. Last for today, visit TED and see, hear, and feel what other people committed to sharing brilliance are up to. Baby Boomers, this YouTube gift is like the old school cartoons that were played in the theaters with the main features, it’s running with “Wall-E”. Enjoy.

Before you jump on the Internet and start Facebooking, Tweeting and doing other activities not yet inducted into Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, there are a few things that you must understand first.

1) Know your brand.  Success on social networks depends heavily on branding.  Having a professional logo and professional headshot can mean the difference between becoming a social media icon or dud.  Remember, new contacts will not have the benefit of speaking or chatting with you first.  The first thing they will see is your profile photo.  When creating group, pages or mini-networks on social media sites, ensure that your brand looks polished.  Also, maintain the same image across your social media platforms.

2)Know your target market. Who are you trying to reach via social networks?  Your target market is going to help you determine which social networks are right for you.  If you happen to be marketing clothing to teens, MySpace would be a viable option.  However, if your target market is industrial engineers, LinkedIn would be your primary social network.  Identifying and understanding your target market will also dictate what groups you join within social networks.  For instance, if you are trying to reach stay-at-home moms, you may want to join a group in LinkedIn or Facebook for mothers of home-schooled children.  It stands to reason that this group will likely be composed primarily of stay-at-home moms.

3) Understand the purpose of each social network before joining. Most professionals should join no more than three social networks.  Joining as many social networks as possible is poor strategy.  There are thousands of social networks, so it is important to know the purpose of a social network before joining.  For instance, LinkedIn is basically a directory of professionals.  MySpace is a pop culture network aimed at tweens.  Twitter is a micro blog platform created to promote real-time information exchange.  Understanding your target market paired with knowing the purpose of a social network will help you determine which networks are better suited for promoting your products or services.

4) Create measurable goals. This is what separates true business marketing from a simply spray and pray method of marketing.  Set measurable goals before signing up.  Creating goodwill and awareness is not enough.  How much additional website traffic would you like to see as a result of social media marketing?  How many additional attendees would you like to see at your events?  How much additional sales revenue are you projecting each month?  Once you have your numbers in place, MEASURE!  Use website analytics to determine how much traffic is coming from your social networks.  Google Analytics is a great free resource that can help you track your visitors.  If your products can be purchased online, be sure to create a question asking how they heard about your products/ services.  Include your social networks in the answer choices.  If you have physical events, use surveys via the registration process or at the event to ask attendees how they heard about your event.

5) Keep it social. Imagine yourself at a networking event.  You’re on fire!  You’re making great contacts and harnessing the power of synergy to create genuine win-win relationships.  Now, imagine someone in a ski mask, wearing a sandwich board comes up to you to shake your hand.  How would you feel? Don’t be that person on social networks.  Yes, you are leveraging social media for business but you have to inject a little personality as well.  Social networks are social!  The quickest way to see absolutely no results is to become a billboard for your business.  Create interesting posts, share funny stories, post pictures.  However, know the difference between business-social and social-social.  Similar to a professional environment, there are limits to what a person should share.  Also remember that you should always be social without conflicting with your established brand.  Encourage two-way communication and build relationships that will lead to future purchases as well as your contacts becoming brand ambassadors.

Crystal Washington is a dynamic entrepreneur and highly sought international business speaker. As the Principal of a Houston based marketing firm, she develops marketing strategies and implements practical tactics which yield measurable results for her clients.  For more information, please visit http://www.crystalwashington.com.

Panel Discussion: The pleasure and pitfalls of social media present themselves daily. Social media tools such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook can enhance a career or kill it with the touch of a finger. In this session, learn how to use these media as an asset to your work and marketing. Through coordinated conference activities, all attendees will have the opportunity to use this conference as a practice space for social media. Learn how not to distract others or be distracted by these useful tools. Uncover for yourself how to get the best from social media.

Download the complete Agenda Here

Do you remember the Phone Booth

Marty Cooper, creator of the cellular phone

It is a lot easier to predict what industries will be in existence and should be thriving in 2020 than it is to guess what people will actually be doing to make a living in these industries. What will the jobs be? What kind of careers can people expect? How should people prepare for future employment? Obviously health, energy, food, water etc. will have continued importance in our lives but the question remains, what skill set will we need in order to excel in the industries of 2020?  One thing we can be certain of is that a single skill set will not cut it in 2020.

Within the next ten years, rapid changes will effect just about every industry we can think of and those we can’t think of because they haven’t been invented yet.

Communication and the phone booth for example.

Think about all of the different jobs, careers, and businesses that changed, closed, and/or required skills that were not transferable when Marty Cooper invented the mobile phone in the 1970s. Then consider how quickly the mobile phone was replaced by the “Smartphone”. What skill set are needed for what’s next?

The Smartphone

If you have recently graduated from college regardless of the industry you chose, you can expect to have  3 distinctly different careers in your lifetime requiring skills that may not be transferable from one to another. The industry may remain the same but your expertise will need to be ‘flexible’.

If you are on a multiple career path, we would like to hear from you. What and how did you decide on the career  and/or educational choices you’ve made to prepare for the future?

America’s first conference focusing on minority business opportunities in the sustainability arena was time well spent. This day-long event was designed to bridge the gap between decision makers and the minority business community. Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore, did not attend but nevertheless it was an inspirational and educational day-long immersion into the value of being green. Building environmentally friendly homes, running business that cut down pollution, learning who is leading the charge in Arizona, and more. A day well-spent.Then Cybel, DP/cinematographer, urban visionary sent this link which I share with you. If you want to be inspired, love New York City and urban life in general, believe that we can create win-win-win environmentally safe cities along with reducing crime, creating jobs, and parks, please click on to TED where you can get access to the world’s greatest thinkers and teachers. This was a from-the-heart message from one such luminary Majora Carter: Activist for environment justice. (She is a powerful speaker.) Learn more about Majora’s organization and spread the word.

Words for leaders from Brian W. Kenney, Human Capital Performance Consultant, Austin, Texas:

Interpersonal Clarity: Openness, “Reflective-ness,” Impartiality, Listening, Transparency

Leaders listen first and speak last. Leading others requires that we also find ways to connect and understand them. We must clearly understand their needs, wants, and motivations and be open to their ideas and perspectives. We must balance our convictions with the views of others to avoid the inflexibility of dogma. The strongest leaders listen to and actively reflect upon the opinions and viewpoints of the people around them in order to create a free flow of information and mutual understanding. In doing so, they are better able to clearly understand differences and more clearly focus on our common ground. It is on common ground that we find common purpose.

Operational/Environmental Clarity: Information, Knowledge, Expectations, Analysis, Acumen

To successfully lead ourselves and others from where we are along the path of common purpose to where we want to be we must be able to clearly see the path and the destination. The environments in which we work and live are not static- they are dynamic. As such, there will always be unexpected challenges, obstacles, and opportunities. This rapidly changing environment is continuously sending us new information and feedback that we must understand- clearly- in order to make the proper adjustments. We must know not only what this information says but also what it means. Our plans, processes, and performance expectations must be easily understood to prevent confusion and uncertainty. We create clarity in our environment by using our knowledge, experience, and acumen to translate information into actionable knowledge. Clear purpose without clear direction or action is chaos.

About Brian W. Kenney. Austin, Texas.  Brian is a Human Capital Performance Consultant specializing in Leadership/Management development, executive coaching, professional development, and performance management. He is a the Human Resources Leadership Association 2008 winner for Innovation and thought leadership in the field of performance management. Visit Brian’s blog for more of his insights by clicking here.

Registrants for the conference are encouraged to follow @PowerNetworking before, during and after the conference improving communication while furthering the mission of PowerNetworking to train, educate and equip African-Americans with new skills, new thinking, and new approaches for personal, professional and financial success in the 21st Century.

PowerNetworking 2.0 will be unveiled during the opening plenary session, bringing an unprecedented amount of African-Americans to twitter and popular applications in a single period of time. During the conference, a PowerNetworking’s concierge team will respond to tweets to help attendees navigate the conference. Highlights from each session, in 140 characters or less, will stream in real time. Those attending will also tweet their experience and promote their businesses to the twitter following.

For a goal oriented strategy, FraserNet consulted with social networking and twitter veteran from Sistributions Internet Media for a concise tactical plan on engaging PowerNetworking’s audience in real time. With over 20 years of experience in engaging niche audiences, Yalanda Lattimore, top strategist at Sistributions, devised a plan addressing key components and concerns of African-Americans in bringing FraserNet’s audience to networking in real time with twitter.

“George Fraser, Chairman & CEO of FraserNet Inc., was concerned about participants getting lost in the twittersphere and if tweeting would disrupt the learning atmosphere,” says Yalanda Lattimore. “Therefore we took the approach of using twitter as not only a real time communication tool, but one of customer service as well. Further we demonstrated key filters which will allow PowerNetworking to carve out its own place within the twittersphere for quick adaptability and to maintain continued relationships after the conference. PowerNetworking is about to do with twitter what those who created twitter are still trying to figure out that it can do.”

“I am truly delighted to work with Sistributions in bringing our twenty year mission online with social media. Yalanda provided a strategy from which we can build while at the same time address our immediate need to launch a program adaptable to the various technology levels of our audience,” says Fraser.

The conference is known for attracting top talent from the African-American business community. Workshops, panels, National Town Hall Meeting, and networking will all happen from June 25-27 at the Marriott Marquis in downtown Atlanta. Confirmed appearances include Ed Gordon, Marc Morial, Les Brown, Dr. Julianne Malveaux, Bev Smith, and other well known experts, speakers, and luminaries. Sponsors include Ford, Home Depot, Delta, Dell, Pitney Bowes, Coca-Cola, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Chick Fil-A, and other major companies.

Here’s exciting news for anyone who wants access to the technology for creating extraordinary results in a global economy (and who doesn’t these days). Recently formed NYC-based DBI Education comes with a pedigree. Founder and president Karen Foncette is a long-time HR professional and transformationalist. Her team is knowledgeable. Expect the best of the best in life strategies, business development, leadership, and connections.

DBI Education is located at 22 West 38 Street 8th Floor, New York, New York 10018-6262, Tel.(212) 810-9357. Click here to go to their website.

How’s this for a challenging set of DBI-originated questions? Whether you are an entrepreneur, corporate contributor, or someone wanting personal development and coaching on their goals: “If you had a bucket list, wish list or last wish, how would you use it? What mark, legacy or impact would you leave on the planet?” The questions are followed by this DBI statement, “While we cannot guarantee that you may not be uncharacteristically uncomfortable, the results you acquire will become visible. Your dreams, goals, visions will be actualized.”

Recently DBI had a black tie event and is giving scholarships to attendees and those they “pay them forward” to:

As a token of gratitude for your support in creating such a phenomenal evening, we are extending a paid scholarship to you and anyone in your family towards the May 20,  Discovery Training.  Pay it forward and give this gift of life to yourself or someone you love.

They have a premiere series of courses that form a journey: Discovery (May 20-24), Breakthrough (June 3 to 7) and Impact (beginning the weekend of June 12 ). Another of their courses is  The Hero’s Journey being offered to graduates of programs. It’s being previewed at a networking event May 25th 7:30PM to 9PM. “Hero” is designed to take life to the next level. Considering what is at stake and what it takes to be successful these days, to create results in a global community, to be a hero to oneself, a community, or a child…. in New York City or anywhere in the world, the investment  seems well priced and well-worth the trip across town or to the Big Apple.