“My desired focus is to connect individuals with resources that drive success and assist them with meeting their greatest potential.“

The 2011 Positively Powerful Corporate Woman Award will be given to Vivian Squire for her many contributions as a skilled organizational leader and corporate contributor focused on rapid executive, individual, team and operations improvement; for her commitment to leadership development, diversity and managing change; for her representation of the third-largest public power utility in the nation; for her management of the company’s Corporate Mentoring Program; for being the former Chair of one of the company’s affinity groups, The African American Cultural Committee; and for her commitment to entrepreneurs as company representative to The Greater Phoenix Black Chamber of Commerce. Vivian Squire, a 27-year veteran, is the Supervisor, Human Resources Learning & Development Services: Employee & Management Development of Phoenix-based Salt River Project (SRP) Agricultural Improvement and Power District, a political subdivision of the state of Arizona.

SRP is the largest provider of electricity to the greater Phoenix metropolitan area providing electricity to nearly 934,000 retail customers, operating or participating in 11 major power plants and numerous other generating stations, including thermal, nuclear, natural gas and hydroelectric sources and importantly and as it concerns this year’s award recipient, employing more than 4,400 people. Vivian Squire’s human resources policies and management impact the professional wellbeing and development of each employee.

With a smile, Vivian manages a team of human resource professionals who plan, organize, develop and coordinate corporate learning and the development of human performance improvement solutions needed to achieve corporate goals effectively and efficiently. With a commitment to excellence, she oversees the development of program content, training delivery methods with staff and executives to identify and maximize opportunities that increase organizational learning and employee performance. With success, she has advised on and guided several business units’ on their business development and growth strategies through the process of defining the value they bring to the organization.

Like the first winner of Positively Powerful Corporate Woman Award Angela Curley of Henkel North America, this visionary woman does the work that she does not for glory but for the development of others. Join us by clicking here as she receives the 2^nd annual corporate woman award. We know that her energy will continue to make a difference for her company and humanity. Vivian Squire is a role model for what it takes to be a successful woman in a vital company and important industry.

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.

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?

This interactive breakout session is designed to bring out the outrageous best of every women!
• We’ll test your positive power,
• Teach you how to stand in the future and bring your dreams to life,
• Share the steps to vision creation,
• Learn why contributing with urgency is vital for living one’s passion with power.

Positively Powerful Women own their power, support each other, are passionate, brave, bodacious, and, like eWomenNetwork,  lift others as they climb. For these women  “no” is not an option. From the moment you walk through the doors of this session you will be standing taller.

Dr. Martin is coming to Dallas from a successful FraserNet PowerNetworking Conference where she is Director of Education and her own Positively Powerful Women Celebrate Awards.

I’m creating a new kind of workshop for women called, “Positively Powerful Women Celebrate!” and Karen’s writing inspired me to keep going for my dream no matter what. My dream began when I spoke before a very influential group of women in business and law. I asked them, “How many of you give to yourself as much as you give to others?” Only one hand was raised. I decided then that it was necessary to create a celebratory event that would provide them and other women with bold, invigorating opportunities to fully unleash their dynamic selves. I design trainings, train and speak all over the world. I know the power of transformational experiential education where instead of sitting listening to someone else talk or teach in one-way communications (even though I am a motivational speaker), or reading a self-help book (even mine), people get involved and learn by doing in a safe environment through dynamically facilitated action modules that give them previously unknown possibilities and ways to accomplish their heart felt goals and objectives. I believe that women are ready for this and we’ll see… Now, back to Karen’s stories:

Walt Disney is remembered as an innovator, a creator, a folk hero and a legend. Walt Disney was a self-made success in the American tradition. But apparently it wasn’t always easy. Walt Disney was forced to file bankruptcy five times on his way to success. Many people would have given up and quit with the stress and failures of that many bankruptcies but not Disney. He pressed on and the rest is history. The world is a more magical and wonderful place for it. Aren’t you glad he didn’t give up?

Ray Croc, the founder of McDonalds was 52 years old when he came up with his idea to sell hamburgers. He was in need of some investors so he presented his plan to a few people who could help him out. These two men with their vast business acumen and years of practical experience reviewed his plan. On a Monday morning as the one came to his office, Ray was waiting for him and his answer. He took Ray into his office and he told him that they had run the numbers, they had reviewed the plan, and they knew what could work and what was not a good business decision. After much study they had determined that it was absolutely impossible for Ray to make any money selling hamburgers. Well, Ray disagreed. He pressed on and the rest is history….

Okay, there are people who have overcome obstacles on their way to success, but what about ordinary, everyday people? Well, here’s another story. Just a few short years ago Lori McKenna was an “everyday, 30-something” stay-at-home mom. She had married at a young age and she was busy raising five kids and taking care of a household and a husband. But she still dreamed. And she wrote down those dreams in the form of music. Lori is a songwriter. But she didn’t know how her dreams might come true or if they even could come true. It seemed impossible. Her family responsibilities seemed to have taken over her life and there were times I’m sure that she felt the pain of thinking that her dreams and aspirations were in vain. But a couple of years ago, some of her songs were brought to the attention of Faith Hill. Yeah, that would be Faith Hill the country music superstar. Faith is at the point in her career where she can pick and choose the songs that she records. Well on Faith’s last CD, Fireflies, she chose three of Lori McKenna’s songs- “Stealing Kisses” (a beautiful song but very haunting, haunting lyrics), “If you ask” and “Fireflies”. Now Lori McKenna is described as an “Acclaimed singer, songwriter” when just a few short years ago, Lori was just a stay-at-home mom trying to get all the laundry done and the house cleaned and only daydreaming of her songs being heard.

What is your dream?…Dreams are the high-octane fuel, the premium ice cream and the combustible electricity in the game of life. They keep you going, they sweeten it up, and they serve up the energy. Just having dreams makes life better, sweeter and more satisfying to the soul….Keep on dreaming because “Fairy tales can come true, they can happen to you, if you’re young at heart” Remember, Your Life is supposed to be Good! Joy and Blessings, Karen

My new Positively Powerful Women Celebrate! fabulous dinner and one day workshop will begin the evening of May 16th (5:30 to 9pm) with great food and awards to inspirational women who have founded some extra-ordinary organizations, then continue the next day with experiential (action learning ) workshops that I have designed in such a way that women leave with new thinking, possibilities, joy, action plans, and direction. I am an international training designer and facilitator and this is my passion. If you are a woman and in the area May 16 and 17, join me. The cost for everything and all meals is $250. The location is Scottsdale, AZ. For info/registration visit http://www.triadwest.com/events.htm

Here’s to the dreamers!

Not invested in conflict or in picking sides, but rather concerned with what will serve all of us.

Being a Transformative Leader is about the creation of a sustainable and positive change in the way we think, communicate, behave, and view each other.  Leadership that is not fixated on Power, Secrecy, Conflict, Fear or Scarcity but rather concerned about Personal Responsibility, Peace, Transparency, Inclusion and Service to others.

Unfortunately it has become cliche to say that “we have more in common then we think” but it is true, most of us want similar things for ourselves, family and community.  However it is easier to bring people to passion by playing to their fears, differences or creating the notion of scarcity when none exist or the need to chose sides when in fact we are all on the same life boat together. Transformative Leaders take the more difficult road and appeals to our humanity by asserting that we all have a positive role to play and that all of our lives are important.

Starting April 24th at the Ritz Carlton-Phoenix AZ, we will have the first in a series of Leadership Conferences that will explore:

• The nature of true authenticity and what’s in it for you
• How to inspire trust, reduce conflict, and handle challenges
• The elements of the Transformative Leadership training program and how The Journey can benefit you

Only $35 by April 17th – Late Registration, $45 — Lunch is Included

If you are outside of the Phoenix area and you are interested in what we are doing, please contact us. Our intentions are that over the next 6 to 10 months to engage other communities across the country.

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If you feel your faults and defects prevent you from seeing the faults and defects of others, remember, you may be the only contact with God someone may have today. Be proud of that.” Iyanla Vanzant

I read that quote this morning. It is from Iyanla’s One Day My Soul Just Opened Up. One Day… is one of my ‘bedside books’, a stack that I have beside my bed and use nightly to clear off of the daily news of fear and anguish that is so prevalent at ‘Live at 10.’

This quote answers the question I’ve gotten several times from others and ask myself occasionally: How can I coach someone when my life is in disarray. How can I lead others when I am not walking my talk? And so on. These are tough questions for any leader. Leaders are coaches who motivate, who see-feel-hear and inform on someone else’s action. They are role models. They are supposed to know “the path” to fulfillment, to ask the questions that support someone’s goal accomplishment. Yet there are those times in ones life when the choices one makes deliver up a situation that ‘may have him/her not look’ good – not be the role model he/she desires to be. For example, I have a friend who is a great trainer and coach. Recently he and his wife got a divorce. I hadn’t heard from him for a while and when I finally did I asked where he’d been and how he was doing. He answered, after the divorce he felt like a sham (fake). In his thinking, he was asking himself “How can I coach others on having a committed relationship when I just ended mine?” When he is in front of the room leading a training, his focus isn’t on all that went “wrong” but how can I serve. It is only afterwards that he doubts.

In this challenging economy, there are leaders going through tough times. Coaches who are struggling for whatever reason. Not all people, not all leaders and not all coaches all of the time. So if you are one of those finding yourself doubting yourself, remind yourself of Ilyanla’s great quote. You can also  paraphrase it to this: “If you feel your faults and defects prevent you from seeing the (magnificence) of others, remember, you may be the only contact with God someone may have today. Be proud of that.” Then remind yourself of what Mark Twain said, “…when all is said and done, the one sole condition that makes spiritual happiness and preserves it is the absence of doubt.”

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I began my work in this industry about 10 year ago when I won the ABHOW consulting contract. David Ferguson personally challenged me then when he said, “Joel, I want you to create the kind of home you’d want for your mother. With that in mind know that you are not alone. I am honored to be on this journey with you.” With those words I began. Since then, AAHSA granted Dave Ferguson its 2009 Award of Honor at the association’s 2009 Annual Meeting in Chicago in November. The award is AAHSA’s highest honor and recognizes “both (David) Ferguson’s recent contributions to the profession and his ongoing devotion to mission-driven service.”

Between then and now, I’ve created their Leadership Alignment training, worked with Leslie Warren – at the time their Vice President Human Resources – on the Diversity University, spoken before industry groups, and other activities. Though Mom never got to see one of their homes before her passing, I know she’d be proud of the work we’ve done together.

Some other people I would love you to meet are our ABHOW Board Chairperson, Randall L. Stamper, J. D. Randy has an effective way of facilitating our governance model and the contributions of the other experts from different disciplines who serve with me. Kay Kallander, Senior Vice President, Strategic Planning. Kay is one of my sheroes. Kay is designing ABHOW’s new Leadership Academy and is the catalyst for the highly successful AAHSA Fellows program. If not for her I expect a lot of memory support units would not have been created She is tireless! There is also Ancel Romero, Senior Vice President, Affordable Housing – a vitally important commitment to seniors. The incoming AAHSA Board Chairperson is Winthrop Marshall. I expect he’ll keep us all busy during his tenure. There are so many others I would like to name so visit the links to meet them.

What can you do? Contribute in whatever way works for you – donate, volunteer, serve on a board, attend an aging conference, ask the experts what else is needed and wanted, and take a stand for what you want done on health care. Also post your ideas for being proactive on aging with this blog. Beyond that, age gracefully with health and contribution. As my mother would have said, “consider the alternative.”

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Beginning in the 1960′s to the present we’ve heard and read the word Diversity. Most thought that it meant race and gender. When a research study brought back the results that 75% of America’s corporation had a diversity policy in place, what they meant they were measuring was the race and gender of their employees…This is not diversity as we practice it in my tribe. For us it is bigger then that and as simple as an idea: We are creating an environment where every person can be their most productive. We believe in giving everyone respect. Through training, coaching, and education, we are committed to creating positive life and work environments. My tribe is growing. Back to Seth…

What does it take to change the world? Tribes: Leading and connecting people and ideas….Finding the true believers.

Today, faced with world wide instant communication, via blogs, social networks and the like we are communicating with cultures and in ways that we did not know existed in the sixties. Many  don’t fully understand how to use that access even now.  There exists amongst these cultures – and the Boomers are a culture who got the world going in the “make a difference” mode -  people who want to connect, form new relationships and new tribes as Seth defines them. There exist groups of people who share a common interest in how and why they want to change the world. be it stopping Black kids from killing Black kids, ending hunger,  ending abuse, transforming dysfunctional families, creating revolutionary ways of doing business,  finding a cure for cancer, they  have issues that they are passionate about and problems they want to fix. Tribes are not limited to borders and are nourished through ideas. Tribes are led by leaders. I know several and I’ve chosen into their tribes and have started a tribe of my own.

So, if you have gotten to the end of Seth’s video and I hope you have,  and you have read this post, what is the movement you’ve begun that answers his request? What are your tribes? I would love to know.

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Recently Dan Pink gave this talk at TED. If you manage people you must hear his perspective. It makes perfect sense, is clearly presented, and illuminates why…

• There is a mismatch between what science knows and what business does. (This might be why we’re in the mess we’re in.)
• Rewards and incentives of the 20th century don’t work in the 21st century.
• Stick and carrot ways of engaging employees is a de-motivator.
• You don’t need to pay the big bucks to get breakthrough performance and creativity from your staff. There is another way that works better!
• Transformational trainings like those produced by Triad West are a must-have way of engaging and rewarding employees. (Dan Pink didn’t say that but when you get to the end of the video you’ll see why I say that and mean it.)

Now that you’ve read the post, watch Dan. Let me know what you thought about his video and how you’re incorporating newness and transformation into your employee interactions. Thanks.

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