Our new booklet: 104 Tips on How to Ignite and Optimize Your Business and its Leaders is now available. Fifty percent (50%) of all profits from the sale of this booklet between January and March 2005 will go to the Tsunami relief efforts. Filled with great tips on Leadership, Managing Others, Communication Skills, Strategic Planning, and Creating and Igniting Change, 104 Tips makes a great gift for your vendors and customers. You can even have it customized with your logo and business name on the cover. for details and a price list.

Bonni's newest article: "Does Your Company Have the N.O.M.A.R Syndrome?" appeared in Executive Excellence in Sales and Service in December 2004. The article (yes, it was written before the World Series championship!) challenges leaders to look at themselves and their executive team, and ask the tough questions like Theo Epstein might have to ask to select and groom a winning team.

by Bonni Carson DiMatteo, © 2005

College campuses across the nation are listening to the sage advice of those who have been there, done that, and are creating a call of action for the next generation. Here are some of our favorites:

"You can transform 'road angst' into hopeful action as a teacher or an artist or a baker or as CEO of a company."
"To do nothing is also to act, so act affirmatively by making things happen, not just letting them happen."
- Paul Farmer, founder of Partners in Health

"Learn how to build productive working relationships with your colleagues, and do your job well, and success will follow."
"Never stop investing in your ongoing training."
- Joseph Tucci, President and CEO of EMC Corporation

"Take the time to really connect with people."
- Elizabeth Ricci, VP of engineering, Authoria Inc.

"Discover how moral imperatives must also drive our actions, even when there are no economic or political motives."
- Hamid Karzai, President of Afghanistan, Boston University graduation 2005

"Think big. If you don't have a grand vision of what you want to do, and where you want to go, you will never achieve anything near your full potential."
"Exercise self-discipline. Every aspect of your life presents some kind of challenge to self- discipline."
- Paul M. Tellier, President and CEO of Canadian National Railway Company

As company leaders, we have opportunities to create similar calls of action to our staff. Unlike the sages at the podium, we don't always get the standing ovation or the option of leaving at the end of the speech. We have to, as leaders, live our calls to action in vivid color by our behavior as much as our words and our commitment to follow through on the vision we have created. Everyday we must continue to inspire the right actions, the right culture, the right communication to lead our companies through changes and charges with the ultimate goal of creating a company of value while valuing those who drive it there. Transitioning from individual contributor to company leader takes grooming; mentoring and coaching, as well as sage words of inspiration.

What are you doing today to inspire your next generation of leaders?

"Executives are focusing on how to build a flexible and responsive organization to more quickly detect and respond to market opportunities," according to Forbes editor John Dobosz and GartnerG2 Research Director Neil McDonald (April 2004). What are you doing to build your leadership competencies?

• Are you looking for a cost effective solution to developing management and leadership competencies?
• Do you want something that has an impact and extends the learning into the culture of the company and the expectations of management?
• Do you want something that is deeper than a weekend quick fix, that sustains and implements the learning?
• Do you want a guarantee that is based upon an agreed measure of success that you establish?
• Do you know that to replace a key employee is estimated to be 1% to 2.5% of company revenue or between $10K and $100K per employee depending on level? (source: ASTD)
• Do you know that the TRS (Total Return to Shareholders) on training that increases development, communication, and morale is up to 200%? (source: SHRIM)
• Do you know that research indicates that there is an average of 5.7 ROI for coaching key employees? (source: Manchaster Group)
• Do you want to retain top talent and groom them for the next level?

Then you want the Next Level Leadership Program. This cutting edge program combines:

• Leadership/management training (3 workshops)
• Assessment of core competencies
• 360 assessment telling people how others see them
• Assessment of personality style and its impact on communication (DISC)
• Goal setting
• Individual coaching to develop and enhance competencies, meet goals
• Group coaching to extend learning and build the team
• 6-month, 8-month, and 12-month programs bring your leadership to the next level

And all for less than it would cost you to send a manager to an offsite three-day leadership program.