Summer is winding down and I am always sad to see it go.  Perhaps it’s because I live in thenorth as it disappears faster than it does in the south.  I think it’s also because I will see less of the people I enjoy spending time with as we all re-focus on getting back to business/school/activities.  This summer was an especially poignant one for hubby and me because our son spent most of his 2 weeks in Canada with us.  Most of the time we see him for short bursts over dinner or breakfast but this summer he devoted a lot of time to us.  One of the highlights for me was that Chris and I had a ‘date’ – we attended the Rihanna concert together.  And I was literally mistaken for his ‘date’ by the slightly inebriated man sitting next to us; this was very good for my ego as Chris is a very handsome 31 year old which makes me...well, a boomer. Rihanna’s concert was full of glitz, glamor and her brand of social commentary; it was eye candy but with no real connection to the audience.

A few weeks ago, hubby, the cmi peeps and I attended a Michael Buble’ concert; Bob has been a big fan for a few years and while I have liked Michael, I wasn’t a fan.  But I am now- what a different concert! Michael sits on a stool and talks to the audience as if we’re old buddies, cracking jokes and telling us pieces of his personal life.  He comes off the main stage and walks through the ‘floor’ crowd shaking hands and letting people get close to him. And his finale is like nothing I’ve ever seen before – he sings a cappella– yes!!  No microphone in the Saddledome. What an authentic experience he creates for his audiences.

So it got me to thinking...for our customers, our employees, our suppliers, our friends, our families...how authentic are we? How much of ‘us’ do we really share when we’re pitching our product, negotiating a deal, working through administrative details or having lunch/coffee with someone we haven't seen in a while? I for one have made a commitment to myself...and now to you...that creating an authentic experience is what we’re about every day.  And I’ve got the Michael Buble’ ticket on my bulletin board to remind me and keep me on track. Until next time, happy authenticating!! (I think I just created a new wordJ.)

cmi President Karen Harris is pleased to announce that John Izzo has joined the cmi family of speakers!

For 20 years, John has been a researcher and advisor to over 600 companies including many Fortune Top 10 best workplaces. Long before it became popular, his focus has always been on creating a positive brand strategy that inspires employees and customers alike. A best-selling author of four books including Awakening Corporate Soul and Values Shift, John shows businesses how to create a workplace environment that encourages true employee engagement and wins the hearts of their people.  

As a business advisor and executive coach in the areas of employee engagement and corporate social responsibility, John is known for his ability to empower leaders at all levels in getting their people on-side. His presentations provide a fully customized set of practical, innovative solutions you can implement immediately along with insight into the future of business and how companies can get ahead of the curve. 

Karen has been blown away by John's ability to reach into the audience's psyche and hearts while giving the C-suite executives all the substance they asked for. 

To find out more about John Izzo, please call us toll free at 877-307-7403 or email info@cmispeakers.com.

Click here for a video excerpt of John's presentation.

My "Is The Economy Hardening Your Heart?" blog struck a chord with our friends at MPI who published it in their One+ magazine's Best of the Blogs. It's a thrill to be published for the first time (now I know how all you authors feel!), especially with something that came from my heart.

Click here for the digital version of One+ - Best of the Blogs can be found on page 16.

Read my original blog post here - I welcome your comments. xoxo

I just read Michael McCurry's post "Hybrid Events - What is the Revenue Model?"  He's referring to face to face meetings that also include a virtual attendance component.

See my comments below:

I’ve attended two industry events this year where a virtual component was included and in my opinion this will become the norm. Since I manage speakers, I’m going to ask a slightly different question but it’s still a relevant one :).

If a corporation or association is going to run both a face to face and virtual component, should speakers be compensated for the latter as well as their live presentation?

Yes, the virtual component ups the exposure element for the speaker and will hopefully produce revenue because of it. But, at this point in time, the speaker’s presentation is still their intellectual property (with social networking growing, that may get somewhat diluted in time). Since that content is going to be virtually distributed, should there be some additional compensation to the speaker?

If speakers begin to ask for compensation on the virtual component, this may necessitate some form of payment structure for all or some of the virtual components as Cece refers to re Cisco.

Looking forward to your thoughts - xoxo

Read Mike's blog and other comments @ http://bit.ly/2ckcXn.

I have been in the meetings and events business for almost 15 years.  If you’re like me you’ve seen the tough times of the early 90s, the 9/11 repercussions, the dotcom crash and now here we are in the age of “major transition.” 

I’ve worked with some of the biggest and the best corporations, associations, speaker bureaus, meeting professionals and production companies.  I’ve always run my business on relationships and trust – basically I do business from my heart.  If someone I’ve done business with for years asks for some extra time to pay one of my speakers, I give them that time.  When they say they’re going to pay by such and such a date, I believe them and trust it will happen.

In these tough times, I’ve been so grateful that almost all of our customers have been able to pay within a reasonable amount of time.  A few are struggling with cash flow and their accounts are now well overdue.  We love to do business with them - they have brought a lot of business to us over the years but my speakers and my company are hurting.

Because of this, for the first time in 15 years, I’ve implemented a strict payment plan.  In order to protect my speakers, my employees and my company I felt I had no other choice.

But I’m struggling with my heart.  We’re all in these tough economic times together and I sorely want to help my friends.  I see economic rays of sunshine streaming our way again and my heart tells me to give them more time.  But my head, my Controller and our speakers’ situations are stopping me.  I feel that I have to run my business differently and it kind of makes me sad.  

What about you – is the economy hardening your heart? 

xoxo