CMI Blog

I do. I find it rejuvenating.

I was traveling the last 2 days and experienced what a lot of our clients do on a daily basis…travel delays. My outgoing flight was delayed by 4 hours getting me to the hotel around 9pm. On Monday, I was going full tilt from 6am to 6pm (this type of a day is not unusual for most of us).

When I got to the airport for my return flight, I was brain dead. I had work to do but I couldn’t think. So I just sat there - and I began to watch the people around me. 

I saw a 20-something daughter traveling with her parents. She was on her phone a bit but most of the time she was fully engaged in conversation with her family. I saw a woman in a wheelchair who was traveling with a friend - they were so helpful to each other as they maneuvered her from one gate to another. I saw a man whose arms and legs were extremely short who was laying on a skateboard and just motoring to his gate. No one took special notice of him - he was just like all the rest of the travellers. I saw 2 little girls who were so happy to be able to move after their flight - they were giggling and running as their mothers were chasing after them. There was a young man sitting behind me who was watching videos and every once in awhile he’d quietly chuckle. 

Who says we aren’t kind to each other? Or thoughtful? Or loving? Or happy? These things are all around us if we just look for them.

We are fascinating to watch - I highly recommend it.

If you haven’t seen the new biopic Rocketman that chronicles the life, love, and musicianship of Sir Elton John, it’s proving itself to be one heck of a box office hit. Powerful cinematography, extraordinary music, and packed with jaw-dropping performances.

In a recent keynote, one of cmi speaker management’s incredibly talented speakers, Jason Hewlett delivered an inspired message about the power of collaboration by spotlighting the historic duo of Reginald Dwight (who would later become Elton John) and his decades-long lyricist and business partner Bernie Taupin.

Jason shares the value of turning to the people around you, your colleagues and coworkers, and even what he refers to as “lost members” (those who are no longer associated with you) to help clearly and accurately define what your signature moves are in business.

Collaboration didn’t happen organically for the two rock legends. In a May Time Magazine article, Taupin shares his review of the new movie, and Time’s columnist Andrew Chow sheds light on what was then an unlikely match between singer and songwriter.

“In 1967, they both answered the same advertisement from Liberty Records seeking songwriters. John couldn’t write lyrics; Taupin couldn’t write melodies. But when John was handed an envelope of Taupin’s poems, he was moved by their lyricism and began cutting demos to them.”

“When we started it out it was really just me and him,” Taupin said. “It was very much a sort of stream-of-consciousness,” Taupin said of his own lyrical style. “I would write whatever I felt, and he would jerry-rig it into a song.”

Thank goodness fate brought that illustrious pair together. The world is a better place for the collaboration they shared and the music they’ve made.

Around here, we’re big on collaboration as well. Our amazing team of professionals connect and create together on a daily basis to make what some days feels like magic happen for our talented team of keynote speakers.

Jason Hewlett, we love your extraordinary showmanship, and the way you help audiences all over the globe discover what it means to become a Legendary Leader. As you so profoundly share, leadership is about promises made and promises kept. Keep it up. The world needs more of that!

Read more about Dan Thurmon!

"At the reception immediately following our event I saw firsthand the value Tim’s message offers as I witnessed several team members from different departments collaborating on innovative ideas we could use to improve our business offerings to our clients…this was an afternoon that was well worthwhile and I would highly recommend it to others!” 
Mike Santarone, CEO, The Stellar Group

Learn more about Tim Sanders.

Learn more about the power of What If and Mike Rayburn.

The extraordinary success of Brene Brown’s new Netflix special speaks volumes - the world is ready, willing, and eager for strong female voices. Her take on vulnerability, shame, imperfection, and the very real need for courageous conversations strikes a chord, not just with women, but people from every diversity out there.

After watching Brene’s special and reading a powerful piece from Forbes about the underrepresentation of women in the speaking circuit – specifically in the area of technology, I was moved to action. Especially when I read, “Respondents made it clear that the presence and visibility of other women at tech conferences made them more likely to attend. Three-quarters of the women surveyed said they were more likely to attend a conference session, panel, or keynote event featuring a female presenter or panelist. Additionally, 94% indicated that it is important to have female representation in keynote speaker lineups (with 38% marking it “very important”). Classon pointed out that this visibility is key: We all want more girls in STEM and more women in tech. What message does it send when they don’t see themselves represented on the keynote stages at tech conferences? You can’t be what you can’t see.”

That last line really brought the idea home for myself and my team. We are an organization filled with empowered, strong, smart women. While we’ve had the incredible pleasure of working with and knowing some amazing female speakers over the years, we don’t currently have one on our roster of keynote speakers.

That’s about to change. We are so fortunate to have wonderful connections all over the world. Bringing speakers and clients together to generate powerful audience experiences is what we do best. We are actively seeking innovative female keynote speakers to lend her voice, experience, and expertise to our lineup of keynote professionals.

We know it’s the right time, and we look forward to finding the exact right speaker to bring messages of technology, excellence, overcoming adversity, diversity, and change – all topics that the world needs to hear.

If you know of a speaker who you feel would be a good fit for our family of keynote speakers, please contact us today. We are excited about expanding our roster of keynote speaking professionals and to further round out our diverse and expansive topic offerings. My team and I look forward to it!

More from Vinh Giang here!

More from Ty Bennett!

I’m a huge fan of continuous learning and a voracious reader and information gatherer. It sure helps when you’re working with clients and speakers from around the world! It’s funny how communication and learning has changed so much through the years though isn’t it? Long before the internet, social media, and the perpetual news cycle? As professionals, especially, much of the information we consume these days is “on the fly” – as busy lives and full calendars shrink our downtime.

That’s one reason podcasts are so popular. According to a new CBS News poll, two-thirds of Americans listen to podcasts at least once in a while, including 23% who do so a few times a week. That’s up from the year before where a majority said they never listen to podcasts. Why the popularity jump?

According to Carrie Ryan, Co-Author of Serial Box's Dead Air, “It’s information and entertainment, in bite-size chunks, right at our fingertips. While many of us might not take the time to sit down and read a 20k word length article, we can listen to that article in bite sized chunks during our commute to work, especially if it’s presented in an entertaining, narrative way.”

I totally agree and I wanted to share podcasts that are blazing new trails by two of our amazing keynote speakers, Mike Walsh and Ty Bennett.

Mike’s podcast takes listeners on amazing exploration of our world and the compelling technology changes that are shifting the way we work, live, communicate, and relate. You’ll find insightful topics such as The Unexpected Economics of the Data-Driven Future, Ethical AI and the Digitally Transformed Insurance Company and visionary ideas such as Future Life in 2030. Learn more here.

Ty’s extraordinary guests captivate, educate, and deliver expertly powerful insights. He moderates discussions such as The First Woman to Ski Across Antarctica Solo with world-renowned explorer Felicity Aston, Exploring Limitless with author Laura Gassner Otting, and even life-affirming dialogues such as Our Journey with Stage 4 Cancer with Dan & Charity Lighten. I believe you’ll find each episode moving, informative, and transformative. Learn more here.

If you love learning as much as I do, I hope you’ll add these two wonderful podcasts to your listening portfolios. You won’t be disappointed!

The secret behind successful digital transformation from Mike Walsh.