Rule Britannia!

What is draped in fog, enchantingly mystical, and renowned for its stubborn, indomitable spirit?

Yes! England!

Most of you know Richard is in the weekend MBA program at the University of Chicago. He is actually getting an International MBA, which involves a mandatory quarter spent abroad as an exchange student at a partner University’s MBA program. (As well as fluency in another language-yay missions!) We decided the best time for us to study abroad was this fall, and after careful research it became obvious that the best partner school available for Richard’s areas of interest and maintaining the same academic rigor as Chicago Booth was the London Business School.

Because LBS is far and away the best choice for a rigorous finance-based foreign exchange program, that seems to be the placement that every student applying to study abroad wants, making the application process extremely competitive and nerve-wracking. However, Richard was just awarded one of the ten slots available to the Booth part-time and full-time students, as an exchange student this fall at LBS!! WAHOO!!!

Once past the biggest hurdle, he needed to get the okay from his manager to take an educational leave of absence from work, and a couple weeks ago we finally got the go-ahead! England here we come!! I am so excited I can’t hardly stand it! It barely feels real. I immediately started planning fabulous road-trips/train trips/boat trips throughout Europe for this fall. (I know from experience how much time Richard is NOT going to have to spend with me-lol) So, anyone who’s ever wanted to see Europe on the cheap-now is the time! Hopefully we will get an apartment with enough floor space for anyone who wants to crash for a week or two in London. Hey, we might even have a couch…

Howard Putnam: Former CEO of Southwest Airlines

“If you are looking for a helping hand, start at the end of your own arm.”

Again, not someone who is the most gifted of speakers, but he had the disadvantage of speaking at the end of very long day, to a 2/3rds empty audience. I wasn’t quite sure what he was supposed to be speaking on, but, like the opening quote, I found he had a few things to say worth writing down. He talked about the importance of having a balanced propeller, keeping family, work, community and personal life in their proper balance can make the difference between soaring high and crashing and burning. He remarked that the motto for a good airline is the same for life, “Turbulence is inevitable, misery is optional.”

He also talked about the importance of treating everyone with respect, and told a story about his young son being seated and fussed over by a waitress, and then given his very own menu. The little boy turned and remarked to his mother in excitement, “Hey Mom! She thinks I’m a people!” Although he didn’t do very much to draw out the point after this, I loved this story because I thought it really illustrated an incredibly insightful point about succeeding in customer service, or just succeeding at being a good person. So often we overlook individuals because we decide, based on their clothes or their car or their accent, that they are not 'a people,' that they are not meaningful, and have nothing to offer or to teach us. It’s not just children who are hungry to be seen.

And that wrapped up the day at the motivational seminar. It was fascinating, insightful, and a great place to people watch. However, I don’t know that I would every actually PAY to attend one. (They try and sell an awful lot of stuff!) As fun as it will be to tell my grandchildren I sat in the same room with Colin Powell, the day provided more bragging rights than actual information. Spending 6-8 hours watching one TED talk after another would probably have provided as much, or more, enlightenment. However…I was in the same room with Colin Powell!!

Laura Bush: Former First Lady

“Literacy is an essential foundation for democracy.”

Laura Bush mostly shared anecdotes of her life in the white house and updates about her family. It was extremely interesting, just not necessarily inspiring or quote-worthy. She did say it was nice to be back home in Texas and out of ‘public housing.’ Hahaha…now that was funny. Calling the White House public housing, while quite true, is simply hilarious. She also referenced the media with some pointed tongue-in-cheek commentary, talking about how she could learn the most amazing things about her family simply by going to the grocery store. Her daughter had been married four times by the end of the presidential race, all to boys she had never met. And her father-in-law had been confirmed by top-secret reports to be an alien. I found her to be charming and sincere, and surprisingly motherly/grandmotherly. She seemed like the kind of person I would like to have over for cookies on my back patio.

General Colin Powell: United States Secretary of State 2001-2005

“America has greatness in every generation of her people.”

I think that Colin Powell was probably the man half the crowd came to see (about 60% left after he spoke late in the afternoon), and I have to admit that I was one of them! I am a huge fan! Someone from the audience shouted 2012! (referring to the presidential election and his widespread popularity as a potential candidate for the last presidential race) He simply shook his head and said he was enjoying retirement far too much for “any of that.” I found him charismatic, humourous, funny and self-deprecating, and refreshingly humble. One of the first things he said was how people are always commenting on the ‘greatness’ of the previous generations of Americans. However, he believes that America’s best and brightest strength, is that she didn’t have just one ‘great’ generation, that there is greatness in each and every generation that has called this nation home.

• “The process of transformation begins at home.”
  


• “No terrorist can change the freedom-loving nature of a democratic nation, only we can change that."
  


• The essential element of leadership is the ability to fire non-performers and bad followers. To look them in the eye and let them go.
  


• “It doesn’t matter where you start in life. It matters where you end up, and what you did along the way."

The secret to powerful leadership is validation…a connection with the individuals that make up every organization. It is the human connection that can make all the difference. People doing a good job deserved to be recognized. And the ‘good’ followers know who the ‘bad’ followers are. And they will watch you, how you deal with these undesirables, and base their respect of your leadership on those actions.

He shared some experiences of being in the top levels of the military as the iron curtain and bamboo curtain fell. Of a sit-down lunch he had with Mikail Gorbachev while under President Reagan. Apparently he was uncomfortable, and mistrustful throughout the meal. Finally Gorbachev shook his head, and chuckled a little, and said “General, General. I am so very sorry-but you’ll have to find a new enemy." General Powell also stated his opinion that China poses not threat to us militarily, they are doing far too well economically as our trading partner to want to rock the boat.

On this same theme he remarked, “It doesn’t frighten me that other countries are beginning to do ‘almost as well as we are,’ I love it when I see people coming up out of poverty!” To the cynics and worrywarts out there he called a time-out. “America will always be a magnet.” As for why that is, he referenced a recent interview with a multi-millionaire Japanese business man, who named New York as his favorite city in the world. On being questioned about why, this businessman simply laughed and said, “It is the only city in the world outside of Japan where people come up to me on the street and ask for directions.”

Kurt Warner: NFL Super Bowl Champion

“Champions are often recognized in a moment, but they separate themselves over a lifetime.”

I found Kurt Warner to be an attractive, charismatic individual, but not necessarily a gifted public speaker. That said, he was definitely not the worst presenter present-that award would have to go to Dr. Robert Schuller…a professional motivational speaker. Yeah, blew my mind. Anyway, back to Mr. Warner. He talked a lot about his family, which I found interesting (he has seven kids!) and the value of wanting something so bad you will sacrifice and suffer anything to get it. He referenced his daughter climbing up four shelves in the pantry…he heard a loud bang and there she was, flat on her back on the floor, but bygolly she was clutching the bag of Oreos to her chest!

The most interesting thing I think he said was that often people will list a litany of bad things that happen to them in life: “My parents divorced, I had bad teachers, I sprained my ankle, I got laid off, I grew up poor, etc etc. The difference between winnders and losers, between successful and unsuccessful people is not the events that may or may not have occurred in their life. The difference is found entirely in the words with which they finish their litany of woes. “…and that is why I failed.” OR “…and that is why I succeed.” It is not a difference in luck, ability, talent, family, education that makes the difference between success and failure, but a simple difference in attitude, in how they approach situations that are challenging, that are less than ideal. What are you willing to sacrifice, what are you willing to suffer, these are the determining factors in success.

He went on to say that it is vital to teach your children the importance of suffering in order to be great” and quoted Lance Armstrong when faced simultaneously with severe Bronchitis, pouring rain, dropping temperatures and an uphill route. “Good…suffering weather.” Whatever it is you choose to do, find something you can do with ALL of your heart. Belief in yourself is far, far more important than talent. If you are in a room with 100 guys and someone tells you only 1 of you will make it, look around and feel sorry for the other 99, because you know in your gut that YOU are going to succeed.

Khrish Danam Con't

Challenge yourself to learn something new everyday. Learning actually increases the blood flow to your brain, which lowers your chances of senility in old age. Then DO something with your knowledge. The world is full of broke, smart people. When you are problem solving, one of the most common mistakes people make is that when they come up with the first solution, they stop thinking! Keep brainstorming and going at it, often your 2^nd and 3^rd solutions will be better than your first!

To illustrate this last point, he told the story of driving down the freeway with his 2 or 3 yr old daughter. Who had, apparently, just learned how to let herself out of her carseat. After repeated requests for her to get back in her car-seat, to which she responded with increasingly vociferous and stubborn refusals. Finally he pulled over to the side of the freeway, just furious. Slamming out of the car as he stomped his way around to her door, thinking ‘Oh yes you WILL get back in your car-seat because I am BIGGER than you…” When he stopped himself, and thought, well, this is a solution, but is it the best solution.

Well, he was still too mad to go much beyond that initial thought, and as he reached to yank the door open, he felt again the strong impression “think again.” So he threw his hands up in the air, looked heavenward and cried in frustration “She’s YOUR daughter…what do you want me to do with her!” And the strong feeling came “give her a hug.” Well, as he said “The last thing I wanted to do was give that child a hug!” But the feeling came again, “Give her a hug.” So he opened the back door and there she stood on the seat, arms cross, chin stuck out, spoiling for a fight. And he just held his arms open. She ran into his arms and threw her little arms around his neck and just hung on, sobbing and sobbing. And after about 10 minutes she climbed back into her car-seat, good as gold, and they continued on home without further incident.

I LOVED this story. I heard so much more in it than just ‘look for more than one solution.’ For me it was a poignant and touching example of how much God is aware of his children, from stubborn 2 year olds to exasperate fathers, and understands exactly what is going on in their hearts and what they need most at any given moment. In the LDS church we generally refer to the strong impression to do something that comes from outside yourself as a prompting from the Holy Spirit, and believe He is a messenger from God, one way in which God communicates with us on a daily basis. I’m not sure what this speaker’s religious affiliation is, but he clearly believes in God, and, according to my perspective, explained clearly an example of how much God loves us, happening right there on a California freeway. Did I mention that this secular conference reminded me strongly of the bi-annual conferences of my church! Lol.

Khrish Danam: Sales and Customer Service

“Failure is succeeding at the wrong things.”

Ok, so I had no idea who this guy was, but he turned out to be among the top three speakers at the conference, in my opinion. Turns out he was a protégé of Zig Ziglar’s and is some big-time record-breaking sales guy. Whatever. What he did have was a fascinating story and some pieces of truly insightful wisdom to share. Originally from India, he landed here with a new bride and $9 in his pocket. After one day in America he told his wife “I’m gonna make it here!” She said “How can you be sure?” To which he replied “These people think they have problems!” On the same topic he said that perhaps one of the reasons he was able to speak effectively of America’s greatness is that, having been on both sides, he “…knows where the grass is greener. Because there ain’t no grass on the other side!”

Perhaps my only quibble with his presentation is that he used a lot of quotes, some of them were his own, but a lot of them I recognized from other speakers, famous people, and historical figures. And he didn’t ever cite anyone! So, I’ve put any direct quote in quote marks, but be advised that a lot of them are probably not Khrish Danam originals, so don’t go around repeating them that way.

• “Do not let your children walk around with a hole in their heart where your love should have been.”


• “Your career is what you’re paid for, your purpose is what you’re made for”


• “If you’re happy, tell your face.”


• The only time in your life people will always say nice things about you is at your funeral, and by the time you get to that point there are only to comments left for you to make on your own life, “I’m glad I did” or “I wish I had.”


• “If someone else has to tell you who you are, you ain’t.”


• “How often should I tell my wife I love her?” “Before someone else does.”


• “Do not stand on the chasms of despondency and stare at opportunities as they pass you by.”


• “There are three kinds of people in this world, those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who are still asking “What Happened?”


• “Do not raise your children in isolation.”


• “There is a God. It ain’t me. It ain’t you either.”


• “The heart was designed for adoration.”


• “In trying to make a living, don’t forget to make a life.”


• “If two people agree on everything, one of them is unnecessary.”

One of the things he said resonated with a feeling that I have had for a long time. “In the quest for perfect equality, all we have done is elevated mediocrity.” I personally believe that each further generation America produces loses further the drive to excel, to succeed, to strive for excellence. And I believe one the reasons this happens is because those who do succeed are punished, fined and taxed, and those who choose to do nothing, do not suffer.

He also talked a lot about attitude, and the power a cheerful, happy outlook has to make your life a much better place, as well as the people that you touch in your daily routine. “If you go out into this world looking like you have been weaned on a pickle, or like your driver’s license photo, no one is going to treat you like a glamour shot.” Instead, when someone asks you how you are doing, answer “I’m incredible…and I’m getting even better!” They might ask if you are telling the truth, to which you can reply “Of course it’s the truth, just a little bit in advance.” When you are in a conversation with someone, challenge yourself to get past frivolous, meaningless banalities, into the true meat of how they truly are, who they truly are, and what they truly think.