Browse published articles attributed to Theresa Behenna, with full-archive search.
Having just returned from visiting my family over the holidays in Adelaide, South Australia, I discovered how Americanized I’ve become in my thinking. Not a bad thing. Just different from how I grew up in this Down Under city of one million people.
Was your last meeting one big snooze fest? Whether you’re an association executive, on a program committee, in corporate meeting planning or staff development training the challenge to maintain people’s attention is huge. With four generations in the workplace today meetings can be a headache to get everyone on the same page let alone excited about being there.
After stumbling across the following article on Linked In, I totally had to reproduce it (with permission of course). Author Colleen Slaughter (www.coachforauthenticleaders.com) shares a simple solution for worry warts that create so much stress for themselves it often leads to being seriously sick. Here's what she writes:
Last week I was the after lunch speaker at a regional manager’s conference for Weingarten Realty. The theme was “The Power of Team” and my sixty minute presentation was entitled “Extraordinary Performance: The New Norm for Tough Times”. The challenge? Keeping people awake and engaged after the proverbial lunch time sugar high wears off. No worries with this group… We covered the five basic keys to improved performance for these property managers and their teams:
As a keynote speaker on peak performance one of the points I emphasize is accountability.
In today’s economy and competitive workforce there is no room for mediocre skills. Gen X & Gen Y are competing for the same jobs as baby boomers. Gen X & Gen Y bring all kinds of digital know- how to the job table. Baby boomers bring years of experience. The younger generations have no clue how to communicate with people (it’s text, Twitter or nothing). Baby boomers are behind the curve when it comes to technology thingies (whatsa widget doo hickey?) So who gets the job? Sadly, many times it’s the youth.
It took 17 years for me to master the piano and become a professional entertainer. It's taken 10 years to become a good motivational speaker. The Beatles and Bill Gates each put in 10,000 worth of practice to reach the levels of excellence they did. Ove ight success is a myth. Original author of Chicken Soup for the Soul series Jack Canfield said his book was rejected by 144 publishers before it was accepted by one. Billy Joel played piano in dives around the Bronx for years and even attempted suicide due to challenges he faced.
Do you know what Billy Joel, Henry Ford and Lance Armstrong have in common? They never gave up. They failed their way to success with passion and persistence. One look at history reveals this is the single most common thread of all successful people - they faced their fear and did it anyway. Whenever we do this we become fearless. Kinda sorta… After living in Houston for 20 years as a motivational speaker and professional piano entertainer, I was of the opinion that life was pretty good, in spite of pesky hurricanes and high humidity that makes for bad hair days.
Associations have to hold meetings. They need to attract new young members while at the same time retaining seasoned members interests. How do you do that? How do you avoid snooze fests at meetings? Hand out Red Bull? The Institute of Real Estate Management in Houston is a group that reeks success on a stick with over 600 members that makes it the largest chapter in the world. What's their secret you ask? Executive Director Jo D Miller is a large part of it. She offers her membership all kinds of benefits outside the usual ho hum. Check them out: http://www.iremhouston.org
Are you Linked Up to here and Twittered out to there? Do you have your best mug shot on Face Book? In today’s high tech world of texting, tweeting and emails there are more communications but less personal contact. This translates into a greater risk of being misunderstood with the written word. Check your emails before you click send. What kind of tone comes across? Does it sound warm and friendly, polite and professional? Remember people do business with people they like. Would YOU want to do business with you?
As the world mou s the death of a Hollywood legend, I recall vividly the night I met the man with the striking violet eyes. I was totally and completely mesmerized…
As the world’s eyes focus on the Vancouver Winter Olympics our minds are filled with hopes and aspirations of the athletes: the glory of victory, the agony of defeat, the dreams that are fulfilled or crushed in a matter of seconds, the years of training that bought them to this moment. Can you possibly imagine how it would feel to walk under your country’s flag out into an arena of sixty thousand people cheering for you? No pressure there. Maybe you don’t have an audience of thousands watching you. Maybe it’s just your boss, your customer, your employee or your co-workers.
Having experienced much frustration with unretu ed calls from vendors I wonder how these people stay in business. Whatever happened to common customer service? In this economy how can they afford to ignore customer calls? I came across a blog from speaker colleague Bruce Turkel a branding expert. He writes: Eighty percent of success is showing up. It’s the ability and willingness to get the work done that matters. People don’t buy what you do, they buy who you are.
Who would have thunk it? A grand piano at an engineering services exhibit booth? What’s the world coming to? The world is coming to realize that extraordinary is what it takes to stand out from the crowd and succeed in today’s marketplace.
As the eyes of the world focus on the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton I tip my hat (or should that be fascinator?) to an outstanding performance by the Brits. They are SO all about pomp and ceremony. And we are SO intrigued we’ve been watching it for months. Why? In this humble speaker’s opinion it’s because we need some good news. We need a distraction from devastating weather, a sagging economy, bloody battles and bickering politicians.
In researching content for my topic on Extraordinary Performance I came across this article by Peter Bregman at Fast Company and thought it worth reprinting to help deal with a difficult colleague, motivate better teamwork, boost morale and productivity...
It’s Not All About You So a colleague bad mouthed your work, the client didn’t like your product, a friend doesn’t call any more, you get one bad evaluation after your speech. What to do? Stop and rethink. It’s not about you. They don’t know who you really are. They can’t get inside your head to understand your thinking. When someone yells at you for whatever reason – it’s usually about them. It’s about THEIR fears, insecurities, problems, mood and THEIR agenda….not yours.
Polo. "Tis the sport of kings they say. Jolly good and all that. As a motivational keynote speaker on peak performance it was fascinating to watch a game at the Houston Polo Club to draw some parallels between business and sports. The ponies are trained for years to stop on a dime and turn on a whim. The players are passionate, skilled and dedicated to the game. Both pony and rider are in perfect sync with one common goal: to win. Extraordinary performance takes commitment, discipline and focus. Do you have what it takes?
Houston we have a problem. Last week was the huge Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) with over 70,000 delegates from all over the world visiting our fair city. As an Aussie expat living in this great country, I had the pleasure of attending a fancy schmancy luncheon honoring Australia and sat next to an oil & gas recruiter from Perth where the economy is thriving to the point of less than 4% unemployment. Andrew Tomich of Hudson said by the year 2020 they will need 250,000 more workers to cope with the rapidly flourishing industries in Western Australia.
Are you tired of hearing nothing but doom and gloom about the economy? Perhaps you’ve recently lost your job and all you’ve heard is how many other people are out of work and are now competing for the same job. Don’t you wish the media would start focusing on some uplifting practical solutions ...
She’s gone. The legendary Queen of daytime TV talk shows said her last farewell in a surprisingly quiet fashion. No guests, no celebrities, no cars for audience members, no gadget giveaways. But yet, it was an extraordinary performance by an extraordinary woman. Oprah Winfrey spoke for an hour about lessons she learned from having interviewed over 30,000 people in 25 years. She highlighted the people and stories that touched her the most and was moved to tears several times as she gave heartfelt thanks to her viewers. Here’s the takeaway for you: