There I was in Cambridge, Mass., within a mile of Harvard, M.I.T., and Boston University, listening to talks and meeting with some top business leaders from around the country at the C-Suite Network Conference. They were discussing business trends and sharing their stories of ups and downs along the way to their successes and networking with several hundred folks in attendance. There were business authors there promoting their new books and products and of course, several receptions where the “real” business deals take place.
So the logical question you are asking yourself is: “What the heck were you doing there?”
Great question.
A little over 6 months ago, good friend Scott Good, owner of Goodco Mechanical in State College, introduced me to a dynamic and experienced business coach named Marty Wolff. Since that time I have had the pleasure of getting to know Marty on a personal and professional basis and have really learned a lot from him about today’s business climate.
Officially, Marty lists his expertise as “A Business Coach for Small Business, Professional Speaker, Meeting Facilitator, and Radio Show Host.” I have come to know him as much more because he is so down to earth and genuine and has become a good friend in addition to being a great mentor. His radio show, “The Business Builders Show” airs on Saturday mornings and some of his recent guests have included Robin Koval and Linda Kaplan Thaler, co-authors of the New York Times best-selling “Grit to Great,” and Bob Chapman author of the Wall Street Journal best seller “Everybody Matters”.
So Marty, and his radio co-host and producer Kerry Kearny, invited me to join them to assist them at the conference. Kerry is one of Marty’s “teammates” and is a client development guy who handles sales & marketing for their consulting firm that “helps people and their organizations perform better than they ever imagined.” Kerry is also a huge hockey fan so, of course, we have become fast friends as well.
I packed up my computer and headed off to meet the guys in Scranton before traveling to Beantown. The next three days would be simply amazing.
The C-Suite Network and the Conference are the brainchild of entrepreneur Jeffrey Hayzlett and his co-founders Thomas White and Karl Post. Jeffrey is a dynamic speaker and leader and as soon as he walked into the room the place just lit up with energy and anticipation. He is the author of a bestseller himself, “Think Big, Act Bigger,” and is a primetime TV and Radio host and a former CMO of a Fortune 100 company.
There were so many great speakers and their thought provoking talks and interactions with the audience were inspiring.
The 8 a.m. speaker on day one was Steve Rizzo, “The Attitude Adjuster” and member of the Speakers Hall of Fame, who was absolutely hysterical and entertaining while delivering the kick-off speech to set the stage for a great conference. His use of comedy to help motivate was spot-on and one of my favorite takeaways was his nugget, “Feeling good is the fuel that drives motivation.” He believes that happiness and joy should be a part of everyone’s definition of success. I concur!
Beth Comstock is the first female vice chair of General Electric and gave a candid talk about the challenges of relocating GE’s headquarters to Boston. She described GE as a “digital-industrial” company heading into the future. My favorite takeaway: “Our tolerance for failure has to get better. Don’t punish those who fail while trying”.
Another speaker who really stood out was Jay Alan Samit, author of: “Disrupt You! Master Personal Transformation Seize Opportunity, and Thrive in the Era of Endless Innovation.” Jay believes we are living at the greatest time in history to be alive because we are “one click away from reaching billions of people.” He also believes we need mentorship over bosses and meaning over money to achieve real success. My favorite takeaway: “There is a difference between failing and failure. Failing is trying something that you learn doesn’t work. Failure is throwing in the towel and giving up.”
Renowned futurist Faith Popcorn, CEO of BrainReserve, a future-focused trend consulting group, shared insights from “Flying into the Future”. It included subjects such as “Me Medium,” “Data Danger,” “Real Artificial Companions,” “IGod,” and “Food As The New Status Symbol.” If any of this sounds like it’s right out of a science fiction novel, think again. Faith has an amazing track record of predicting mega-trends for the future.
One line particularly struck me: “Want to see the next mobile device? Look in the mirror.” She says it will take Fitbit, Galaxy Gear, Google Glass, and other wearable technology to the next logical step…”internal” devices. You read correctly — implanted devices and prosthetics that could be connected to our nerves. Artificial skin? Will be commonplace before you know it. Faith predicts we will have M.D.T.’s (Medical Doctor of Technology) to deal with the “merger of flesh and function.”
Really gives you something to think about, even those of us baby boomers entering the fourth quarter of our lives. Or, are medical and technological advances actually going to send us into “overtime” where living a quality life well past 100 years of age will be a real possibility?
According to international best selling author and marketing strategist David Meerman Scott, the world and therefore markets are changing at a faster pace than ever. “We are living through the greatest communications revolution in human history,” he said
If the C-level executives who attended the C-Suite Network Conference have anything to say about it, the best description of the future would be “the possibilities are endless.”
