Week of March 23, 2009

Hey everyone, here we go. . . . . .

 

IN OUR WORLD

 

Coming to you live from Miami Beach.  Great spring weather, but thunderstorms on the way.

 

Spring travel from Texas is always “iffy” as horrific, end of the world type thunderstorms are pretty much the norm.  I always try to leave a day before my engagement to make sure I get there!

 

Though this was a short “in office” week it was really fun and interesting. 

 

First, I actually got a fashion makeover as one of my dear friends and clients owns a magnificent clothing store.  He has seen me perform dozens of times and I have done a number of projects for his various businesses and teams.  The manager of his clothing store told me; “your content and delivery is always amazing, but, you could really look a lot better!”  OUCH.  Being an ex-surf bum, I am fashion challenged when the wardrobe goes beyond Levi’s and t-shirts.  Now, I have a new look that I debuted on a new video we shot this week!  Way Cool!

 

When in Dallas, shop at Sebastian’s Closet.

 

We shot a “company story” video in a couple of different formats that will give the client a wide and creative series of options for delivery.  Our strategy includes training, recruitment and marketing.  Video is a surprisingly inexpensive and fully expressive method of communicating. 

 

Next week it’s off to Houston.

 

HEY, YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER – CREATIVEVENTURE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

 

People always define leadership in the terms of, well, leaders!  The reality is the principles of leadership are used at every level of every organization. 

 

No matter where you are in the “pecking order” think about these core ideas:

 

·        Establish Goals:  Accomplishments group around clear objectives.

·        Think Systemically:  Leaders see and leverage connections.  Don’t just jump in, instead layout your data and look for causation.

·        Engage Others:  When in doubt, ask some one.  Think about enlisting the support of others.

 

Leadership is a REGULAR activity for EVERYONE, not a practice isolated by everyone in a suit!

 

ENTERTAINMENT

 

 

MOVIES:    Duplicity will make the list when I get back from Miami.  It has two of my favorite stars in Clive Owen and Julia Roberts.

 

NetFlix Fans:  The Princess Bride:   This is pure movie lover crack!  Now available in Blu-Ray!!

 

TV:    Nothing out their for me except March Madness and House.

 

BOOKS:  Vertical Run   – By Garber.  This is an oldy but goody and sets a frenetic pace from the first page.  A great read.

 

MUSIC:   Some great person has just posted a series of videos of Jackson Browne and the great David Lindely.  Jackson is one of my all time favorite songwriters and this is a great version of For Everyman.

 

 

 

WEB SITES:   Interested in the stars in the night sky?  This will help with the identification.

 

 

 

 

SOUTH OF NORMAL

California Technical Institue (Cal Tech) just did a really interesting study on movies and music to make you smart.  They used those with SAT scores of 1371 or better for the smart group and 889 or lower for, well, the other group.

Smart Group:  Music Choices – Counting Crows, Radio Head, U2 and Led Zepplin – Books included 100 Years of Solitude,  Freakonomics, Lord of the Rings and Catcher in the Rye

The Other Group (OK,the not so smart group):  Music Choices – Nickleback, Justin Timberlake and All American Express –  Books included Fahrenheit 451, Fight Club and Of Mice and Men.

Not that this was necessarily the best use of Cal Tech time, but the results are certainly South of Normal!

Everybody’s got their ticket in their hand

Jackson Browne

 

 

Drop me a note with your comments at steve@creativeventures.com

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by and until next time, Adios and Aloha.