Conference Reflections
So, the Get Motivated conference is in the books. Great day. Great people. I really enjoyed it. Took pics with my phone, but unfortunately while we got great seats, we were so close that the spotlights overwhelmed my poor little Motorola. Anyway, some reflections …
Leon Patillo: I did not know that he used to be the lead singer for Santana. He’s just always been a Christian artist to me. Of course outside of Smooth, I’m not a big Santana guy. Anyway, he did a good job with a song here and there to break things up. I appreciate that he didn’t feel the need to embellish the National Anthem, although the conference added in some unnecessary pyrotechnics.
Dr. Robert Schuller: Let me reiterate one of my tweets: It was just so refreshing to be at a public, secular venue, where the speakers, and artist, felt at liberty to discuss matters of faith. It was not wall to wall religion, but God came up more than once. And I’m happy to report that the mention of both God and Ronald Reagan elicited vigorous applause in this crowd.
I was impressed at the Dr’s wit and effectiveness. Let’s face it, he’s an old-school preacher, and he’s getting on in years. But he inspired and held the audience.
“When you lose something, never look at what you have lost. Look at what you have left.”
“Nothing is impossible unless you say it is.”
Rick Pitino: I think, just for myself, and from talking to some other folks sitting in our area, one of the most intriguing things coming into the day was Pitino’s fresh scandal. But that’s a long discussion in itself so I’m saving that issue for a separate post.
Pitino is a great speaker and obviously a great motivator. One neat thing … well first, I realized today that for me, whether or not a speaker is genuine is the key to whether or not I’ll accept their message. That’s a pretty general truth for most people, but for me it’s a big go / no go test.
The great thing about Pitino is that as he’s talking, and peppering his content with stories about his players from different teams, you can tell that he truly cares about them to this day, and has a passion for what he does and it’s from the heart when he says …
“Being great means impacting the lives of others in a positive way.”
Rudy Giuliani: I have to admit, I’m a big Giuliani fan. His highs and his lows have been played out in the public eye, and he’s weathered it all with grace and class. Today he was his warm and charming self. And, from a leadership perspective who better to learn from? In running New York city he was in charge of one of largest enterprises in our nation. And he led a city, and at times a nation, through the biggest crisis of our age.
My favorite part of his talk: Like Pitino, Giuliani talked about “relentless preparation” as one of the principles of leadership. And then he seemed (key word there) to contradict himself when he said that no matter how much you prepare and anticipate, things will change. But, relentless preparation will help you overcome the unanticipated. So, now I’m puzzled. How can you prepare for what you can’t even anticipate?
Well, obviously 9/11 stands as the ultimate unanticipated event of our time. But RG talked about how he was able to take bits and pieces from other, anticipated situations and put them in play. They had to evacuate masses of people from Manhattan. For this RG drew on evacuation plans they had drawn up in the event of flooding in that area. They were also able to use measures that had been planned for the event of a low-level nuclear detonation in that area. They had arrangements to procure generators from GE in the even of blackout. And on it went. It was really cool to get that behind the scenes look at the mind of a great leader.
No quote, this is a paraphrase – I wasn’t able to get it down verbatim: Courage is not fearlessness. The world is dangerous – fear is real. Courage is overcoming fear to do what you have to do.
Terry Bradshaw: OK, this guy was a blast. Not a lot of meat though. I think his role was just to get everyone reenergized after lunch. Hilarious from start to finish. He went through and goofed on pretty much every member of the offense on those great Steeler teams of the 70’s. He did impressions of them, although outside of Franco Harris and Lynn Swann it’s not like we would have known whether or not the impersonations were spot on. He dinged Franco for his aversion to being hit, which was a pretty common theme in those days.
He also got a dig in on Joe Montana. He talked about how Tight End, Bennie Cunningham wanted TB to hit him on short pass routes, but TB liked to throw long to John Stallworth. He said if Cunningham wanted short passes he should have gone to San Francisco and let Montana throw to him. Nice one. I wonder what Joe Montana says about him.
It was all in fun, and he brought it around to say that he didn’t do what he did alone, and none of us does what we do alone.
He also kept coming back to being thankful for what you have.
Zig Ziglar: This was almost sad. ZZ has had a fall recently which still affects his memory and leaves him with a bit of vertigo. So they had to seat him and have his daughter up there with him. They did a little bit of live talk with her interviewing him, but a lot of Zig’s content we got via a video. However, since this incident he has been working on a book, Living Life on Life’s Terms. I’m not in sales so ZZ isn’t quite the guru to me that he is to some. But, knowing the circumstances, that will probably be one to check out.
I really liked his talk about the things money will and won’t buy.
“I like the things I have that money will buy, but I love the things I have that money won’t buy.”
“You’re what you are and where you are because of what’s gone into your mind.”
Laura Bush: Here again, I am just a huge fan of the former President and First Lady. And over time it has become less and less about politics and more and more about the grace they both showed despite being constantly under fire.
As with the others, I really enjoyed her behind the scenes perspective on things that happened during their tenure in the White House.
It was also interesting to hear the combination Mother Hen / First Lady in her. She mentioned that she had learned from her mother-in-law how to make even the White House a home, and how she felt at peace at night when her whole family was there, safe, and under the same roof.
She talked about being in the White House and sensing not just the ghosts of past Presidents who struggled with their own wrenching decisions, but also the echoes of current citizens exercising their voice.
Finally the former First Lady got to the question I would ask, if I had a few minutes to pick her brain. How could you stand the things that were being said about your husband on a daily basis?
“It bothered me, but it didn’t get to me. … I know who I am and I know who George is.”
And that’s really how she comes across; someone with a great sense of herself, exuding grace and class.
Colin Powell: Yet another inspirational, classy figure who has been a prominent part of recent history.
Funny line. The General talked about how he is always pressed to say what he misses most about being out of military and political leadership. Not much, but if there is one thing … “I miss my plane.” And then he told the story of his first civilian flight after leaving office, and how, by arriving late with no luggage and paying cash he fell under the scrutiny of the TSA Systems he had helped design in the wake of 9/11.
He discussed his approach to transitioning to non-military leadership roles. This was of interest to me as I have, at times, struggled to come to grips with these same differences. I was surprised to hear him say that he really approaches it all the same way, because that’s all he knows. And, “Leadership is leadership is leadership.”
He did go on to talk about his basic principles, and I’m sure that, while the principles may be the same, the manner in which he executes those principles changes with the context.
Gen Powell did talk briefly on current events, but didn’t get too controversial. Although on Afghanistan he advised that if more resources and troops are invested there, they must be sent with a clear understanding of their mission. I believe he is right, and I also believe that that won’t happen with an administration that hides behind ambiguity.
“A terrorist can not change the nature of our society. … Only we can do that to ourselves.”
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So, as I look back over the list … what a group! Not just excellent speakers, or motivators, or leaders, or successes in their fields. These were all people who excelled at all of the above. And they are all people who were selected and elevated by history. They were the right leaders, in the right places, with the right tools at the right time. That’s the “always be ready because you never know” lesson for us all.
Also, these weren’t leaders who’ve simply experienced unmitigated success. For most of them, we’ve watched their struggles with adversity on the evening news, and we know of their blemishes. And it’s the grace that they carry through it all that has truly endeared them to us.
To me that was the common thread. Grace. And class. With each of them, before they’d even said the first word you could just feel it. These qualities helped make them the successes that they are, but I’m sure that their pursuit and perseverance through the things that they are noted for has also made those qualities stronger.
Overall a wonderful day. Some of the extras, the hype, and a few sales presentations, I could have done without. But honestly, to hear just one of these great leaders I would have sat through that stuff. To get them all in one day was awesome.
… and tiring. Night all.
Set aside the talk of whether or not Ole Miss was deserving of the #4 ranking they carried into Williams-Brice Stadium. They weren’t. Regardless. South Carolina’s 16-10 victory over the Rebels was a big win for Steve Spurrier’s team. Mississippi may not be top 5, but they also aren’t nothing. For the second week in a row the Gamecocks were competitive against one of the SEC’s top teams. 
When partaking of my music collection I often enjoy paying close attention to the backup singers. It can be hilarious how their licks are totally incongruous with the song.
Sometime around suppertime here, Reno 911 and Cops are on different networks head to head. When I want to mess with my own mind I randomly switch back and forth between the two. 
“I taught Mike some, uh, some phrases to help with his interracial conversations. You know, stuff like ‘fleece it out,’ ‘goin’ mach 5,’ ‘dinkin flika.’ You know, things us negroes say.”