Thank-you to Sue Publicover of Writers of the Round Table for letting the Network for Executive Women know about EDGE! A Leadership Story.  As a result, they have named the book as their current main selection.  Check out the listing here.

For those of you who live in the Chicago area and are very early risers, I will be appearing on the Morning Show on NBC5 on Sunday, August 24 between 6:30-7:00 a.m. Central (Just ignore the dark circles under my eyes) on the topic of “Helicopter Parents.” The show will also be promoting our Millennial Leaders book, so we are very excited and hope that those of you who can watch will do so!

And…the following morning, August 25 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific., I will be appearing on Sacramento & Company. You can watch your TV experience from your own computers! They are LIVE streaming online at www.sacandco.net just click on “Watch LIVE.” Of course if you live in the Sacramento viewing area, you can watch from view of your favorite television set!

We greatly appreciate your continued support as we take the message of coaching and our next great generation out to the world!

And…if you have not yet picked up a copy of EDGE! A Leadership Story, we encourage you to do so and begin working through your greatness as a leader.

Date: 08/13/2008
Time: 4:00PM ET
Register Here Online

What you will learn:

The young consumer (ages 22-35) cannot be reached through traditional marketing methods. They don’t watch as much television as older buyers, and they get their information online and buy based on what their friends tell them to buy. The new buyer is the future of your business, and if you want to stay competitive, it is time to start learning how to reach the 72 million consumers who are entering the business world in the next 1-3 years.

Facebook, Twitter, Delicious and Ping.Fm are just a few of the social networks which can offer you a variety of cool tools to get millions of new eyes on your products and services. During this class, Generation Y Expert, Bea Fields, will teach you about the seven top online tools you can use in order to attract a younger buyer and build a network of new blood. This class will include a 10-page document which will explain in detail how to go about building a marketing machine through the power of online social networks.

By coming into this class, you will also receive a ppt and a handout to use with your clients to teach them about Web 2.0 social networks!

I recently got a surge of professional inspiration from just about the least likely source. A music producer friend of ours had been really inspired by the collaboration of bluegrass artist Alison Krauss and legendary rocker and Led Zeppelin front-man, Robert Plant. Our friend brought over a DVD copy of the CMT Crossroads show featuring their performances and interviews. My husband an I had heard a couple of the hit singles off of the groundbreaking album and liked it, but left it at that. Well, we watched the show and decided we liked what this unlikely duo was doing musically. Then came Plant’s interview. One of the first things he said was this: “It’s been such a learning curve to be part of something that’s not part of a masculine projection.”

What? The self-proclaimed Golden God of rock said that? Yes, he did. I was beyond intrigued. I was instantly smitten and set on learning more about this metamorphosis. Well, open yourself to synchronicity and you shall receive. We got a call the very next day from a friend offering us free tickets and backstage passes for the show. Needless to say we went and were blown away. The entire performance was, for me, a metaphor for the statement Plant had made during that interview.

There were clearly die-hard Led Zeppelin fans in the crowd. Easy to spot, they were screaming and yelling, just begging for the antithesis of what the collaboration with Krauss is all about. It was obvious that the “Golden God” is still quite capable of delivering that kind of performance; he simply chooses not to do so…at least not for now, not while sharing the stage with musicians and a producer (T-Bone Burnett) for whom he obviously has so much respect. While he spent plenty of time front-and-center, seeing him also stand in the background and sing perfect three-part harmony while Krauss took center stage spoke volumes about the inherent power, truth, and beauty in being part of a larger organic whole that delivers a message far beyond what you could ever deliver on your own, driven by ego…regardless of how creatively genius that ego may be.

So the inspiration? The lesson in this for me? I guess I would say this about it. It takes a lot of guts to let yourself change, to evolve, no matter who you are. When you are an icon–a leader–of any sort, though, I would imagine that it takes complete and utter faith in the process itself and in what you have to offer and absolute faith in the team in which you immerse yourself. What I take from this experience is that we all have the capacity to grow and change to bring to fruition untold impact on those who are watching our every move. And as a leader in any field, sometimes the most inspiring and powerful form of leadership comes in immersing yourself in your team or simply standing back and letting others shine.

Earlier in the month, I had the honor of interviewing my close friend and colleague, Alicia Smith, the DiSC Ninja about the use of the DiSC.  As always, Alicia provided a LOT of great value during this interview, so listen in below!

 Alicia: Download