Let's Play Follow the Leader

NYDLA.org has an amazing new vendor - sponsor: www.Leadercast.com   

How would you like to meet and be mentored by leaders such as: 

Malala Yousafzai Rudy Giuliani   Peyton Manning   

Seth Godin   Malcolm Gladwell General Hugh Shelton  

Simon Sinek    LCDR Rorke T. Denver   Emmitt Smith  
and many others???

The world is missing out. We could all be learning more. We all could be living out our purpose. Leading and being led by people who inspire and enlighten us, give us strength and allow us to grow. Leadercast was built on a belief that the world needs better leaders -  Leaders Worth Following.

The NYDLA community believes that leadership is not reserved for those people with a ‘C’ in their title. We need better leaders in our communities, businesses, organizations, and in homes across the world. Leadercast exists to serve individuals and organizations across all sectors who want to become intentional about raising their standard of leadership.

Leadercast is constantly thriving to inspire and equip this global community, cutting through the noise and bringing realness to the leadership development space. Via innovative events and digital content the NYDLA global community can take immediate measurable actions that impact the lives of those they lead.

Around the world, we’re human before we’re leaders; we are human before we are teachers, coaches and trainers. Every piece of Leadercast content is aimed at the human heart. Leadercast is focused on developing the core of the leader first, believing that the principles that follow will take root, and a Leader Worth Following will be the end result.

How the NYDLA.org community will engage with Leadercast:

Leadercast Live — Each year, Leadercast facilitates the largest one-day convergence of leaders in the world by creating an epic leadership experience.

• NYDLA members are invited to attend live in Atlanta. Georgia in May 2016.
• Or, view an HD simulcast at one of our NYDLA.org host sites (hundreds of colleges and universities nationwide).
• NYDLA vendor sponsors will be hosting their own in-house events at their corporate location. Leadercast happens inside companies such as Apple and Amazon and in communities from Kuwait to Kansas!
• NYDLA.org members can view on on their own devices with Leadercast On Demand

Leadercast Now is an online platform created with leadership development in mind. Optimized for mobile or desktop, NYDLA membership has 24/7/365 access to all things Leadercast.  

The NYDLA currently services 300+ of the Fortune 1000 and 46% of the colleges and universities in the USA. The entire NYDLA community now has member access to all things Leadercast via our knowledge + technology + talent model. 

And for the first time: In May 2016, the NYDLA.org shall bring Leadercast Live to Times Square in NYC - giving thousands of individuals access (in HD simulcast) to Leaders Worth Following - LIVE from Atlanta. If you are not a member of the NYDLA.org now is a great time to join and “Follow the Leaders” on a global basis.  

Email Tom@NYDLA.org to learn more.

Leadercast May 2016 - LIVE from Times Square NYC

There be Wizards

I live in a magical place. This month the www.NYDLA.org visited Edison’s Laboratory and Bell Labs here in New Jersey. I felt like Indiana Jones exploring temples.

Alexander Graham Bell. Thomas Edison. Without these men, there would be no Google, no Microsoft. There would be no computers, no cellphones, no Internet. From these two men our world - our entire planet - was changed. In far less than 200 years, EVERYTHING has been engineered, rebuilt, reborn due to their technology - due to their lives.

The NYDLA.org community went to the old Bell Labs complex two weeks ago, to watch drones fly (indoors) via the two million square foot complex (former home of Bell Labs). Last week, we had a luncheon at Edison’s Laboratory, which is now a National Park. Then NYDLA.org members were once again back at the old Bell Labs complex, this time to see autonomous self-driving cars.

The Bell Labs facility was built in the 1960’s through the vision of Eero Saarinen, architect. I will not waste words here in this blog on the history of Edison’s Lab, or Bell Labs. There are links below that are certainly worth a read if you are so inclined.

What I WOULD like to say in today’s blog is this: get out. Get away from your desk, get away from your computer, and get into your car. Get out of your office (or co-working space, or coffee shop) and visit Edison’s Lab. Visit Bell Labs.

In less than 200 years, all of “this” happened. Both men were born in 1847. One hundred and sixty eight years since their birth, so I figure 140 years (plus/minus ten years) for their genius to take hold.

Google: “How many days since March 3rd, 1847 or since February 11, 1847” That number will stun you. In the blink of an eye, our entire planet was changed.

If you spend some time in the buildings where history was made, you will be inspired. You will be moved. Your brain’s chemistry will be altered. I firmly believe that one cannot enter these buildings, and not be motivated, energized, consumed. New Jersey is known as “The Garden State”. Truly, I had no idea what our garden grew.

Alexander Graham Bell (March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922)

Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931)

http://www.nps.gov/edis/index.htm

http://fortune.com/2015/02/02/bell-labs-real-estate-revival/

http://www.wired.com/2014/09/coupland-bell-labs/

Bell Labs - Holmdel, New Jersey

Less Filling! Tastes Great!

Point: I was born in 1960 so this blog makes sense to me. Millennials, please try to keep up.

Miller Lite's long-running "Great Taste...Less Filling!" advertising campaign was ranked by Advertising Age magazine as the eighth best advertising campaign in history. The campaign was developed by the advertising agency McCann-Erickson Worldwide. In the prime of the campaign, television commercials typically portrayed a Miller Lite drinker noting its great taste followed by another who observed that it was less filling. This usually led to a parody of Wild West saloon fights in which every patron got involved in the dispute for no real reason, though in this case it was always a shouting match, and blows were never thrown. The commercials were closed with a voice-over from actor Eddie Barth, who read the slogan, "Lite Beer from Miller: Everything you've always wanted in a beer. And less."

To attract 'Joe Six-pack' to a light beer, these commercials started to feature both elite ex-athletes such as Ray Nitschke, Ben Davidson, and Bubba Smith but also oddball cultural figures such as Mickey Spillane (accompanied by a blonde, Lee Meredith, who is better known for her role as Ulla, the secretary in The Producers), and comedian Rodney Dangerfield. As the series of commercials went on, it began featuring athletes and celebrities of all sorts. Some commercials from this era include:

• Former Major League catcher and Milwaukee Brewers broadcaster Bob Uecker being rousted from his good seat at a ballgame, and escorted away by an usher. Uecker comments, "I must be in the front rowwwwwww," but ends up in the last row of the nosebleed seats.

• In 1978 Joe Frazier, famous heavyweight boxing champion but on-screen caption says "Joe Frazier, Famous Heavyweight Singer", as part of a barbershop quartet walk into a full bar and sing to "do like Smokin' Joe" and go on to sing about its advantages. There is then a moment's silence which follows with a roar of applause.

• Marv Throneberry, who was one of most famously hapless members of the 1962 New York Mets, wondering over and over, "I don't know why I was asked to do this commercial."

• Former Baltimore Orioles first baseman Boog Powell and former umpire Jim Honochick doing a spot together, with Honochick totally unaware whom he is standing next to, until he puts his glasses on at the end, and exclaims, "Hey - you're Boog Powell!"

• Pro footballer/actor Bubba Smith proclaims at the end of a spot, "I also like the easy-opening can," then proceeds to tear off the entire top third of an aluminum Miller Lite can. In a later ad, pro bowling legend Don Carter laments that bowlers are athletes too, and attempts to prove it by repeating Smith's feat. But he struggles to do so.

• And perhaps most famously, when Billy Martin and George Steinbrenner were in the middle of their legendary 1970s era feuds, they did an ad with Martin saying, "Tastes great, George", and Steinbrenner replying, "Less filling, Billy!", back and forth until Steinbrenner finally says, "You're fired!" (changed to "You're hired!" when Martin was re-hired by Steinbrenner in real life). Martin replies, "Not Again!"

As the popularity of the ads and the number of athletes and celebrities that appeared in them grew, Miller produced occasional "alumni" ads featuring all of the stars, generally in some sort of competition between the 'Less Fillings' and the 'Taste Greats'. The ads usually ended with Rodney Dangerfield somehow being the goat of the losing team. In one of the last spots to feature Dangerfield, the Miller Lite alumni are competing in a bowling match. It is the last frame of a tie game, and Ben Davidson grumbles to Dangerfield, "We only need one pin, Rodney." Dangerfield rolls the ball down the lane, only to have it bounce horizontally off the head pin and into the gutter, knocking down zero pin.

Where are you going with this, Tom?

Well, how is this even a debate? If the beer tastes terrible, no one will care HOW less filling it is, right? Yeah, it’s less filling all right - because no one will drink it! The fact that it is less filling - AND that you WANT to drink it, that is the key. You need both.  No one is going to buy a crappy tasting beer just because you can drink more of it due to its less filling properties!

Works Great! Easy to Use!

In the world of technology, if you have an app or software or “anything” that WORKS GREAT but is difficult to use, you have a dud. If it is super easy to use, but it does not improve the results, if it does not make life better, if it does not change the game - it is a dud.  A pencil is super easy to use, but today most people prefer something a little more technically powerful.

The Miller Lite commercials made it sound like there were really people out there ready to get into a fist fight over their passionate position: LESS FILLING!

Really? That’s your position in the debate? You think this beer sells like crazy because you can drink more of it without feeling bloated?  

TASTES GREAT! (Yeah, I can get behind that)

LESS FILLING! (Oh boy! Let’s drink more of this crappy tasting beer, just because we can!)

I don’t care how easy some piece of technology is to use: if it does not make my life better, if it does not change my life, my business, my world FOR THE BETTER, the fact that it is EASY TO USE does not sweeten the deal.

First question: will this make my life / my business better? Second question: do I need a PhD in computer science to use this thing?

GREAT TECHNOLOGY!  (First)

EASY TO USE! (Second)

Both are important, but one is certainly more important than the other. If something is not great, nobody cares how easy it is to use. Both are very important (ala Apple) but clearly one position must come first.

Be great, then make sure the greatness is easy to use. No one needs something to be easy for the sake of being easy.  

BoontonWorks.com, do you?

Yogi Berra was one of the great ballplayers, but he also spent years as a successful team manager. Yogi will also go down in history for his odd comments. He once picked up a pizza. The server asked if he wanted the pizza sliced into six or eight pieces. Yogi replied, “Better make it six, I’m not that hungry.” Yogi’s wisdom applies to business:

“If you don’t know where you’re going, you wind up someplace else.” 

Make a plan. If you don't have a clear direction, you will drift. A plan may or may not keep you on track. But if you have a plan, you’ll know when you’re off track. Then you can make adjustments before it’s too late.

“Never answer an anonymous letter.” 

You don't have to answer to criticism coming from those who are not willing to identify themselves. When you take a leadership position, you'll have to answer for your actions and decisions. But you don't have to answer to those who won't stand up to make their comments.

“When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” 

From a management point of view, it means that a clear decision is better than no decision. So when you come to a place where you need to make a decision, don’t hesitate. He who hesitates is lost.

“You can observe a lot by watching.” 

What does Yogi mean? You need to study the environment you're managing. Pay attention. Watch. Listen. Get feedback. Business owners stumble when they make assumptions.

“It ain't over till it’s over.” 

Yogi spent his career in a game that does not depend on time. The game is over only when the last play had been played. Until then, anything can happen. In business, as long as you haven't given up, you have a chance to make it. No matter how difficult your road, you're not out until you are called OUT!

“The future ain't what it used to be.” 

Our feelings and our ideas about the future changes. Assumptions change, possibilities change. The more you can imagine, the bigger your potential future. A future with greater challenges and accomplishments.

That last Yogi quote struck a nerve with me. 

On the day after Labor Day 2015 we officially launch our first (of many???) coworking spaces in Morris County, New Jersey: www.BoontonWorks.com  

BoontonWorks.com on Main Street Boonton New Jersey USA

We are only a few miles from the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center in Little Falls, New Jersey. Coincidence? No, because at BoontonWorks.com “We’re open ‘til we close.” 

Thanks, Yogi. I could not have said it better myself.

Email: Info@BoontonWorks.com

Yogi got his nickname, because he would sit on the ground 

with his legs crossed just like a "Yogi". 

A bad day of golf

There is a saying that “”A bad day at the golf course beats a good day at the office” and I think that is true. But what if your office IS the golf course?

Yesterday I "cashed in" my Father’s Day Gift from my son, Tommy. I used to love playing golf, twice a week (Wednesdays and Saturdays, like clockwork). I used to say that if I could not “be” a doctor, at least I can live like one! The best round of golf in my life was a 78 on a Pete Dye course. I was in the zone that day.

Yesterday was not that day.

After a three year break from the game of golf, yesterday was my first time on the links. The weather was perfect, the course was not crowded. As we pulled into the parking lot, the first thing that hit me was “why is no one here?” The weather is PERFECT for golf, and it is the weekend. This cannot be good. Is there something wrong with the course?

There was nothing wrong with the course. It was perfect.  So, what’s up with the un-crowded course? Ah, a sign of things to come. Perfect things.

We needed to get some food, and planned on eating at the course before playing golf. The restaurant on the course grounds was closed, with a “For Rent” sign in the window. That was it, just a little sign, everything was shuttered. First thing that came to mind as a businessman and entrepreneur was “well, if they could not make it here, why would I want to rent such a loser of a location?”

Why not have a sign in the window that says “Retired and moved to Florida! Life is Good! Call 555-444-1212 to rent this wonderful space!”

There was a girl selling hot dogs and drinks from a table. But she was taking “cash only” and was not prepared for making change of large bills.

Why not have Square or PayPal to swipe cards? This is a golf course, 99.999% of the people are going to have a credit card / debit card. Can you really afford (in this day and age) to NOT accept plastic, no matter WHERE you are - even on a golf course? We are in the age of the smartphone, Apple Pay and eCommerce everywhere. And it is so easy to add an extra 20% (or more) tip when you are showing off in front of your golf buddies, right? But, I bit my lip and did not lecture the poor kid on her missed opportunity.

Golf is an amazing game. My best memories are of spending Sunday afternoons playing golf with my father and his brother (my Uncle Tom Capone) in Saddle River, New Jersey. We had a standing tee time every Sunday at 1pm. The starter would call out in a booming voice on the PA system: “Capone, Capone, Capone…...and someone else..... to the first tee." I remember those days like they were yesterday. I would observe the dynamics of my father with his brother, the dynamics of my father with the golf pros, the dynamics of other golfers, everything. I think it was here that I first knew that I would one day become a salesman. Or a psychologist. Or both.

"You can observe a lot by just watching." - Yogi Berra

On the golf course: Does this person count every stroke? Really, every stroke? Do they have a $500 driver and a $5 swing? Do they know the rules, and observe the rules, or do they think the rules of the game are for everyone else? Are they courteous, are they good sports, or do they ruin the day for everyone else on the course?

Do they lose their temper easily? Do they find a way to enjoy themselves, even when losing a ball (or two, or three) into the water hazard? Can they recover from a bad shot? Do they give themselves the short putts, or do they take the game seriously?

So, I cannot shut down my brain, even on the golf course. Your brain does not take a day off, ever. And I think that is a good thing.

Yesterday I observed what an amazing young man my son has become. He is playing the game of golf - and the game of life - by the rules. There is another saying that goes: “Show me your friends, and I’ll show you who you are”. Yesterday we played with one of Tommy’s friends from High School. I would adopt that kid in a New York minute.

Did I mention that I beat both of these kids, even after my three year hiatus from the game? Of course I did not mention that - if I was bragging how my 54 year old former athletic body beat both of these kids in their 20’s, it would not be something that I would want the world to observe, right? So, let’s not bring it up again, this topic of me beating the both of them yesterday - after three years of not touching a club. Move on people, please!

OK, wrap it all up for us Tom…..

Who is Pete Dye?

Well, my observation would be this: if you really wanted to know, you would have Googled him by now.

Who is Yogi Berra?  Well, Wikipedia says:

Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra (born May 12, 1925) is a retired American Major League Baseball (MLB) catcher, manager, and coach. He played almost his entire 19-year baseball career (1946–65) for the New York Yankees. He is widely regarded as one of the best catchers in baseball history. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972.

Berra was an All-Star for 15 seasons. He is one of only four players to be named the Most Valuable Player of the American League three times and is one of seven managers to lead both American and National League teams to the World Series. As a player, coach, or manager, Berra appeared in 21 World Series including 13 World Series championships. He was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in a voting of fans in 1999.

Berra, who quit school after the eighth grade, was also known for his pithy and paradoxical quotes, such as "It ain't over 'til it's over", while speaking to reporters. Simultaneously denying and confirming his reputation, Berra once stated, "I really didn't say everything I said.

On a fine summer day way back in the 70’s the starter at Saddle River Country Club called out on the PA system: “Capone, Capone, Capone and Berra.”  True story. Thanks Dad.

Who is Thomas Anthony Capone?

Well, my many years of making keen Sherlock Holmes observations of people and their behaviors tells me this: My son is my life coach. He constantly reminds me that you can learn a lot by just watching.

In baseball, you can pitch a perfect game. But there is no such thing as a “perfect round of golf”.

Not true. We just had one yesterday. 

We need to keep that score card and frame it.

Horse Thief!

Now that American Pharoah is the first Triple Crown winner in decades after his Belmont Stakes victory, his value could skyrocket to as much as $100 million over the next few years. If some terrible person stole this amazing animal and was later apprehended, what would be their punishment? Jail, most likely. But for how many years?

Would the death penalty be on the table?  No.

But many years ago, stealing a horse - any horse - would carry the penalty of death if you were caught - or even if you were merely accused!  No proof of a crime was necessary - just call someone a “Horse Thief” loud enough and they are looking for a rope. Why so harsh?

Horse theft was a well-known crime in medieval and early modern times and was severely punished in many areas. While many crimes were punished through ritualized shaming or banishment, horse theft often brought severe punishment, including branding, torture, exile and death. According to one 18th century treatise, the use of death as a punishment for horse theft stretches back as far as the first century AD, when the Germanic Chauci tribe would sentence horse thieves to death, while murderers would be sentenced to a fine. This practice derived from the wealth of the populace being in the form of livestock which ranged over large areas, meaning that the theft of animals could only be prevented through fear of the harsh punishment that would result

The term horse thief came into great popularity in the United States during the 19th century. During that time the Great Plains states, Texas, and other western states were sparsely populated and negligibly policed. As farmers tilled the land and migrants headed west through the Great Plains, their horses became subject to theft. Since these farmers and migrants depended on their horses, horse thieves garnered a particularly pernicious reputation because they left their victims helpless or greatly handicapped by the loss of their horses. The victims needed their horses for transportation and farming. Such depredation led to the use of the term horse thief as an insult, one that conveys the impression of the insulted person as one lacking any shred of moral decency.

Back in the day, stealing someone’s horse could mean death to the owner. The victim of such a theft could leave them stranded in the wilderness. Or, if a farmer, they could starve. The only way to combat this epidemic of horse theft was to make the punishment very harsh as a deterrent.

Horse theft is still relatively common, with an estimated 40,000 horses a year being taken from their lawful owners by strangers or opponents in civil or legal disputes. Stolen Horse International is one modern-day organization in the US that works to reconnect stolen horses with their owners. Horse are sometimes stolen for their meat, or sometimes for ransom. Punishment for horse theft can still be severe, but not death.

Where are you going with this Tom?

Cybersecurity and "hacking" is today’s version of horse theft.

The Internet of Things (IoT) and “the cloud” has changed our lives forever. Before cars, a horse was the most important thing you could own. A horse meant transportation, a horse meant security - owning a horse was everything. The death penalty for horse theft was tied to this fact. As time went on, losing a horse to theft became less of a “life and death” matter for the victim, so the harshness of the death penalty slowly went away. The penalty became less harsh, as the perceived loss of value and suffering diminished.  

Sony was hacked. Target was hacked. The White House was hacked. Everything that we do at our jobs, at home, at school is now connected to “The Internet of Things” and the cloud. If it is not safe, it cannot continue to exist. If it not secure, it will not be sustainable. Like a bad neighborhood, no one will want to go there.

Will we see the death penalty returning anytime soon for someone hacking into your business or personal email account, or messing with your WordPress website? Probably not.

How about hacking into a nuclear reactor, or a power grid, or your country’s military archives and personnel records? How about hacking into a hospital, or an airport’s control tower?

Back in the day, a horse was a horse. You did not need to steal a Triple Crown winner to get the death penalty. Any horse would do.