Keynote Speaking in California

Hi all!

I've been busy these past couple of days, presenting a keynote address in Long Beach, California. (I'm typing this at LAX as I wait for my flight home.)

I spoke to a group called the California County Information Services Directors Association (CCISSDA). The title of my speech was:

Collaborative IT Leadership: Are You Pushing, Pulling or Actually Leading People?


Great group of people ... and Long Beach is a beautiful city. I'm hoping to vlog a bit more when I get the chance.

My brother Patrick Warneka ... a professional photographer ... came along to shoot photos. Here's one of me from the night of our arrival.

Personal learnings from this trip? Breathe, stay flexible and listen carefully.

New Media Interview - The Black Belt Way

I was recently interviewed at Web Wise Business by Chris Curtis. Chris and I talked about "Martial Arts Mindpower for Business."

Here's the interview:



Enjoy!

Tim

A Loss to the Music World ...

I often listen to music when I am working. I particularly like blues and jazz, both style as mellow or rockin' as my mood permits. I've been super busy with business, so I was sadden to hear of the March 2, 2008 death of Toronto guitar player Jeff Healey.

One of my favorite tunes Jeff played with the late, great Stevie Ray Vaughn (not the best video quality in the world):



...and here's a heart-felt goodbye to Jeff, written by Nathalie Vanderheyden

My thoughts and prayers go out to Jeff's wife and children.

Today I'm Featured ...

... on this terrific writing site.

Enjoy!

Contrarian Success ...

Successful leaders understand that following the "latest and greatest" is not always the pathway to success.

Take Craigslist for example.

According to this article from ClickZ, points out the Craigslist, an on-line classified ad website, is poised to make over 81 million dollars this year.

The article quotes Classified Intelligence Principal Peter Zollman describing Craigslist as "...looking at a Web site from 1996," but there's no sense in fixing something that isn't broken. "They could change the look and feel," he said. "But, for many people, that wouldn't be an improvement...It's a very dated look and that's the way they want to keep it."

So while so many other companies scramble to increase their on-line sales with the latest and greatest technology, the leadership of Craigslist clearly follow a contrarian position:

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it."