Interview – Daniel Pink

August 20th, 2008 by Sean Burke

 

Today Sean speaks with Daniel Pink the author of The Adventures of Johnny Bunko:  The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need.  This compelling story is the first American business book written in the Japenese comic format known as Manga.  You will hear Daniel discuss:

  • his take on how the role of the worker and corporations will change over time;
  • the challenges he faced creating a business book as a graphic novel;
  • what he describes as the 6 Essentials for Thriving in the World of Work, plus much more.

This is Daniel’s third book about the changing world of work.  To learn more about Daniel, click here

Kirk Putze – Rare Watch Source

April 15th, 2008 by Sean Burke

There are plenty of sources to help you find tickets to sold out sporting events; brokers can help track down rare pieces of art…but where do CEO’s and the affluent go to find vintage/rare watches? They go to Back in Time International.

Kirk Putze and his wife Michelle have build a niche business that serves well-to-do clients in their search for that rare time piece that no one else can find. If you are looking for that special piece, you can find them here:

1.800.233.8812
001.248.540.4646 international
227 S. Old Woodward Ave. Birmingham, MI 48009
sales@backintimeintl.com

Companies like this are just plain cool…don’t you think?

CEOWise Facebook Page

April 13th, 2008 by Sean Burke

I have created a Facebook Page for CEOWise so that you can connect and share with one another.

On the page we have posted:

  • Mini Blog Feed
  • A wall where you can post comments
  • A discussion board for threaded conversations
  • Photo’s from our work with clients
  • A couple of short videos of me speaking

Please check it out and let me know what you would like to see this page used for:

CEOWise Facebook Page

April Fools, Maddux Style

April 12th, 2008 by Sean Burke

This year was mellow for the April Fool’s pranks on me.

My daughter got a couple zingers in, but she is seven…so they are pretty predictable. Up until last Friday, I thought I had skated through 4/1/08 unscathed…then I got hit with one.

I was speaking to Craig Neuman, from the Maddux Business Report. During our conversation, I shared with him how surprised I was that Maddux was changing its name to MBR and jumping full on into the Web 2.0 world. That’s when I got hit “BOOM” – right in the kisser!

Seems that the Maddux editorial team, played a little joke on all the readers…they put two pages of bogus articles in the front of the magazine. If you weren’t paying close attention (like me) – then you would never notice that they were listed as April Fools Edition* (see below).

Good for you Maddux Business Report…everyone deserves a good prank. Wait til next year!
Close Up

How to do business like the Mafia

April 10th, 2008 by Sean Burke

For you “Godfather, Goodfellas, and Sporanos” lovers out there, here are some insights from the jailed Cosa Nostra boss Bernardo Provenzano. He shares seven points of leadership that he has used to run his organization. These stood out to me:

  • Take input from multiple sources before making a decision
  • Be politically flexible especially if you are in it for the long haul
  • When things aren’t going well, fall back, don’t seek publicity, and work on fixing your issues

What have you learned about leadership from your favorite Gangster tales?

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Interview – Maryann Ferenc

April 9th, 2008 by Sean Burke

Maryann Ferenc – Proprietor of Mise En Place

In this interview, Maryann shares her insights into running a successful independent restaurant. Listen in as she discusses:

  • The History of Mise En Place
  • What it is like to be an independent restauratuer
  • How Mise En Place maintains it quality
  • How to balance multiple ventures at one time
  • Her most memorable moment since opening Mise En Place
  • The changes in taste over the last 20-years
  • Their plans for the future
  • Advice for others in pursuing their own Vision

Thank you Maryann for this wonderful interview and best wishes on your next 20-years of success!

The domain name business

April 8th, 2008 by Sean Burke

I had lunch yesterday with a friend of mine who is a “tweener” – someone who finds themselves between selling a business and starting another. He and I both have dabbled in the domain name speculation business (investing in a domain name with the expectation that the name is or will become valuable to someone).

There are people that do this for a living and it can be a VERY good living. In fact, my friend and I discussed the huge amounts certain domain names have sold for…so I had to find out the record.

Here is what Wikipedia had to report. Most people work a lifetime to earn a fraction of that kind of money…so, what’s your domain name worth? To find out…just type “Domain Appraisal” in Google and you will get a list of companies who are happy to tell you – for a fee.

WSJ.com – Attention, Bloggers

April 6th, 2008 by Sean Burke

Are you using the blogosphere to drive your company’s growth? I’ve read the stories of people growing virally through the use of their blog but I haven’t seen it. In fact, many CEO’s that I talk to still give me that “Hmmm” look when I talk about blogging. Quite frankly, I don’t see me spending too much time on a commercial blog – unless the content was valuable – more valuable then non-commercial site. Sure, there are hints of pitching/sales in many company blogs but a pure-pitch blog I don’t see it working or having enough content to last more than a few weeks.

What are your favorite business blogs? Seth Godin’s is still my favorite…glad I stumbled upon it.

Here is one story of blog-commerce:

Not that I doubt that Businesses of all types and sizes are focusing on the power of bloggers as opinion shapers. But harnessing that power is particularly important for small-business owners who don’t have the money to create name recognition with big marketing campaigns.

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American Express – Open Forum

April 5th, 2008 by Sean Burke

American Express is a great company. I just read in Fortune that they were again ranked within the top-20 most admired companies in the US. With their release of the Open Forum, they are doing more than offering banking and credit card services – they are connecting customers through an engaging new format. Through their Blog, Video’s , articles and more they are sharing information that their client will find valuable.

Check it out – let me know what you think…

The “Millennials” are here

April 5th, 2008 by Sean Burke

The subject of how to lead millennials comes up in nearly every CEO group session we hold. Learning to build a generational bridge is becoming an important competency for companies in the US. For our millennial subscribers – watch the video to understand how the baby-boomers view your age group. For the baby-boomers, read the comments to this piece to learn how frustrating this portrayal is to this new workforce generation.

What are you doing to help bring these two-groups together? Do you even care or want to?

Intro -
(CBS) Stand back all bosses! A new breed of American worker is about to attack everything you hold sacred: from giving orders, to your starched white shirt and tie. They are called, among other things, “millennials.” There are about 80 million of them, born between 1980 and 1995, and they’re rapidly taking over from the baby boomers.

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