Happy New Year My Friends!

What a year it has been! The highs and lows. The fun. Failures and wins. I look forward to reposting some of your favorite blogs over the coming months as well as bringing you a fresh perspective in 2014.

I am extremely grateful for the speaking opportunities I have had this year. I brought Liquid Leadership to The Napoleon Hill Think & Grow Rich Summit in California, and to The Claims & Litigation Management Association...TWICE; once in Philadelphia and then for their Holiday Party here in New York City. Along the way I've shared the stage with Jeffrey Gitomer, Bob Burg, Tom "Too Tall" Cunningham, Jim Palmer, John Assaraf, and many more.

It has been exciting and humbling at the same time. The world is changing. People want something better. And I plan on being a part of that movement.

The very best to you and your family. And THANK YOU for following my posts.

We change the world one idea at a time.

And thank you for stopping by,

Happy New Year.

Brad

Brad Szollose
Bridging Generational Chaos: Multigenerational management expert, award-winning author, business consultant and keynote speaker

Brad Szollose is a much sought-after generational expert, management consultant and keynote speaker who helps smart companies understand just how much technology has transformed corporate culture and behavior… and how that impacts management interaction, expectations and sales in The Digital Age.



But this is not based on management theory: With a 30 year career as an entrepreneur he knows firsthand what it’s like to grow a company from a simple idea in a coffee shop to an internationally recognized brand.


Brad is a former C-Level Internet Executive who went from entrepreneur to IPO in 3 yrs—co-founding K2 Design, the very first Dot Com Agency to go public on NASDAQ. His company experienced 425% hyper-growth for 5 straight years, expanded from 2 business partners to 4 with 60+ employees and offices worldwide. At its height, K2 was valuated at over $26 million. 

His results only management model (ROWE) was applied to the first wave of young Generation Y workers producing great results—winning K2 the Arthur Andersen NY Enterprise Award for Best Practices in Fostering Innovation.

Brad Szollose is also the *award-winning author of Liquid Leadership: From Woodstock to Wikipedia which explores the subject of new leadership styles – mainly how to get the tech-savvy Generation Y and analogue driven Baby Boomers working together. ISBN-13: 978-1608320554

Known for his humorous and thought-provoking presentations, Szollose received the highest testimonial of his career from a C-Level audience member: "I just had my mind blown." Brad’s keynotes and workshops are highly interactive, heart-warming, humorous, and filled with high-content information that challenge assumptions and help leaders and managers create a better work environment for innovation to thrive.


Liquid Leadership has been called "THE guidebook for the 21st Century" and has won the 2011 Axiom Business Book Award silver medal for leadership, The Indie Business Book runner up silver medal as well as becoming a #1 Best-Selling Business Book on Amazon for Organizational Learning. Published in the United States by Greenleaf Book Group, in India by Prolibris and in South Korea by UI Books/Iljinsa Publishing.

Mr. Szollose also writes a monthly column on business and marketing techniques that reach Generation Y for A Captured Mind newsletter and is part of The Mind Capture Group faculty.

Today, Brad helps businesses close the Digital Divide by understanding it as a Cultural Divide – created by the new tech-savvy worker...and customer. 



* 2011 Axiom Business Book silver medal winner in the leadership

* #1 Amazon Best-Selling Author

"I just had my mind blown..." - A.S., Vistage, New York

Liquid Leadership by Brad Szollose is available at all major bookstores and for Kindle, Nook, iPad and Sony ereaders. Internationally published in India and S. Korea.

Making New Years Goals That STICK!!!

We ALL do it. Every year, after the holidays we vow yet again to change our ways. No more drinking, or I'll lose that last 25 pounds or I will no longer let people walk all over me.

And every year, *92% of us fail!

With those odds, why bother? But each year, despite good intentions, the majority of us seem to give up a month later. What do you think it is that we are doing wrong? Most of us are serious, goal setting adults who know how to achieve some sort of success, after all you are a functioning member of society. Graduated from high school, college or went into the military. We KNOW how to follow rules. So why do so many fail? Let me take a stab at this phenomenon...

Most of us fail at our goal setting because...(drum-roll please)...

We set goals that are not resonating with
what WE REALLY want.

Yes, it's that simple. Think about your choices. I mean, take a few hours to REALLY think about them. Do you want to lose weight, or are you doing it because you know your wife keeps getting on your case about it? Or some relative mentioned your weight over the Holidays? Probably the latter. You are angry at yourself because you know, deep down inside, they are right.

More than 80% of people fail in achieving their goals because they are setting someone elses goals for themselves.

 

When we try to achieve a goal that doesn't engage us emotionally, then chances are, it is just a dream we thought of with our mind. Passion comes from the heart! And if you want to achieve a goal, it must come from your heart, not your head.

Take a look at me. I was gaining weight back in 2007. So, I did what everyone else does, I focused on the "I gotta lose weight" mindset. And guess what happened?  I started gaining even more. Up and down I went, until one day my nephew wanted to know if I wanted to join him in taking karate.

Since I was out of shape I started with cardio kickboxing. After 6 weeks, I started in the adult mixed martial arts class. Pretty soon I forgot about losing weight, and started focusing on getting in shape and enjoying the kicking, punching, grappling and all around fun. My nephew was a black belt and an instructor. Over one year I went from white, yellow, orange and then purple belt. And guess what? I LOST weight.

I have always wanted to take up the martial arts, I just never had the time. So here was a passionate dream I was finally fulfilling, and one of the side effects was weight loss. Another side affect was I grew an inch taller, I was almost never tired and achieved a level of muscular definition I never thought was possible.

If you love the goal you set for yourself, you will do it even after you achieve it! So here are a few rules to help you stick to those New Years Resolutions:

1) Make SURE the goals you want are truly your own

Give it a try. Write down a few things you are passionate about and always wanted to do. Now write down the positive side effects that would come about if you achieved that goal. Now write down what would happen if you DID NOT do it this year.

This requires that you sit down in silence, relax and really get to know yourself. Get other people's voice out of your head and figure out what YOU WANT out of life. (start by getting your parents voice out of your head). Also, sit outside if you can. No music. No Internet. No disturbances of any kind while you do this exercise.

2) Form a Master Mind Group that is supportive

If you are unsure of what a Master Mind Group is, here's a start: Napoleon Hill's definition of a Master Mind.

Then, get a small group of friends who have the same or similar goals. DO NOT TELL ANYONE ELSE about these goals except your super secret Master Mind Group. Be VERY careful of who you invite. This should not be buddies that you like hanging out with but instead choose people in business or life who may have skills and goals you are lacking.

The reason I state that you should be quiet about your goals is because there are always saboteurs around us. You want positive people who are supportive, goal oriented and keep everyone accountable! 

When the goal has been achieved people will ask, "WHAT is she doing different?"

3) Be Adaptable

When I started my 4th company, K2 Design, I had a dream of creating a traditional design & marketing firm that would be the talk of NYC. Unbeknownst to me, we were competing with 4,000 other established design firms in Manhattan.

One day my business partner bursts into our one room office and exclaims "We have to become an Internet Company!" I had NO IDEA what he was talking about (remember, in 1994 only 12% of the population knew what the Internet was).

But I decided to adjust my goal to this newfangled idea. And sales went through the roof! We had unknowingly became one of 10 design firms in the world simply because we shifted our vision.

Joe Calloway mentions this in his book...

Becoming a Category of One: How Extraordinary Companies Transcend Commodity and Defy Comparison

Goals are not set in stone. They must live in your heart—learn, adjust and change as the world changes around you. If you stay adaptable, letting go of hard rigid opinions, you WILL be able to get where you are going.

Too many people stay stuck in a rut because they stop upgrading and adapting their resolutions to the changing landscape. Kinda like a group of commandos in the field. If they were trained for desert combat don't you think they would have to adjust for the jungle?

You'll be happier doing what you want, not what you think you should be doing. And don't forget to pat yourself on the back once in a while. Being hard on yourself serves no one.

Here is My 7 Keys to Forming Your Own Productive Master Mind Group.

It will get you started.

Thank you for a GREAT 2012, and an even better 2013...

Email me if you want to discuss your goals for this year. I have some results driven coaching packages for executives as well as individuals.


Brad Szollose

* Special thank you to The University of Scranton. Journal of Clinical Psychology Published: 12.13.2012 

PS: If you are interested in one of our white papers entitled... 

What Every Business Needs
to Know About Generation Y:
Understanding How Technology Transforms Culture and Behavior,
and Impacts Management, Interaction
and Expectations 

email us with your name, title and email address.
Your information is confidential.

Ask me how I can help your company evolve into the 21st Century of Management.

Web Pioneer Brad Szollose is the *award-winning author of Liquid Leadership: From Woodstock to Wikipedia which explores the subject of new leadership styles – mainly how to get the tech-savvy Generation Y and analogue driven Baby Boomers working together. ISBN-13: 978-1608320554

But this is not based on management theory:
Brad is a former C-Level Internet executive who went from entrepreneur to IPO in 3 yrs – co-founding K2 Design, the very first Dot Com Agency to go public on NASDAQ. His Results Only management model was applied to the first wave of Gen Y workers producing great results– 425% profitable growth for 5 straight years and winning K2 the Arthur Andersen NY Enterprise Award for Best Practices in Fostering Innovation among his employees!

Today, through his workshops and keynotes, Brad helps Fortune 500 Companies close the Digital Divide by understanding it as a cultural divide—created by a new tech-savvy worker...and customer.

Mr. Szollose also writes a monthly column on business and marketing techniques that reach Generation Y for A Captured Mind newsletter and is part of The Mind Capture Group faculty.

* 2011 Axiom Business Book silver medal winner in the leadership

* #1 Amazon Best-Selling Author

"I just had my mind blown..." - A.S., Vistage, New York

Liquid Leadership by Brad Szollose is available at all major bookstores and for Kindle, Nook, iPad and Sony ereaders. Internationally published in India and S. Korea.

What's Your Intention This Year?

Happy New Year everyone! It has been an amazing year hasn't it? Bumpy? Yes. It seems as if the world is coming apart at the seams and now we have lost Sean Connery.

But, it is clear to me, if you analyze the news—real news from international sources, not the news we get here in The U.S.A.—we will not be facing an economic recovery any time soon. How can I predict such things? Well The United States is no longer independent of the worlds problems. We are a finely woven tapestry of nations strung together by various socioeconomic and political tides that affect all of us.

If there is an economic problem in Europe, it is just a matter of time before it lands on our shores as well. Article: Europe leaders warn of a difficult 2012

Government austerity has undermined growth
and caused a great deal of anger around Europe.
Photo belongs to AP and BBC.

The riots in Greece over food prices and austerity measures from government pensions will be happening here as well...just a matter of time. More war will break out so we'll need to send more troops. Gold prices will rise even higher along with copper, silver and other raw and precious materials, unemployment will continue to get worse and housing prices will drop.

These predictions are possibilities based on the available facts and events at hand, not theories.

"But Brad, how can you be so sure?"

It is how Keynesian Economics works. Just in case you do not know this, Keynesian Economics is the basis of our economic system here in the United States. More taxes, more printing of money and injecting it into the economy and...sadly, more war. We use a blended version here in the USA, but either way, the rest of the Industrialized Nations have adopted our fiat money system. And when the system has reached critical mass, chaos becomes the norm as government officials sit with economists and try to figure out how to stop the financial meltdown. Prices fluctuate. Hyper-Inflation and deflation go hand in hand as Velocity can no longer be predicted. Banks fail. Businesses fail. Police start ticketing people for little things. Tolls go up. Real estate taxes go up. And good money withdrawals from the system waiting for it to stabilize.

As the Fed prints, prints, prints and spends, spends, spends, it's way out of this mess, your dollars, especially the one you have saved in your 401Ks, pensions and mutual funds will become worth-less, less, and less. Why else do you think people who make over $150,000 a year are struggling? Now imagine how hard it is for people making $8 an hour? It is IMPOSSIBLE to live when the value of every dollar you save gets destroyed. It is a form of stealing.

John Maynard Keynes himself ABANDONED his own work at the end of his life stating that it would cause the economic collapse of any nation that adopted his ideas. But as Richard Maybury pointed out in his newsletters and books, a recession is actually a sustained depression, CAUSED by government intervention and meddling.

So until we get leaders in office that get this, our future will be incredibly bumpy for the next 5 to 10 years.

So what do you do? I say use the spiritual story of Trust in God, BUT Tie Up Your Camel...which is about taking as much responsibility as you can and let the rest go so you can enjoy life. In other worlds, after you prepare for life, stop worrying.

Ups and downs are a part of life. It is how we learn. Why else are you alive, living in a physical body, in the country you are in and the family you have been born into? You think that is some sort of accident? You are here to learn. And I hate to say it, stop with New Years Resolutions...it's like trying to fix symptoms instead of tackling the problem head on.

Instead, prepare for the worst, fix what you can, pay off all debts and stock up on what you think you will need. THEN take a look at my list of cool ideas it just might be time to do.

Brad's Cool List of Things To Do in 2012:

1) Start a Business on a shoe string budget

A friend of mine started a company with $50...he now bills out
over $5 million a year!!!

2) Save Money by moving in with Family

Suck it up, your family loves you despite what your therapist has you believe.

3) Spend some time with that friend you've been meaning to visit
Don't be cheap...bring a bottle of wine, or a DVD of some movie they said they loved but never bought.

4) Commit to volunteering once a week

Nothing makes you feel like you are alive like giving back to life like serving those less fortunate.

BTW: That goes for those of you who are volunteering too much.

Ask yourself "from what you are trying to escape?"

5) Cook a big dinner and invite neighbors over

Even the ones you don't like.

6) Take in a seminar on something you have always wanted to do

Like how to write a book or public speaking or how to start a business in your home.

7) Forgive your enemies ...but more importantly, forgive yourself

8) Get off the computer and go outside...

If missing your "friends" status update will traumatize you, you may need to get a life. They aren't going anywhere. IF you miss someone's updated status, I am sure your life will be fulfilled without it.

Look, there are people in wheelchairs and laying in hospital beds who rely on the Internet and their Social Network for a sense of connection to real people. They cannot go outside. Some operate the internet with voice commands because they cannot move from the neck down. Without it, they would truly be alone.

If you are not one of these people, shut the computer off and get some fresh air.

9) Watch less Television

Want to kill productivity and add to your procrastination?
(Note to Self: Stop watching The Twilight Zone all day)

10) Laugh more

This may require you to actively seek out funny comedies, positive friends and choosing to smile instead of frowning. And remember, there are people out there who actually like being miserable. Ignore them.

11) Read a book on a subject you can't stand
Like economics. Or read my book. I read 30 books and interviewed hundreds so you don't have to.

12) Make a commitment to be more positive

This is about emotional control...do some research on Emotional IQ studies.
Tony Robbins has some great stuff on it in Awaken The Giant Within.(note to self: be more positive in 2012)

13) Try Reverse Mentorship

I tell people in my corporate programs to do this and I am passing it on to you. Whether you like it or not, younger generations are on the cutting edge of more than technology... they are on the cutting edge of methodologies, invention and thinking. Notice it is the youth who are at the forefront of those global protests?

Commit to having coffee once a month with someone younger than you to pick their brain and listen to trends and changes. Do it before you are out of a job. 

14) Make love more often

Notice I didn't say have more sex, although that will be the end result of your attempts at romance. Try it. It isn't always about you all the time.

And last but not least...

15) Spend more time with yourself communing with God

Whatever your belief —TM, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Jedi, or Ancient Aliens, do SOMETHING this year on a consistent basis that connects to your belief in God or a higher power. You will be richer in spirit for it, less angry and less of a jerk.

It's worked wonders on me;-) LOL. Although some people would disagree with that one.

And on a side note, people who meditate on a consistent basis age slower. Just an FYI for the ladies.

I hope that helps. I will commit this year to being more funny, less serious, and to blog more. We have some pretty cool things happening here at Brad Szollose Worldwide and I'll share those wins as much as I can.

Thank you all for following my blog, videos and meanderings on Facebook and Twitter. To a 2012 of personal prosperity and spiritual growth. Ignore the negative, accentuate the positive, listen to your inner nudges and take action.

The very best to all of you this year...

Brad Szollose

Brad is the award winning, international bestselling author of Liquid Leadership: From Woodstock to Wikipedia: Multigenerational Management Ideas That Are Changing The Way We Run Things ISBN-13: 978-1608320554

"I just had my mind blown..." - A.S., Vistage, New York