A Think Tank For Executives
Winter 2009
In This Issue
Feasting Through the Famine:
an Entrepreneur's Turnaround

In an industry hit hard by the recession, Jim Israel confirms his cash flow is poor. He also professes to be "the most optimistic person on the planet who's losing money in 2009." As co-founder and CEO of Culinary Concepts, Inc., a full-service catering and event planning company in Philadelphia, Jim is keenly focused on a future he's already transformed.

Read the full article...
How Solid is Your Strategy - both Business
and Personal?

The best leaders that we know in the small businesses with which we work love to learn and be exposed to new ideas as well as new people.

If you haven't checked out the following trio of books published in the last year or so, think about adding them to your list for 2010.

"Hidden Champions of the 21st Century" by Hermann Simon was introduced to us at the Fortune Small Business conference in October. Wonderful speaker and great information about the six strategies for dominating your industry, gleaned from researching 3,000 "hidden champions". Some rave reviews are coming from some of our members and clients on how the book is helping them to re-think their strategy. For Verne Harnish's 2-minute interview with Hermann asking why the U.S. is getting crushed by the Germans and the Chinese in exports, go to the right hand column of www.gazelles.tv and scroll down.

"How the Mighty Fall" by Jim Collins is also an excellent - and short! - read on the sins of hubris and how not to let your success get the better of you in the Great Game of Business. Check out pages 77 and 78 to see if your Leadership team is on the way DOWN... or UP. And Appendix 5 for "What makes for the RIGHT people in Key Seats"!

"Monday Morning Choices: 12 Powerful Ways to Go From Everyday to Extraordinary" by David Cottrell is another excellent read designed to help you change your life - both personally and professionally - by investing 20 minutes every Monday morning for 12 weeks. (Thanks to Jim Riviello of Turnberry Solutions for the recommendation.) Cottrell outlines some great strategies that all revolve around our choices including where we invest our time and energy. For a peek inside, check out this link.

Greetings!

As we wind down 2009 and look forward to 2010, lots of people have been telling me how glad they are that 2009 is almost behind us. It's certainly been a roller-coaster year, full of challenges as well as opportunities - especially to develop as a leader. Goeff Colvin, author of "The Upside of the Downturn" (thanks to Julia Klein of CHBriggs for recommending it) writes,

"Times of crisis present genuinely great opportunities not just to demonstrate leadership, but also to develop it - to build leadership capabilities beyond what you or others in your organization now possess."

We know from the research on great performance that high abilities of all kinds don't just happen - they are developed through constant practice over time. As Verne Harnish is fond of saying, "It takes 10,000 hours to achieve mastery."

So what are you doing to develop as a leader as 2010 approaches? We've got some ideas and wonderful examples that might inspire as well as motivate you and your team. And some great upcoming events in 2010 to give you the tools and knowledge that you'll need to succeed!

As always, we're going to start by spotlighting one of our members, Jim Israel of Culinary Concepts. Please read about him in the story to the left.

How well do you Influence others?

One of the key attributes that contributes to many a leader's success is their ability to influence others. Dr. Robert Cialdini, the author of "Influence: Science and Practice", one of the top 100 business books of all time and considered by most critics in the Top 10, has devised a short 10 question Influence IQ test which shows the practical application of his six keys to influence.

Click here for the ten questions and to score your results.
Upcoming Events for 2010 - to help you and your business grow and succeed!

We've got some great events on the docket for the first half of the year. If you want additional information on any one of them, contact us at info@ceothinktank.com or 856-627-2773. Hope that you can join us for one - or all - of these exciting opportunities. And please tell - or bring - a friend!

Tuesday, March 9th - Our Fourth Annual Growth Strategies Breakfast, "Creating the Awesome Experience" with Inc 500 Entrepreneur, Author and Speaker, Kevin Daum.

In today's business world great is not good enough. If you want to attract and retain customers you have to stand out by delivering The Awesome Experience. Come hear Smart Business Magazine National Columnist, author and Inc. 500 entrepreneur Kevin Daum as he shares with you how to separate your business from the crowd by creating the convergence of need, entertainment and the unexpected.

Kevin will show you the three components you must master in your business including Compelling Messaging, Intentional Marketing and Memorable Delivery. His marketing methods have resulted in over a billion dollars in sales and numerous book deals. He'll reveal the 3500-year-old-secret of success from his new Wiley book ROAR! Get Heard in the Sales and Marketing Jungle, and share adventures from his Quest for The Jewish Super Bowl Ring.

For more info on Kevin, his book and quest, check out his blog and video at www.AwesomeRoar.com. You won't want to miss this Awesome Experience!

Tuesday, June 8th - Our next "Dining with the CEO" Dinner, sponsored by the law offices of Margaret McCausland. The featured speaker will be Stephen Spinelli, the President of Philadelphia University, whose roots lie in the world of entrepreneurship.

Steve Spinelli has spent the last fifteen years in academia but he'll be talking to us about his early career, as Co-Founder of Jiffy Lube International and Chairman and CEO of American Oil Change Corporation. He has an extensive background in entrepreneurship, global business, executive education and consulting. He has also written and co-written numerous books on entrepreneurship and other business topics, including most recently Entrepreneurship: The Engine of Growth (editor with Andrew Zackarakis) and Never Bet the Farm (with Anthony Iaquinto). Spinelli received his Ph.D. in Economics from The Management School, Imperial College, University of London, his M.B.A. from Babson College and his B.A. in Economics from McDaniel College.

It should prove to be an exciting and enlightening evening. Hope that you can join us!

As always, we welcome your thoughts and comments on this newsletter, or others at info@ceothinktank.com.
877-CEO-3264