Ideas To Deals

Personal Brilliance for the Entrepreneur by Jim Canterucci

The following post is taken from the blog Personal Brilliance, by Jim Canterucci. Jim is an executive advisor, author, professional speaker, and CEO and founder of Transition Management Advisors. Jim was a 2009 Keynote Presenter at the Ohio Growth Summit.

Personal Brilliance for the Entrepreneur by Jim Canterucci

How brilliant are you? There is no role that requires Personal Brilliance - a complete habit of innovation - more than the entrepreneur.

This is mainly because it's such a lonely job. There usually isn't an R&D department or a finance department, or a marketing department. You're it.

Let's define Personal Brilliance - When you're faced with coming up with and implementing great ideas...and you can. That's Personal Brilliance. Check out the online Personal Brilliance Quotient (PBQ) to see how you fare on the four catalysts of Personal Brilliance.

The four catalysts are:

• Awareness -Awareness involves self-awareness first, being conscious of your environment, and being cognizant of the problem at hand.

• Curiosity is actively exploring the environment, asking questions, and investigating possibilities.

• Focus is giving 360 degree attention to what you are doing now, allowing access to any possible innovation.

• Initiative is necessary to both allow innovation to work and to ultimately implement the solution.

These catalysts are natural. We're born with them. But the 'don't chew gum,' 'stand in line,' 'only speak when spoken to' kind of rules we grow up with tend to tarnish these natural abilities.

The entrepreneur at start up doesn't have the luxury of depending on a large organization to support their weaknesses. How well developed each of these catalysts are for the entrepreneur serves as a barometer of success for the start-up.

With that said, don't be discouraged. Development of Personal Brilliance is a journey that lasts a lifetime. Just go into your start-up with an attention to your innovation skills.

And don't forget. You're Brilliant!

Ravit Lichtenberg on Social Media Strategy for Business

Check out this great video by one of my favorite business strategists, Ravit Lichtenberg, owner and founder of Ustrategy Consulting.  The following video really hits the essence of how to use social media for business.  Ravit discusses points from her Feburary keynote presentation at the Online Marketing Summit in San Diego.

Greater Logan County Area Chamber of Commerce Selects New President and Chief Executive Officer

The Greater Logan County Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Trustees announced Wednesday the appointment of the Chamber’s new President and Chief Executive Officer.

The Chamber Board is pleased to announce the appointment of Fred D. Burkhardt.  Mr. Burkhardt will assume the position of President and Chief Operation Officer effective June 1^st.

An intense search began in early February, following the resignation of Mr. Ed Wallace, casting a wide net for qualified applicants.  A selection committee was formed with representatives from all sectors of the Chamber membership.  A two-step interview process was initiated and the field was narrowed to five and then two, out of a pool of nearly thirty applicants.  The selection committee then made their final recommendation to members of the Chamber Executive Board and a representative from both the city and county government.  The final candidates were interviewed and a final selection was made and presented to the full Chamber Board for approval.

“It is great that we are able to bring someone of Mr. Burkhardt’s caliber to Logan County”, states Tara Wagner, Chairman of the Board.  “Fred has demonstrated experience in economic and business development, leading organizations, successfully building partnerships and making a measurable impact in the communities where he has worked.  He will be a strong asset to the Chamber and our entire community”, says Wagner.

Mr. Burkhardt comes to Logan County with outstanding qualifications.  Mr. Burkhardt spent the last 4 years in Elkhorn, Wisconsin as the Executive Vice President of Walworth County Economic Development Alliance, Inc.   As the founding Executive Vice President, Burkhardt was responsible for the development and implementation of this organization.  Some of his accomplishments include securing a four county, $1.26 million regional grant for entrepreneurship development, development of a Hometown Entrepreneurship Loan Program designed for new & emerging businesses, funded by a grant from Rural Development and the identification of financial resources and incentives to aid new and emerging businesses in the Walworth region.

He spent the previous five years as Director of Economic Development for the City of Fresno California where his responsibilities included development and implementation of business retention and attraction strategies for the City of Fresno, and the management, operation and marketing of four incentive zones, which include the California Enterprise Zone, Federal Empowerment Zone, Foreign Trade Zone and HUB Zone.

Prior to his position with the City of Fresno, Mr. Burkhardt was the Executive Director of the West Covina Chamber of Commerce in West Covina, California where his primary responsibility was to conduct economic development activities including business attraction and programming.

Mr. Burkhardt and his wife, Danika, will relocate to Logan County in the near future and are excited to join our community and spend time with close family members that reside in the Springfield area.

Additional information will be sent to Chamber and community members in the coming weeks announcing event times to introduce Mr. Burkhardt our membership and community.