www.exceptionalmag.com
May-June 2013
CONTENTS Extraordinary Profiles 4
Michael Johnson —A True Champion On and Off the Field
12
Carolyn Day—An Advocate for Literary Excellence
Minding My Business 20
5 Vital Steps to Transform Prospects Into Clients
22
Pinpoint Your Target Market And Gain Website Traffic
23
Business Networking: How to Create a Stellar Thirty Second Pitch
24
Barry Johnson— An Entrepreneurial Genius
32
Five Money-saving Ideas for Your Small Business
Cover photo by Kendall White, Courtesy of Trea Day PR Cover design by Jeff Hayes Empowerment 48
Fear of Failure: What Does Failure Mean To You?
32
Personal Power and Influence
33
Have You Checked Your Leadership Style Lately?
49
8 Strategies for Overcoming Workplace Stress!
34
To Succeed When Negotiating, Know When To Stop
50
Strategies for Improving Your Mutual Fund Returns
35
Employees vs. Contractors
51
Are You Drifting Through Life?
36
Jeffrey Sanfilippo—Delivering Unmatched Customer Experience
52
Speak with Impeccability to Create Greater Success
44
Why It’s Important to Tell Your Story in Your Sales Copy
53
Love and Marriage: Do They Really Go Together?
Motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tries to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn very briefly. Stephen Covey
Publisher’s Letter Dear Friends: I’m excited to introduce our May/June 2013 issue because it offers so many golden nuggets of information, ideas and advice from our wonderful guests. Over the past seven years, I’ve had the privilege of interviewing some of America’s and the world’s best innovators, fortune 500 CEOs, top business leaders, A-List celebrities, and many other exciting people from all walks of life with whom we can relate in one way or another. In this issue, we feature individuals whose advice can help you improve your personal life, grow your business, and inspire you to think creatively to enhance your professional life. Jeffrey Sanfilippo, CEO of the Fisher Nut Brand, offers incredible advice to business owners and entrepreneurs on how to distinguish themselves from their competitors and how to encourage and support social responsibility. He also provides advice on branding, and a very unique idea on how to develop employee productivity, while assisting them to expand their careers. If you want to learn how America’s job market is affected by foreign investments, then Barry Johnson offers great insights on how the United States partners with other countries. One of his major accomplishments includes assuming monumental roles in developing partnerships between the U.S. and 25 other countries. His invaluable insights on foreign investments in the U.S. and how they affect America’s growth is astounding. Michael Johnson of the Cincinnati Bengals football team shares his life experiences and provides words of wisdom on how to handle success and how to “come back” from setbacks. At the intersection of humanity and technology is where great innovation happens. Dr. James O’Neil and Richard Tirendi, two brilliant, down-to-earth guys, have developed a technology that is destined to replace the 150-year old method of vision screening. Their personal stories are amazing. It is no secret that success is the result of a vision, a well thought out idea, dedication, hard work, and making smart decisions. In this issue of Exceptional People Magazine we highlight individuals whose visions and actions have enabled them to achieve amazing results, each through very different approaches. They have also had an impact on the lives of thousands of people. Directly and indirectly, they each offer great thoughts on how you can achieve success. As Founder of Exceptional People Magazine, I promise to continue to deliver a magazine that will not only enlighten and inform you, but will offer great advice, ideas and information to help you achieve greater success in your business, career and personal life. I wish each of you a wonderful summer that is filled with good health, happiness, peace, and prosperity. And, as always, I thank you for your loyalty.
Exceptional People Magazine is not just a magazine. It is a life-changing experience. March-April 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 3
Extraordinary Profiles
Johnson enthusiastically shared his life experiences and his visions for the future as a pro ball player, for his non-profit organization and life after football. Monica: About what age did you realize that you wanted to play football?
As a professional football player, Michael Johnson is always enhancing his skills to become a consistent champion on the field. As a young man growing up in Selma, Alabama, Johnson excelled in high school athletics and academics and was soon recruited by Georgia Tech. That is where he realized and ultimately proved that he had what it takes to play professional football. Just as it is in other areas of life, the game of football requires skills, talents and a mindset that will allow you to increase your odds of achieving success and help you overcome the challenges that you will most undoubtedly encounter. As the defensive end for the Cincinnati Bengals, Johnson understands the value of preparation, planning and developing a positive outlook on life. He learned those traits from his parents who taught him the importance of making good decisions, trusting in God and living by example. Learning such great lessons from his parents has enabled him to build lasting relationships as a professional football player and as a community leader. He’s not only a champion on the field, but he’s also a champion for thousands of young kids. As the founder of the MJ93 Foundation, Johnson is positively impacting the lives of young children through mentoring, football camps, workshops and other partnerships and activities that encourages them to dream big and never give up. He realized at an early age that there were others less fortunate than himself, and it has inspired him to seek ways to uplift others. The mission of the MJ93 Foundation (www.mj93.org) is to teach young people the importance of education, proper nutrition and exercise and to help them realize their potential and capitalize on that potential as they mature into adulthood.
Michael: Probably when I committed to Georgia Tech, the summer before my 12th year of school. I received football and basketball scholarship offers and my mom would tell me, “You’re going to have to do what you love best.” I had more of a love for football. I was a lot closer to my high school football coaches, so it was a much easier choice to make. I’ve always loved the game because I felt challenged. It has so many parallels to life. It really helps you grow as a person, and the camaraderie that you feel with your teammates is great. I will remember the guys that I played football with for the rest of my life. That kind of camaraderie forges special bonds with teammates. Some of my closest friends are those with whom I’ve played football. You’re with these guys every day. You sweat and bleed together, win and lose together. It helps you when you’re in the real world away from the football field. Life has unexpected twists just like a football game. How are you going to respond to certain situations? You take that same winning mindset to everything you do, and you go from there. Monica: Your father served in Vietnam as a Marine and became a wounded warrior. Michael: Yes. He received a Purple Heart. Monica: Your mother as a teenager participated in Civil Rights movement marches in Selma, Alabama. Michael: My mother was out there for the people. Monica: How did the life experiences of your mother and father impact you and your view of life today? Michael: When I was young, I always used to say to my mom, “Mom, I’m going be somebody.” And I’ve always strived to do my best in everything that I’ve done, not necessarily for me but for all the people who paved the way for me. There are lots of people who came before me in Selma, during Civil Rights movement. I’m very proud of May-June 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 5
Extraordinary Profiles
where I’m from. I want to honor all that was given and fought for by doing my best and trying to pass on to others what was given to me. My life’s goal is trying to do the best I can, so that I’m in the position to help others succeed. Monica: Having values and principles are important, because they help determine how you live your life and the impact that you will have on others. What are the personal values that you live by, both on and off the field? Michael: To whom much is given, much is required. Treat people the way you want to be treated. If you live by that, you’ll be fine. My parents taught me principles and values from the Bible -- to always keep God first in whatever I do and to pray. It’s about letting God show you the way to go. As humans, a lot of times we try to do things our way, and it doesn’t always turn out the way we would like. You work hard and let the Lord deliver the results; it will turn out in your favor. I’ve experienced it from both sides, doing things my way and things not working out. When I put things in God’s hands, I have received major blessings. That’s something you deal with every day – everybody does. You have to decide how you want to do things, how you want to go about your day.
Monica: As a professional football player and just as an everyday person, what is your vision for success? Michael: My vision for success is that I want to play as long as I’m blessed to play. Then I want to go back and help kids in my community, show them opportunities, whether that’s through sports and getting to college, or academically or through the arts. Not everyone will become a professional athlete, but there are other professions such as musicians and trainers and business owners. There are people out there with great minds who just need the right opportunity and to be pointed in the right direction. Each time I go home, I always try to visit with the kids and encourage them to take responsibility for their actions. I advise them not to focus on the environment that is around them, but focus on where they want to go and what they want to do. For me, it’s not about just creating success for myself. True success is being able to help someone else become successful. If I can do that, then I’m happy. Monica: Many high school students have a dream of playing professional football or some other type of sport but, as you know, many of them will not make it. What advice can you give them when they get to the college level, about taking full advantage of an education? Michael: Don’t ever take it for granted. It’s a privilege, not a right. No one owes you anything in this world. Do your best and let God do the rest. When I was in college, I took things for granted. I was a good football player, but I wasn’t always focused in the classroom. I didn’t graduate, so I decided to go back to school in 2011 and this past spring during the off seasons, and I have a much better
6 | Exceptional People Magazine | May-June 2013
Extraordinary Profiles
finding the good in their negative experiences? Oftentimes people focus so much on what’s happening to them, rather than looking for the good in those experiences.
appreciation for education now. I’ve got three classes left before I obtain a degree in Business Administration. That’s why I keep going back What I would say to young people who are attending college is take full advantage of your time. You’ve got 24 hours in a day. How are you going to use that time? Think about that every day when you wake up. Tell yourself, “I’m going to make my next move my best move,” and then go from there. Put into practice all of the positive things that you’ve learned throughout your life from your parents and others. Meet people. Step out of your box. Don’t be afraid to introduce yourself to someone who may be from another country, or from another part of our country, or someone who may be from a different culture and background. Become well versed in talking to people from other cultures, because the world is comprised of people from multiple cultures and backgrounds. You’ve got to be able to communicate well. It is about being there and being personable.
Michael: Right. A lot of times we focus on what’s not going right in our lives. When you start counting your blessings, you will notice that you aren’t as bad off as you think you are. I would just say count your blessings and you will see them increase. Be thankful for what you have, because if you’re not thankful for what you have, why should God give you more? Focus on the positive and the good. Don’t sit on your butt and think that something is going to fall out of the sky into your lap. Be proactive and put in the work.
Monica: Absolutely. God will always help those who are willing to help themselves. Michael: Exactly. Monica: While attending Georgia Tech you were instrumental in organizing a group called The Brotherhood of Excellence, a group of young men who mentored inner city kids.
Monica: You have an opportunity that so many young men would love to have. Michael: I am so thankful. You pray and you don’t worry. There have been times when you sit around and you get to the point where your mind wanders. Things weigh heavily on your mind. Pray on it, and get whatever treatment you need. Lean on God to get you through rough times. That’s how it is with me, and that’s how I will always approach things. Monica: What advice can you offer your peers about disappointments, being able to move past them and May-June 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 7
Extraordinary Profiles
Michael: That started because a lady at a church asked one of my teammates to mentor a child who went to school in the area and was also in a Boy Scout troop, but was from a rough area of town. My teammate asked me to help, so I began to mentor him. Before we knew it, were asked to come to his school and to come to the choir practices. There were so many kids, that I decided to bring my teammates along with me. It quickly became not just my football teammates, but also guys from the basketball and track teams. The main thing is we wanted these kids to see people who looked like them who were successful, people with whom they could relate. The group became chartered after I left Georgia Tech. Monica: Would you say your foundation, the MJ93 Foundation, grew from that? Michael: Actually, no. I’ve always had the mindset to help other people. I was so blessed growing up that if I knew something that would help someone, I’d tell them. I never tried to keep secrets. I always thought that was the right thing to do. Monica: What is the mission of the MJ93 Foundation? Michael: The mission of the MJ93 Fund is to teach kids to capitalize on their abilities and talents through education and determination.
The organization teaches them the importance of proper nutrition and exercise for healthier bodies, with a goal to avoid health challenges associated with being overweight, such as obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure. We encourage and mentor them on how to be successful in life. We want to provide opportunities to inner-city and rural youth by speaking to them and through camping and academic activities. Part of the foundation’s objective is to support three programs in the areas close to my heart, and they are Selma, my hometown; Atlanta, where I attended college; and Cincinnati, where I presently play professional football as a defensive end for the Cincinnati Bengals. I visit various Boys and Girls clubs and schools here in Cincinnati to speak with the kids. I also partner with the Most Valuable Kids group here. The Most Valuable Kids is an organization that selects different groups each week, and I’ll get them a stadium tour. They have to write an essay about overcoming obstacles, and I read all of the essays. I usually tell them that we’re going to pick ten of them to go to the game, but I always end up bringing everybody to the game when we have a home game. Monica: The fact that you ask the kids to write about an obstacle that has occurred in their lives, what do you want them to gain from that experience? Michael: I want them to understand that they’ve already overcome obstacles. There are always going to be challenges in your life, but what you do is change your viewpoint and say, “I’ve overcome things before. This is no different. I can beat this as well.”
8 | Exceptional People Magazine | May-June 2013
Extraordinary Profiles
I’ve also experienced things that have shaken me but you have to regain confidence in yourself. You need confidence to know that you’ve previously overcome obstacles, and you can continue to overcome them. Look at your past and learn from that. That’s what I want them to understand. That’s what we’re doing with kids from the fifth through the eighth grade. They understand that they’ve already overcome some things. Monica: You really are a true mentor to the young kids that you serve through your organization. Other than your team members and your coaches, are there other individuals who help you stay grounded? Michael: Other than my teammates and my coaches, it’s my family. I’m a big family guy. I spend a lot of time with family and my close friends. When I relax, I hang out with them. Monica: What would you like for young kids to learn from your advice and mentoring?
Michael: That whatever you want in life you’ve got to work for it. Nothing is going to be given to you. Take on the mindset that you’re going to work until you can’t work anymore. Establish a “go-get-them” mentality, and give it your best shot. You only have one life. Don’t accept “no” for an answer, and don’t let anybody slow you down. So many times we allow others to derail us, and put us on a path that we shouldn’t be on. Monica: Every football season there are new guys being drafted onto teams who’ve never played pro ball before. They’re excited about becoming a part of a professional team. What advice can you offer about staying focused, remaining grounded, succeeding at the game, and not allowing themselves to have a chip on their shoulder? Michael: Find a veteran who has played the game for a long time and take his advice. Maybe he’s been there seven or eight years. Learn everything you can from him. Take his advice on how to handle yourself on and off the field. There’s a reason that person is still playing the game. Learn as much as you can from the older guys that have been there for a while. There’s a reason that the team brought you in. They see something in you that they like. So whatever you’ve been doing up to that point, keep doing it and get good at it, and learn from the veteran players. Monica: What do you believe are key components of success, whether you are playing professional football, working at McDonald’s, or you are the CEO of a major corporation? Michael: You’ve got to be willing to go the extra mile. You can’t do the same thing that everybody else does. You’ve got to be willing to put in a little extra time, a little extra effort, and if that means staying later on the job or getting there earlier, then do that. Consistently improve your knowledge in your field. Monica: Professional athletes, generally speaking, have short-lived careers. You’ve been playing pro football for just a few years. What advice can you offer other players May-June 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 9
Extraordinary Profiles
about preparation, planning, and always positioning yourself to win while you’re playing the sport and after you leave the sport? Michael: You have to keep working at optimum levels for a long time, so invest in yourself. That means you’ve got to pay for massages or chiropractic sessions or vitamins, whatever is necessary to keep you healthy. Do whatever you need to do to be your best, day in and day out. If you take care of your body, your body will take care of you.
I want to be there so that I can go to the schools, mentor kids and assist wherever I can. I like to see other people from my area become successful in whatever they’re pursuing. It makes me real happy to see that. Monica: Is there anything that you would like to improve upon? Michael: Continue to get better in everything I do. I want to continually learn from my mistakes and learn from the mistakes of others. I’m very blessed and, as I said earlier, to whom much is given, much is required. Monica: What’s your final word? Michael: Pay it forward.
“30 for 30: Broke” was a great documentary about people doing dumb things with their money and losing it. I would say pay attention to that. You don’t have to have the biggest or fanciest house. You don’t have to buy five or ten cars. You don’t have to have all the jewelry in the world. If you’re into that, just get one nice thing. It is said, “You can live like a king for one day or you can live like a prince forever.” You think the money is going to keep on coming and keep on coming, but one day it's going to stop. Put some aside and let it grow and work for you. There are a lot of people who don't understand how money works. If you let your money sit, it will grow. It may grow slowly, but slow growth is better than no growth. Monica: What life lessons have you learned from playing the game of football? Michael: You make good plays and bad plays. How are you going to respond to the bad plays? You respond to it by making your next play your best play. That means you go out on the field with a clean slate. Clear your mind from what happened yesterday and make today better. You do the same thing the next day, and the next day. You always make the next move your best move. Monica: What do you see yourself doing after football? Michael: I’m going to return to Alabama, and I’m going to work with kids. I plan to get some land, and do a little farming, and run a small, bed and breakfast, as well. 10 | Exceptional People Magazine | May-June 2013
Make your next move, your best move!
Michael Johnson
January-February 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 11
Extraordinary Profiles
Can you imagine where we would be as Americans if education and literacy were not at the forefront of our existence? It is a well-known fact that education is the backbone of success. Without education we wouldn’t be able to enjoy its many benefits. Practically everything that we utilize to enhance our standard of living is a direct result of someone’s desire to educate themselves, learn something new and apply it in a way that benefits mankind. Aristotle once said, ”Education is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity.” It enables you to achieve unlimited success, but it also provides a solid foundation on which you can develop great action plans for overcoming life’s challenges. Carolyn Day’s passion for learning is evident in all that she has accomplished for herself and for others through her work and commitment to administering programs focused on job-readiness, vocational counseling and program evaluation. She has extensive experience in progressive leadership of education, social services and program development and has served as a consultant in such areas as speech and language therapy, career development and counseling. Day’s background also includes working with the Chicago Public School Administrative Offices of Specialized Services, High School Programs and the Department of Education to Careers. She has also
developed career awareness and exploration activities for grades K-8. Day has truly dedicated her life to enhancing the literacy experiences of the citizens of Chicago and as the Executive Director of Literary Chicago, her efforts are having a positive impact on their lives. Literary Chicago is a non-profit organization that empowers individuals to achieve greater self sufficiency through language and literacy instruction. The founder of Exceptional People Magazine was thrilled to speak with Day about her background in Educational Psychology and Communication Disorders and the impact she is having on people of all backgrounds who want to improve their communications and literary skills.
language pathology and doing therapy with children. This therapeutic process allowed me to work with a range of people, from adults to persons with disabilities, to people who wanted to do voice lessons, and so forth. Through training and school, I found myself dealing with students, young adults, adolescents and currently early intervention, as well, as persons with language and communication disorders. Monica: I’m not currently aware of the percentage of people who have communication disorders but how prevalent is it?
Carolyn: I’ve always had a love for words and always had a love for newscasters and broadcasting people, particularly African Americans who spoke well. One of the ladies -- and no one seems to remember her -- was a woman I used to watch on the news years ago, Norma Quarles. I was very influenced with what I know now are articulation and diction. Later on we learned, that I had a cousin who had a speech and language disorder which was due to an auditory processing disorder. In visiting with and going to the audiologist with her, I became interested in audiology, speech and language disorders because it was fun working with my little cousin.
Carolyn: It’s very pervasive. Because oftentimes when people think of speech, they automatically think of someone with phonetic problems, articulation invariants. But that’s not necessarily true. Expressive and recessive language development is ongoing. We’re lifelong learners, and so there are always tools and skills that can constantly help us be better at language processing and language development. It’s all a part of communication, it’s just a matter of which modality you want to focus on. Of course when you’re in a clinic or a school there are therapeutic programs and treatment plans that are developed to help people along the way, but it’s an ongoing process. It’s very pervasive, and it can be over a lifetime, and even the most polished speakers are always receiving coaching or therapy. Singers and songwriters are constantly getting voice lessons. You’ve got some people who have had catastrophic events to occur in their lives. It could be cancer or something like that, so it’s an ongoing thing.
That latter led me to the path of understanding about speech and language disorders, speech and
We know that we try to zero in on early intervention and early phases of development, and we try to do a lot of
Monica: You have a degree in communication disorders and you also have a special focus on literacy. What inspired you to take that path?
May-June 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 13
Extraordinary Profiles
screenings to see if there are some things that may need to be put in place. Monica: You work with all ages. Carolyn: Indeed. I kind of started backwards in this spectrum, because I began with disabled persons, and at that time it was called EMA, TMH, Down’s Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy. I’m not really practicing in those areas any longer. I later moved into the school system, working with grades K through 8. Now I work part-time, doing early intervention, which is the 0 to 3 age. I like to keep my skills sharp. It’s my first love, my first passion. So I’m always taking workshops and classes to keep abreast of ongoing trends and best practices. Monica: You said you’re dedicated to weakening the linguistic and cultural chain of economic challenges and reliance upon government resources. Carolyn: Absolutely. The thing about that and where it most hits home is because as African Americans, oftentimes we are perceived as having suppressed communication, which ultimately
leads to us having some socioeconomic challenges. We know that how we speak and how we present ourselves often opens the door. Those things are often carried over in the way we write, in the way we present ourselves. So my personal challenge with that was when I was working in the schools. I found that many of the students who were coming for speech and language assessments were boys, African American boys. At that time around the 2nd and 3rd grades, there was a high level of referrals. I began to investigate. Of course some of it has to do with developmental issues, but a lot of it was environmental, from my experience. That led me to become more involved in school psychology; educational psychology. I didn’t know what it was, but I always had an interest in what’s going on. I developed a strong interest in learning styles and the various cultures of learning styles. I’ve always been interested in making sure that my commitment to the community included sharing information that I had learned, or connecting the dots with people to help uplift them.
Monica: As the Executive Director at Literary Chicago, I would imagine that you’re broadening your vision in terms of what you want to do to help people who have communication disorders or other problems. Carolyn: Indeed. My role at Literacy Chicago is still a surprise to me, but I understand that we often have experiences that prepare us to be able to handle where we are. Of course adult literacy and adults with low literacy rates are a community that we really don’t hear about. We hear about children and young kids, and we hear about some postsecondary challenges, but we don’t really hear about what happens inbetween. So we provide one-on-one tutoring and small group tutoring for those persons who want to enrich their literacy experiences and those persons who want to get a GED. We’re also finding that English as a second language is resulting in extremely low literacy rates for a multitude of reasons. Working at in Literacy Chicago has definitely been an awakening experience for me, however, I’m not in the practitioner mode. I’m operating in an executive role to bring all of my experiences together, having had some grant writing experiences and monitoring and compliance experiences. Literacy Chicago has a plethora of experiences, and I’m having a wonderful time, but it’s not easy being in this role. Monica: You mentioned there were some issues within the English as a second language community. Would you say that some of those issues are related to the socioeconomic backgrounds of the attendees or participants?
14 | Exceptional People Magazine | May-June 2013
Extraordinary Profiles
Carolyn: People often think just because you have low literacy rates, we’re thinking that there are some economic challenges, but that’s not necessarily true. I’m finding that a lot of highly-educated and credentialed people from other countries are facing challenges finding jobs because they can’t pass the citizenship examination due to the language barrier or due to their reading skills. Many of them have led very progressive lives, are entrepreneurs who have led corporations and had people working for them, but ESL is a challenge. I have other folks who are coming here for enrichment. They want to find ways to communicate with their nanny, or they want to communicate with their child’s teacher. So they’re trying to get prepared for the teacher’s conference to make sure that they understand and have good communications skills. We know that truly having limited literacy skills definitely does create some socioeconomic challenges. But many of the people who come to us are not economically challenged. Monica: How does the ESL program that Literacy Chicago provides differ from what is taught in many high schools?
Monica: How is the organization making citizens aware of the programs you offer? Carolyn: That’s a good question, thank you. I’m very guarded in terms of, if you will, the marketing of Literacy Chicago, because I really set a precedent to make sure that we provide these services with humility and diplomacy. It’s not like a shingle you can hang out and say, “Are you having some literacy challenges? Come on in!” We have partnerships with social service agencies that refer students to us. It often happens when they are going for other services such as doctor’s appointments or other community services. We have information there where people will refer them to us. We have some social service agencies that are doing employment based screenings and they may have people who qualify for a particular position, but perhaps if their reading scores were a little higher, they would qualify for a different position. We are partnered with a state library, so we are listed as a source in all of the public libraries. We have a lot of relationships with local church communities, so it’s pretty much word-of-mouth. We’re a small place with a very large
presence, so I’m proud to say that we have a waiting list. We don’t have the space to hold all the people who come to us. We oftentimes find corporations that are encouraging their staff members to do community service work. Monica: What are some specifics that you focus on when dealing with people in the workforce or in the workplace? Carolyn: One of the things that we do is just basic career readiness. We’re not a job placement organization, we’re not a strong workforce development organization, as much as we look at their soft skills and basic communications skills. We find that a lot of workforces, for example, the hotel industry, often have employees who they want to have basic soft skill communications. So they’ll bring or suggest their employees come to us for basic communications within the hotel hospitality industry. We look at updating their skills to help them become familiar with computers and filling out job applications, which now requires that you use a kiosk in most places.
Carolyn: The first thing is that it’s free. It’s self-select, and we provide one-on-one and/or small group support. We start with where the person’s individual goal is. They come to us and tell us what it is that they’re trying to achieve, and we do assessments based on their level. We’re not a school, so we have a bit more flexibility in that area. We have tutors that we pair with the students to make sure that it’s a good fit. So it’s very customized and individualized for the person and their particular goals. May-June 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 15
Extraordinary Profiles
Monica: What encouragement or advice can you offer individuals who may be lacking sufficient reading or literacy skills or who may not have their GED? How can you help them realize that without being able to effectively communicate with others, they are truly limited in what they can accomplish? Carolyn: I often look at the call to personal commitment, the call to civic duty. How can you take your personal experiences and your life experiences and share them and make them meaningful for someone else? We learn by connecting to something we already know. If I know a little bit, then I can share something more with you. So if you’re having this challenge, just think about what skills you have to help someone grow along the way? So, if I can read a little and I have my grandchild who has picture
books and the grandchild is asking me questions, then my encouragement might be, “I want to be able to do this not for myself but to share this with my grandchild. Or I want to be a little bit more independent, I want to be able to open and read my book. When I go to church, I want to be able to read the Lord’s Prayer. I don’t want to just say it.” We have a wonderful story about one of our volunteers who has a child that had a disability. Although he was highly educated, he was very frustrated because he couldn’t communicate with his child. So he said he selfishly came to our organization to become a tutor, so that he could learn what it was like to have a literacy challenge. As a result, he met a traveling salesman, a very successful man, who said that the only reason he would order hotdogs
16 | Exceptional People Magazine | May-June 2013
and hamburgers on a menu was because those were the only words that he knew how to read. This was a successful man! He was not economically challenged at all. But I think that if you can be inspired to make the difference in someone else’s life by bettering your life, that can be the best motivation. Just imagine where you can go with that! People want to hear from you. All of our life experiences are relevant to someone else. So our call to civic duty, our call to bettering the community, our call to making a change in some else’s life is first making a change in your own. Monica: How can people outside of the Chicago area help the organization fulfill its mission? Carolyn: You can help us, one, by visiting our website at
Extraordinary Profiles
www.literacychicago.org. We are a volunteer organization, so of course funds are limited. The people who come to us, they come because they want to donate their time and their expertise. Even if you’re not in Chicago, even if you don’t visit Literacy Chicago, I urge you to volunteer somewhere in literacy. You have something to offer regardless of what your reading level is, regardless of what your economic status is, you have something to offer to make a difference in someone’s life. If you want to help Literacy Chicago, become a volunteer with us. We always need volunteers. We always need donations to help further the cause and for new initiatives that we want to put into place. Monica: What do you find most rewarding about serving in your position at Literacy Chicago? Carolyn: The most rewarding thing that I find in this role is that I really believe in the work that I do, and what’s most rewarding is coming up with an idea for a program and putting together a proposal, and the proposal gets funded. I’m out speaking to people, just telling them genuinely about the miracles that have happened that we’ve witnessed, and people actually make donations to further our cause. So that’s the most rewarding thing, to see someone validate our mission. You’ll never go wrong if you invest in people. Monica: Once you learn how to effectively communicate, then there’s an unlimited number of doors that will open up to you. Carolyn: Indeed. And I’m very blessed, because my communication skills have afforded me the opportunity to move in and out of multiple social and economic
situations. I still do speech therapy in the heart of this community, so I know what it’s like to throw my baseball cap on with no makeup and pull my hair into a ponytail. I’m doing the same work in a different community where the people in that community never merged with another community. I can put on my evening hat, attend a Ford Foundation function in Manhattan and receive awards on behalf of the organization. So I thank God that someone invested in me and had a sense of responsibility to the community, which afforded me the opportunity to talk about communication and how you can never go wrong investing in people. Monica: Before becoming Executive Director at Literary Chicago, you were an independent consultant. Carolyn: Correct. I did speech therapy, and I did grant management and kind of an organizational change with programs for students and persons with disabilities. And what’s helped me a lot is having the monetary compliance and grant management and grant writing
experience. I would say that I’m looking forward to being able to share information about taking on the Executive Director role for nonprofits, particularly small non-profits, and the challenges and the successes that come with it. Because I think oftentimes people are inspired to want to create a non-profit and they’re not really aware of all of the nuances that come with it. When funding is very challenging, you’re heavily reliant on volunteers, and so that presents a lot of challenges in itself. Monica: You have experience in grant management and grant development in terms of developing proposals for grants, and that’s a plus for the organization. Carolyn: It is indeed a plus for an organization, but when you have a small organization with minimum resources, it’s very hard because you can only do so many things very well. You can have a multitude of talents, but at some point you’ve got to have support and it has to be a team effort. You’ve got to have support systems to do checks and balances and to guide you. You need different levels of
May-June 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 17
Extraordinary Profiles
expertise, and so if you’re not very good at knowing how to put together think tanks regardless of you being capable of doing all of these things, you can still set yourself up for failure. Monica: You certainly have had a major impact on the lives of many people by focusing on the educational platform. Carolyn: Thank you. I try to have fun with it. I genuinely love people.
Monica: Do you often have people come to do presentations? Carolyn: We do. The volunteer program that’s non-funded, is now our signature program -- a book discussion group called Reading Against the Odds. In November we received an award from the National Book Foundation, Innovations in Reading Award, which was funded by the Ford Foundation. We were a part of what I believe is called One Book
Chicago, where we have various books to read like Hamlet and Henrietta Awakes, the Emerald Girl. We have speakers who come in because they hear about these book discussions and they love to read. They’ll call up and ask if they can read with the group. We have all kinds of people who drop in and read with the book discussion group. They’re not really doing a presentation as much as they just want to sit in and do a book discussion. Monica: Is the information about the book discussion on your website so that people can know what book is being discussed? Carolyn: Absolutely! If you go to our website: www.literacychicago.org, you’ll see the link called Reading Against the Odds. It tells you everything that we’re doing, what books we’re reading and what book discussions are taking place.
18 | Exceptional People Magazine | May-June 2013
Minding My Business
Eliminate, mitigate and delegate duties that are not the best use of your valuable time, which will free up more time and make your business more efficient.
Minding My Business
Services Not Selling? 5 Vital Steps to Transform Prospects Into Clients By Annemarie Cross You’ve spent countless hours creating your program/service offering; your promotional material has been circulated; your sales webpage promoting your new program is live (and looking extremely impressive); and you’ve spoken to a number of your connections who you know could benefit from participating in the program. However despite all the effort you’ve put into this entire process – no-one has made a purchase. Is this something you can relate to? If you’ve answered yes – you’re certainly not alone.
Step 1: Identify the level of demand for your program/service offering
Sadly, even though you may have the best program in the world that can support your clients in achieving amazing results, there is no guarantee that you’ll have people flocking to your door with their credit card poised ready to invest in your services.
Before you even begin to develop your program it’s imperative to identify whether there is a large enough
Despite the fact that YOU know your program/service offering would be of great benefit to your clients, have you researched: whether your target market recognizes they are facing issues and genuinely want to overcome their struggles the size of your prospective market, and whether your target market has a history of investing in the type of solutions you offer.
Before you develop another program or service offering ensure you have the following five steps in place to support you in transforming your prospects into raving clients.
20 | Exceptional People Magazine | May-June 2013
market and whether your prospect is willing to part with their hard-earned dollars to invest in you. Further investigation may confirm that despite their desperate need for your support, an ingrained ‘culture’ will see them continue their struggle rather than choosing to invest in your program and overcome their issues. Targeting a market that requires repeated convincing that they need your service will only lead to a decline in your energy, your sanity and your hip pocket, so it’s important to identify a market that has a high level of demand AND a willingness to invest in your services.
Minding My Business
Step 2: Pinpoint your target market’s needs If I were to ask you to describe your target market could you identify their demographics, their needs, what keeps them up at night and where they hang out, etc? It’s imperative to have an intimate knowledge of your target market, including answering the above questions to create a thorough profile of your ideal customer so that you can accurately pinpoint your target market’s needs. This information will support you in creating your marketing plan, your webpage sales/ marketing copy as well as helping you locate the best place to connect with and get your message in front of them. The problems/issues they are experiencing The words and phrases they use to describe their issues The type of support/solutions they are typically looking for The pricing point they are willing to/ can invest The language/triggers that will catch their attention and prompt them to want to learn more about your services Step 3: Get clear on your brand With the increasing number of competitors in the marketplace it’s important to have a clearly-defined brand that showcases your expertise and the benefits your clients can expect from working with you, in order to stand out from the crowd. Do you know what your strengths are and what makes you unique? Do you continue to present this information in an influential and powerful way? It’s important to create a strong brand that
is memorable and magnetic and enables you to be recognized as an expert and leader in your field to continue attracting your ideal client. Remember an inconsistent brand message can cause prospects to become confused and a confused prospect will often say no. Don’t set yourself up to receive a ‘no’ to your offer because you are sending a weak and incoherent brand message. Step 4: Grow Your List Thriving businesses state that one of the most important elements that have enabled them to secure their wealth and success is building their list. In fact, one of my mentors often states ‘the money is in your list’.
consistent communication with your list is a fantastic way to build a solid relationship. It often takes several communications before a prospect is ready to make a purchasing decision so sending a regular newsletter that provides useful information is a great way to strengthen your relationships while continuing to showcase your knowledge and expertise. Are you adopting all five steps in your business to support you in transforming your prospects into clients – especially Step 1 and 2 before you even begin developing your new programs/service offerings? If you’ve answered yes, congratulations! If not, which step will you start to work on within your business today?
Are you actively building your list? Do you have a process in place that prompts clients to hand over their email address and other contact details to you? Consider offering prospects a free report or a video and/or audio series that provides valuable content. In order to access these resources your prospect is required to provide you with their email, thus adding their details to your list. [Step 5 explains how you can continue to leverage your list.] Step 5: Build Your Relationships Do you have a regular newsletter that enables you to remain in contact with your list of existing customers and prospects? Are you consistently taking the time to not only strengthen the relationship but also continue to portray your knowledge and expertise by providing informative practical tips? Remember, people do business with people they know, like and trust and May-June 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 21
Minding My Business
Pinpoint Your Target Market And Gain Website Traffic By Donna Carletta
The Demographics of Your Target Market -- Know their sex, age and marital status. As a complete group what do they care mainly about? What They Need & Desire -- Once you become familiar with them, you should have the ability to make educated guesses on their needs and desires. Timing -- For instance, don’t send an email on Sunday afternoon if they’re never online at that time. Where They Live -- This can be misinterpreted as their home state, but is really about where you can find them online. You want to be online with them, so you can see what they do and say, which will inspire you to present them with the goods or services they want.
Want more targeted visitors and a higher conversion rate? Then all aspects of your site, including its promotion, have to speak to the audience you’ve targeted. Your site needs to be where the target market goes to have these needs met. Their need could be finding out where to get the items or services you sell. Whether your business is offline or on the internet, your website can draw people and bring them to any store you have. This is the process: A prospective visitor reads a piece you’ve written for EzineArticles.com and likes it so much that he or she clicks to your website or blog. A visitor reads the posts and registers for your newsletter, getting a complimentary eReport telling about what you offer. After that, a visitor gets programmed emails regularly that promote particular items and services you offer and that you’re hoping to sell. He clicks the link (or physically visits your store), makes a purchase, and gets his contact data added to another customer list, and the process unfolds again. In order to target your market, you must know: 22 | Exceptional People Magazine | May-June 2013
Why You? - The question posed is much more about you more than it is about them. Why exactly are you the right person to handle this target market? What is it about you that makes you qualified? Are you aware of what that is? You must have these questions answered if you’re going to offer written pieces they’ll like to read and find valuable, so that their interest in finding out more is piqued. You also want the products and services that you provide to fulfill their needs and desires. You’ll be more apt to create customized solutions that will be bought when you know the demographics of your target market. Having found out what types of goods or services you will be selling and who will buy them, you will be in a position to write content they are looking for and that attracts them to your website. Reading forums and message boards will show you what your target consumer wants to know and give you an edge on deciding what you can supply them. When you have hit the sweet spot in terms of offering the right content and items for sale to the people who want it, your website traffic will naturally increase, almost by itself.
Minding My Business
Business Networking: How to Create a Stellar Thirty Second Pitch By Pat Markel Sales people are aware of the effectiveness of packing all they have to put forward into a 30-second pitch. It’s called an elevator speech. The name comes from the idea of having a brief window of time in which to pitch the sale, so it’s like you’re riding an elevator with the person and have to make your point right away.
cent to previous sales? Have you been a supervisor of 30 staff members? If you can, use figures (percents, counts, dollars) to back up your accomplishments. It helps your contact see what you do in a tangible way.
The goal of a 30-second pitch is to form a powerful first impression. You want to bring a crucial achievement to the forefront, while also making a strong impression on your client. You’re hoping they ask more about you.
What does your client need and want? After you know this, you can customize your pitch. That’s where you make your call to action. The ball is now in their court and it’s their choice as to what the next move will be.
There are four steps to follow in crafting your personalized 30-second pitch. Keep in mind that your goal is to show how you can fulfill your contact’s particular needs.
Thirty-second pitch example: I am devoted to satisfying customer needs in the timeline required. For example, in my job as a virtual assistant, I satisfied my client’s customers over a frantic holiday period, upping sales by 38%.
Step 4: Get in Tune With Your Client’s Needs
Step 1: Know Your Objective Being aware of what you wish to receive from a relationship will assist in forming your pitch. Are you in need of additional transcription clients? Remember this as you are writing. What core values, strong points, achievements or expertise, will help your prospect and fulfill your goal? Select what demonstrates your expertise in a positive manner. Step 2: Provide a Concrete Example Cite an actual example that demonstrates how you met a goal (increased your number of transcription clients). Select something that’s actual, is dramatic, and stirs emotions. Your goal is to reach the core of the person with whom you’re conversing. Step 3: Outcome
Now that you’ve determined what your speech will say, you have to deconstruct it. Now reduce this to, at most, two or three sentences or a single sentence if you can. You’ve composed and condensed your speech, now you need to rehearse it. Speak it out loud, and repeat it until you can believe what you’re saying and are familiar with the words you are saying. Speak gently without making it too high pitched or seductive. You want to be seen as a businessperson with confidence who knows what they want and what they can do to help others get what they want The very next time a situation calls for you to introduce yourself to a likely client or business acquaintance, have your pitch already prepared. Keep in mind that not every business or client is the same. They all have different requirements. Have several different pitch statements ready, so you can pull out the right one to meet a number of various needs.
How did your expertise or benefit aid you in the circumstances with which you were faced? Did you add 30 perMay-June 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 23
Minding My Business
As ordinary citizens, most of us may not understand the intricate and in-depth details of global trade and foreign investments that affect our country. When it comes to foreign investments and job creation, America remains a global leader. As a graduate of Yale College and Harvard Business School and as a seasoned business leader, Barry Johnson has a firm grasp of what it takes to develop continuous growth through long-term investment partnerships, both within corporate America and with America’s external allies. There are many phrases that come to mind when describing Johnson’s achievements and “entrepreneurial genius” is just one of them. He has built an impeccable track record of launching mega-successful “intrapreneurial” businesses within several of the world’s leading corporations. Johnson has also played monumental roles in developing partnerships between the U.S. and other countries. He is the Founding Executive Director of Select USA, a White House initiative developed to attract and retain foreign investments to create jobs in America. Within that role, some of his achievements include structuring, staffing, and launching Select USA in the U.S. and 25 countries, including China, India, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Canada, France, Japan, United Kingdom, and Brazil. He also spearheaded the integration, alignment and coordination of investment-related activities across all departments of the Executive Branch of the government and all bureaus of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Johnson’s accomplishments are second to none, and they have had a huge impact on America and its commitment to growth via job creation and commerce, as well as corporate success. Currently Johnson is a Principal of 32 Advisors, a team of senior level business and political leaders with extensive experience, to include working on Wall Street and in Washington, D.C. He heads the Inbound Investment practices at the company. Johnson candidly shared with Monica, invaluable insights on foreign investments in the United States and the effects it has on America’s growth.
Monica: What do you find rewarding about what you do, helping to improve and grow the economy? It’s not only for your success, but it’s for the success of the country. Barry: The answer is really in your question. As a Senior Principal and Head of Inbound Investment at 32 Advisors LLC, I get to contribute to the economic prosperity and competitiveness of the USA and get paid for doing it! To really get a full appreciation, I’ll look back and think about some of the jobs that I’ve had previously where the contribution was less about public good and more about private profits. I’m pleased with every job that I’ve had, and there are no regrets. I would do them all over again. My appointment to the Obama Administration was interesting, because it was my first full-time “non-profit job”. It was a great feeling to say that I’m doing something which enables me to provide a broad range of support to people at various levels. It felt very good that I was providing a public service. Now that I have transitioned from the Federal Government back to the private sector, I not only have the opportunity to do immeasurable public good, but I’m able to build wealth for my family and to share with others. After all, the best public serving initiatives in the world require funding. Monica: That’s wonderful. You have amazing experience and such an astounding background in investments, economic development and entrepreneurship and, of course, you have worked with federal agencies and government officials, including the White House, Secretary Hillary Clinton’s State Department and the Department of Commerce. You’ve participated in launching entrepreneurship within several major corporate entities like Hollywood Records, Microsoft, BET and other major corporations. Would you say that all of those extraordinary opportunities helped you to lay the foundation for your current position? Barry: Absolutely, because it’s a cumulative experience and all of those places gave me May-June 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 25
Minding My Business
skills, relationships and tremendous opportunities and large challenges within some of the world’s most respected corporations. You have bright minds but you can also have bureaucracy. Most of my work in the private sector was part of an innovation agenda, doing something new, creating a new company or initiative that had not existed before, and it’s challenging when you’re trying to do it in a place that has a strong existing culture that may not be so innovative itself! Monica: When some of the companies that I mentioned earlier called you in to help them develop and implement major goals, how did you view those challenges? Barry:, I viewed them as opportunities to take what I had learned or gathered to date and used them in creative ways. In most cases, it was a step up in status, responsibility and compensation. The offers represented upward mobility for me, but I also saw them as opportunities to meet new challenges which I always find appealing. I like going down a path that hasn’t been traveled before. I like doing things for which there is no standing blueprint or standing set of instructions on how to go from point A to point to B. If I had been working for five very small no-cap firms as opposed to large cap firms, I would have learned different things but also equally valuable things. Those were unique opportunities to have an entrepreneurial experience starting something unique, and in every situation I left each place with something standing, functioning and working that was not there before I got there. That’s very exciting. Monica: It’s as if you’ve left your mark there. Barry: Yes, and hopefully it’s a good mark. Human beings are human beings, and there is an expression that my mom uses and I think it’s also from a book titled, Don’t Sweat the 26 | Exceptional People Magazine | May-June 2013
Small Stuff, “Praise and blame are both the same.” For every thing you do, there are going to be some people who like it and praise you for it and some people who dislike you and criticize you for it. You have to be well grounded in what you’re about, what your values are, what you want to participate in and how you intend to lead. You must understand that not everyone is going to like what you do, while some people are going to absolutely love what you do. That’s one of the things that I always stress with the kids and adults that I mentor and people I have friendships with. You go down the path and you do your very, very best and just feel good about that, whether everybody likes it or not. Monica: Looking back on your earlier years, what inspired your interest in business, as well as economic and political matters? Barry: Very interesting. I don’t think any one thing inspired these interests. It was a collection of experiences and exposures that happened over a lifetime. I never really saw myself as someone involved in politics or public policy. I have to believe that growing up in the south played a role. The fact that we lived in the mid-south and my father was involved in some protest activities and was an advocate for civil rights, I believe that ultimately led me to see the value and want to do something in public policy. As it relates to business, I think my real exposure to business came -- I remember I was in high school and I wanted to go to France to study. I began thinking of ways that I could fund my trip and as it turned out, my parents ended up agreeing to pay for me to go. I had already started thinking if I had “that something or that one thing” that somebody needs and I can earn money -- and I began thinking about it and planning out my venture. The idea is that it really grew out of a necessity or a desire that I wanted to have money, and I realized that money comes from business, usually. It was a business thing and it stayed with me. Largely, I have chosen to do things that I thought were interesting. That has been costly in some ways, because I haven’t always done the things that would make me the most money. Monica: Is that one of the reasons why you basically do not have your own corporation? Barry: That’s interesting. I have my own BEAJ, Inc. I do have that. Early on, I raised funding and tried to start the company i-CLIQ in 2000, and it was a digital production platform providing content to dotcoms. In 2001, when they
Minding My Business
went away with the “.com bubble”, we went away. That was a company that I started, owned the majority interest in and led as CEO. I think working for a company is a paid opportunity to learn. That’s what I did. That was the early part. Quite frankly, I was probably a little reluctant to take risks. Also early on, I think I cared a lot about the perception of my status, but I don’t care so much about that now. I’m not out to impress anyone. Monica: Speaking of perception of status, can that sometimes get in the way of your success? Barry: Absolutely. Sometimes safety takes you out of the game of progress. You’re the fast-moving curve, and you want to get on solid ground that you are familiar with, and there are no questions whether you are gainfully employed. It gives you a great talking point with your colleagues and your family. This is an egobased world that we live in where your value is often based on external affiliations. We buy into that. It’s very difficult not to buy into it. The question is can you grow beyond it at some point where you say, “My value is attached to how I see myself as a person on the planet, who is here to enjoy his or her life and to contribute well to the world.” If I do that by working in a place that no one has heard of, or if I do it by working at Walmart, if that’s my choice, it’s all good. Where I work, how I worship, where I live, how I love, what I eat, these are all personal and all good for me -regardless of the perceptions others have. Monica: I agree a hundred percent with that. You also served as the Founding Executive Director of SelectUSA, which was a White House initiative developed to attract and retain foreign investments to create jobs. How effective has that initiative been? Barry: I think it’s been very effective at accomplishing a number of things. Firstly, it accomplished the goal of creating the United States’ first presidential initiative— created by Executive Order of the President—to promote, facilitate and accelerate foreign direct investment into the USA at a time when the USA faces unprecedented competition for the new foreign direct investment from other countries that now understand the job-creating, and economy building power of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). And at a time when the U.S. share of the annual FDI pie has shrunk over the last 10 years from 25% to
under 15% -- in part because many other countries, at a senior government level, have stepped up their FDI attraction “game” while the U.S. government had not. SelectUSA put the US Government squarely in the FDI attraction arena with Presidential support. In addition to promoting the USA as the leading destination in the world for business investment, SelectUSA serves as Advocate and Ombudsman for international investors from all over the world who were aspiring to enter or expand in the USA. Lastly, the initiative also plays an active role in awakening all the department and agencies in the executive branch of the U.S. Government to the effects their policies and programs have on the U.S. investment climate. So yes, SelectUSA has been effective, but it needs its even greater standing and funding authorization from Congress to really reach its full potential. If you look at the countries that value attracting inbound business investment you’ll find that their national government is actively involved in promoting, encouraging and supporting it. The ones that are competing well and attracting business investment do it with creative marketing campaigns and well-resourced strategies. They have initiatives led by senior officials. They do it with incentives. They do it with staff that will help resolve government-level problems that may be impeding an investment. The bottom line is global business investors have many viable options for where to invest and grow. Other countries have matured and grown, and invested in workforce and infrastructure, in colleges, and creating environments to put policies into place to attract and retain businesses. So now the USA has competition. The fact that SelectUSA exists I think has been quite successful. It is very difficult to have specific metrics of SelectUSA, because when the inbound investment needle moves up in the United States, we are not the only ones responsible. We are not the only contributing factors. The point is I think anybody can say we are better off now as a country in terms of our investment attraction and retention work. May-June 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 27
Minding My Business
Monica: Economic growth in the U.S. has been very slow for some time, and I know there are many contributing factors. In your opinion what are some reasons for the lack of economic growth and what action needs to be taken by corporate America to re-energize the economy? Barry: I think there’s an economic answer, and I think there are political answers. From an economic standpoint, I think America needs to continue more of what we had ceased to do for a while, which is extensive research and development to generate creative ideas for commercialized products and services. This is something that previously accounted for over three percent of our GDP, and now the number is much lower. I don’t have the exact number, but it’s historically low compared to our investments. We lost a number of manufacturing jobs when companies went abroad in search of cheaper labor or other cost benefits that resulted in larger profit margins to them. It is critically important that we need to rebuild our manufacturing ecosystem so that America builds more and consumes less. When the large manufacturers left, they also put a number of smaller multifaceted manufacturing companies out of business which had supported larger manufacturers by promoting entrepreneurship and meeting the needs of small businesses for product design and production. This led to entrepreneurs having fewer options to have their needs met. This is just from starters. The reality is that this country needs a number of policy reforms, for example, taxes, immigration, education, and regulatory, that are essential to our long-term economic stability and growth. Monica: Yes, it became a domino effect. Barry: Yes. I don’t think people realize how interdependent all of these systems are. On the economic side, it’s partly that the focus is on the industries that matter 28 | Exceptional People Magazine | May-June 2013
and on policies that support those industries. This is where it becomes somewhat political, because policies come from our policy makers. I think people don’t clearly understand what priorities should be put in place in order for us to become as competitive as we should be. That’s about prioritizing things like infrastructure investment which is essential for us to remain a 21st Century place to live, grow and conduct business, but also it’s a great opportunity to create jobs. Investing in infrastructure will trigger skill set training, which then creates more jobs, more buying, more opportunities and more business formation. In order to grow, companies have to invest. Then the question becomes “Where do you invest and expand?” It is an opportunity to do a comparative analysis of economies around the world. If you look at the economies around the world, the United States is in a perfect place to attract more investment than any country at any time, because we are not slowing down. We are not in the slow-down mode that we view China as being in. We do not have the eminent military issues and threats that are startling and confounding trust in certain parts of the world. The fact that the economy is slower than it has been in the past is not a reason not to invest. And the recent discoveries of vast supplies of natural gas makes the U.S. one of the lowest cost markets for energy. Many of the people who invest here not only serve the U.S. market, which remains the world’s largest free-market economy and the wealthiest nation on the planet, but it’s a pretty good place to be if your plan is to become global. I like to say you are not truly global unless you are doing business in the United States. We still have the largest educated workforce, we have rule of law, we have IT protections, and we certainly have functional infrastructures such as airports, seaports, railways, highways and byways; even with deferred maintenance, the U.S. is far most competitive than many countries. All of those things come into play. Our currency is a safe haven, and we have the predictability of political stability. So again, if you add all these things up and compare them to the alternatives, we’re always going to end up somewhere in the top one, two or three. It’s also a great place for U.S. companies to return to. We see a wave of activity around what we call reshoring or insourcing -- the U.S. facilities that were off-shored for sourcing of products from non-U.S. sources for economic reasons. A lot of those economic dynamics have shifted, so that the cost savings are far less compared to what they used to be.
Minding My Business
Monica: That was for tax purposes also, right? Barry: Yes. In some cases it’s for tax purposes, but in many cases, it’s really about, I can make the widget for fifty percent less, and fifty percent of it goes to my bottom line. This means that the company is more profitable, the earnings per share are higher, and, in some cases, it’s beneficial for senior leadership if they get paid based upon profits and savings. Monica: True, but what would encourage companies to return if they have to pay $l.00 or $1.50 to make widgets here versus twenty five cents offshore? Barry: What makes someone want to come back are things both economic and not directly economic-related. One, the labor cost differential that companies wanted to capture abroad no longer exists for skilled labor, or has narrowed substantially. Some would say the differential is less than 10%. If you’re talking about value-added manufacturing assembly and formulation engineering, among other things, people are aware of their value. The world’s labor markets have tracked up and are aware that energy costs around the world have continued to increase, while U.S. energy costs have decreased. We are one of the cheapest places for energy now, which means that manufacturing in very power energy intensive operations are much better off operating in the United States than they are in some other places. In the U.S. there is reliability of power access. The other thing that people learned when they went offshore is that quality control and quality management is a much different issue in some places. It’s very hard to control quality when you go abroad. That’s not to say that you will have problems, but I’m saying when you move far away and you’ve got a physical distance, you have the inconvenience of time zone shifts, language barriers, including what I talked about earlier -disaggregating the manufacturing from the product design and engineering, because those things really need to work together. Monica: You are currently a key player at 32 Advisors (www.32advisors.com) and the principle for inbound investments. What is the overall mission of 32 Advisors? Barry: 32 Advisors is a New York based global consulting firm comprised of senior business and political
leaders with extensive experience in the Treasury Department, the White House and on Wall Street that provides highly tailored, independent advice on economic, strategic and financial issues. 32 Advisors provides a unique offering of highly tailored, independent advice on economic, strategic and financial issues to enhance and expand our clients’ capabilities and position them for success Our advisory services include: Business Development, Economic Intelligence, Inbound Investment (FDI), International Trade Finance, Special Situations Financial Advisory and Strategic Communications. The company, which was started by Robert Wolf who is a Wall Street advisor and external advisor to President Obama, was formerly on the president’s job counsel of CEO’s and former chairman of UBS, the investment bank. Robert started 32 Advisors -- and by the way, the name is associated with his football jersey from when he played football. And regarding the number 32…it’s not the number of advisors we actually have. The notion here is that we are building a very focused boutique organization with practice groups that are led by undisputed experts in their fields. Robert, as CEO, has a broad range but he is largely focused on business development. We don’t do investment banking, which is his background, but what we will do is advisory work pertaining to financial or business development issues, to help companies reach their potential, whether it’s a U.S. company or foreign company operating in America. We have Austan Goolsbee, who was the chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisors and who is also a professor at the University of Chicago Business School. Austan is a principal who runs our Economic Intelligence practice. Monica: I would imagine that there must be some disadvantages of having foreign countries invest in America. How do you determine if they are who they present themselves to be? May-June 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 29
Minding My Business
Barry: You are asking a very, very important question. First of all, there is a letter that the President wrote called the Open Investment Policy Letter. It was issued in June of 2011, and many earlier presidents have issued this Open Investment Policy Letter. It basically says, “We welcome investment, and there are no barriers to entry to the business setting itself up.” However, individuals who are bringing a business, must go through the normal protocol that anyone else would in order to gain access to the United States of America. If they are from a country that requires a visa, they are going to go through a visa process. If they are going through a country that doesn’t require a visa but requires a passport, the State Department and other U.S. Government resources are dialed into “who’s who” in the world. A business coming here and setting up operation does not, in and off itself, create a threat. The threat comes from individuals, and the individuals are appropriately screened. Keep in mind that when businesses come to the United States, they are American businesses. They are no longer foreign businesses. When Michelin Tires set up its plant here it was a French headquartered company, but at the end of the day, it’s an American company. It’s built on American soil, and it’s operated largely by Americans, because we have expectations and policies that a company can’t establish a business here and just bring in 300 people from the home country. They’ve got to prove that the people who they bring are indispensable. That’s hard to do. Most of the people coming bring new roles and new jobs for American workers. They pay American taxes. They use bricks and mortar and construction companies from America. They use American-made services and they use American lawn care services. They are indistinguishable from any other company operating in America, except that all or some of the stock is owned by non-U.S. citizens. By the way, many of the largest companies in America are owned by nonU.S. citizens. 30 | Exceptional People Magazine | May-June 2013
Monica: When you meet with potential foreign investors who are interested in investing here, what do you find to be the common denominator in terms of their key concerns? Barry: I think what companies are interested in is, one, they have to know they have a strong market; two, they are very interested in workforce. You can set up a company, but without people to run the company and do it well, you’ve got nothing. You’ve got a lot of potential and no company. You have a beautiful factory but nobody to create the widgets. Labor availability, particularly in higher skilled areas, is very important. Information structure is very important, depending on what the product is. If it’s someone who needs to ship goods, they are concerned about ports and availability of amicable waterways or airports. For others, they are very concerned about policy and regulations. If they are coming in to buy something and they want to be able to ship some of it out of the U.S. or export it, they are very concerned about legal binding export control policies. There are certain products and services for which you have to have a license to export. Different people have different concerns but I would say largely people are very concerned about where they should go -- the right place, the right niche, and knowing the applicable policies, as well as an appropriate information structure, and reliable access to resources. Some are very concerned about financing because they don’t have relationships with good U.S. banks. They are not bankable credits, because they don’t have their books in form or haven’t had international audits of their books. Monica: The current mindset and confidence level of companies abroad in terms of investing here in the U.S. is very high, I would assume. Barry: Yes, absolutely. Again, it’s a comparison of other options and just based on the history and the facts. This is a safe place to be. It’s a game of many boxes that have to be considered. Some countries may offer more favorable tax policies or tax abatements at a national level and other advantages that we may not offer but again, countries end up coming here because the benefits far outweigh any disadvantages. Monica: Looking back on the success that you’ve achieved, not only for yourself but for the companies that you’ve worked with, how do feel about your accomplishments over the years?
Minding My Business
Barry: I have a mentee who is a 4.0 student at Howard University who came from an extremely challenged background. Nothing in the cards said he should be at any school, much less a 4.0 English literature major. It’s just stunning. He always reminds me -- he came to New York recently for the very first time, fulfilling a dream he has had since he was 10 years old. He was sitting in my office and he looked out of the window and down the block at an amazing view of Madison Avenue and out to Central Park. He said to me, “I don’t think you really realize how incredible you are and the impact that you are making.” It made me realize that there is something important about recognizing and owning your accomplishments and saying, “Okay, I’ve done a good job, and I’m continuing to do a good job. I feel good about it, and it makes me feel good that somehow I manage to do what I do and stay in the middle of the road.” In some way, I believe the world is better off because of what I do every day.
“Infinite potential lies within the imagination, in the inner vision and in your ability to envision a thing before it exists.”
Barry Johnson
Monica: What kind of legacy would you like to leave? Barry: I want to leave a legacy that embodies a very clear story that here is someone who came to live and has lived life greatly and enjoyed the give and take, who first gave and greatly received. Along the way I tried to encourage people to know the truth of who they are and that they are truly amazing beings with infinite potential, and the infinite potential lies within the imagination, in the inner vision and in your ability to envision a thing before it exists. If you can just see it and keep seeing it and believe it, and you’ve got a feeling, a sensation of what it’s like to experience that thing, it is said that you unleash a whirlwind of life into the universe.
May-June 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 31
Minding My Business
Five Money Money--saving Ideas for Your Small Business By Pat Markel Here are five ideas to help you save money in your small business.
hours when they only worked for 36 or less.
Merchant card savings
Surveys show that many workers would like to work a few less hours, especially if they get full-time pay.
Take a tip from gas stations. Some offer a five-cent-per-gallon discount for using cash instead of a credit card. Whatever business you’re running, you can offer customers who buy merchandise or services that will cost more than your predetermined amount, a one- or two-percent discount for closing a deal with a check. It’s good for you because you will save up to 4 percent on the credit card transaction charge. Let workers telecommute Most companies these days are work¬ing ‘in the cloud.’ That means employees can access company functions from their home computers. Telecommut¬ing can save on office maintenance, scheduling, and equipment and types of expenses.
Personal Power and Influence
By William R. Patterson
Charge expenses, get rewards If you charge all business expenses to one credit card that offers hotel and airline rewards, you or an employee will be able to visit customers in another city without paying for travel. When you can't pay for a significant purchase by credit card, ask for a dis¬count for paying by check. You should get it, since the vendor would be paying at least 4 percent in fees to process the charge. Note that in times past, many compa¬nies offered the two-percent discount for payment within 10 days. Some offered 2/10 EOM, which meant you could pay within 10 days after the end of that month and still take the discount.
Save money on employee perks Have a monthly potluck dinner with a theme, such as Italian or Mexican food. Bosses say it's a great team builder, because it lets workers show off their cooking skills, and it's much less expensive than hav¬ing the meal catered. Offer paid time off One employer offers workers ad¬ditional hours of paid time off instead of getting a raise. Employees like the idea of getting paid for 40 32 | Exceptional People Magazine | May-June 2013
Dictionaries define power as the ability to do or act; the capability of doing or accomplishing something. In physics, power is defined as the rate at which work is done. It is the work/ time ratio. These two definitions are key to understanding how to develop your own personal power, of which there are three major components: Clear Direction, Decisive Action, and Continuous Assessment.
Minding My Business
Clear Direction
Continuous Assessment
NETWORKING
Firmly establish in your mind that which you intend to accomplish and record it on paper. Believe with certainty that you will attain this desire and use that belief as your driving force. Eliminate all negative influences.
Lastly, always evaluate the effects of your actions to determine what must be changed. Then vary your approach as necessary. Continue this process until you have reached your goal.
There is one rule—the simplest, most beneficial way to influence other people is to speak in terms of their interests and show them how or help them attain what they desire.
For many in search of success, one of the most overlooked assets is an individual’s personal network of contacts. Many opportunities are lost or go uncovered because one has failed to cultivate meaningful relationships. One should not neglect this very important advantage. Ultimately, you will only be as strong and successful as your network of relationships and contacts. If you take the time to build and maintain relationships, they will last you a lifetime and you will find yourself in few situations of lack. A properly established network will allow one at any given time or in any given situation to quickly contact the appropriate individual(s) for personal assistance or to aid others.
don't have to stick with it in all situations. Check these styles and decide when it will be best for you to use them.
seasoned salespeople who take initiative. You will want to avoid secondguessing, which can harm the salesperson's performance.
The autocratic style. Also called the directive style, calls for telling people what to do and expecting them to do it immediately. Usually, it works well with a new employee who has no experience in your field and needs a lot of direction.
The individualized style. You decide how much direction an individual needs in a certain situation and how much of your leadership is required.
Decisive Action As alluded to in the physics definition, time is an important factor to power. The more meaningful actions you are able to take in the shortest time, the greater your personal power. It is critical that you act quickly and decisively once you have the proper information.
Have You Checked Your Leadership Style Lately? By Donna Carletta It's good to know that whatever your main leadership style may be, you
Remember, in order for personal power to be effective you must take decisive action toward a clear objective, adjusting your approach when necessary. INFLUENCE
The participative style. It includes input from others and working with them in decision making and problem solving. It gives you an opportunity to judge how well they are developing. The hands-off style. It provides employees with the opportunity to determine a process and to affect the outcome. It works especially well with
An experienced person may not need much direction. But when circumstances call for it, you need to lay it on the line to solve a problem. Most bosses and managers can determine what type of leadership should be used in each situation and with each individual. The tricky part is choosing the right style for the right person under the right circumstances.
May-June 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 33
Minding My Business
To Succeed When Negotiating, Know When To Stop By Greg Williams Many times when I impart negotiation knowledge in trainings, presentations, and keynotes, the question is posed, how does one know when to stop negotiating? It’s an easy question to answer, but the answer requires dealing with difficult questions to get there. Prior to the negotiation, you should create a bracket that encompasses the high and low points in which your negotiation efforts might meet, to gain the outcome you seek. Also, take into account other aspects that you deem to be a must have for your efforts to be successful. Once you have those variables in place and you’re at the negotiation table, you’ll have the signals that indicate when to stop negotiating. The only points you then have to address are, how close you are to either extreme of your bracket during the negotiation. The following are ways by which you can gain insight into when to stop negotiating. Be Observant. Watch the body language of the other negotiator and your own. a.) Be cognizant of the body language (nonverbal) signals you send to the other negotiator during the negotiation. If your body language misrepresents the intent of your verbiage, the other negotiator will be confused by the message you send. b.) Observe how the other negotiator repositions his body throughout the negotiation (His body language will display discomfort or agreement. It behooves you to know the difference.)
2. Consider where you are emotionally in the negotiation. Be kinesthetic. a.) Try to feel the environment in which you’re negotiating from a kinesthetic perspective. Do so not only to attest to how you feel about what’s occurring in the negotiation, but also from the point of how it’s making you react. If you feel tired, sluggish, or lack-luster and you’ve achieved a level of satisfaction in the negotiation that you can live with, consider concluding the negotiation and accept the gains you’ve achieved. b.) Make the same assessment mentioned in ‘A” above of the other negotiator’s perspective and the outcome she’d be happy with. 3.
There’s a negotiation tsunami coming. Prepare to defend yourself and enhance your future opportunities. You can do so by increasing your negotiation skills and everything will be right with the world. Now, it’s time to stop. Remember, you’re always negotiating. Negotiation Quote “When negotiating, one of the most important ingredients of success is knowing when to stop pursuing success.” – Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator
Pay attention to tactics.
a.) Lead the negotiation by directing its flow until you’re challenged. When you get close to the other negotiator’s discomfort zone, he’ll display his uneasiness. Observe his annoyance and determine the direction in which you’ll take the negotiation at that time, based on where you are in your bracket. b.) The other negotiator will give signs as to when he’s experiencing discomfort that’s due to you reaching the outer limits of the range of his bracket. Observe the change in tactics that he employs as you get closer to that range and act accordingly. You’ll gain insight as to how close you are to this continuum if the tactics become more drastic and radical from what has been established as the norm. Knowing when to conclude a
34 | Exceptional People Magazine | May-June 2013
negotiation is paramount to the successful outcome of any negotiation. Negotiate too long and you run the risk of losing gains you’ve acquired. If you don’t negotiate long enough, you run the risk of not acquiring all that you could have gained from the negotiation.
The Negotiation Tips Are … * Too many times, people lose what they’ve gained in a negotiation by not knowing when to quit. Always remember to set your expectations for the outcome of the negotiation and create brackets that signal as to when the time to consider stopping is at hand. * Tactics are ever changing in a negotiation. Thus, the more tactics you can use and defend against, the better negotiator you’ll become. * Realize you will not win every negotiation. As such, sometimes you have to come up short and lose in a negotiation in order to learn how to succeed and win
when negotiating. Recognize when you’re in a winning negotiation position and guard it against loss.
Minding My Business
deal, by the time you’re done paying for all those extras, you can bet you’re paying close to what you’d pay a contractor. Plus, you don’t have to deal with payroll – simply cut a check and issue a 1099-MISC at the end of the year. You Are Not Her Only “Employer”
Employees vs. Contractors: What’s the Difference? By Kathy Kentty It’s a dilemma, isn’t it? You need help in your business – after all, you can’t possibly do everything yourself – but the added expense and headache of hiring someone just doesn’t seem worth it. And then there is the question of hiring an actual employee, or simply working with a selfemployed contractor. Which you choose will depend largely on your business model, but there are some major differences you need to be aware of.
Contractors – depending on where they live and work – typically make more per hour than an employee does. At first glance, it can seem like it would be smarter (or at least less expensive) to hire an employee than a contractor, but if you look carefully, you might be surprised. First, while you might pay a U.S.based virtual assistant $25 or more per hour, you have to keep in mind what you are NOT paying for. You don’t have to foot the bill for:
The Tax Burden Shifts Probably the most important difference between an employee and a contractor lies in who has the responsibility for paying taxes. Employers withhold taxes from their employees’ pay and send regular payments to the government. These withholdings are then reported to the employee at the end of every year (and also on their check stubs) on IRS form W-2, which the employee uses when he or she files his or her income tax return.
• Office space and furniture – your VA works from his or her home.
• Computer equipment – your VA buys her own.
• Software – again, your VA supplies her own tools, with very few exceptions.
• Vacation and sick days – contractors are only paid for the hours they actually work.
Contractors, on the other hand, are responsible for their own tax bill. That means that when you pay them, you don’t withhold any money to send to the government on their behalf. You also don’t issue a W-2 at the end of the year. Instead, contractors – if they’ve earned more than $600 dollars and are not a corporation – receive a 1099-MISC.
• Lunch breaks (and all that other
The Pay is Different - Maybe
So while it might seem like hiring a $10 per hour employee is the better
When you hire an employee, you can expect that he or she will show up at the designated time and focus only on you and your business for the time he or she is working. Not so with a contractor. Her time will likely be divided between many clients, so organizing your tasks is critical if you hope to get the most out of the relationship. She most likely schedules her client work on a first-come-first-served basis, so unlike an employee, you cannot add a rush job to her task list with a moment’s notice. Whether you hire a true employee or just retain the services of a contractor will depend largely on the type of business you own and how much work there is for him or her to do. For small local businesses like retail stores and restaurants, employees are obviously necessary. But if your business exists online, you might just be better served by opting for contractors instead.
unauthorized downtime) – most contractors work with a timer system so you pay only for the hours actually worked.
• The employer portion of Social Security tax – as a self-employed individual, contractors are responsible for the entire amount.
May-June 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 35
Minding My Business
Since 1922 John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc. (JBSS), has continuously built its success on hard work, ingenuity and sound principles. As the CEO of John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc. (www.jbssinc.com), Jeffrey Sanfilippo believes in delivering excellent products and customer service. They are the parent company and processors of the Fisher Nut Brand. It all began with the great entrepreneurial spirit of his grandfather and great grandfather. When it comes to nuts, one might say they’re nuts. That’s because JBSS is one of the top nut processing companies in America. Who’s at the helm of such nutty perfection? CEO Jeffrey Sanfilippo. In 1963, his father took over the business and in 2006, he began serving as CEO after his father’s retirement. For many years, JBSS was a family-owned business until it went public in 1991. As CEO, Sanfilippo and his team continue to develop innovative methods to enhance processes as well as the quality of the products. Fisher Nuts can be found in grocery stores around the country. They are used in food preparations by restaurants and chefs and bakers nationwide. From smarter snacking, to better baking and great cooking, Fisher Nuts is the choice of millions of consumers and customers. Sanfilippo candidly shared with Monica how JBBS has become one of the top companies in the industry, and how he is inspiring his employees to become visionaries for the company to enable them to consistently deliver quality and develop new ways of serving customers.
He also shared lessons and secrets on how business owners and corporate CEOs can consistently differentiate their business from their competitors and become a leader in their niche, as well as the importance of understanding value proposition and having good business systems in place. Monica: Fisher Nuts used to be a family owned business? Jeffrey: Yes. Now we’re a public company. We took the company public in 1991. My grandfather and great grandfather came over from Sicily in 1917, ended up in Chicago, and they worked in a lumber yard for several years. The largest nut company at the time was in Chicago back at the turn of the century. This company would bring in-shell nuts to Chicago, have families take them home and crack the shells and take the meat out. They supplied a lot of families with jobs during that time period, and our family just happened to be one of those that would take nuts home, shell them by hand and then bring them back and they would get paid per pound on what they delivered back. The interesting thing is that it was in Chicago of all places. It was pretty central to the United States, it was a good distribution center, and it just happened that this company was based here at the time. It doesn’t exist anymore. That’s how our company started. So it was my grandfather, great grandfather who started the business in 1922. Monica: I would imagine that when your father and grandfather came to America, they believed that this was an excellent business to go into.
May-June 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 37
Minding My Business
At that point I was living in California, I went to the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. After I graduated from college, I worked in the film industry for five years. I wanted to work in a different industry, I wanted to work for somebody else, not just jump right into the family business.
Jeffrey: Yes. My grandfather was pretty entrepreneurial, just really coming to Chicago with nothing and just seeing what opportunities there were to automate the process. When they started doing it by hand, he was very keen on looking at ways to automate and shell much faster. That was part of what made the company successful; that culture of always looking for ways to improve the processing of food products, or nuts in this case. Monica: Of course he was an innovator as well. At what point did you come on board as CEO? Jeffrey: I obviously grew up in the business. My grandfather died in 1963 and my father took over the business at that time. My father took the business from just being a pine shelling company to a more diversified nut processor, packager and distributer. So he ran the business from 1963 and then he retired in 2006. In between that time, we became a public company in 1991, we have a group of outside board of directors and internal board of directors, and I joined the company full time in 1991.
I loved film and that whole way of communication so I worked in the film industry for a British company that produced children’s programming and documentaries. They would set up coproductions between the BBC in London and American Playhouse, or PBS here in the US. I joined the company, first in administration and then sales. So it was like a perfect job out of college. I was able to travel around the world, go to different film festivals, and it was just a great job. Monica: You weren’t interested in it from an artistic point of view? Jeffrey: Not really. I was more interested in the communication piece of it. I liked the whole idea of the selling process and expanding film and TV to different parts of the world. So it was just my way of doing something different. I actually did produce a film -- a low budget horror film called “The Bone Yard” with Phyllis Diller and Normal Fell. I did that for five years, and then we opened a nut facility in California, and I started running that operation. So I left the film industry, joined the family business, became General Manager of a manufacturing plant that we had out there. Then I moved back to Chicago
38 | Exceptional People Magazine | May-June 2013
in 1997 to take over the sales and marketing for the business. We did have a formal training program for executives in our company, so I really work in different departments in the company just to learn the principals of the operation. It was just a good way for me to learn different portions of the business. So when it came time to choose a new CEO, I had a lot of experience in different areas of the company. My father retired and then I was nominated to be the new Chief Executive Officer. Monica: When your grandfather started the business, obviously, in order for it to be successful all of these years, he must have had some specific principles that he wanted to establish as the foundation for the business that has lasted all of these years. So what are some of those things that he put in place? Jeffrey: That’s a good question. It’s fascinating, because if you look at our family business, if you look at our core values today, after I became CEO, we did a vision/mission/core value statement. And it’s fascinating that our core values today are actually very similar to what my grandfather started. So integrity, number one, to be sure that you’re honest, you're transparent, you treat people with respect and are treated with respect as well. Integrity is critical. We’re not a very bureaucratic organization, everyone has an open door policy. Even though we're a public company, we're family controlled. We treat everybody like a family member. It sounds cliché, but I really believe that’s part of the culture here. Anyone can walk into my office any time of the day if they’ve got an
Minding My Business
opportunity or a challenge, or are frustrated, or just want to make recommendations to me. We’ve got that rule of transparency, core values where people feel respected, but also they feel empowered to come to me or to any of the management team members if they have an idea or a challenge. Monica: I think that’s important because that helps you to retain your employees and reduce turnover. Jeffrey: Yes. Absolutely. Obviously retention is an important thing for any business, and we’ve got a lot of people who have been with our organization for twenty and thirty years. They grew up in the business. So it’s actually nice to say, and it's something that I’m very proud of, the group of people that we have here. Continuous improvement and innovation is very important -- always looking at new ways or better ways to do what we do as an organization from a processing standpoint, from the way we manage our human resources, including every function across the organization. Monica: You’re also customerdriven. Jeffrey: Yes. If you look at the business principles, it’s innovation, operational excellence and customer centricity. And we’ve really focused on meeting our customer requirements. If they want something specific for the food industry for nuts, we are willing to invest in them to provide the type of product or service that they’re looking for. So we’re very customer-driven and willing to make investments or commitments to customers to help grow their nut business. That’s part of the culture and the core values of the organization.
Monica: From an innovation standpoint, you’re obviously not creating a new brand of nuts, so would you be focusing on how to process nuts better, or better delivery service? Where does the innovation come in? Jeffrey: Correct. Good point. So you can’t create a new nut, depending on genetic engineering, which we don’t do. But what we can do is help innovate the quality. For example, we don’t own our own trees, but we contract with pecan growers and peanut growers and walnut growers. So we invest in innovating how we get the product from the field to the “shelf,” the whole supply chain in between -- how can we create better ways to move products from our processing facilities into a bag, a can or a jar, that doesn't damage the product. So it’s ways that we can improve the quality from an appearance standpoint. How can we improve the quality of the freshness of the nut? Is it important for us? We also look at value-added type of applications. What type of flavors can we add that are very popular today, for example the whole red velvet and Greek yogurt trend. I think it’s how we can innovate with what we put around the nut to provide a new flavor experience for consumers, that’s where the innovation comes from. Also from a packaging standpoint, consumers have less time to do a lot of things and they want more on-the-go packaging. For example, baking, we have our Fisher Baking program, and what we realized is that consumers don't always use a full six ounces or sixteen ounces of a
product for a recipe. So how can we help them store the product better so that it’s fresher the next time they use it for a recipe? We put it in a Ziploc bag. Not a new technology, but just innovation for our category that wasn't there before. It’s a better consumer experience for utilizing our products. Monica: What are your thoughts on partnering with others in regards to leveraging the opportunities that other businesses can bring you to help you expand your business? I know sometimes small business owners or entrepreneurs may not realize the advantages of partnering with others. Jeffrey: That’s when they have CEO’s, and we keep them up at night. That’s one thing that keeps me up, is how do we continue to be entrepreneurial? We’re a $700 million business today. I always fear that we’re going to just fall behind because there are a number of young up-start entrepreneurs who have a faster way to get to market with new products, and so many creative ideas. How can we tap into that energy, that faster market mentality, and still maintain our current customer base and portfolio?
May-June 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 39
Minding My Business
leader how they’re successful, you’ve got to have a differentiated product. You have to provide differentiated service to customers and to consumers.
We have been tapping into smaller companies to help us with innovation, whether it’s a flavor profile, whether it’s some kind of coating, even packaging in some cases. We’ve started to utilize some of the smaller entrepreneurial companies to help us. I think that’s critical for any big company, I think it’s important to keep that entrepreneurial spirit. And also, it helps to support small businesses that are just starting. Monica: Obviously there are other successful nut companies that exist, so how do you continue to separate Fisher Nuts from the others? Jeffrey: Planters would be the largest nut company. They’re the largest U.S. branded company for sure. You’ve got a lot of private brand companies, or private brand manufacturers, which we do as well. We have our Fisher brand, we have our Orchard Valley Harvest brand, which is a produce brand. You’ll find it in the produce section. And then we’re a big private brand manufacturer for some of the major retailers, like Walmart and Target, for example. But differentiation is critical. If you ask any business
That’s something that we’re always looking at, how we can be differentiated, whether it’s a product that we manufacture, the type of packaging we put into the marketplace, or the type of consumer that we’re targeting with our baking nuts and our snack nuts. You look at what your competitors are doing and try to come up with a differentiated way to either go to market, or provide a service or a product that is not in the market at the time. Find those unmet consumer demands or consumer needs that are out there that no one is meeting yet with a product or service, or maybe people don’t even know about what that is. I always quote from, I think it was Henry Ford who said, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” They didn't even think about a car or what the car could do for them. Try to determine what those unmet consumer needs are. We do a lot of consumer research and consumer insight studies to understand what people are doing with nuts and how they’re using them. We try to apply what they’re doing to how we can make that whole process better for them. Monica: Would you say that line of thinking is what has kept the company
40 | Exceptional People Magazine | May-June 2013
so successful over almost 91 years of business? Jeffrey: I think that’s part of it, and it’s really trying to create that differentiation. I think our business model has helped us too, that’s part of what our competitive advantage is, our differentiation. We’re vertically integrated, and so it allows us to have better insights into what's happening with crops, the supply chain, and the demand side, as well. But I think our business model allows us to have a competitive advantage over some of the big players out there. Monica: Fisher Nuts has partnered with Chef Alex. How would that type of partnership benefit Fisher Nuts? Jeffrey: We worked with Chef Alex on the Food Network, and I talked about how we created some innovative packaging for the baking category with a re-sealable bag. We realized that people weren’t always using the full amount of nuts in the bag for their recipes, so we gave them a way to be able to seal the bag so the product stays fresh. And we thought about how we could introduce that concept to consumers. That was one of the reasons we wanted to work with Chef Alex. We also wanted to educate people on other ways they can use nuts for their recipes, whether it’s on a salad, in a stir fry, or in a main course or a dessert. How can we continue to educate people on the other uses of nuts besides pecan pie? With her celebrity status, we just love the way that she educates people -just her whole philosophy around cooking and simplifying the whole process. We thought she would be a perfect person to partner with.
Minding My Business
Monica: As CEO, what is your vision for the company? Jeffrey: My vision is to replicate what we’re doing in the United States. I think there are a lot of opportunities to grow domestically, but my passion is international/global growth. So my vision is to build the same type of infrastructure we have in the United States and apply that to emerging markets overseas. I’m proud to say we just opened an office in Shanghai, China to begin manufacturing U.S. products for nuts and shipping them to China for the Chinese consumer. The growing middle market there, as everybody knows, they love nuts. China is the largest producer of peanuts and walnuts in the world. Nuts are already a part of their culture and a part of their culinary experience. And I think there’s a lot of opportunities to expand not only in China, but other emerging markets. India would be one potential area, Brazil another. Monica: What are three important tips that you can offer small business owners or entrepreneurs who might be struggling to grow their business? Oftentimes, what is really keeping small business owners from expanding is marketing. It’s expensive to market. There are various ways you can market, but sometimes finances are not available on a continuing basis. What kind of advice can you offer about growing a business? Jeffrey: If it’s a small business, obviously three key things would be, you need to have a differentiated product. You’ve got to make sure you’ve got an item that people want in the marketplace. It’s critical to understand who your consumer is, or your customer, and make sure that your product is something that they’re
looking for. That’s just a critical step for any business. I think the vision of your organization is important because you can develop a lot of items, but if you don’t have a key focus on what you’re trying to do with your business or your product line, it’s easy to get distracted and just take whatever opportunities come up. So I think having a strategic focus is really critical. From a product standpoint in marketing, it’s consumer insights, understanding what consumers are doing with our product, so that we can make a better product for them. I think that helps us to spend marketing dollars smartly, because we have a better understanding of the type of marketing we should be doing. You can’t just throw stuff against the wall and see if it sticks, however, it’s so expensive to launch items now, and it’s expensive to market them. We try to do as much up front research as we can before we start investing dollars in marketing. Monica: In your strategy, are you using both on and offline marketing strategies? Jeffrey: We do. We have a Facebook page. We do some social media, I would say we’re just at the beginning stages of investing in social media. But we’ve started that process now. Especially with the roasted peanuts, the Fisher Baking Roasted Peanut brand, it’s just a great way to educate people online on how to use nuts as ingredients. We’ve got a lot of recipes online, and we work with Chef
Alex on some things that she’s doing online as well. And so it’s just a great tool. The Internet is such an amazing communication tool for any company, for any industry. I think if you’re an upstart company you need to see what’s happening with your product on the Internet. It'’ a great vehicle to get information to consumers who may not know about your product, because it’s an effective and inexpensive way to market at this point. Monica: As a company you are involved in every step of the growing process -- from grower to consumer, the entire process, which results in a higher-quality product. A small business owner may have created a product or improved upon an existing product but has another company handling the manufacturing. If for some reason, they are unable to monitor the process, how can they insure that the product is being created in a highquality manner? Jeffrey: You’ve got to have good systems in place. I think it’s key if companies look at where their value proposition is along the supply chain.
May-June 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 41
Minding My Business
that are part of their team. For me personally, I think it’s important to give back to the community. Monica: Do you encourage the individual employees to serve their communities?
It’s critical because there are niches, even if you may not be doing what we do in taking it from the field to the shelf and controlling the process along the way. There are still very successful companies within our industry that don’t have that same business model, but they’re really experts and they’re focused on one piece of that process. And that’s where they can provide value. You really need to understand what your value proposition is along that whole supply chain to make sure that it’s differentiated, to insure that you’re not one of hundreds of companies that do the exact same thing, that you’re providing something that’s different. Monica: How important would you say social responsibility is to the success of a company? Jeffrey: I think it’s extremely important. Our corporate family and I personally are very involved in various non-profit and social activities. Every company, whether they’re small or large, needs to be good corporate citizens, they need to support their communities, they need to support and engage the employees
Jeffrey: We do. Internally our big philanthropy efforts are on hunger, children and education. We support a number of the food banks around the Chicago area, we supply them with peanut butter and other nut products. Every month or every other month, we participate in a food pantry activity where employees sign up and help at a food pantry with either boxing meals or coordinating various delivery services for individuals or families. So we encourage them to participate in that. We also have a program where we support local communities with employees who are offering their services or doing some kind of charity work. It’s part of our network and our culture. Monica: The Fisher brand is a very well-known brand here in the U.S. and, of course, it’s becoming very well-known around the world. How important is branding to a business, as some business owners or entrepreneurs don’t put as much emphasis on branding. When a potential customer comes to your website and they see that logo or that company name, or if they see it anyplace, they immediately know what it is. Jeffrey: Branding is important especially when, I think, the consumers have shorter attention spans. You want it to capture them immediately or very quickly. So branding is important as to how
42 | Exceptional People Magazine | May-June 2013
consumers see the product and how they feel about it. That’s part of the whole branding process and the messaging on what it means, what the product or service means. It gets back to how your product or service is different from everyone else’s that’s in the marketplace, creating a brand around that differentiation and the value or benefit that your product provides to the consumer. Monica: Since you became CEO, how have you grown professionally? Jeffrey: Our company has always been strong in the manufacturing arena, and it is an operationallydriven business. One of my goals in the last six years, has been to transform the company from an operational manufacturing driven organization to more of a sales and marketing organization. So looking across our company, we had to bring on people with good consumer products experience, people who had done brand-building previously. So it was a combination of bringing new talent into the company and then changing some of the ways the company was structured and really empowering employees throughout the organization. So those are two things, and not easy things to do, that we have been able to accomplish over the last six or seven years and still are moving forward in that same direction. Monica: You also believe in continuous improvement. Jeffrey: Yes, one of my passions is what I call continuous education, continuous learning, which I think is critical for any successful organization, whether you’re small or big. Make sure that you are
Minding My Business
continuously learning about different technology, different trends and different ways to manage people, different ways to become more engaged as a leader and become more emotionally intelligent when you’re dealing with your employees.
about things can help them become better employees, better people and better family leaders.
We’ve set up a scholarship program in our organization, so every other year we have scholarship awards. People can apply to go back to graduate school. This is our third year, and we’ve got someone who recently graduated from Northwest University.
Monica: What they submit to you, is it based upon their opinions, or do you grade them on something specific?
I give my top 200 employees a book report assignment every year, which they’re reading now, and they’ve got to turn their assignments in. Monica: That’s the first I’ve heard of something like that! Jeffrey: I just think it’s great, and I’ve picked different books this year. The book they’re reading this year is called A Sense of Urgency. It was written by John Kotter, and it talks about how companies need to constantly be improving and looking outside their four walls to see what’s happening in the industry, and making sure that they don’t fall behind their competitors. Monica: Are these employees who are doing the book report at a certain level within the company? Jeffrey: It’s the top 200, so it would obviously be the management team, including the vice president, all the directors, et cetera. It’s great, because each book has a lot of great principles in it, and it’s interesting to see how employees read the principles. It’s just getting the employees to think about their jobs, the company, their lives and how continuously learning
Jeffrey: No, I just read it. Some of it is subjective, so for example, the book talks about a sense of urgency, and what is a sense of urgency? It’s not people running around doing a million things and just being really frantic. It’s all about the commitment to win and to really do the best that you can in your job and your company, and being thorough and understanding about what it takes to win. It’s how you can apply that sense of commitment and willingness to win to your role, your job. So some of it is objective, but they have to think about the concept in the book and how they can apply it or are applying it to their current position. It gets everyone really engaged. Obviously, they hate homework, but they take a couple of months to read the book. Also, I’ve learned -- and I think the management team would agree -- we learned a lot from people in the organization about how we can improve as a company, how we can improve as a management team, and there’s just a lot of good feedback.
would want to hear their ideas. People forget how much empowerment that gives, to just know that the management team is going to listen to us, or is interested in hearing our opinions about things. Monica: How often throughout the year do you do that? Jeffrey: Just once a year they get a book to read in January, and the book report is due at the end of March. I will grade them, and then we meet again. We have our big corporate meeting in May where we’ll review the answers and use some of the information that people submitted to help guide our company in the future. Monica: That really gives them the feeling that they are appreciated. Jeffrey: You’re exactly right.
Monica: Now you are getting many different ideas from a diverse group of people. Jeffrey: I really believe it empowers employees too, that the management May-June 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 43
Minding My Business
Why It’s Important to Tell Your Story in Your Sales Copy By Pat Markel
If you want your sales pages to sell what you’re offering, then you have to know how to tell your story there. You do need opening sentences that grab attention after a headline that pops, but then you also must have a true story that is inspirational and shows your expertise, while allowing you to become a real person to your reader. You do it by crafting a story that stays with what you hope to say. What are you hoping the reader takes away from this? The story is so much more than a typical biography; it still remains a sales copy. The story is sales copy and needs to fit the sales page objectives. So, let’s consider the purpose of your sales page. Of course, the goal of a sales page is to convince the reader to make a purchase. Don’t just woo them, but make them realize their need for your product or service. By the time they are done reading your sales page, you want to be viewed by them as a person they trust, like, and know. You want the realization to hit them that they need what you are pro-
viding, and they need it immediately. This is accomplished by your words and the story you tell. But there is so much more to the purpose of the sales page than that. An additional objective of the sales page is qualifying that person right away, so you’re not wasting everybody’s time trying to convince someone who isn’t in the market for what you’re selling. Every word, each part of your story, and every image should speak and connect to that specific target audience. Select from your own history the parts that will speak to the target market about what you have to offer. For example, if your target market is women working out of their homes, you need to gear your story to them. You needn’t be a woman working out of her home to be capable of communicating with them. However, you do have to spin that story in such a way that they see you understand their needs. With your own story, as well as other's stories and testimonials, you’ll be con-
44 | Exceptional People Magazine | May-June 2013
necting with potential customers and selling more. A sales page that only focuses on “business” won't always convert your prospective customers. Actually, they function better if they tell your story in an honest, straightforward way. Your personal life story and even including how you feel about them are extremely important to get across in your sales page copy. There is one caveat: it must be worded in a manner that connects to your target audience with regard to the ultimate purpose, which is to show the readers the true worthiness and benefits of your particular product or service and to get them to have enough trust in you to make a purchase. You’ll get more pleasure from your job once you have found your target market and have customized your goods and services to them. When you’re authentic, your sales pages will write themselves and your audience will feel understood and want to buy what you offer.
Surround yourself with remarkable, influential and successful people without leaving home! Fresh Perspectives * Life-Enriching Information * Proven Advice Encourage your friends, coworkers and business associates to subscribe to Exceptional People Magazine today! www.exceptionalmag.com/subscribe.html
Food For Thought
ISSN 1944-9062 Founder and Editor-in-Chief
“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” Winston Churchill
“I don't care how much power, brilliance or energy you have, if you don't harness it and focus it on a specific target and hold it there, you're never going to accomplish as much as your ability warrants.” Zig Ziglar
Monica Davis
Editors Jon Crump Marla Gem Beatrice Roots
Company Writers Donna Carletta Kathy Kentty Pat Markel
Other Writers and Contributors
“You have to find something that you love enough to be able to take risks, jump over hurdles and break through the brick walls that are always going to be placed in front of you. If you don't have that kind of feeling for what it is you are doing, you'll stop at the first giant hurdle.” George Luca
“Perhaps the very best question that you can memorize and repeat, over and over, is: What is the most valuable use of my time right now?” Brian Tracy “Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out if they've got a second. Give all you've got and you’ll be amazed at the energy that comes out of you.” William James
“If a friend is in trouble, don’t annoy him by asking if there is anything you can do. Think of something appropriate and do it.” Edgar Watson Howe
Angie Brennan Annemarie Cross Cedric Dukes Catherine Galasso-Vigorito Dawn Abraham Dawn McCoy Doris Helge Dorothy Rosby Eileen Lichtenstein Greg Williams Inez Bracy Jack Canfield James Adonis Keasha Lee Margaret Paul Rosalind Sedacca Sharon Raiford Bush Shelley Riutta Sue Urda William R. Patterson
Exceptional People Magazine is published bimonthly by Atela Productions, Inc. The opinions of the contributors are not necessarily those of Atela Productions, Inc.
Atela Productions, Inc. 2961-A Hunter Mill Rd., Ste. 624 Oakton, VA 2212 www.exceptionalmag.com
For advertising information please contact The advertising department at 703-865-8308.
Copyright © 2013 All rights reserved.
Exceptional People Magazine is a copyright of Atela Productions, Inc. The contents of this publication may not be printed, copied or distributed without the express written consent of the Publisher. 46 | Exceptional People Magazine | May-June 2013
Empower Yourself...
Professional and Personal Development
Empowerment
Fear of Failure: What Does Failure Mean To You? By Dr. Margaret Paul Do you have a fear of failure that is keeping you from success? What does failure actually mean to you? Discover the secret to success! What do you believe about failure? The ego wounded part of ourselves, the left-brain part of ourselves that has been programmed with many false beliefs, often believes that: “If I fail, I am a failure.” “If I fail, I am stupid.” “If I fail, no one will like me or value me.” “If I fail, then there is no point in ever trying again.” “If I fail, it brands me for life as incompetent.” “If I fail, then everyone who thought I was smart will
now think I am stupid.” “If I fail, I will have made a fool of myself.”
On the other hand, the loving adult part of us - our right brain, open, creative and learning part of us - generally believes that: “If I fail, then I just need to work harder, to put in more
effort.”
Failure - A Part of Life The fact is that mistakes and failure ARE a part of life. Instead of fearing them, why not make it okay to make mistakes and to fail? Why not take the onus off of failure? Why not embrace the process of learning and growing instead of only being focused on the outcome of your efforts? Why not focus on enjoying the process of learning and creating something that is important to you? People who don't worry about success or failure, who instead are excited about their learning and growing process, generally find their way to succeed. The reason for this is that they don't let failure stop them. Instead, failure spurs them on to work harder, to put forth even more effort to learn what they need to learn to succeed. On the other hand, even very smart people, who are dominated by their ego wounded selves, generally allow failure to derail them. Believing they ARE a failure if they fail, they become too afraid to make more effort. In addition, they often believe that success or failure is not dependent on effort, but on ability. When this is their belief, they often give up at the first sign of failure, fearing that, if their natural intelligence and ability is not leading to success, then there is no point in trying harder.
“If I fail, I will have learned valuable lessons that will
eventually lead to success.”
Creating Success
“Failure is a part of life. No one succeeds without
some failure.” “Failure does not at all reflect on my worth as a person.
I am intrinsically worthy, regardless of success or failure.” “Failure offers me incredible opportunities to think outside the box, to think creatively. Let’s get to work!” “I love learning and I love challenges. What I do is not about success or failure - it is about the joy of creativity, learning and expressing who I am.” Which way of thinking prevails within you? What are the consequences to you of allowing yourself to think from your wounded self instead of from your loving adult?
48 | Exceptional People Magazine | May-June 2013
Every successful person knows that effort, creativity, openness to learning, and perseverance are what create success, not necessarily high intelligence, talent, or ability. Every truly successful person is someone who has not allowed failure to stop him or her from forging ahead with passion and purpose. I encourage you to tell yourself that it is okay to make mistakes and okay to fail. I encourage you to see mistakes and failures as wonderful learning opportunities for growth. I encourage you to let go of the outcome and allow yourself to become fully excited about the process learning, of growth, and of creation. Being fully present and excited for the process is what life is all about!
Empowerment
8 Strategies for Overcoming Workplace Stress! By Eileen Lichtenstein, MS., Ed., CACS Here are a few facts about workplace stress:
• Workplace stress costs the United States more than $300 billion each year in health care, missed work and stress reduction efforts.
• Stress is responsible for 19 percent of employee absenteeism and 40 percent of employee turnover.
• Stress is responsible for creating 60 percent of the cost of workplace accidents.
• Research shows that 60 to 90 percent of doctor visits are stressrelated.
• A landmark 20-year study conducted by the University of London concluded that unmanaged reactions to stress were a more dangerous risk factor for cancer and heart disease than either cigarette smoking or high cholesterol foods. We can overcome most workplace stress. Changing up a few practices at work including taking “breaks” helps to reduce stress and recharge creativity, focus and productivity. The following tips will help to create mindfulness at work which will reduce stress, according to the research. These strategies are applicable to corporate employees and small business owners as well as home based entrepreneurs:
• Become intentionally aware of what is happening in the moment without judgment. See things as they are. Do not take negative feedback or rudeness “personally.”
• Mindful emailing can be as simple as drafting a message, taking three mindful breaths, and then rereading the message from the perspective of the receiver before sending.
your goal, and that’s why it’s important not to take it personally (be objective as possible) and stay positive. Taking all aspects of a situation into consideration prevents self-sabotage. Having a realistic goal within a realistic time frame is important within a bigger picture. These are the “R” and “T” in SMART Goals: Specific The goal should identify a specific action or event that will take place.
• Before answering a phone or making a call, take a few deep breaths.
• Before starting a meeting take three mindful breaths or take a few minutes before the meeting to sit with everyone and practice mindfulness meditation together.
• Learn how to best cope with difficult colleagues by talking with an expert or attending a seminar.
• Practice basic mindfulness meditation, listening meditation and walking meditation.
• Conduct internal “traffic control” throughout the day. Check in with yourself.
• Take a break when you need it. Release frustration and anger with "silent scream", relaxation breathing and exercise, time permitting.
Measurable The goal and its benefits should be quantifiable. Achievable The goal should be attainable given available resources. Realistic and Relevant Set the bar high enough for a satisfying achievement and point towards success. Timely The goal should state the time period in which it will be accomplished Write your goal in a positive language. The more positive instructions you give yourself, the more positive results you get! Review and re-prioritize your goals frequently. Give yourself permission to change your mind. Pay attention to your body, feelings, thoughts and intuitive self!
Getting started with any new habit patterns can be tough. There may be a few bumps in the road on the way to May-June 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 49
Empowerment
Strategies for Improving Your Mutual Fund Returns By William R. Patterson Many stock mutual fund investors are looking for ways to increase their returns and minimize risk. When seeking to improve your investment performance, it’s important to keep in mind the obvious but often forgotten truth that a mutual fund derives its price and value from its underlying stock holdings. You can often greatly reduce your risk, outperform many mutual fund managers and beat the market indices by analyzing the underlying stocks of a mutual fund before you invest or by creating your own similar portfolio of stocks and eliminating the poorperforming and unprofitable companies. When analyzing a mutual fund, in addition to its long and short-term performance, ask yourself:
• What are the top ten holdings and how well are those stocks performing?
• Are the underlying companies growing their profits year over year and quarter over quarter?
• Are the industry groups of the underlying companies in or out of favor?
• (A stock's industry group can account for as much as 60% of its price movement.)
• Are large institutional investors buying or selling the underlying stocks?
• Are the stock charts of the top holdings showing an uptrend or downtrend?
50 | Exceptional People Magazine | May-June 2013
You can answer many of the questions using the Stocks and Mutual Fund section of BaronSeries.com and other related BARON resources. You can also find your mutual fund’s top ten holdings by analyzing its prospectus which can be easily obtained from your mutual fund company. Remember, stock and mutual fund investing involves risk of loss and may not be suitable for all investors. So, work with your financial advisor to analyze your portfolio with this powerful BARON model to make your money work harder for you.
Empowerment
Are You Drifting Through Life? By Andrew Horton Too many people just drift through life, going with the flow, never having any direction about where they want their lives to go. They are like a paper cup that blows around in the parking lot at the shopping Centre. It is totally at the whim of the wind and it just floats around from one side of the parking lot to the other. Do you know anyone like that?
you going to take control of your sails from today and start determining where your ship will sail.
The same winds of destiny blows over all of us, why is it that some people are able to make a huge success out of their lives, whilst other people never seem to achieve anything at all. If the winds that we face every day are the same then the only difference can be the set of the sails. How do you choose to set your sails, are you going to allow the wind to blow you wherever it whims you to go or are
Winners are people that have created harmony in their lives and have created a set of success habits that are supporting their success. Their relationships are great. They have good health, their finances are under control, they are contributing freely to their community and they are living a harmonious life.
There are three types of people: winners, losers and winners in waiting. Losers are people that have given up on their lives; they are victims of their own self-doubt and accepted their lot in life.
Then there is the vast majority of people that I like to call winners in waiting, they are that group of people that are not completely satisfied with everything in their lives and are hungry for success. They are eager to improve their lives and are looking for the guidance to help them achieve meaningful change in their lives. Think about your life right now, where do you fit in? Have you given up on your potential or are you hungry to change and improve your life. Although you may be excelling in some areas of your life, can everyone here today say that they are completely satisfied with everything in their lives right now?
and guess what if you lack the specific knowledge or skills that you need then there is a book that has been written, an audio program made, a workshop offered or training program where you can get all the knowledge or skills you require. Learn to start practicing a few disciplines every day that are focused on leading you to the success you desire, then commit to keep taking action until you are successful and you can achieve anything. Remember that success is never about what you accumulate but rather about what you become. Remember that it is as easy to carry out the daily disciplines necessary to succeed as it is not to. That is in fact the only difference between successful people and those that simply accept mediocrity. Successful people commit to the disciplines needed and average people do not. I believe that carrying out the disciplines is far easier than the price paid when you do not carry out the small daily disciplines. Those prices are failure, divorce, bankruptcy, damaged health, lack of energy from an abused body, etc.
You have everything inside you right now to become anything you want May-June 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 51
Empowerment
Speak with Impeccability to Create Greater Success By Jack Canfield
Most people speak without consciousness. Unaware of the true power of our words, we let thoughts, opinions, judgments and beliefs roll off our tongues without considering the impact they can have. Successful people, on the other hand, are conscious of the thoughts they think and the words they speak – both about themselves and others. They know that words are powerful. Words can destroy relationships, lose sales and start wars. Words can just as easily be used to build self-esteem and self-confidence, nurture relationships and turn dreams into reality. Successful people make it a habit to speak with impeccability. It means speaking from your highest self, with intention and integrity. It means aligning your words with your vision and goals. What You Say Impacts Others Your words put out energy and a message into the world – and they create a reaction in the people listening to what you have to say. You can uplift, support and encourage the people in your life as easily as you can stir up feelings of fear, anxiety, hostility and hopelessness. The choice is in your words and how you choose to use them. You also are affected by the words you use. The reaction others
experience in response to your message is typically returned to you multiplied. If I express love and acceptance to you, you will experience love for me. If I express judgment and contempt for you, you will judge me back. Do you want to be on the receiving end of loving and supportive messages or critical, negative and judgmental messages?
you can’t handle the consequences of people knowing the truth about you and what you think.
Speaking negatively also brings us down and focuses our attention on what we don’t want in life. Words have energy. Speaking negatively releases poison into the river of energy that is set up to bring us what we truly want.
4. Refrain from gossiping. This destructive habit robs you of a clear mind, allowing others’ opinions and judgments to color your feelings toward and expectations of others. When you’re with people who want to gossip, change the subject, keep quiet, or walk away from the conversation. Other alternatives include clearly stating that you don’t want to participate in gossiping or saying something positive about the person who is the subject of the gossip.
Cultivating Impeccability Here are four tips for speaking with greater impeccability. 1. Commit to being impeccable in your speech when talking to others. Before speaking, ask yourself whether what you want to say will advance your vision, mission and goals? Will it uplift the people who hear what you’re saying? Will it dissolve fear and create safety and trust? 2. Vow to be as honest as you can when interacting with others. Telling the truth keeps you in integrity. Lying separates you from your highest self and erodes others’ trust in you. Lying is the product of low self-esteem – the belief that you are not enough to get what you want. It’s also fueled by the false belief that
52 | Exceptional People Magazine | May-June 2013
3. Make the intention to uplift every person you interact with in some small way. You might do so by appreciating something about the other person or simply by using uplifting, positive words.
What Do You Want to Create? Everything you say produces an effect in the world. You are constantly creating something – positive or negative – with your words. Before you speak, think about what you want to create and choose your words accordingly.
Empowerment
Love and Marriage: Do They Really Go Together?
By Dr. Margaret Paul
Has the love that was once there gone out of your marriage? Discover why and what you can begin to do to regain the love you had at the beginning of your relationship.
Do love and marriage really go together like a horse and carriage? For some they do but for many they don't. Why not? Why does love seem to fade away in so many marriages? At the beginning of most relationships that eventually lead to marriage, the couple falls in love and believes that this love will last forever. These two people are so open with each other and their love flows so freely that they can't imagine that their love may not last. Yet, after the 3-6 month honeymoon period that most people have at the beginning of a new relationship, many people start to experience problems in the relationship. They may marry anyway, hoping marriage will solve these problems, only to find that the problems may get worse. Unless you and your spouse both grew up with parents who knew how to take full, 100% responsibility for their own feelings, you have never had a role model of what this looks like in a primary relationship. The chances are you entered your marriage with expectations of how your partner was going to make you happy, take away your loneliness, and
fill your emptiness. The beginning of your relationship might have felt good as the two of you tried to do this for each other. The flaw here is that someone else can't do this for you, no matter how much they might want to. Happiness and inner fulfillment come from how you treat yourself and others, not from how others treat you. Certainly it feels wonderful to feel loved, valued and respected, but if you are not valuing, loving and respecting yourself, you will soon feel that your spouse is not meeting your needs. For example, if you are a person who is self-critical, if you ignore your own feelings and do not take responsibility for them but instead blame others for them, then no matter how loving your partner is to you, you will not feel happy or loved. Most people are on good behavior at the beginning of a relationship, trying hard to please each other. But this can't last when you are not taking responsibility for yourself. Invariably, no matter how hard you or your partner try to please each other, neither of you will feel loved when you are not taking responsibility for your own feelings of pain, joy, happiness, and inner peace. Once your marriage starts to experience problems, this is a wonderful opportunity for both of you to do the Inner Bonding work you didn't know you needed to do before
getting married. This is the opportunity for you to learn how to take 100% responsibility for your own feelings of pain and joy through practicing Inner Bonding. Learning how to take responsibility for your feelings is a process that takes practice, but with time, patience, and support, you can learn to do this if you want to. When two people learn how to take responsibility for their own feelings and stop making their spouse responsible for their pain and joy, they become filled up with love. Only when you are bringing love into yourself do you have love to share with your partner. If you are trying to love your partner without loving yourself, you may end up feeling unloved and resentful, as your partner may not be loving you in the way you want and need to be loved. Only you can do this for yourself. Loving yourself through taking responsibility for your own feelings is the cake and your partner's love is the icing on the cake. There is no place for the icing if you are not creating the cake. Love and marriage do go together, but only when each person is loving themselves enough - through taking responsibility for their own pain and joy - to have love to share with each other.
May-June 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 53
www.exceptionalmag.com
May-June 2013
CONTENTS
Extraordinary Profiles 56
Dr. James W. O’Neil—Co-Founder VisionQuest 20/20
66
Richard Tirendi—CEO & Co-Founder VisionQuest 20/20
Inspiration 75
New Doors Will Soon Be Opened Before You
77
Financially Speaking, the Future is In Your Hands
The Lighter Side 79
E-Overload
80
Puzzles and Funnies
81
Recipes
83
Profile Resources
84
Writers and Contributors
Cover Design by
Jeff Hayes
“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” -Steve Jobs, Apple Co Co--founder
Extraordinary Profiles
At the intersection of humanity and technology is where groundbreaking innovation often happens. Meet Dr. James W. O’Neil, M.D. and Richard S. Tirendi, a couple of brilliant gentleman whose chance meeting 10 years ago has turned into an amazing partnership that is having an unbelievable effect on humanity. A pediatric ophthalmologist and the President and co-founder of VisionQuest 20/20, Dr. O’Neil’s list of accomplishments is a testament to his dedication to serving humanity. He has committed his life to protecting children and their families from the devastating consequences of undetected vision disorders.
The “eyes” have it.
A Fusion of Humanity and Technology 56 | Exceptional People Magazine | May-June 2013
Extraordinary Profiles
and White, Inc. every year since 1995, and has also been recognized as one of America’s Top Ophthalmologists since 2002. Dr. O’Neil is also the co-founder of EyeSpy 20/20, a new technology he co-founded with his partner Richard Tirendi. Together they have developed next generation technology that is on the verge of replacing the 150 year method of vision testing. EyeSpy 20/20 is an automated computer program that assesses vision while a child plays a video game. The games tests for amblyopia,
strabismus, cataracts and other vision problems. Automated testing is incorporated into the technology which allows screening to be performed by lay volunteers and eliminates the need for training and certification of vision-screen proctors.
As a visionary for optimal eye care in children, he has certainly made his mark in Arizona and will eventually extend his work globally. His extraordinary list of achievements includes instituting the first telemedicine program for remote nursery retinopathy of prematurity screens. He was the first pediatric ophthalmologist in greater metropolitan Phoenix to perform cataract surgery with intraocular lens implantation in children. He’s been named on the list of Best Doctors in America, by Woodward
Richard Tirendi is the CEO and cofounder of VisionQuest 20/20, www.visionquest2020.org. He is also an electrical and computer engineer and technology whiz who early on in his career enjoyed working in the semiconductor industry at IBM. He developed proprietary software systems that optimized various sensitive processes in the manufacturing of computer chips. After 14 years of working in the industry, Tirendi changed directions and formed a successful technology company with several engineers and subsequently sold the company. Tirendi states, “When the year 2000 came around, I was pretty much burnt out from the semiconductor industry and was basically trying to figure out what I wanted to do next. That’s when
I met James, and I realized that the experience that I had garnered in the semiconductor industry could be applied to helping to protect children’s vision.” Ten years ago when Dr. O’Neil began sharing his experiences of helping children with vision problems, it ignited a special passion within Tirendi because he remembered his own devastating childhood experience. When he was four and-a- half years old, he experienced total blindness for about two weeks due to a poisonous insect bite. While the condition was treatable and his vision was restored, he never forgot the fear he experienced. “It was absolutely terrifying, and it left a mark on me so to speak, but I never talked about it. I never really understood what its purpose was in my life,” says Tirendi. Who would have thought when their paths crossed, that an innovative explosion was waiting to happen? What followed was an incredible series of conversations between two brilliant men whose desire to change the lives of children and families across the country has become a reality after ten long years of research, development and testing. Together they have become a powerful duo in the fight against childhood vision problems. The “eyes” have it. The founder of Exceptional People Magazine was delighted to speak with them about their collaboration and the amazing technology they have developed which is having an incredible impact on humanity.
May-June 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 57
Extraordinary Profiles
Monica: How did you connect with Richard Tirendi? He has an engineering background and you are an ophthalmologist. One could never imagine two very different backgrounds being fused together to create a masterpiece such as EyeSpy 20/20. Dr. O’Neil: It was really mostly through a mutual friend. I saw a problem, and I had an idea to fix it. I didn’t have the technological expertise from a software background on how to address it. When I found out what he did, I started picking his brain. He expressed interest and it developed from there. Monica: You obviously already had a vision or at least an idea of what you wanted to do at that time. Dr. O’Neil: Yes, conceptually, I had an idea. It was a concept of using a video game to check for vision problems in kids. Over time, it developed into a much bigger endeavor. Monica: You didn’t think it would evolve into what it has evolved into today? Dr. O’Neil: I don’t think there was any way to foresee the direction it would take. As a pediatric ophthalmologist, I see children in my office all the time who have vision problems that slip through the cracks or are overlooked. Lots of time there’s no obvious sign for the parents or the teacher, or a school nurse, or even the child himself doesn’t realize there is a problem unless you do some sort of a formal assessment. Some kids simply don’t get vision screened at all. Other children get screened but it may be by a parent volunteer who’s doing the vision
screening assessment at school. Volunteers may not really be comfortable with how to conduct the screenings. They have minimal training. Parents feel devastated when they bring their child to the eye doctor find out there is a vision problem that they didn’t know about, especially when it’s a problem that could have been treated if we’d caught it a few years earlier. Now the child is too old or the problem too advanced to treat it. Parents feel guilty as though they have let the child down. In some circumstances, the parents and the entire family has been let down by a system that just didn’t get to the heart of the matter at an early enough age. I realized with my own kids how computer savvy they were at a young age. They love computer games. Why not use technology to solve the problem? The joke is when something’s wrong with your computer, you go ask your child to fix it. They know more about it than you do. In the year 2000, I remember reading a study where a consortium of vision experts came to Washington, D.C. They spent $3 million on a severalday conference, trying to vet out what the best solution for this problem (to detect vision disorders in children) would be. I was thinking to myself, if someone gave me $3 million, I wouldn’t sit around and talk about it, I would just fix the problem. The concept that you could use technology to improve a system that’s been unchanged virtually for the last 150 years is a no-brainer. Technology can help solve problems. Nobody had actually done it, as least not in a public health model.
Technology wasn’t readily available in 2000 to do this. People had big CRT computers, those big square boxes that looked like an old TV. I was on dial-up AOL at the time. Schools weren’t widely connected to the internet and laptop computers were very expensive. Monica: For 150 years there’s been one standard way of checking eyes. My thought behind that is why no one approached it from the standpoint that, “Well, we need to do something differently, or shouldn’t we take another approach to eliminate some of these issues where parents are finding out too late that their children have vision problems?” Dr. O’Neil: That’s an interesting question. There have been some Scandinavian countries that because of their smaller geographic size and fewer numbers of children involved, were able to put together a public health model that fairly effectively addressed the problem. They take very highly-paid people, professionals -- they’re not physicians, they’re certified ophthalmic technicians -and put them through a training course and send them out en masse to schools. They did screenings. They collected the data by hand and analyzed which kids needed further follow up. Then they worked logistically to get them plugged into the system where they could get examined and treated with eyeglasses, etc. This program model can be done effectively in a limited geographic setting where you have enough resources. Part of the issue for the U.S. is just the size, the scope of the problem and the distances involved. It’s hard to send someone 200, 300 or 400 miles away to go do a screening in a small town that’s isolated.
May-June 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 59
Extraordinary Profiles
Part of problem in the U.S. has been the logistics involved. Part of it has been lack of technology. Certainly 15 years ago, the technology didn’t exist to facilitate vision screening every child. Even 10 years ago, technology was rather limited. Thirdly, it was just a lack of resource allocation to make the detection of vision disorders in children a priority. Monica: The product that the two of you developed, EyeSpy 20/20, tests for various eye diseases such as amblyopia, cataracts, astigmatism, and other vision-related conditions. Dr. O’Neil: Yes. EyeSpy is designed to detect any disorder which interferes with a child’s ability to see clearly or interferes with depth perception. Amblyopia (lazy eye) affects two to four percent of the population. That is relatively common. It is a critical issue from a public health standpoint because it is usually readily treatable but only if you catch it and treat it in time. Five million U.S. adults have irreversible vision loss from amblyopia that was undertreated or missed.
to be treated in the first few months of life. These kids can’t be treated effectively later on. They can have permanent vision loss. Children should be screened for cataracts at birth and in the office by their pediatrician by looking for the “red reflex”. This is the same reflex that creates the “red eye’ in photos. As a pediatric ophthalmologist, I see cataracts every single week. I probably do five or six surgeries a month for cataracts in children. It’s not so incredibly rare that we don’t see it in a sub specialist situation where I’m serving a population of several hundred thousand people. Monica: You established a retinopathy of prematurity telemedicine program?
Although not a serious a public health issue, even nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism are important to detect in children. When you start looking at children, by age 10, about 20 percent of kids have some sort of an eyeglasses issue. Failure to detect and treat these kids may impact their academic performance, sport’s performance, and overall quality of life.
Dr. O’Neil: Yes, the first such program in Arizona. There was one program with UCLA in Palm Springs, Ca. that started a little bit sooner than I did. I believe the Palm Springs program was under a research protocol. This telemedicine system was technology someone else developed. We had two communities in Arizona, one in Flagstaff, and one in Yuma that had no pediatric ophthalmologist and no subspecialty eye care professionals to perform necessary retinal screenings in premature neonates. These babies are born very prematurely, and the smallest can be under 1 pound at birth and only 23 or 24 weeks postconception, with the normal full term being 40 weeks. They can develop a bleeding disorder in their eyes.
Separate from the EyeSpy program, cataracts are also very significant in my practice because they need to be treated especially early. Otherwise, the brain development doesn’t occur normally. Congenital cataracts need
In 1999, there were three children from the Yuma regional area that I was aware of who had become blind because they didn’t get the expert eye care they needed. They were all born prematurely.
60 | Exceptional People Magazine | May-June 2013
Extraordinary Profiles
The telemedicine program takes photographs of the back of the eye with a sophisticated camera system, and sends them to me over the Internet. At the beginning the internet was too slow and we had to Fed Ex the photos on zip drives. I read the photographs and send back a report. If they end up having issues, they can be back-transported to a major metropolitan neonatal nursery for laser treatment. I was an early adopter to use telemedicine for retinopathy of prematurity in remote community settings. To my knowledge, no additional children lost vision after we started the telemedicine exams. This experience reinforced for me the value of using technology to improve patient care. Now, retinopathy of prematurity screening programs are becoming commonplace, even overseas. Monica: Do you think that EyeSpy 20/20 will become the standard method to test children’s eyes? Dr. O’Neil: I hope so. We need to have an infrastructure in place to support a public health model. The infrastructure is going to be different, depending upon the age of the child. What I would advocate is that we have tiered screenings. As newborns, children would get an examination by the pediatrician during the newborn period and again periodically during the first 3-4 years of age in pediatrician’s offices. As children move into school settings, they’re no longer spending the same amount of time in pediatricians’ offices like younger children. Younger children are in doctor’s offices frequently, because they’re getting immunizations and well-child
check ups. Prior to age three or four, children have very little contact with the educational system. Once children are five and six years old, they’re spending most of their time in schools. Pediatrician’s visits become less frequent. It makes sense to vision screen in schools for older children. My hope is to lay the groundwork for a platform that could be used in schools throughout the country, and EyeSpy is the platform that we’ve developed. It’s a platform that right now is fairly robust. Nevertheless, EyeSpy continues to evolve, and we’re continuing develop and improve it. Our goal is certainly to use the EyeSpy platform in the school-age setting beginning with kindergarten and up. It was specifically designed for that venue. VisionQuest20/20’s non-profit program wasn’t designed for pediatricians’ offices. It’s mission is to serve schoolchildren. Once the children get to be about age five, you just hand them the mouse and they run with the video game. You don’t really have to intervene any more. They can do it themselves. Monica: You can really look at it as a complete system. It incorporates the child’s information into the program. It administers the test. The results are automatically sent to the school’s database. Everything is basically incorporated in that one system. Dr. O’Neil: Again it is a program in evolution. As we deal with large school systems, we integrate directly into the school system’s database. There’s a lot of different databases out there and we’re in the process of integrating them one by one. The goal is to make a sophisticated program seem simple. You can take May-June 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 61
Extraordinary Profiles
someone who has very little experience or very little knowledge about vision problems, have them import the child’s information from the school’s database, do the test, upload the information back into the school’s database, and let the database report to the state, to the school nurse, or to the parents. This will allow the child to be plugged into the medical care system for follow-up if necessary. Integrating into school’s data systems is something that is really unique. EyeSpy as a video game to check children’s vision is unique. It’s evolved into much more than that. It is actually using technology to enable a paradigm shift in how we solve a public health problem. When we first developed this as a prototype 10 years ago, we approached the largest vision charity in the United States at the time and offered it to them to use if they helped us develop it. I think the paradigm shift was too great of a transition for them at the time. They suggested that we needed to start our own non-profit in order to develop this program. We have done that with VisionQuest20/20 (the 501c3) and EyeSpy 20/20 (the video game/data platform). We try to work as collaboratively as possible with other vision organizations, with schools, and with nurses. My goal is to implement the EyeSpy platform to help other people do their jobs more easily. Although Rich and I are the ones who developed EyeSpy , there are other screening technologies out there that are useful for younger age groups (under 5 years old). A special needs child may require a different type of screening be performed than what our 62 | Exceptional People Magazine | May-June 2013
video game can provide. There are objective tests where, for example, you can take a photograph of the eye and analyze the photograph. These differ from subjective tests where the child actually has to make a response. What we designed allows the underlying data platform which integrates into schools to support various types of screenings by different technologies. It may not be a one-size fits all technology to serve all children’s needs. The data platform is more than just the video game. I’m actually most excited about the platform. The video game is nice because it catches the public eye. The kids really respond well to the video game. It engages them. They think it’s fun, and exciting and they try harder. The kids want to win at video games, and they usually give them their full attention. EyeSpy is a subjective test that requires a response from the child. Once children are old enough to read an eye chart, there is value to actually getting the eye chart information and having a child subjectively respond. There are about four million U.S. children in every age group. If you’re trying to screen every child every year, and you’re looking at screening everybody from kindergarten up to sixth grade, that’s a big undertaking. You’re talking about 20-30 million children you’re trying to screen. EyeSpy incorporates validated protocols used by well trained vision experts and makes that knowledge available to someone who basically has very little education or very little training. We can mimic the testing results of an experienced person by using a video game technology. It’s a very powerful tool.
Extraordinary Profiles
Vision screenings can be done properly in the traditional way by using an eye chart and using the depth perception test chart. The problem is it takes a certain level of expertise to do it right, and there just aren’t that many people who are available to do it. Monica: One of the things that I like about EyeSpy is that it’s easy to use and apply in the classroom. Practically anyone can administer it. Dr. O’Neil: This also means that it’s always available. If a child is sick on the day you do the screening, it doesn’t mean he misses his screening that year. If the child’s parents can’t make it to the school, he can have the screening done at any time. It also changes the logistics, so that a school may find it’s easier to screen a classroom a day rather than trying to screen the entire school in one day. Monica: With EyeSpy you have been able to reduce the overall costs for screenings per child versus the regular costs for using the standard eye chart. You are basically eliminating the middle person. You don’t necessarily have to have a specialist give the child an eye test. Is that where the savings come in? Dr. O’Neil: Yes, the savings are realized by eliminating the need for trained vision experts to go into the schools and by being able to use schools’ existing resources. Schools generally already have computers. Schools generally already have access to the Internet. Schools generally have resources available to conduct screenings. It may be a parent volunteer, it may be a nurse’s aide, a teacher or a nurse. That’s up to the school. They don’t have to go out and hire someone to come into the school to conduct vision screenings.
As you know, employees cost money. If you have a trained professional, it’s going to be the biggest cost of doing a vision screening. Again, there are a limited number of trained vision professionals. You pay them to go from school to school to school. The personnel used for vision screenings is what costs the most and limits accessibility to screenings. Also, they have to manually collect the data. If they want to get the data into a computer system, they have to manually input the data. That’s time consuming. Sending out reports to parents is time consuming. The automation of testing and data collection basically reduces staffing costs and allows people who are either volunteers or who are already on staff at the school to perform services that would previously require engaging an outside organization. I feel confident that we’re going to get that cost under $1.00 per child in the long run. Building the infrastructure is expensive. However, once you have the infrastructure in place, because of the automation involved, the costs really drop significantly. Monica: Will maintaining this program be a costly process for you? Let’s say for example, you have this program in 100 schools, and you need to maintain the software or update it. How easy or difficult would that be? Dr. O’Neil: Technologically it’s very easy to do. Anytime they turn on the computer and are connected with the Internet, it gets updated. Currently there is a renewal fee or a licensing fee for subsequent years. The larger cost is the first year, getting the program initiated. After that, there’s a lower licensing fee to maintain the software and data storage. May-June 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 63
Extraordinary Profiles
Monica: From of all your accomplishments within this particular field, what are some of the things that you are most proud of? Dr. O’Neil: EyeSpy is a culmination of everything I’ve done. I’ve been in practice for about 20 years. My field is very rewarding. I get a chance to interact with children and their families, to help improve their vision and enhance their quality of life. I get that reward on a daily basis in my office. This is a way to create a legacy that can outlast my ability to see patients. It’s also a way to touch the lives of a lot of families that I couldn’t otherwise. I’ve already had the experience where people come back to me and say the program was able to identify a problem with their child that they did not know about. I’ve never had any personal contacts with the family. The only contacts we have are through EyeSpy and the VisionQuest program. To be able to expand our reach and touch more families and more children, and make a greater impact, is very rewarding. I feel like we are in a position where we can start a program that has national implications and that will allow more children to be screened more effectively at less cost. We will be able to improve a system that’s been around for 150 years that isn’t reaching all the children like it should ideally. We can do it for literally pennies on the dollar. If you think about what we spend on the school lunch program, the last estimate was about $30 million a day. That’s what the federal government spends.
64 | Exceptional People Magazine | May-June 2013
For what it costs to run a school lunch program for one day, we can vision screen every school child in America every year. It’s not an expensive program. I believe that the return on investments for doing something like this, according to most studies, is at least 2:1, but up to 10:1. For every dollar you invest in trying to identify a child with a vision problem at a young age, you get at least a two-fold and up to ten-fold return on investment in terms of better educational results, increased productivity and lower health care costs later on. Monica: Is the system in a betatesting phase right now? Dr. O’Neil: No, we’ve been working on this for 10 years. There’s been a series of steps that we’ve vetted out along the way. We intentionally stayed under the radar because I didn’t want to publicize this and create a demand that we weren’t ready to serve. There’s the whole science behind making certain that the test does what the test is supposed to do. There’s also making certain that technology can support the screenings and not have issues with firewalls at schools or have technological issues. There’s the whole concern about how the school nurses will adapt to it. Does it really work in a real world setting? Is it user-friendly? Is it compatible with the technology systems that schools have in terms of data reporting and sending data? There have probably been 30, 40 or 50 different pilot projects or steps that we’ve had to vet along the way. At this point, we have a turnkey program, and if people are interested in using it, it’s ready to go. We have a technologically supported infrastructure to meet the demand.
Extraordinary Profiles
Monica: What do you find most rewarding about your partnership with Richard Tirendi? Dr. O’Neil: There are a lot of reasons why people do things. Certainly solving a problem, that’s intrinsically rewarding -- the creativity and the art of invention. I’ve talked to Rich many times before and said, “You know, it feels like it’s been a long haul to get to where we are.” Part of the reason is there was no blueprint. We weren’t taking a business model that had already been established and franchising it. If you open up a Burger King or a McDonalds, there’s a blueprint on how to do that. We had no blueprint to follow. This is something really new and innovative.
foresee it doing anything except getting better and better over time. Monica: I really appreciate what you and Richard are doing and the technology that you have created to help young people improve their vision long before existing problems cannot be reversed or corrected. It’s serving an audience that really is underserved. Dr. O’Neil: We think of this as social entrepreneurism. We’re creating an entrepreneurial solution for the better social good. In the field of pediatric ophthalmology we emphasize treating conditions early before they result in life-long vision problems and irreversibility. This program is really just an extension of what I do in the office everyday.
The act of innovation, the act of creating something, is exhilarating. It literally started on a napkin at a Halloween party 10 years ago. We met weekly for years. I’m a fulltime eye surgeon and a very busy person. Between Rich and I, we continued to let the creative juices flow, envisioned what the possibilities were and what the necessary steps were to get there. It’s similar to the whole process of just watching your baby grow up, mature and develop and grow into something that you’re proud of. It’s a very rewarding thing to feel that you’ve created something that didn’t exist before. You’re solving a problem. You’re leaving a legacy. Monica: It’s something that’s never been done before and you are definitely true innovators. Dr. O’Neil: I appreciate you saying that. This is just the beginning, and I hope that we’ll continue to see the program flourish and mature. It seems like we’re at the point where the momentum is on our side. I don’t May-June 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 65
Extraordinary Profiles
Monica: How did the two of your meet? Richard: Dr. O’Neil and I met in 2000 at a charitable event. As a pediatric ophthalmologist, he shared with me his frustration about having to inform parents on a weekly basis -- and sometimes more often -- that their child had irreversible visual loss due to a condition called amblyopia. He explained that if this condition is detected early in life, typically before age nine, it can be treated, usually with just patching or eyeglasses. Sometimes surgery may be necessary in the case of something occluding one of the eyes or significant eye misalignment. Amblyopia is basically a situation where the brain discards the information from one eye. It may be because that one eye is out of focus, misaligned with the stronger eye, or that its vision is being blocked. The problem is, that very often the child, their parents and teachers are unaware of the issue. If a child has always had blurred vision for example, how do they know that the world is supposed to look clear? They don’t have a reference to anything other than blurred vision. Monica: I imagine it would depend upon their age, but if a child can see very well from one eye but not the other, wouldn’t you think that the child would say something is wrong with this eye, I don’t see the same as I do in the other eye? Richard: I love the question Monica because it makes perfect sense. It’s very logical, but here is the issue. A young person’s brain is very adaptive. In order to provide a usable image, the vision center of the brain simply discards the data from the blurry, misaligned or blocked eye. The child does not see the “confusing” image out of the weak eye. Only one eye is providing their vision but you can’t necessarily tell by looking at the child. Once the vision center of the brain is cemented in place -- typically by about age nine -- there’s no opportunity to restore that neurological connection between the weak eye and the brain. This is why the child is unable to articulate that there’s a problem, because from their perspective there isn’t a problem. They lack the ability to perceive depth but they don’t know any different.
The other issue is that once they have monocular blindness, if something should happen to the one remaining good eye, they now have no vision. It is really a silent dilemma, and it’s an epidemic of sorts. The shame of it is that it is preventable, but only if it is detected early in life. You can’t detect it by simply looking at the child. The detection of amblyopia requires a very accurate and precise vision screening or examination. In fact, the symptoms are so subtle that amblyopic conditions often go undetected, resulting in 5 million adults in this country alone suffering with monocular blindness that could have been prevented. Monica: On average how many kids per year are affected? Richard: There is no centralized data repository where epidemiological analysis can be performed. The answer to your question is hard to provide. It is commonly accepted that between two and four percent of children are amblyopic. There are five million adults in the United States who have monocular blindness in the amblyopia that was either detected too late for treatment or never detected at all. Amblyopia is unquestionably a public health dilemma that silently attacks our children. With my background in electrical, computer and software engineering, I was convinced that we could develop technology to detect amblyopia. However, once I began studying childhood vision and vision disorders, it became immediately evident that we needed to develop technology that could detect any problem affecting a child’s ability to see. We wanted to look for problems with the cornea, retina, and optic nerve. We wanted to detect problems at the vision center of the brain. We wanted to detect problems with the cognitive processing of the information that was coming into the brain, in other words, literally anything that impacts the child’s ability to see. The best way to do this is with a full eye examination performed by an eye doctor. However, there simply are not enough eye doctors to examine the vision of every child, every year. One thing to keep in mind is that children are very dynamic and so is their vision. If you test a child’s vision when they’re four-years-old, that doesn’t mean they are guaranteed good vision for life. They could have a vision problem at age 5 or 6 or older. Simply put, children need their vision screened every year. May-June 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 67
Extraordinary Profiles
Monica: I want to go back to your background in electrical and computer engineering. How does your experience and background mesh with that of Dr. O’Neil where the two of you formed this powerful partnership?
It looks like a very simple matching game to the child but behind the scenes the software is actually measuring the child’s responses in real-time and adjusting itself, much like certified ophthalmic technicians would be doing if they were performing a vision test. We’re able to get extraordinarily accurate and reliable results, but it’s very easy to use.
Richard: I appreciate the question, because it wasn’t something that was initially obvious to me. When I was four-and-a-half years old, I experienced total blindness for about two weeks. I had been bitten in the face by a poisonous insect while I was sleeping. It had swollen my face and entirely shut my eyes to the point that I could not see any light. It was absolutely terrifying, and it left a mark on me so to speak, but I never talked about it. I never really understood what its purpose was in my life, until my conversation with Dr. O’Neil.
Richard: Yes, and that’s a huge point because a traditional vision screening can be intimidating to a child. In addition, children can peek, they can memorize a static wall chart and then you’ve got all the human variability involved with interpreting the results of a traditional screening conducted with a wall chart.
When I met Dr. O’Neil and he started sharing with me his desire to save children’s vision, I felt compelled to do something. I had just sold a technology company, and as luck would have it, contemplating what I wanted to do next. I had the time, resources, and unique appreciation of children’s vision to help Dr. O’Neil develop this technology. As far as my background is concerned, I started in the semiconductor industry with IBM in New York. During that time I began specializing in developing software systems to optimize various processes, very sensitive processes used in the manufacturing of computer chips. Throughout my career, I developed proprietary software systems that evaluated the performance of certain manufacturing processes and made artificially intelligent adjustments to these processes in real-time to increase the reliability of the equipment, maximize output, and improve quality of the computer chips we were producing. After meeting with Dr. O’Neil, I realized that my software and business systems experience could be applied to developing technology to help protect children’s vision. Computers are very high-speed now, they’re very affordable and software development techniques have advanced to a point that you can develop systems such as ours that, to a certain degree, mimic human thinking. 68 | Exceptional People Magazine | May-June 2013
Monica: Making it look like a game to the child is what keeps them engaged.
The person proctoring the examination has to learn, memorize and precisely administer a very complicated set of rules in order to accurately ascertain whether or not the child can see. There are all types of opportunities for traditional vision screenings to miss problems. If they didn’t miss a lot of children, we wouldn’t have so many adults in this country who have blindness in one eye due to amblyopia. Ultimately one of the things that I wanted to make sure that we were able to do is collect data. It just makes sense to collect data for epidemiologic purposes so that we can allocate limited resources to those that need it most. With traditional screenings, automated data collection, storage and reporting are simply not possible. We also wanted remove the intimidation associated with traditional vision screenings, so we took the approach of making our screening process appear as a video game.
Extraordinary Profiles
Children just “play” this game for two or three minutes, and at the end of the game a report is instantly generated that tells you, their parents, and school whether or not this child should be seen by an eye care professional. Monica: When you’re performing this test, does the child actually know that they’re taking an eye test? Richard: I believe the older children do. Regardless of age, one thing that I hear all the time is that the kids want to play the test again. Whether a game or a vision screening, the kids like it. It’s fun to them. The vision screening game, EyeSpy 20/20, has no negative reinforcement. All children that play the game receive a visual award at the conclusion of the vision screening. No children feel like, “I didn’t do well.” Even if they are aware that it is a vision screening, to them the whole experience is just playing a game. We wanted to wrap it in a game, so that the child would let go of inhibitions, which also provides for more accurate results because the child is not incentivized to cheat or compete against his or her peers. Monica: So you have multiple tests then? Richard: Yes, the test is customized and adjusted in realtime based on the child. The test is completely randomized, including the order in which the optotypes or the letters are presented. It’s also optimized in the sense that the cartoon sequencing is randomized, because we didn’t want children sitting side-by-side to perceive what step they are in the screening process. It eliminates any type of interest in what their neighbor is doing. We engage the child by allowing them to pick the character that they want to play. Right from the beginning they’re engaged because they have already started to make choices that impact the way that the test looks. Monica: Do most schools have vision screenings, or is it specific schools? Is that a standard across the board? Richard: Actually that is a very important question. There are some states that have no requirements whatsoever. There are other states that require vision screenings at certain intervals and then there are still other states that actually mandate full eye exams prior to entering schools. My answer to you is that there’s a huge variation across the country. Even within states that have recommendations,
requirements or mandates, there’s a tremendous amount of variation. There is no standardization, making your question difficult to answer. One of the reasons why we believe that EyeSpy 20/20 is important as a solution is because it allows schools to implement a system that is standardized and meets their state's requirements, if any. Furthermore, EyeSpy 20/20 can be implemented very easily by untrained, lay personnel. The proctor selects the child from the list of students, presses “Begin Screening”, and then just follows the instructions on the screen, which are customized based on the particular screening. Monica: So EyeSpy 20/20 is a complete system? Richard: Yes, EyeSpy 20/20 is a complete solution. In addition to providing accurate and reliable vision screenings, EyeSpy 20/20 does something critically important. It stores all vision screening data for each school. The school has lifetime web access to their data, 24/7, and can export their data into their student information software system. In addition, for the first time ever, there is now the EyeSpy 20/20 centralized HIPAA compliant database containing vision screening results. As this program proliferates across the country, we will have an opportunity to better understand the prevalence of vision disorders based not only upon geographic location, but also gender, age, and ethnicity. These are critically important questions that need to be answered. Up until this point you had pockets of small studies that have been performed, but nothing on this scale. Monica: Speaking of making your technology available across the country, will there be a cost to the schools for that? Richard: Yes there is a cost. First of all, I want to talk about the cost, but I also want to talk to you about what our ultimate goal is. There are supplies that need to be provided, there’s software that needs to be provided, and so the cost to obtain the software license for the first year is $3,800. May-June 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 69
Extraordinary Profiles
Monica: For the entire school? Richard: Yes, for the entire school. There’s a subtlety here that I want to mention. EyeSpy 20/20 can be installed on as many computers as you wish. That is one of the huge benefits. There are other vision screening technologies available, and they could cost as much as $6,000 to $10,000 for a single device. For $3,800 they're getting a license to install EyeSpy 20/20 software on as many laptops as they wish, essentially providing them as many vision screening systems as they have laptops. We intend for the software to be used in a mass vision screening type of environment, where it can be setup on four to eight, or even 12 computers. Children can be vision screened side-by-side because that’s traditionally how vision screenings are conducted within the schools anyway. After the first year, the annual license for EyeSpy 20/20 is $800. A traditional vision screening costs between $10 and $15 per child. For comparison, EyeSpy 20/20 costs $3,800 the first year and $800 each year over the next nine years, you would have 10 years of using EyeSpy 20/20 for a total of $11,000. If you vision screen 500 children a year over 10 years, that’s 5,000 children vision screened for a cost of $2.20 per child. It’s much less expensive, significantly more accurate, and it allows you to engage volunteers to administer screenings rather than certified vision screening personnel. We have had 15-year-old children administering vision screenings to younger children. That is unprecedented. We’re constantly upgrading and optimizing and making improvements, but there’s a lot more that you receive. For example, the system allows you to import the student roster into its database so that when you go to vision screen a child, you don’t have to type in any information, you just select it from a list. EyeSpy 20/20 allows you to export the data into the school’s student information system. This is critically 70 | Exceptional People Magazine | May-June 2013
important because with a traditional vision screening, all of the recordkeeping is done manually, which introduces huge opportunities for error and takes a tremendous amount of time. As EyeSpy 20/20 collects the all the data for you and provides the report, it streamlines the vision screening process itself. The schools have exclusive access to their data in perpetuity and never lose access to their data. EyeSpy 20/20 safeguards their data, stores it for them and gives them access to it 24/7. Monica: Even though it is computerized and you’re not doing anything manually, is there a slight percentage of some error being recorded automatically? Richard: Certainly. If the student roster is not accurate, then absolutely. Or, for example, if you’re manually typing in the child’s name yes, it could absolutely introduce errors that way. One of the things that the system allows you to do is go in and correct those very issues.
Extraordinary Profiles
For example, let’s say I was vision screening Johnny and he had two Ns in his name instead of one. At any point in time, maybe three months after the fact, I could go into that record and correct it. Or if I got the birthdate wrong, I could change that. When you change the birthdate, as an example, if the system detected that he or she should have been administered a different test based on the correct birthday, it will inform you that that child needs to be rescreened. With any system, the reliability of the data or the accuracy of the data is only as good as the data that you put into it. With regards to the vision screening results, those results are accurate. That’s definitely the key. If EyeSpy 20/20 reports that that the child can see, you can be certain the child can see. Monica: The fact that anyone, even a child, can administer the program, would you say that has played a major role in the acceptance and success of the technology? Richard: Well I would certainly say it is one of my hopes. Right now one thing to keep in mind is that this is somewhat of a disruptive technology. There are schools that have been doing vision screenings the same way using a method developed over 150 years ago. The fact of the matter is that the way that we vision screen most children today is the same way that we did it in 1862. I hope that the ease of implementation offered by EyeSpy 20/20 will overcome the psychological barrier associated with adapting to new technology. The fact that in many cases the child taking the test can literally administer EyeSpy 20/20 themselves, is significant proof of the ease with which this system can be used. We’ve also had proctors in their 80s, easily administer EyeSpy 20/20. It's very important to us that volunteer organizations or individuals looking to do something for their local community can provide vision screenings using this technology. It’s my aspiration, and the organization’s, that schools are able to use this at no cost. One of the things that we put into the EyeSpy 20/20 system is the ability to recognize sponsors. The reason why this is critically important is because we have so many philanthropic individuals and corporations in this country. I would like to give them recognition for protecting children’s vision. We recognize them on every vision screening report that is sent home to the families of students that have their vision screened using EyeSpy 20/20.
At the end of every vision screening a report is automatically and instantaneously produced. That report can be printed in English or Spanish. On that printed piece of paper there is space to recognize a corporate sponsor, an individual, or anyone who financially underwrites the program for the school. By doing this, the program can actually be used as a fundraiser for the schools. There’s nothing that prevents schools from going to their local Starbucks, McDonalds, Wal-Mart or banks, insurance agents, realtors, dentists, etc. and saying, “Not only are you going to be establishing goodwill in the community but you’ll be helping to protect children’s vision.” Monica: In the very beginning when you and Dr. O’Neil were working on this idea, trying to figure out how you were going to create this technology, what criteria did you come up with to develop it? Richard: The first thing we did was determine the exact characteristics defining the ideal vision screening program. We identified eight specific issues that had to be addressed including: (1) methodology, (2) validation, (3) distribution, (4) administration, (5) results, (6) data storage, (7) notification, and (8) epidemiological analysis. We vetted each of them with our medical advisory board and engaged a variety of experts on childhood vision issues as well. We also thought about it from a programmatic standpoint as we want to establish a national vision screening program. As such, we had all of the programming independently validated, because it wasn’t enough for us to vision screen 10,000 or 20,000 children and just say we know it’s working well. We needed independent validation. We also knew that it had to be able to collect data quickly, analyze that data and provide results in realtime and do all this affordably. Monica: How do you persuade schools to participate in your vision screening technology, since a number of schools are still using a system that was in place 150 years ago? May-June 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 71
Extraordinary Profiles
Richard: That’s another great question. I believe that there are a couple of really key components here. First of all, I’m a dad. Somehow my “baby” is now 23 years old but regardless, from the day my daughter was born to this very moment in time -- there’s nothing that I wouldn’t do for her. I don’t think that I’m different from most parents. I believe that parents can and do move mountains for their children. I’m often heard saying that moms make the world go round… but us dads help too. When moms (and dads) understand the issues and shortcomings of a traditional vision screening and they understand that there’s an answer, I believe that they will become our greatest and strongest advocates, even going so far as to “demand” that their school use EyeSpy 20/20. The second component is the psychological barrier to entry. Schools often feel that they’ve been doing just fine, and they’re hesitant in adopting something new. In addition, there’s a cost associated with EyeSpy 20/20. What we do is offer a solution that ideally doesn’t cost the school any money and could potentially generate surplus funds for the school. Monica: From a personal perspective, what kind of impact has the experience had on you, the fact that you and Dr. O’Neil have developed this wonderful system to help young children correct their vision in the early stages? How has that experience impacted your life? Richard: I'll never forget the first time I saw children playing the game, and I thought oh my gosh, this is a system that I co-created and it is helping children in a very meaningful way. During development, I vision screened my daughter probably 300 times as I was testing software and I tested Dr. O’Neil’s children, friends and family. The very first time that I saw this being used in the community with children that I didn’t know, identifying children who did not know that they had a vision problem, it was surreal.
72 | Exceptional People Magazine | May-June 2013
I almost get broken up when I try to answer this question… it’s very emotional for me. This work is beyond anything that I ever thought I would have the honor or privilege of being involved in. I began receiving testimonials and I thought to myself, this is amazing that there are children who will never know me and yet I had the benefit of touching their lives. I think about the fact that we have vision screened over 200,000 children so far, and we’re just getting started. Having co-founded the non-profit organization and dedicating the past 10 years of my life to this endeavor has been amazing. Watching this program come to fruition and to know that children and their families are benefiting is truly rewarding beyond words. Monica: Although the current mission is to focus on children, will EyeSpy 20/20 eventually be used to help adults with vision problems as well? Richard: Funny you should ask. Some of the inquiries we receive, ask that very question. We also have parents and young adults who ask whether this approach can be used for vision therapy. For example, if you have a
Extraordinary Profiles
known issue with your vision and vision therapy is something that’s prescribed, can this technology be used for vision therapy? Dr. O’Neil and I are committed to helping people, particularly given his area of expertise with regards to vision, in any way that we can. There are many organizations and technology companies that are developing solutions to address glaucoma, cataracts and other afflictions of the eye. We have chosen our focus because there had been no advancement or innovation in school-based vision screenings and it serves the greatest need because these children are most vulnerable and overlooked. Our children are slipping through the cracks and needlessly suffering academically, psychosocially, and ultimately economically. Monica: Excellent. You both have developed outstanding technology that is going to have such an amazing impact on millions of children. I can only wait to see it expand. This is what I call innovation at work. Richard: Well first of all, I’m very touched by your words. I’ve been an entrepreneur for years, and I love it. I love starting businesses and developing technologies. I’ve been in the high tech world for a long time. It’s so much fun to be developing technology that actually provides true social benefit.
we’ve done screenings without ever going to places like Alaska, South Carolina and other states. From a technology infrastructure standpoint, there’s no difference between doing 200,000 screenings and 20 million screenings. There’s no difference. The program is instantly scalable. Everything is in place and now people just need to be made aware of what we have to offer. Monica: Sure. Isn’t technology wonderful in that sense? Richard: It sure is. I love the application of technology in this way. It really does have a lifelong impact, and there are lots of examples of that. I’m just glad to play a small part in that role.
Monica: How long has it been in the testing phase? Richard: We’re out of the testing phase. We developed a prototype in 2001. With that prototype we began vision screening children locally. After the prototype demonstrated incredible accuracy, we developed a beta version. The beta version was for purposes of refining the scientific protocol that was implemented. That was a slightly more advanced program. Then we took that beta and we made the first official version of EyeSpy 20/20. We sent EyeSpy 20/20 to the Storm Eye Institute at the Medical University of South Carolina, one of the top ophthalmic clinics in the world. They subsequently did an independent scientific validation study and published that study in the Journal of AAPOS, which is the American Academy of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, the industry publication of record.
www.visionquest2020.org
Once we had scientific validation, we began to roll it out to our local community. That's where the vast majority of the 200,000 screenings have been conducted. To demonstrate its ability to be used in schools beyond our own backyard, May-June 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 73
Inspiration
“Optimism is essential to achievement and it is also the
foundation of courage and of true progress.� Nicholas Murray
Inspiration
New Doors Will Soon Be Opened Before You By Catherine Galasso-Vigorito
“Anyone can recede and give up; it’s the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that’s true strength.” Author unknown Layers of pine needles muffled my sneaker-clad footsteps, as the children and I were taking a walk through the woods near our home. Listening to the birds singing their charming songs and seeing bushy-tailed squirrels scamper by, I turned to the left and noticed a large cobweb that was spun in-between two trees. The image of the spider’s web sparked my memory. And as we walked further, I shared with my children an interesting story that I had once heard. I told them how late one afternoon a man was at work in his office, and he noticed a white envelope on his desk with his name printed on it. “It must have been placed there while I was working in the warehouse,” he thought to himself, as he reached for it. Casually, the man sat back in his leather-bound chair and opened the envelope. He read the paragraph slowly and was completely stunned. It was a termination notice. The
company was eliminating his job, as well as the entire department. “I’ve been here for so long. What’s going to happen to me and my family now?” the man questioned in absolute disbelief. Becoming increasingly bitter and in despair, degrading thoughts paraded through his mind. “I’m too old to start over. I’ll never succeed again. I’m done,” he whispered. It was one of the most painful, discouraging days of his life. Suddenly, the man saw a little spider crawling on his desk. So, he brushed it off with his hand. But instead of falling to the ground, the spider automatically spun a strong strand of silk to hold its weight. The man sat quietly and watched the spider, as it swung gracefully to the floor, unharmed.
May-June 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 75
Inspiration
After a few minutes, the man looked up and prayed, “Dear God, if a tiny spider can draw forth its God-given resources and strength from within to meet with life’s challenges… than, so can I.” My children were intrigued by the story, so I continued. Gradually, I explained, that the man’s negative thinking turned onto the positive, as he pondered, “God has blessed me with strength and inner resources. My security is not in my job. My security is in my connection with God, who has seen me through difficulties in the past, and He will see me through this setback.” With that, the man stood up, held his head up high, walked out of his office and didn’t look back. Strong and confident, he declared, “The company might have taken me off its payroll. Yet, no one can take away the flow of God’s grace and abundance in my life.”
Then, he thanked God for the new doors that he believed would be opened before him. And, in time, the hand of God, indeed, guided the man to a wonderful, new career. Maybe you, like this man, have been frustrated, upset or disappointed because of an unforeseen challenge. Now, you just don’t know what to do next. Tired and weary, sometimes all hope seems to be gone, and you feel like throwing your hands up in the air and saying, “Forget it.” But if God could give a tiny spider the wherewithal to protect itself from a fall, think about all the assets He has given to you. You’re resilient and capable, with many exceptional abilities. You are “God’s workmanship,” (Ephesians 2:10) set apart, and have a “spirit of power, love and a sound mind.”(2 Timothy 1:7) So move forward and strive earnestly. You may have had some bad breaks in the past. But don’t settle or toss away your precious dreams because of a setback, a naysayer or temporary problem. God wants to bless and use your life. Thus, “use whatever gift you have received to serve others…” (1 Peter 4:10). Starting from humble beginnings, a young housewife and mother of five daughters had a passion for sharing her delicious homemade chocolate chip cookies with family and friends. And she dreamed of owning her own freshbaked cookie business. Although she had determination and a hard work ethic, she didn’t have the money, the connections, experience or a formal education. 76 | Exceptional People Magazine | May-June 2013
Many people said she wouldn’t make it in business, and that she should give up on her dream. Yet, Debbi Fields ignored the hurtful comments. And with her ‘recipe’ and her ‘dream,’ she persevered. Today, Mrs. Field’s Cookies, a premier cookie brand, has more than 650 retail bakeries in the United States and over 80 international locations in 11 different countries. Is there is something you have given up on? Has God put a special dream in your heart? Remember, “Life has two rules. The first rule is to never give up. The second rule is to remember the first rule.” Hence, if you knock on a door and nothing happens, you must knock again and again. Solomon says in Proverbs 24:16, “Though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again.” Therefore, if you fall down, get back up and try once more. This is a significant time for you. Keep believing and moving forward in truth. New blessings are soon to come. God is about to do something extraordinary in your future. There’s nothing to fear. So, faithfully, do what you can; “ask, seek, knock,” (Matthew 7:7) and God will give you the opportunity to do more. It doesn’t matter where you start. Take what God has given to you and turn it into something great. God’s plan for you is a plan for victory.
Inspiration
Financially Speaking, the Future is In Your Hands By Cedric Dukes Many are concerned about the future. The job market is slowly growing; companies have not hired at full strength; Wall Street is up and down at every turn of the head. We cannot control what happens in the economy. We can only control ourselves in terms of development and growth. We are the ones that will decide what will happen today, tomorrow and decades from now by our actions today. This is a harsh reality but time and time again success is not indicative by outside resources; but success is in our hands. Our future is our personal responsibility. Neither the government nor anyone else can control what we do; it’s up to us to ensure our growth. I found an illustration in Matthew 25:14-30 of how we control the future by our choices. There was an owner traveling to a faraway country who called his servants together to give them some of his money (talents) while he was gone. He gave the servants money based upon their ability to handle it. For one servant, he gave five talents; another one, he gave two and another one he gave one. The servants went their ways spending, investing, and trading their talents. The owner returned and asked how they did with his money. The servant with the five and two talents doubled their owner’s resources. He told them, “Well done. You have been faithful over a few things now I am going to make you a ruler over many things.” The servant with the one talent hid his money – he did nothing with it. He was chastised by the owner and stripped of the money. It’s a frightening story but it has a life lesson. The servants who doubled their money secured their future. They were stewards and faithful with the
owner’s money. They used their talents and skills to put them in a better position for the future. We also learned that their future increase ultimately came when they were willing to do something with the owner’s money. Understanding they were a part of the owner’s company, they were responsible for his bottom line. Therefore they used their time, talents, and gifts to ensure the owner became profitable. Their concern was not for themselves but for their owner who entrusted them with the money. The servant with the one talent was fearful of making a mistake so he did nothing. As a result, he was expelled from participating in his owner’s business. He kept a closed hand that eventually got him fired. One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty (Proverbs 11:24). The future is bright when we become stewards of what is in our hands. What we are given is not ours but we must put it to good use. Matthew 25:29 states that to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. We are caretakers and tenants in a foreign land ultimately using our time, talent, and gifts from our Creator, God. Our future is in our hands whether it is a job, investments, personal finances or even our families. Take time out today to review what is in your hands. Look at all aspects of your life and determine to let God increase it with your open hand. Make it a great day. May-June 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 77
The Lighter Side
Lighter Side
E-Overload By Dorothy Rosby I sat down at my home computer one Sunday morning to check email. There were 71 new messages and 178 old messages dating back seven months. The oldest one was from . . . well . . . me. I’d sent myself a message from work, reminding me to change the furnace filter. I’m not sure I ever did it, but it’s probably time to send another reminder anyway. I love email. Most email. I don’t care for those from the Diploma Outlet or the South African Oil Ministry. The reminders I send myself are a little annoying too. Generally though, I love email. But those old messages bug me like a sliver in my foot. That Sunday, my husband and son went fishing, and I stayed home and dealt with every single one. I started with the low-hanging fruit (cakes); the Viagra vendors and the rich widows, desperately hoping to give me their money before they die. Then I went through the rest. I responded, deleted, filed, and got up and changed the furnace filter. I spent more than three hours at it! That should give you some indication of how I feel about fishing. In the end, I had an empty inbox. It was beautiful--and a little sad. But I knew it wouldn't stay that way long. I get A LOT of email and I have some bad habits that cause e-build-up in the old inbox. BAD HABIT #1: I put off replying to certain messages because I think the sender deserves a thoughtful, eloquent response. Those take time, at least for me. Eventually, time runs out and I'm forced to reply. I cannot tell you the number of eloquent emails that have been replaced by quick ones that would have been fine if they weren’t two weeks late. Sometimes, I wait so long that the response is no longer relevant. For example, “Will you be at the reunion?” “I guess not. How did it go?”
BAD HABIT #2. I handle email like a bad story problem. “Dorothy receives seven emails, answers two, gets discouraged, and closes down her computer. Later, while standing in line at the sub shop, she checks her phone and sees she’s received nine new messages. She answers three, gets to the front of the line, and closes her email. She turns on her computer before bed and sees she’s received twelve messages. She’s too tired to handle them, so she closes her inbox and plays solitaire for a half an hour. If Dorothy keeps this up, how soon until her inbox is full?” BAD HABIT #3. I don't always read a message fully before responding. This forces the other person to send me another message—or two. For example, a friend writes, “What time will you arrive? Can you bring the paper plates?” And I write back, “Sure.” Other times I contribute by not asking enough questions. I recently participated in an email conversation that went something like this: “What day works for you?” “How about Monday?” “Monday is out.” “How about Wednesday?” “What time?” “Eleven?” “Won't work.” “How about 2?” “Nope.” “CALL ME!” “Why?” I learned from my mistakes. And I’m proud to say, that for one full week, I ended every day with an empty inbox. I checked email in the morning, after lunch, and before I wrapped up for the day. Then I went camping and I had neither access nor inclination to read email. When I came back I had company for a few days. After the company left, I had bedding to wash and dishes to do. And right now I have 183 emails in my inbox. I hope my family goes fishing this weekend. May-June 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 79
Lighter Side
A doctor, a lawyer, a little boy, and a priest were in a small private plane when it developed engine trouble and started to go down. The pilot grabbed a parachute and told the passengers they had better jump too, but there were only three parachutes remaining. The doctor said "I save lives, so I must live," and bailed out. The lawyer said, "I'm a lawyer and lawyers are the smartest people in the world. I deserve to live." He grabbed a parachute and jumped. The priest said, "My son, I've lived a long, full life. Take the last parachute and live in peace." The boy gave the parachute back to the priest and said, "Not to worry, Father. The 'smartest man in the world' just took off with my back pack." 80 | Exceptional People Magazine | May-June 2013
Lighter Side
Spinach Fettuccine with Endive and Bacon Ingredients 1 9-ounce package refrigerated spinach fettuccine (like Buitoni) 4-5 strips of lean bacon cut into half-inch pieces 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon lemon juice 2 large Belgian endives (about 2/3 lb) Salt and freshly ground pepper Directions Begin heating the salted water for the pasta. In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp, stirring occasionally. Remove pan from heat and transfer the bacon pieces to a paper towel to drain. Pour off bacon fat, saving about 2 tablespoons; return to heat and add the olive oil. Cut out the core of the endive and add the leaves. SautĂŠ about 2 minutes stirring frequently and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Prepare fettuccine according to package directions while the endive cooks. Then drain the pasta and add it to the endive in the skillet. Add the bacon pieces and drippings. Toss well and serve the fettuccine immediately. It can be garnished with thin strips of fresh lemon peel or grated lemon peel. Preparation time: 30 minutes. May-June 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 81
Lighter Side
Smoked Salmon, Goat Cheese and Dill Frittata
Ingredients 8 eggs 1/2 cup milk (any kind) 1 pat of butter 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 3 ounce goat cheese, crumbled 2 scallions, diced 1/4 pound smoked salmon, chopped 2 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped Directions Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Beat eggs in a large bowl with milk, salt, and pepper. Fold the goat cheese in with the egg mixture. Stir in the salmon, scallions and dill. Over medium heat, melt the butter in a 10-inch skillet. Pour egg mixture into the skillet and stir to combine. Then, cook on medium heat without stirring for about 5 minutes, until the eggs have begun to set. Place skillet in the center of the oven and bake 20-25 minutes or until eggs are firm. To test for doneness, stick a knife in the middle; it should come out clean. Remove frittata from oven and let cool for 1 minute. Cut into wedges. 82 | Exceptional People Magazine | May-June 2013
Profile Resources
Part One Michael Johnson, Pg. 4, A Champion On and Off the Field, www.mj93.org Carolyn Day, Pg. 12, An Advocate for Literary Excellence, www.literacychicago.org Barry Johnson, Pg. 24, An Entrepreneurial Genius: Impacting America and the World at Its Core, http://32advisors.com Jeffrey Sanfilippo, Pg. 36, Delivering Unmatched Customer Experience, www.fishernuts.com
Photo Credits Michael Johnson—Cover Photo: Kendall White courtesy of www.treadaypr.tumblr.com Michael Johnson Interview—inside photos: Asbury Foster courtesy of www.treadaypr.tumblr.com Carolyn Day, Pg. 12, Powell Photography Carolyn Day Interview—photo on page 16, courtesy of West Englewood Summer Family Literacy, all other inside photos, courtesy of Words On The Page Event 2013
Part Two Dr. James W. O’Neil, Pg. 58, Director and Co-Founder: VisionQuest 20/20, www.visionquest2020.org Richard Tirendi, Pg. 66, CEO and Co-Founder VisionQuest 20/20, www.visionquest2020.org
Additional Credits Graphics and Cover Designs: Jeff Hayes, www.plasmafiregraphics.com
May-June 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 83
Writers and Contributors
William R. Patterson
Annemarie Cross
Ranked as the #1 Business Motivational Speaker by Ranking.com, William R. Patterson is a three-time award-winning lecturer and international bestselling author who uses his trademark approach, THE BARON SOLUTION™, to coach, train, and motivate business leaders, sales professionals, entrepreneurs, and investors. His breakthrough book, The Baron Son, has been translated around the world and featured in the Forbes Book Club and Black Enterprise. William is an internationally recognized wealth and business coach who has been a featured guest on over 500 television and radio programs. William's website, BaronSeries.com, is winner of four 2009 Web Awards including: Best Speaker; Best Male Author; Best Business Advice Site; and Best WealthBuilding Site. For more information, visit http://www.baronseries.com
Annemarie Cross is a Career Management & Personal Branding Strategist, Speaker, Consultant, Radio Broadcaster, and Author of ’10 Key Steps to Ace that Interview!’ She is also the founder/ principal of Advanced Employment Concepts – Career Management and Corporate Career Development Specialists offering powerful programs for people striving for career success and fulfillment, as well as savvy companies committed to building and retaining their most important asset – their staff.
Catherine Galasso-Vigorito
James Adonis
Catherine Galasso-Vigorito’s nationally syndicated weekly column, “A New You,” has endeared her to readers worldwide for over 15 years.
James Adonis is a people-management thinker and the author of three books including his latest, ‘Corporate Punishment: Smashing the Management Clichés for Leaders in a New World’. Thought-provoking and entertaining, James's keynote presentations and workshops show companies how to solve staff turnover, engage all generations, and win the war for talent. He has presented to audiences across Australia, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, with an impressive list of clients including McDonald's, American Express, CocaCola, Qantas, and Gucci. www.jamesadonis.com.
Known for her ability to uplift and encourage, Catherine has become America’s most beloved inspirational voice. Catherine is the founder and CEO of her own company, A New You Worldwide, developing and designing inspirational products. Her mission is to instill hope in the hearts of people everywhere, inspiring them to live a better life. She makes her home on the East Coast with her husband and three daughters. Visit her website at www.anewyouworldwide.com Searching for inspirational gifts - visit http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/app.nav/ params.class.K990/walk.yah.0101-K990.
84 | Exceptional People Magazine | May-June 2013
Widely considered a personal change agent and success catalyst, Annemarie has distinguished herself as being people-focused, caring, inspirational and life-changing in her approach. Annemarie can be contacted at www.a-e-c.com.au email: info@a-e-c.com.au.
Writers and Contributors
Rosalind Sedacca
Margaret Paul
Recognized as The Voice of Child-Centered Divorce, Rosalind Sedacca is a Certified Corporate Trainer and founder of the Child-Centered Divorce Network for parents facing, moving through or transitioning beyond divorce. She is the author of How Do I Tell the Kids about the Divorce? A Create-a-Storybook™ Guide to Preparing Your Children – with Love! which offers a unique approach to breaking divorce news to your children based on her own personal experience. She is also the 2008 National First Place Winner of the Victorious Woman Award.
Margaret Paul, Ph.D. is a noted public speaker, bestselling author, workshop leader, relationship expert, and Inner Bonding® facilitator. She has counseled individuals and couples, and led groups, classes, and workshops since 1968. She is the author and co-author of eight books, including the internationally bestselling Do I Have To Give Up Me To Be Loved By You?, Healing Your Aloneness, Inner Bonding, and Do I Have To Give Up Me To Be Loved By God?
As a Certified Corporate Trainer and Business Communication Strategist she provides consulting, speaking, training and Executive Coaching services to organizations nation-wide on marketing, public relations and business communication issues. She specializes in gender-related dynamics, marketing to women and employeemanagement collaboration in the workplace. To learn more about her book, free ezine, programs and other valuable resources on creating a positive ChildCentered Divorce, visit www.childcentereddivorce.com and www.howdoitellthekids.com. For more information about her customized programs, audio and videotapes, and other services, contact Rosalind at 561-742-3537 or Talk2Roz@bellsouth.net.
Dawn Abraham
She is the co-creator, along with Dr. Erika Chopich, of the Inner Bonding® healing process, recommended by actress Lindsay Wagner and singer Alanis Morissette, and featured on Oprah, and of the unique and popular website www.innerbonding.com. Their transformational selfhealing/conflict resolution software program, SelfQuest®, at www.selfquest.com, is being donated to prisons and schools and sold to the general public.
Sue Urda Sue Urda is an Author, Speaker, Inspirer and Co-Founder of Powerful You! Women’s Network, She was named twice on Inc. Magazines list of the 500 FastestGrowing Private Companies. Sue’s vision is to contribute to a global consciousness of women helping women succeed in business and in life and to open them to truth of who they are. www.sueurda.com.
Dawn Abraham is a Certified Life/Business Coach, and is an “Official Guide for Small Business Marketing at Selfgrowth.com. She also partners with professionals and entrepreneurs to help them create balanced lives while earning more money. Law of Attraction, Self Esteem, Abundance, Meditation, Motivation, Reiki, Private & Group Coaching, Free Life Changing Mp3's and Teleclasses are offered. http://www.qualified-lifecoach.com May-June 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 85
Writers and Contributors
Sharon Dahlonega Raiford Bush
Shelley Riutta
Sharon Dahlonega Raiford Bush is CEO of News Archives International. This multiaward-winning journalist writes and publishes news articles about productive individuals committed to making positive changes in their lives and in the world around them. She also writes and directs live performances for young, exceptional artists throughout the Los Angeles region. Sharon shares her life with her husband, veteran actor Grand L. Bush.
Shelley Riutta MSE, LPC is a Holistic Psychotherapist and Inner Bonding Facilitator in private practice specializing in Transformational individual counseling, presentations, groups and Workshops. To get her free workbook "What Do You REALLY Want: Finding Purpose and Passion in Your Life" or for information about the free teleclasses she does every month visit her web-site www.RadiantLifeCounseling.com or call her at 877-346-1167.
To learn more about Sharon, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Sharon_Dahlonega_Raiford_Bush and http://www.linkedin.com/in/sharonraifordbush. She can be contacted at https://www.facebook.com/TVwxGirl.
Dawn McCoy Dawn McCoy is author of "Leadership Building Blocks: An Insider's Guide to Success" http://flourishleadership.com/store/ index.html She is also is president and CEO of Flourish Leadership, LLC which provides coaching executives, public servants, and youth leaders. For author and speaker details, visit http:// www.flourishleadership.com.
Jack Canfield Jack is the founder and former CEO of Chicken Soup for the SoulÂŽ Enterprises, a billion dollar empire that encompasses licensing, merchandising and publishing activities around the globe. He is the Founder and Chairman of The Canfield Training Group which trains entrepreneurs, educators, corporate leaders and motivated individuals how to accelerate the achievement of their personal and professional goals. Jack is also the founder of The Foundation for Self-Esteem which provides self-esteem resources and trainings to social workers, welfare recipients and human resource professionals. http://www.jackcanfield.com/ 86 | Exceptional People Magazine | May-June 2013
Inez Bracy Inez Bracy is the host of her own radio talk show; Living Smart and Well and is a columnist for Senior Stuff a local ezine, the Orlando Examiner, a former columnist for the Island Voice magazine and the author of Rejuvenate Your Life in 21 Days. Bracy’s radio show, Living Smart and Well shares tips on creating your best life and is heard globally on www.livingsmartandwell.com. Bracy is an author, a masterful coach, powerful trainer, and a dynamic speaker. With more than 20 years of experience working for educational institutions and non-profits, Bracy uses her knowledge to help people create extraordinary lives. http://overfiftyfineandfancy.com
Keasha Lee Keasha Lee is President of Striking Statements, LLC a company that provides public relations and social media strategy for small to mid sized businesses. www.strikingstatements.com
Writers and Contributors
Dorothy Rosby
Eileen Lichtenstein
Dorothy Rosby is an entertaining speaker and syndicated humor columnist whose work appears regularly in 30-plus newspapers in eleven Western and Midwestern states. She is also Community Relations Director for an organization which supports people with disabilities. She lives in Rapid City, South Dakota with her husband, son, mother, and hamster. Contact her at drosby@rushmore.com or see her website at www.dorothyrosby.com.
Eileen Lichtenstein, MS Ed, CEO of Balance & Power, Inc. is a certified Anger Management Specialist, Career and Mid-Life Coach, EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique ) Practitioner and a former Biofeedback Therapist and faculty at Hofstra University. "SOAR! with Resilience™: The Interactive Book for Overcoming Obstacles & Achieving Success" is the core material for many of her trainings and a motivational read for anyone struggling to take their personal or professional life to a higher level of success and satisfaction. www.balanceandpower.com
Angie Brennan
Cedric Dukes
Angie Brennan is a humor writer and illustrator from Maryland. Visit her website at www.angiebrennan.com for cartoons, spoof advice, and more.
Cedric Dukes is an international author, speaker and leader on finances and self & career development. He is the author of two books, The Power of Time – Living a Life of No Regrets and Hostile Takeover – Manifesting God’s Plan and Purpose for Your Finances. Cedric’s books can be found at www.CedricDukes.com, www.amazon.com, and most major bookstores. His career includes management positions in engineering and purchasing. He has been a keynote speaker for churches, financial literacy classes, and credit counseling clubs as well as book clubs, seminars and conferences and has written columns for several national and regional publications.
Greg Williams Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator, is an internationally sought after speaker/trainer. He provides negotiation expertise to corporate and individual clients that seek to maximize their negotiation efforts, at the negotiation table. You can sign up for Greg’s free negotiation tips at www.TheMasterNegotiator.com – You can also view his Negotiation Tip videos at http:// www.youtube.com/user/ TheMasterNegotiator - Greg’s motto is, “Remember, you’re always negotiating”.
May-June 2013 | Exceptional People Magazine | 87
www.exceptionalmag.com
Thank you...Founder, Monica Davis
“The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails.� John Maxwell