Biz Builder Mike

You can't sail Today's boat on Yesterdays wind - Michael Noel

Biz Builder Mike

Blockchain Weekly Reboot Edition: This is a reposting of the first Blockchain Weekly

https://BlockchainConsultants.io

Blockchain Weekly Reboot Edition: This is a reposting of the first Blockchain Weekly taped in Phoenix Arizona in 2016.

Todays guest David Saxton who had the original patent for RSA encryption of a financial transaction.

As we discussed this patent has now gone dark.

I received both of these documents direct from David, –

RSA Cryptographic Review for his company NetChecks from June 10th 1995 can be found here – https://bizbuildermike.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/RSA-CRYPTOGRAPHIC-REVIEW8.jpg 1997

Digital Currency Patent https://bizbuildermike.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/1997-BLOCKCHAIN-PATENT.jpg

3 Reasons EO Global Speakers Academy was transformational for me—as a speaker coach

Contributed by Andrea Heuston, an EO US West Bridge chapter member who is a Speaker Coach to leaders at Fortune 100 companies, a best-selling author, and CEO of Artitudes, a full-service design firm specializing in executive presentations, branding and visual marketing.

EO’s next Global Speakers Academy will be held in-person and virtually from 21 October – 4 November 22 in Cancun, Mexico. Applications open 15 July!

“Never become so much of an expert that you stop gaining expertise.” – Denis Waitley

There is nothing more humbling than a teacher becoming a student again. Whenever I find myself facing the opportunity to grow within my current zone of genius, I leap for it.

This is what EO Global Speakers Academy (GSA) was for me: the most impactful experience I’ve had within EO—to my utter joy and some surprise!

As a Speaker Coach with over 20 years of experience, I know what it takes to become a highly effective public speaker. Yet as an EO member, there exists a dichotomy within me: On one hand, a deep level of expertise in and passion for my field (speaker coaching); on another, an unquenchable thirst for learning and a deep love of growth (which, depending on the day, sometimes feels more like impostor syndrome). You might relate.

Like many entrepreneurs, my speaker coaching expertise had an informal start. Colleagues, leaders, friends and members of my network would say things like: “Andrea, you are great at public speaking—can you teach me how to be great, too?”

Originally, I felt unsure: Could I teach someone how to be great on a stage? Is it something innate some of us simply have, or is it a skill that can be learned?

I formalized my knowledge and methodology and since then have had the privilege of working with C-suite leaders from Fortune 100 companies across the globe, shaping each one of them into what I like to call a “superhero.” Over the years, I’ve honed best practices for giving impactful talks, as well as habits and tricks for everything from cadence to body language to content.

In the process, I’ve even been dubbed the “Script Whisperer.”

So when the opportunity to attend GSA presented itself, a five-day program that helps entrepreneurs design their signature talk, I was skeptical at first.

In the spirit of radical candor, I remember asking myself: “What more could I possibly learn on this topic?”

Furthermore, the thought of stepping away from the business for 9+ hours each day for a full week seemed daunting. Yet, every entrepreneur I knew talked at length about working “on” the business rather than “in” it. I could overcome that concern to step away and focus on something bigger for a period of time, couldn’t I?

So, despite my breadth of knowledge and experience at a professional level, I gave GSA a chance—and the results truly took me by surprise.

GSA was an immersive and intense experience—almost like a boot camp. The team of instructors was remarkable (I even had several of them on my podcast as guests long after GSA had wrapped). They had worked with the highest-tier names in business, sports and live entertainment. We were in capable hands.

Still, I felt some uneasiness. Like many (all) entrepreneurs, I don’t do particularly well with being told what to do. Yet, at GSA, the opposite seemed to occur: the material was so fascinating I found myself eager to be coached, to be corrected, to be taught something new and to see myself from an external perspective.

Specifically, here are three things I gained from GSA that every entrepreneur could benefit from:

1. Confidence

Confidence is a staircase—one on which we can always climb higher. It is especially true for all individuals, but in the rollercoaster of daily entrepreneurial life, confidence comes at a premium. GSA provided tools each cohort member could use in their daily lives, whether they find themselves in front of five or 500 people. We learned how to not just “speak” to someone but how to truly engage with them on a meaningful level. We left with heightened confidence not only in how we speak but in the value of what we are speaking about and why it matters.

2. Community

The EO community is unquestionably one of the highlights of our membership, and immersive environments like GSA elevate it to another level entirely. We truly felt like a little family. I felt grateful to have formed relationships with individuals from Canada, the US, Mexico, the UK, and the Middle East—wonderful people I wouldn’t have necessarily met otherwise. When you spend full days in an immersive context sharing some of your most personal stories, vulnerability tends to help form bonds, and these bonds impacted me in a real way. Instamacy, at its deepest. Those connections also offered new perspectives, new insights and new ideas, many of which I could never have seen for myself.

3. Capability

My greatest takeaway from GSA came to me in the form of a good reminder: public speaking is not something solely to be practiced or learned by “public speakers” or those with aspirations to appear on stage. The skills and capabilities we develop by means of speaker training can be applied to our everyday professional lives, whether we have dreams of giving a TED Talk or want to better connect with our teams; whether we need to pitch for new capital raises or want to engage in more networking. Having these transformative storytelling skills can be game-changers for entrepreneurs.

Since GSA, I’ve adopted new skills in both my own keynote talks and my coaching practice for others. I’ve honed in on confidence that will bring greater value not only to my company but to my personal life as well. Yet the residual effect I feel particular gratitude for is the reminder that no matter how deep our expertise, we can always learn something new—and feel genuine joy in the process.

For more insights and inspiration from today’s leading entrepreneurs, check out EO on Inc. and more articles from the EO blog. 

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Coaching Entrepreneurial Journey Inspirational Media members WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

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How a pediatrician-turned-entrepreneur helps EO members communicate with tweens

Similar to entrepreneurship, parenthood doesn’t come with a manual. Parents are left on their own to learn how to raise well-adjusted, informed, self-starter adults. But even with an EO-level thirst for learning, parenting isn’t always easy.

Even the best parents find it difficult to talk to their kids about tough topics like puberty, sex, and porn. Amazing moms and dads, out of fear of saying the wrong thing, sometimes say nothing at all! That’s a grave disservice to children, who naturally want information and insights about the physical changes they experience during puberty.

Fortunately for EO members who are part of MyEO Families, the entrepreneurial and parenting paths are intersecting at just the right time to provide you with the learning you need to address this challenge.

Pediatricians on a mission

Pediatricians Dr. Lisa Klein and Dr. Carrie Leff are entrepreneurs on a mission to help parents share positive, productive discussions with their kids around awkward topics.

“It started in 2015 when our kids were ‘that age’, and people asked us how we, as pediatricians, talked to our kids about puberty,” Dr. Klein explained. “Turning Teen started as a passion project to help friends talk to their kids, and eventually turned into a business. We’re providing kids with lifelong lessons that will continue to benefit them as they grow and mature.”

Turning Teen provides virtual educational workshops to help parents start awkward conversations with their kids. The programs, tailored for parents together with their children, help engage your child in learning about their body with you by their side. The various programs offered include Body Basics for Girls, Body Basics for Boys, Body Image, Being my Best Self for Girls, Managing Emotions, and a “parent-only” discussion called Surviving Puberty a Second Time.

The interactive, virtual programs teach kids about anatomy and puberty, providing age-appropriate, medically accurate information that your child will understand. Parents benefit from resources and suggestions for how to “continue the conversation” at home. The pediatricians ask (and answer!) the hard questions so parents don’t have to. The virtual program serves as a springboard for other, similar questions and topics.

Empowering parents to broach awkward topics

“Basically, our parent-and-child programs help facilitate that awkward opening of starting the conversation,” Dr. Lisa said. “Data shows that if you start such conversations with kids early, in the 8-to-10-year-old range, you can talk about potentially uncomfortable topics such as sex and drugs before they have any other knowledge basis on the topics. They then begin to view their parent as a trusted source of quality information, and you can share your family beliefs and values that go with it.”

Vladimir Gendelman (EO Detroit), founder and CEO of Company Folders, Inc., and his wife attended Turning Teen programs with their kids. “Together, my son and I attended an enlightening, conversational program with Dr. Lisa. It opened the door for us to talk more openly after the program ended. Thanks to Turning Teen, we have the language and mutual common ground that extends to other topics, because we both were in the class together. We have referenced that class numerous times since.”

MyEO Families hosts Talking Teen event

Vladimir shared the Turning Teen information with Ab DeWeese (EO Fort Worth), who leads a group of EO Dads that want to up-level their Dad skills. As a result, Dr. Lisa Klein will deliver a free, parents-only program for MyEO Families’ members called “How to Talk to Your Kids About Puberty, Sex and Porn” on 13 July at 5pm ET.  All EO members, their spouses and life partners, and EO staff are invited to join MyEO Families and attend the program.

“As entrepreneurs and parents, we want to give our kids the tools to succeed,” Ab stated. “In talking to other EO Dads, I realized that a lot of us have the same questions: How do I raise my kids and launch them into the world as self-sufficient human beings who will grow into self-starter adults with enough motivation to create a successful life?”

“Another thing that keeps coming up in our group is, ‘How do I have “The Talk”? What’s the right age?’ They’re exposed to so much at such a young age now. How do we guide them through what they see on the internet and hear in school, and how do we talk to them about it in a way they will understand?”

The pediatricians-turned-entrepreneurs of Turning Teen believe in helping parents start these tricky conversations with their children. They provide direct, informative and honest information about puberty and sexuality.

“If you know about your body, you do less internet searching, you take better care of your body, and make good choices around body safety,” Dr. Lisa stated. “It’s so important to talk about these things with your kids. Body literacy—knowing the proper names for all parts of the anatomy—decreases a child’s risk of experiencing sexual abuse and other bad situations.”

Do you want to learn more? The event on Wednesday, 13 July is designed to give MyEO Families’ members a strong start on some basics as far as what age parents should broach specific topics and provide attendees with resources to talk with your kids.

Register for the MyEO Families event

Join MyEO Families today and register for this free, life-enhancing event!

For more insights and inspiration from today’s leading entrepreneurs, check out EO on Inc. and more articles from the EO blog. 

Categories:
HEALTH MyEO Experiences WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS WORK-LIFE INTEGRATION

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3 takeaways for families that work—and play—together

Contributed by Vincent Finaldi,  an EO New Jersey member and vice president of TeleCloud, a second-generation business that provides seamless VoIP communications solutions. Vincent also invests time in his passion project, $econd Generation, a video podcast that addresses second-generation businesses and the unique challenges of growing past the founder, navigating through family dynamics and continuing the family legacy.

Family members who are involved in business together can likely relate to this picture. Blending two very different experiences—work life and family life—into one can be complicated. Lines become blurred. On the one hand, family (hopefully!) symbolizes a place of love and security. You accept your family members as they are and find the silver linings to enhance those relationships.

On the other side of the table is the conference room, where we focus on business. While business does not have to be harsh or embattled, what translates well in family relationships may not translate into what the business needs and requires.

If you work with your family and extended family members, it is natural to also spend time together after business hours and on weekends in a family atmosphere. Kids’ birthdays, holidays, Sunday dinners and all those wonderful family events that we celebrate throughout the year.

However, in my experience, it can be very difficult to shut off business-oriented topics, even while you’re enjoying an 8-year-old’s birthday party or sitting down for a holiday dinner.

Combining the dinner table with the conference room table is not easy, and not everyone can relate to the challenge.

Here are three takeaways that have helped our family business run smoothly and made the line between business and family a little less blurry.

1. Structure your business meetings

Yes, even with family, your business meetings require structure. The downside of talking business at a family event on the weekends is that there is no meeting pulse. Two siblings and a cousin sitting on the deck drinking adult beverages on a Saturday night may not bring about the best business outcomes or decisions. As you know, business decisions have ripple effects. One bad decision often leads to three other less-than-favorable ripple effects, especially on the staffing side of the business. If you’re enjoying a couple of cocktails, it’s best to talk about lighthearted, fun topics because the lack of meeting formality and focused structure can lead to less-than-favorable outcomes if you discuss business.

In our family business, we use EOS (Entrepreneurial Organization System) for meeting structure. I’ve noticed that whenever we skip the process, we rarely get the results we want, and communication can break down.

2. Hire a moderator/facilitator

Don’t neglect the benefits of a moderator or facilitator, especially for monthly, quarterly or annual meetings. The most productive and healthy family business meetings utilize the skills of moderators or facilitators. Family members know each so well that it can be hard to hear each other at times. When a facilitator gets involved, they slow down the meeting cadence to make sure everyone hears each other fully. The downside of working with siblings, cousins or parents is that you already know their general perspective or opinions—so you may not hear it when a gem of an idea comes to light. Additionally, the moderator can make sure things stay civil and healthy when tensions are high, which definitely happens in business.

3. When it is family time, enjoy your family

It is tempting to use those three weekend hours together to make business progress, but if you do, you are ignoring other attendees and not being present in the moment. There are likely other people at the party or family event—kids, nieces, nephews, cousins or friends—so be present and enjoy their company to the fullest. The odds are that your family needs a break from the continuous business conversation on issues that won’t get solved in that moment anyway.

In the book Atomic Habits, James Clear wrote, “When you’re in motion, you’re planning and strategizing and learning. Those are all good things, but they don’t produce a result. Action, on the other hand, is the type of behavior that will deliver an outcome.”

Talking about the family business may feel good because it feels like you are moving forward. However, in essence, without action, it is just talk. I’ve learned that when you talk to your family about business, it feels like progress is being made, but it’s mostly just motion—not action—to perform the result required.

Categories:
Best Practices Company Culture Entrepreneurial Journey LEADERSHIP Lessons Learned PEOPLE/STAFF

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3 steps to kick off your chapter’s virtual GSEA competition

Have you seen Start It Up, EO’s mini-series chronicling the 2022 Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) competition? You can watch all four inspiring episodes on EO’s GSEA Competition YouTube Channel.

Libby Rothschild is an EO New Jersey member, a registered dietitian nutritionist and founder of Dietitian Boss, where she shows dietitians how to go from zero to creating a six-figure virtual practice using her trademarked method. As a successful entrepreneur with a passion for startups, Libby shared her experience in helping EO New Jersey launch its virtual GSEA competition.

What happens when you get a group of entrepreneurs together? They figure out how to launch initiatives and lead leaders. 

As an EO member who has been a co-chair for previous initiatives, it didn’t take long to see the power of GSEA in supporting young entrepreneurship. That’s why when the opportunity presented itself, I excitedly joined fellow EO New Jersey members and GSEA chairs Larry Prager and Mike Schofel to team up and support the first-ever virtual GSEA competition in New Jersey. Our goal was to run the contest virtually and successfully select a winner.

The outcome of New Jersey’s GSEA competition includes awarding a student entrepreneur as the winner of a US$5,000 prize and resources from our chapter. This project included help from two chairs, multiple co-chairs, a past winner, chapter mentors and referrers. The relationship between the referral partners and competitors is hugely important. The GSEA program serves as a great opportunity for students to learn what it’s possible to achieve as a new entrepreneur while bringing attention to EO and our organization’s abundant resources.

Larry Prager had a vision of kicking off the competition virtually by creating a process for judges to use Google surveys to rank the student presenters. Without an in-person option, Larry and Mike organized a quick and effective process for the judges to easily score, discuss and give feedback to competitors via Zoom.

The scores were input from judges in real time, and breakout rooms were coordinated by our tech chair, Steve Ferman. The largest hurdle with shifting from in-person to virtual includes greater project management before competition time in coordinating the various tech platforms involved.

In addition to a well-designed virtual competition from an organizational side, the chairs live streamed the competition for marketing and promotion purposes. Live streaming can support future applicants who want to learn what competition day looks like. The best part of coordinating the event included having a past NJ GSEA winner, Sarah Pomeranz, as a judge to lend her unique perspective.

The event wouldn’t have been possible without having qualified students apply for the competition. For years we have relied on amazing referrers including Alfred Blake, Elizabeth Rich and Eric Ligouri–we are extremely grateful for their critical input.

This year, the chairs were open to my testing a new idea: building up the chapters’ LinkedIn page. I suggested interviewing two past winners and one of our referrers in an effort to attract more student applicants in New Jersey. It worked!

Here are our top three tips and best practices to help motivate your chapter to run your next GSEA competition virtually:   

1. Put maximum effort into streamlining competition day

Create simple processes (ie Google surveys) and pre-arranged breakout rooms (ie via Zoom) for the day of competition so your event will stay on schedule. This is especially true for virtual competitions because of the various technologies in play and the necessity of coordinating multiple people along the shared timeline. 

2. Involve past winners

Involving EO New Jersey’s 2020 GSEA winner, Sarah Pomeranz, both in the process of promoting the competition and the competition itself (as a judge) created a more diverse panel. Competitors responded well to Sarah being involved because she’s a former student and winner—plus she’s very intelligent and kind. Competitors asked her multiple questions and wanted her specific feedback, which shows how valuable a former competitor is as a judge and participant in the competition.

3. Include marketing efforts on social media

As a co-chair, I was encouraged to use my marketing skills toward promoting our virtual GSEA competition. I suggested recording conversations as testimonials from participants. I interviewed two past winners, Sarah Pomeranz and Kwaku Agyemang, plus a referrer, Alfred Blake. I posted clips of our interviews on our chapter’s GSEA LinkedIn page to encourage potential applicants to apply. With the dual goals of getting both more diverse applicants and a larger number of applicants, we will continue to use social media as a platform to attract students entrepreneurs in coming years.

For more insights and inspiration from today’s leading entrepreneurs, check out EO on Inc. and more articles from the EO blog. 

Categories:
Best Practices GSEA WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

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