SAVE THE DATE JUNE 27, 28 (Shameless Plug)….The Mormon Way….A Video Feast for CEOs…..Econ Recon: The Consumer Shows Up

 “What we wish, we readily believe; and what we ourselves think, we imagine others think also.”

Julius Caesar

 SAVE THE DATE JUNE 27, 28 (Shameless Plug)

AmyK Hutchins is coming to the Upstate June 27, 28…. AmyK is one of Vistage’s top speakers on Leadership.  She rarely makes a trip to the East Coast.  As a special favor to a friend (me!), she is coming to speak to our Upstate CEO’s on June 27th, and our Upstate Key Executives on June 28th.  Guest seats are very limited.  Contact me directly ([email protected]) if you are interested in learning more about how the “Vistage Advantage” can help you become a better leader, make better decisions, and get better results.

 The Mormon Way of Business

2012 is shaping up as the year of the Mormon…. Mitt Romney will certainly be the Republican nominee,  “The Book of Mormon” is a huge hit on Broadway and most of us have seen the well-produced “I’m a Mormon” TV commercials.

 The Mormon community’s propensity for business success is receiving increased attention due in large measure to Romney’s candidacy and his earlier success at Bain Capital….other business notables from the Mormon community  include Steven Covey of “7 Habits” fame,  David Neelman of Jet Blue and many others.

In short, the Mormons appear to be enjoying commercial success at a rate disproportionate to their numbers;  what’s the reason for this?  A recent one page  Economist article,  “The Mormon Way of Business,”  looks at this phenomenon and concludes that the answer may lie in experiences and the habits formed early in life by this unique group of people.    Check it out!

The Milken Conference:  A Video Feast for CEOs (and anyone else who loves to learn)

 One of the highlights of spring is the annual Milken Conference in California that brings together a crowd of thought leaders for terrific panels and key notes on the most important topics in the world today, including but not limited to business, government, science, technology and many other topics.

Most important, these discussions are made available on streaming video.   In particular, I found the panel discussion  “What’s Happened to the American Dream”  a refreshing interchange on a topic that matters to all of us;, it features a panel composed of   Steve Rattner (Treasury Department point man for the GM bailout),  Charles Murray (author of  “The Bell Curve) and   my favorite historian  Niall Ferguson (“The Ascent of Money”). (Note, you can get the slides by signing up (it’s free) at the first link on the page.  The video can be viewed without signing up – the link is at the bottom of the page.)

This is an extraordinarily rich collection of subject matter experts on the topics that most leaders know will impact them.   I suggest you first  review the list of videos available to determine what’s relevant to your business (there are dozens and most are an hour or more in length….then bookmark the site….you will be coming back to it again and again

Enjoy!!.  (My thanks to the Milken Foundation for making this material available to us).

Econ Recon:  The Consumer Shows Up

The recovery that began in 2009 has been tepid by many measures including consumer spending, employment and construction.  Were it not for business spending there would not have been a recovery at all.

In a recent blog post, Vistage Staff Economist Alan Beaulieu of the Institute for Trend Research  looks at two indicators of consumer spending and finds reason to be optimistic about the next 12 months.  Check out these brief but informative blog postings about a new way to look at Consumer Sentiment and the recent surge in  Consumer Credit…… and what recent movements in both portend for the economy.