This week thousands of investors and fans of big business will gather in Omaha to see Warren Buffett hold court at the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting.
But if you're looking for the next big ideas and the entrepreneurial spirits that will turn them into fast-growing companies, get your butt there two weeks later for Big Omaha (May 13-15, 2010) – a little bit of Silicon Valley in the Midwest.
The guy who got it all started, Jeff Slobotski, is one of Never Eat Alone's earliest and most enthusiastic fans. Now he's an impressive success story straight out of Never Eat Alone's Chapter 27: “Build It And They Will Come” about starting communities and conferences.
I asked Jeff to share a few tips with you about the surprising power of sharing your passions and connecting people craving connection.
Strong communities grow from strong purpose. What was your motivation for starting the Silicon Prairie News blog, which we've heard people call “the TechCrunch of the Midwest” and the Big Omaha conference?
I was working for a technology company based on the east coast. Through traveling for work, I noticed the vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystems in cities like San Francisco, New York, Austin, and Boulder...and I knew that we had the same talented and creative people in the Midwest, too.
Too often in the Midwest we’re “siloed” – each of us working on unique ideas or companies, but doing it under the radar. For us to create a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, we need to build the community and support systems here like you see in those cities known for entrepreneurship.
I wanted to do something to connect and inspire the entrepreneurs in cities like Omaha, so I initially launched a blog called "Midwest to Manhattan.” A few months later, it became Silicon Prairie News. Read more →
My new book, Who's Got Your back: The Breakthrough Program to Build Deep, Trusting Relationships that Create Success - and Won't Let You Fail!, launches May 19!
"Where's Keith?" Starting at launch, I'll be speaking across the country on a 17-city book tour, and hopefully getting to meet many of you! (More details on events coming soon.) I'll also be doing a ton of national media - print, radio, and national TV, including shows like Good Morning America and Larry King.
Why Who's Got Your Back? It's my hope that this book will have an even more powerful effect on your life than Never Eat Alone. In fact, I hope that the book will reawaken the culture at large to the power of mutual support and the necessity of having what I call "lifeline relationships" in our professional and personal lives. Now more than ever we need our friends and associates to have our backs.
Help Me Launch the Movement! -Recommend my new Facebook public profile
-Share the video about the book -Join your city group in the Greenlight Community
The next months hold so much promise for the movement that has already been gaining speed over at Greenlight Community, thanks to the many dedicated volunteers and members who've been meeting around the country. Hope you'll be a part of all the fun!
Warmest,
Keith
ABOUT THE BOOK:
In Who's Got Your Back, Keith Ferrazzi shows us that becoming a winner in any field of endeavor requires a trusted team of advisors who will offer encouragement, feedback, and generous mutual support - "lifeline relationships" who won't let you fail. Whether your dream is to lead a company, be a top producer in your field, overcome the self-destructive habits that hold you back, lose weight or make a difference in the larger world, Who's Got Your Back offers the roadmap you've been looking for to achieve the success you deserve.
Today's NY Times has an article "What Are Friends For? A Longer Life," filled with stats on how people with strong friendships get less colds, have less heart disease, etc….
I love the quote below - a strong reminder at how important it is for friends and fellow employees to have each other’s backs:
“Last year, researchers studied 34 students at the University of Virginia, taking them to the base of a steep hill and fitting them with a weighted backpack. They were then asked to estimate the steepness of the hill. Some participants stood next to friends during the exercise, while others were alone.
The students who stood with friends gave lower estimates of the steepness of the hill. And the longer the friends had known each other, the less steep the hill appeared.”
I encourage all you entrepreneurs who fit the profile to apply for Inc.'s 500/5000 list.
From Inc.:
"For those who make the list, the Inc. 500|5000 award is a validation of your innovative thinking and relentless hard work—not to mention an extraordinary promotional opportunity for your company. You’ll be featured in Inc. magazine and/or on Inc.com, be honored at one of the most elite gatherings of entrepreneurs in the nation, and have access to year-round networking, promotional, and educational opportunities through the Inc. network."
The awards have a larger purpose as well: To remind the world at large, and our elected officials and policy makers in particular, of the economic power of entrepreneurship—and of the importance of policy that encourages and rewards innovation and risk-taking. The Inc. 500|5000 is a show of private industry’s collective power and potential.
For those of you who don't already know, it was anInc.article that lead to Random House suggesting I write a book -- the book that turned into Never Eat Alone.
5 Little Things That Will Make a Big Difference In Your Post-Grad Job Hunt
If you’re a graduate, you’re up against a lot of competition to get an entry-level job. The NACE reports that there are 22% less jobs for the 2009 graduating class. Don’t get down on yourself and do not lose hope. No matter what you read in your daily newspaper, trust me; there are available jobs for you. The difference is that you need to be creative with your job search and you can’t rely on a single method to obtain a job, or you’ll be at a major disadvantage. You’ve been told by your parents, college advisers and your friends that applying to jobs through eRecruiting, Monster.com, Careerbuilder.com and corporate websites is the best route to getting a job. The sad reality is that the chances of you getting a job on these sites are very slim because most of the posted jobs aren’t even available and some don’t exist! Today, I’m going to reveal five things you need to do to get the job you want post-graduation.
1. Listen to yourself instead of everybody else: One of the major problems I’ve seen with recent graduates is that they have been brainwashed. Your parents have convinced you to become a lawyer, accountant or doctor, when you aren’t interested in being any of those three. You need to take a good look at who you are and decide what you want to do, without having people influence you. Otherwise, you’ll be at career crossroads, where your current job is making you miserable and it’ll be challenging to reposition yourself. Write down on a piece of paper your ideal job description and find jobs that match that or start a company around it. Life is about being happy, not just taking a job for the sake of it.
2. Have a focused job search: Don’t apply to 1,000 jobs because you’re desperate or you’re really wasting your time. Instead, narrow your job search to your top three to five companies that you’d actually want to work for. Then decide the type of job you’d want at those companies and find employees that work there. You can do that by searching through social networks like LinkedIn and Facebook. Connect to these employees in a genuine and honest way, asking for more information about what they do. You’ll have much better results that way.
3. Start a blog: Even though there are 200 million blogs out there, most graduates don’t have a blog and even some graduates have never read a blog before. Blogging is a great way to stand out, showcase your abilities and allow employers to get to know you better. It also helps increase your visibility in search engines and is a great networking device that can help you meet people in the industry you want to be in.
4. Clean up your socialnetworks: Employers are reviewing your social network profiles as part of the recruitment process, so be smart and review what photos and information you currently have on there. It’s also important to note that your managers and coworkers will try and friend you on Facebook, so it’s best to set privacy controls. One in every five hiring managers uses social networks for backgrounds checks and that number isn’t going to decline anytime soon, so take the initiative to maintain a positive presence on your profiles.
5. Network like crazy: Networking is the single best way for you to get the job you way because people hire people. Everyone in your world is in your network. This includes your parents, teachers, friends and all the acquaintances you meet throughout your life. It’s not just this first degree network, but it’s who they know, etc. You need to tap everyone in your network after you figure out what you want to do, so they can help you. Attend networking events, connect with people online and don’t stop networking, even if you get a job.
Time's got an interesting piece about how Obama is working with behavioral economists to structure policy so it promotes change among the American people, particularly with regard to how they spend their money.
One of the lessons of my upcoming book (new web site with all the info soon!) is that to make change happen - and then make it stick - we absolutely need a tightknit circle that provides support AND accountability for all our initiatives.
It takes work to change, and that means that -- in addition to good economic policy and smart decision-making from the top -- down here on the ground we need people we trust kicking our butts, day in, day out, so we keep it up.
“Confidence has nothing to do with perfection. It has to do with a quality of deep self-acceptance that leads us to do things in a masterful way, as it allows us to speak our mind and our hearts.”
This weekend I had an awesome experience at a gospel church here in LA, the Noel Jones Ministry. I would never have heard of it except for the fact that two weeks ago I had an encounter at the gym that turned out to be exactly the kind of blended networking that I’m always after all of you to practice.
That day at the gym I ran into my friend Wilson, a movie guy who just released a big picture nationwide, so I was excited to see him. He was with a friend, Steven, a photographer who I had never met. Spur of the moment, I invited Wilson to come to the reception I was throwing for Mayor Cory Booker.
Steven piped up and said, "Can I come too?" Of course, he didn’t just ask to come over, he also generously offered to take pictures at the event.
Steven's audacity and spirit of generosity were contagious. He invited me to his photo exhibit and also to his church, which brought me to the Noel Jones Ministry.
What a great serendipitous encounter - a reminder to be open to those around us, always!
Here are some highlights from the Corey Booker Brunch.
The Greenlight Community had its first European meeting in Paris this week. I truly wish I could have been there. Paris is one of my three favorite cities in the world and someday I will spend even more time there. It is deeply moving to me to have this group leading a movement of such importance in such a magical city! And all this despite the fact that Never Eat Alone has not yet been translated into French.
