Zuckerberg's Wisdom; Wally's Wit; Jack Stack's Wise Advice; European Coaches Meeting

"...keeping you great"

HEADLINES:

"No project I ever built made sense at the bottom line and I made millions. I didn't study the bottom line. I studied the opportunity."

Walter Hickel

I'll Miss You Wally-- the world lost a great entrepreneur and world leader last Friday, Walter J Hickel, who passed away at age 90. Golden Glove boxing champ, twice governor of Alaska (second time as an Independent), Nixon's infamous Secretary of Interior, and founder of the Northern Forum, I also lost my uncle and mentor, though he'll always remain one of my role models. Known for thinking big, he helped bring Alaska into statehood, built its most famous hotel (Hotel Captain Cook) and remained a larger-than-life figure in the Arctic region. Thousands of articles were published last week upon his death, one of my favorite being the one in USA Today.

Wally's Wit and Wisdom -- He was also known for his wit and wisdom and sometimes quirky comments -- some of which are listed here. Some of my favorites:

	All pioneers are optimists. The pessimist never gets out of town.
	If no one owns something, no one cares.
	Dream big dreams. Because if you dream little dreams, you can only achieve little things.
	But if you dream big dreams, you can achieve little things and big things.
	If God didn't like big projects, he wouldn't have created the universe.
	I'll keep fighting for what I believe in forever. That's why I told my wife, Ermalee, to bury me standing up.

Wisdom of a 21 Year Old -- Why Facebook's CEO Turned Down $1 Billion-- for a lesson in the importance of asking the most questions in a meeting (5 hours on a private jet), take 2 minutes and read this excerpt from The Facebook Effect: the Inside Story of the Company That Is Connecting the World. David Kirkpatrick, one of Fortune's top writers, had unprecedented access to Mark Zuckerberg so he's able to provide a real inside look into the key decisions Zuckerberg's made as he's built a company worth $20 billion. BTW, Kirkpatrick points out that Zuckerberg has so much more absolute control of Facebook than Bill Gates ever did of Microsoft, in a short video clip accompanying the book excerpt. Worth a look.

More Wisdom From Bob Bloom -- Author of my favorite "how to" book on strategy, the Inside Advantage; Bob has a new book out entitled The New Experts: Win Today's Newly Empowered Customers at Their 4 Decisive Moments. Grab a copy now from his website (it's not available on Amazon until this Sept). He was kind enough to give everyone that attended the Fortune Sales & Marketing Summit a free copy (thanks Bob). And his half-day workshop with Chris Bryant rocked, scoring almost perfect 10's. If your strategy needs fine-tuned or totally revamped give Bob a call. (www.insideadvantage.org)

Wise Advice - Here Comes the Recovery -- at least according to dear friend Jack Stack, famous author of The Great Game of Business (creator of the Critical Number concept on our One-Page Strategic Plan) and CEO of SRC Holdings which has launched 58 companies since 1982. Jack just hosted his "Gathering of Games" in St. Louis last week and shared hard evidence from his own firm and others that the recovery is well underway. He should know given all the economic sectors in which his companies operate. Take 3 minutes and read his May 10 blog for the details.

Wisdom for Women Entrepreneurs -- Adriana Gardella, fellow writer and former editor at FSB magazine, also has a new NY Times blog entitled "She Owns It." It focuses on the challenges and opportunities facing women entrepreneurs, who contribute $3 trillion to the U.S. economy and employ over 23 million, according to her first blog. Adriana is a great reporter and writer so you can expect some insightful tips in her blog -- sign-up now.

Calling all (European) Coaches - Monday evening June 14th (just prior to the European Growth Summit June 15th). Keith Cupp, President of Gazelles International Coaching Association and I are hosting a reception and dinner for European Business Coaches interested in joining Gazelles International in Europe (cost is $375 USD to attend the reception and Growth Summit). Gazelles International's Brand Promise to mid market Business Coaches is "Best Education, Best Partnerships and Best Practices" using the Four Decisions business framework. If you are a Business Coach and are interested in joining us, please email jean@gazelles.com for more information click this link go to Linked In and request to join "Gazelles International" Group. We would love to see and interact with you in Barcelona as we build our Coaching Association on the continent.