Tiger Woods Divorce Gets Attention from Gamblers

Tiger Woods' divorce from Elin Nordegren's not even close to being in court and already the game of guessing and betting on the Tiger Woods divorce settlement is afoot. This is wild. I've never seen so great a fall from grace that people are betting on his life's affairs. BetUS.com has even odds that the divorce will happen in 2010. Playbackjack.com took bets on the possibility of domestic violence charges after the car accident. David Dusek at Golf.com is reporting that the settlement betting range is between $100 million and $500 million. This is going to get real messy. It's already messy. A divorce would only result in both of their lives being placed wide out in the open beyond even what we see today. Does Elin want that? I wonder if she thought that much beyond current events. My guess now is that the reason she wants a divorce is Tiger Woods wants to play Golf. Remember her deal: Golf or me. Well, he chose her but now it seems he's having second thoughts.
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Dr. Debby Stroman Explains Why Golf is the Great Equalizer

 

by Dr. Deborah Stroman

The latest brouhaha over President Obama’s whereabouts now includes his golf endeavors. A seemingly innocent respite away from the White House arrows and darts has turned into a diatribe over women’s equality, inclusion, and diversity. And you thought golf was a boring game for old men! Ha!

The story began with a news report, which is debatable in its own right of being news, that described Pres. Obama’s recent golf outing with one of his senior leaders, Melody Barnes. Ms. Barnes, the nation’s chief domestic policy adviser to the president, was pictured sharply dressed lugging her golf bag. Golf is generally played in groups of four so the interest increased when it was determined that she was joining or barging in on the president’s regular team of men. Oh my! Katy bar the door!

People play golf for one (or a combination) of three reasons: exercise, sport competition, and business. The days of ill dressed overweight men with tires around their waists, who huff and puff on cigars as they tee off are long gone. In fact, it is now a fashion faux pas to dress less than professional (gym clothes are not welcome) and to smoke during a round. Sir Tiger changed the game in many ways and one of the most important is his devotion to fitness. His workout regiment to be the best golfer in the world motivates all ages to get in shape to improve their game. Avid golfers and wanna-bees are seeking Pilates, yoga, stretching, strength and core training customized golf programs to reduce the number of swings to get that little white ball in the hole. And now walking the golf course is more popular, so a stop at the gym or a jog around the neighborhood is no longer necessary. Exercise by strolling through a meticulously manicured lawn decorated with exotic foliage and 18 tee boxes -- Yes!

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Finding the Right Corporate Champions

by Fenorris Pearson 

No matter how many people work at your company, it only takes one or two people to change the game you’re playing. Choosing your alignments on the job can make all the difference in your career. In fact, forging alliances in the workplace is a lot like getting elected: it’s not the most popular candidate who wins, but the one who has proven himself/herself to be the most influential.

In terms of voting power, finding the right alignments is about courting individuals with the most votes that count. In other words, you can have all the friends in the world, head the Cheer Club, lead the league in strike-outs on your company softball team and generally have the popular vote, all without winning the election. Just ask Al Gore, who won the popular vote in the 2000 election, but lost the Electoral vote.

These viewpoints are most certainly capitalist. When you’re in a corporation, democracy doesn’t help you win the favor of your co-workers; your outcomes are determined by your relationships with key decision makers – those one or two consummate executives who have the most influence on your future with the company.

The corporate alliance is a very intimate one; for better or worse, you could be aligning yourself with someone who is very visible, influential and known throughout the company. A consummate executive also remembers that it’s not just the ally you’re courting, but everyone in his or her network.

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Entrepreneurs Create their own Economic Recovery

Back in August, Federal Reserve officials suggested that the Great Recession was ending and the U.S. could expect "a gradual resumption of sustainable economic growth." But even with stock market indexes and the bottom lines of large financial firms bouncing back, small businesses can expect a longer slog to economic health.

"Small business performance is a lagging indicator of recovery in the same way that unemployment is," says Villanova University business school professor John Pearce II.

And it's likely that small businesses will find this recovery even slower than previous ones. The downturn has especially hurt construction firms, retailers and food service providers, the vast majority of which employ fewer than 20 workers. To make matters worse, more than 110 banks have failed since early 2008, most of them community thrifts catering to the financial needs of local firms.

 

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What Matters at the Top of the Corporate Ladder?

by Fenorris Pearson – CEO Global Consumer Innovation, Inc

Despite a growing number of women and minorities in the workplace, the directors of corporate boards remain mostly white and male, according to a new report on Fortune 100 companies. Women and minorities together account for less than a third of the directors on more than 60 percent of the boards examined, according to the report. African Americans represent 7% of all corporate board members.

In spite of these grim statistics, there is a great deal of hope for the possibility of women and minorities sitting in positions of authority. The more you perform and the higher you go up the corporate ladder, the less color matters. The truth is that corporations are seeking individuals who can enhance the bottom line. A good corporate manager doesn’t care if you are black or white, as long as you deliver the green.

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How to Play The Game at the Top: The Power of Dreams

by Fenorris Pearson 

If you measure some of today’s top performers by yesterday’s gold standards, they simply wouldn’t measure up. Industry icons, business mavericks and game changers like Bill Gates, Walt Disney, Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, Rachel Ray and Michael Dell didn’t finish school or have a great education; and based on those two metrics alone, no one could have measured their full potential. By focusing only on such metrics, you might be missing the most valuable components of a person’s engine of success.

As a guest on Steve Harvey’s show, I was recently talking about success, potential and the wide gap between good grades and pure genius. Steve said something that I’ll never forget. When coming up “the hard way” he would interview for jobs or audition for various roles and, based on purely measurable qualifications – school records, his one-page resume, or whether he has movie star looks – he never quite measured up. “But what they couldn’t measure,” said Steve Harvey, “was how big my dream was…”

What a difference the power of dreams can make. As the star of The Steve Harvey Show, Steve won four NAACP Image Awards as “Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series.” He also won an NAACP Image Award for his performance as host of the variety series It’s Showtime at The Apollo. In March 2001, Harvey received the ultimate honor: NAACP Image Award’s “Entertainer of the Year,” and now has a NY Times best-selling book on the market.

Now based in New York City at WBLS, his radio show is syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks and airs in nearly 50 markets including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Washington, DC, Atlanta, Detroit, Tampa, Miami, St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Kansas City.

Here are 4 things to remember when reaching for your dreams:

1) Always set goals. A life without goals is not a life worth living. Having goals gives you purpose and a passion to pursue that purpose. Find your passion and write it down on a piece of paper.

2) Always have a strategy to reach your goals. Having a goal means nothing without a day-to-day strategy to reach your objectives. Your strategy is your road map to success.

3) Be sure to evaluate whether or not you are executing the strategy. A strategy won’t get you to your goal if you don’t execute. Monitor your performance to be sure that your actions are consistent with your objectives.

4) Re-evaluate your goals, and be honest in your personal assessment. If you are not doing what it takes to reach your goals, you should either change your objectives or change your actions. One or the other has to give if you are being honest with yourself.

I have watched many a top performer scramble through the ranks based on immeasurable skills alone: guts, instinct, passion, promise, potential and the unrelenting power of dreams. Dreams aren’t enough, of course; there must be action to back up your inspiration. But beyond investing in education as a facet of your performance, don’t forget to invest in the power of your own dreams.

To read more about power of dreaming, please visit www.corporateclimb.net to purchase an advanced copy of How to Play The Game At the Top and receive free access to How to Play The Game At The Top 101 Course.

ABOUT FENORRIS PEARSON

Fenorris Pearson is the CEO of Global Consumer Innovation, INC (www.globalconsumerinnovation.com) and one of the youngest people ever to be a VP of two fortune 50 companies (Dell and Motorola), a feat he completed before turning age 40. An avid Philanthropist, Fenorris is currently serving on three boards: Alonzo Mourning Charities located in Miami, FL, Imagine Schools of Central Texas located in Austin, TX, and SIFE: Students In Free Enterprise. To find out more information visit www.corporateclimb.net or call (901) 413-0203.

How to Play The Game at the Top: Beyond the Resume – Measuring What Really Counts

by Fenorris Pearson 

Education is critical for success, but when everyone has the same education from the same Ivy League schools with the same GPA… how do you stand out? Other factors beyond education – business etiquette, dress, playing well with others, teamwork and dedication are easy to measure and log. But what of those immeasurable traits that count for just as much in the corner office: passion, drive, commitment and stamina?

How can we measure the immeasurable?

When it comes to playing at the top, it’s often the intense, burning desire of the candidate that makes the difference between success and failure. At the end of the day, performance and results are two of the most important traits a top performer can possess. Work harder than your competition, and you’ll win the battle every time.

Another thing that people can’t measure with grades, paychecks, promotions or time cards is what’s inside your heart.

Never underestimate yourself or let someone tell you that you can’t get to the top. Dreams are crushed by negativity, not reality; if you hear that you’re worthless, unqualified or “not the right material” long enough you may tend to believe it. Trust me, plenty of people will try to impede your rise to the top; don’t let them do that to you. Believe in yourself but, more importantly, prove yourself.

Top performers – and those who hire them – are as concerned with those traits they can measure as they are with the immeasurable. When I’m selecting someone for my team, my department or, for that matter, my replacement, I look at the measurable skills, but also work hard to decipher those immeasurable skills the candidate might possess. If someone comes into an interview and looks good on paper, I then work to find out what the resume isn’t telling me. If I see something in their eyes that says they will go above and beyond the call of duty and that they are going to be able to get the job done no matter what, they will surely move ahead of the pack.

Why do I work so hard to look beyond the resume, the GPA, the dress code and the hair gel? Because most of the top performers in my company defy conventions, go completely off the charts, and create a new breed of success. This is true for corporate America in general. Top performers are cut from a different cloth than the rest of the competition. My years as a Vice President at Dell and CEO of Global Consumer Innovation taught me that if you’re not thinking outside the box, you will always remain inside the box. It’s tough to teach someone to be great.

To read more about going beyond your resume, please visit www.corporateclimb.net to purchase an advanced copy of How to Play The Game At the Top and receive free access to How to Play The Game At The Top 101 Course.

ABOUT FENORRIS PEARSON

Fenorris Pearson is the CEO of Global Consumer Innovation, INC (www.globalconsumerinnovation.com) and one of the youngest people ever to be a VP of two fortune 50 companies (Dell and Motorola), a feat he completed before turning age 40. An avid Philanthropist, Fenorris is currently serving on three boards: Alonzo Mourning Charities located in Miami, FL, Imagine Schools of Central Texas located in Austin, TX, and SIFE: Students In Free Enterprise. To find out more information visit www.corporateclimb.net or call (901) 413-0203.

Professor Leads Boycott of Beauty Supply Stores

Atlanta, GA October 5, 2009 - Professor Devin Robinson, an economics professor at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, GA and best-selling author of Taking it Back: How to Become a Successful Black Beauty Supply Store Owner, will lead a one week long boycott against Non- Black Owned Beauty Supply stores.

Robinson stated, "Blacks make up 96% of the consumers of these stores, yet represent less than 5% of the retail ownership." As a previous owner of 3 locations, Robinson understands the industry inside out and offers comprehensive solutions for Blacks to recapture this industry. "The problem is with the distributors. Distributors are mainly Non-Blacks and they handpick who they will distribute products to. This oftentimes leaves aspiring black owners disenfranchised", said Robinson.

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News: Tiger Woods Becomes first Billion Dollar Athlete

Tiger Woods has become the first sportsman to break through the billion-dollar earnings barrier, Forbes magazine reported on Thursday.

The 33-year-old American, who has won 14 majors, reached the latest landmark of his career when he won a 10-million-dollar bonus for his FedEx Cup victory last weekend.

According to the magazine's calculations, Woods went into the 2009 season on 895 million dollars which included prize money, endorsements, appearance fees as well as money earned through his golf course design business.

Even before picking up his end of season bonus, Woods had earned 10.5 million dollars on the USPGA Tour this year, winning six titles.

 

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Playing the Game at the Top: Your MBA Might Be DOA

 

by Fenorris Pearson

Once upon a time your MBA was the gold standard; a guarantee for eventual and all-but inevitable success in your chosen profession. Today the starting line has moved; an MBA is still crucial for the well-rounded, would-be consummate executive, but no longer the gold standard by which success is currently measured.

Even those reliable old yardsticks by which past business success was calculated – hard work, seniority and massive overtime – no longer ensure you the success you desire today. Many men and women have built their fortunes on these skills alone in the past, but times are changing at a critical pace, and it is important that you keep up. There are thousands of MBAs awarded every year, and the cookie-cutter approach to business success has evolved. How are you going to be different from every other MBA in the country when it comes to finding your path to success?

Here are some things you can do to rise above your MBA, make yourself relevant and prepare for the real world:

1) Never forget that the world is changing: With the increased used of technology, business models are adapting, corporations are changing their strategies, industries are rising and others are dying. Make sure you know where you fit in this bold, new world and don’t assume that you are living the same life you would have lived in 1989. The textbooks used in your MBA courses might have worked for business models in the 1990s, but they may become obsolete in the new millennium.

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Is the MBA DOA?

From Fenorris Pearson, CEO of Global Consumer Innovation

Your MBA is DOA

Once upon a time your MBA was the gold standard, a guarantee for eventual and all-but inevitable success in your chosen profession. Today the starting line has moved; an MBA is still crucial for the well-rounded, would-be consummate executive, but no longer the gold standard by which success is currently measured.

Even those reliable old yardsticks by which past business success was calculated – hard work, seniority and massive overtime – no longer ensure you the success you desire today. While all these are helpful, and many men and women have built their fortunes on these skills alone in the past, times are changing at such a critical pace that new opportunities are needed to bridge the gap between what used to work and what must work.

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A New Way to Do Business

To say that Global Consumer Innovation (GCI) (www.globalconsumerinnovation.com) is just another marketing or research company is an understatement, to say the least. Touted as an innovation company, GCI uses its holistic perspective to create concepts for companies to enhance growth. Under the belief that corporations have, for too many years gone about developing products and services that are fundamentally flawed, GCI operates under the premise of designing products based upon collecting consumer data.

Founded by former Vice-President of Global Consumer Innovation and Global Capability Group for Dell, Fenorris Pearson, the GCI innovation team defines the next big idea that produces consumer products or services that disrupt the competitive landscape and generate revenue through billion dollar concepts. GCI recognizes that the methodology of corporate America is deeply flawed. There is a process that needs to be examined for success with every company, and GCI has perfected that concept.

Companies must take the frustrations of consumers and provide insights. All efforts must be totally consumer driven, without only seeking to reach quarterly goals or meet the bottom line. Major corporations bring in customers to view their products without knowing or understanding their needs. GCI is helping the consumer become involved and creating an innovation culture for best practices.

The GCI philosophy revolves around identifying whether or not a company has an innovation culture, designing the company to be more innovative, and the steps to take to create an environment. Most companies are all about making big investments. Venture capitalists do a wonderful job of understanding financials around what is brought to them. However, they don’t figure out who is going to buy it. Ninety-nine percent of all acquisitions fail because of poor marketing strategy. GCI offers their approach directly to the consumer. Their goal is to ensure that the investment succeeds.

Through strong leadership, innovative enablement, and solid growth practices, GCI is the alternative to the old way of doing business.

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Fenorris Pearson, The Consummate Executive

 

Special to YourBlackWorld.com 

When asked why he decided to go against the grain, and not be just another business executive climbing the corporate ladder without a value system, Fenorris Pearson responds, “It’s the way I was taught, and I want my sons to understand how to really play the game at the top.”

Pearson is an entrepreneur, innovator and human capital expert, and currently serves as CEO of Global Consumer Innovation, Inc. As former As Vice-President of Global Consumer Innovation and Global Capability Group for Dell, Fenorris managed over 400 employees globally located in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Through his vast corporate knowledge and experience, Pearson is reshaping the face of corporate America through teaching executives leadership development, enhancement, and skill capability. This philosophy is known as The Consummate Executive.

Traditionally, corporations have completely focused on results. The corporate leaders at Enron would do anything for results; lie, cheat, steal, and destroy employee’s and client’s lives. Their impact of their careless decisions are far-reaching and resulted in what seemed to be a domino-effect of improper corporate infrastructure being brought to the forefront for global display.

When you think of the state of corporate America today, there must be a renewal of the mindset of seeking results at all cost, without maintaining a high level of integrity and values. Even obtaining a certain amount of success, there is a need to build the complete executive to deter the temptation of making selfish decisions that result in stained reputations and overwhelming loss. The Consummate Executive understands that playing the game isn’t just about winning, but about excelling with longevity.

Executives should possess strong values and beliefs from an integrity perspective. Through this leadership piece, Pearson bridges the gap between students who are academically prepared, but not equipped for corporate realities. The Consummate Executive is prepared to transition out of college into the corporate infrastructure, and realizes that winning equals success. But is it that simple?

Corporations are in business to win, but Pearson teaches that executives should not win at any expense. He’s not interested in treating people unfairly, or operating through ego, but understanding business needs, translating the needs into best practices, and take expertise to infuse service, sales and retail with skills and the innovation needed to compete and win. Enter, The Consummate Executive. Find out how to become a Consummate Executive at www.corporateclimb.net

ABOUT FENORRIS PEARSON

Fenorris Pearson is the CEO of Global Consumer Innovation, INC (www.globalconsumerinnovation.com) and one of the youngest people ever to be a VP of two fortune 50 companies (Dell and Motorola), a feat he completed before turning age 40. An avid Philanthropist, Fenorris is currently serving on three boards: Alonzo Mourning Charities located in Miami, FL, Imagine Schools of Central Texas located in Austin, TX, and SIFE: Students In Free Enterprise. To find out more information visit www.corporateclimb.net.

Fenorris Pearson: Playing the Game at the Top

 

by Fenorris Pearson

How is the game played at the top? How do you get there and, once there, how do you stay put? And how, in these trying times where jobs are hard to come by and competition is stiffer than ever, can you ever hope to achieve such lofty goals? These are not questions to ask at the end of a career but at the beginning; these are thoughts to have not upon reflection during your retirement dinner but before deciding to ask for that promotion, leapfrog to another successful company or capitalize on the success you’ve already experienced.

Before starting my own business I was Vice-President of Global Consumer Innovation for Dell, Inc., the 35^th largest corporation on the Fortune 100 list. Prior to joining Dell, Inc., I was Vice-President of Global Organizational Development for Motorola, Inc. Motorola, Inc. is a Fortune 50 global company with revenues over $40 billion. If there’s one thing I’ve learned on my journey to corporate success, it’s this: The rules are different at the top.

Actually, the rules are very different at the top; there is little slack and even less room for errors. Smart people like to work with smart people and don’t suffer fools gladly. When cutting edge technology, name players, new products and billions of dollars are on the line, there is no room for sleepwalkers, jokers or phoning it in. Top performers get to the top by bringing their A-game every time, but now even that isn’t enough.

Today, more than ever, with layoffs a predictable morning headline and gold-standard companies like Circuit City, Steak & Ale, Linens and Things and Sharper Image shutting their doors in 2008, if you’re not firing on all cylinders, you won’t get in the door, let alone into that corner office. Regardless of the tight economy, or perhaps, because of it, companies are still hiring; but only the best. Companies are still promoting but, again, only the best. If you are looking for that entry-level job you can have it; if you have already been working in corporate and want that big promotion you can get it – but not by coasting into position. Rewards come quickly and are still great, but you will have to come fully prepared to work at the top of your game; every day, every time. How?

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