Conversations worth having

(L to R) Rachel Valdez, Beto Yarce, Murthy Kalkura, and Gil Gido

Last night at Tutta Bella on Stone way NAAAP Seattle and the National Society of Hispanic MBA's (NSHMBA) hosted a conversation with local entrepreneurs and members sharing the Secrets of Success.  I had a front row seat since I  had the priviledge of moderating.  On the panel were business owners: Beto Yarce of Cintli; Rachel Valdez of 16 Copenhagen; and Murthy Kalkura of 4AM Corp.
 
My overall experience from walking in the door to leaving can only be described as time well spent. Many who came either had a business or had an interest in knowing what it takes to start and run a business and this brings me to why I am writing - conversations. Conversations, I believe are key ingredients when it comes to running a business and even more so, leadership. Conversations can either be worth having or not having.  For me, those not worth having don't convey action. In fact, conversations lead to some result in business; for example, starting a business. They can end in no, maybe or what we would all like to hear, YES! It seems simple enough, but yeses move businesses; so as an entrepreneur, it's important to know when you are having a conversation that will lead to a yes. For example, yes, to a sale; yes, to accepting a new contract; and yes, to opportunity.
 
So what else can lead to a yes?  Well, I overheard and was engaged in many conversations last night and each had an element of authenticity, passion and free exchange of thought. There seemed to be no judgements or disinterest that I heard. As an entrepreneur, you get skilled in being authentic, passionate and inclusive and you start listening for opportunities that you can yourself use or pass onto your friends, clients and collegues. For me, it surely is a different experience when hearing, no, right?
 
Great! Since I want to provide you with short and timely information that you can use now, I'm going to end here. I know that I can't cover everything in this post. So, if you want to know more on having conversations that lead to yes, then you'll want to hear what Jack Canfield, a well-respected success coach, says, "it all starts with asking." http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=403944388995


With that, I want to give a special thanks to Christine Chen Velazquez of Chen Communications, Geraldine Rodriguez of NSHMBA and Hang Chen of NAAAP Seattle for organizing the event and giving folks an opportunity to have conversations worth having.
 
Regards,
Gil Gido
NAAAP Seattle
President

Join us for the 24th Annual National Leadership Convention and Diversity Career Fair presented by Macy's

The National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAAP) cordially invites you to attend the 24th Annual National Leadership Convention and Diversity Career Fair in San Francisco on August 12-15th. In the spirit of our vision "We make leaders!", the conference will address your present needs to prepare you for the realities of the future. You will also have an opportunity to participate in innovative workshops, listen to inspirational speakers, network with a diverse group of accomplished professionals, and find that dream job at our Diversity Career Fair.







Register now at http://www.naaapconvention.org/

NAAAP Seattle Board of Directors

Engage Seattle

Engage Seattle Initiative Launch Event

(l to r) Gil Gido (President), Julie Pham (PR/Marketing Chair),

Kevin Chang (Membership Chair)

Seattle, Wa - The Office of the Mayor of Seattle launched Engage Seattle today, an initiative aiming to get people involved with the city in meaningful ways and make Seattle a great place to live. Mayor Mike McGinn kicked things off with a committment to providing people with multiple pathways to engage in Seattle. At a high-level, there are three pillars to this initiative: 1. Improving Access to Government, 2. Volunteer Services, and 3. Developing future leaders. Now to help fund the initiative, the City of Seattle was awarded a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation in the Cities of Service program, in which ten cities were awarded $200,000 leadership grants.

Improving Access to Government
For the first time ever, the city is bringing its outreach and engagment staff together for better coordination in neighborhoods and created new standards for deeper, more inclusive public outreach and engagement. A new online public calendar was released to list opportunities to engage with City staff having features that enable views via map or lists, provide event searches by location down to a 0.1 mile radius, and integration with personal calendars.  Check it out at: http://seattle.gov/calendar/outreach.htm (Contact Sol Villarreal, Civic Engagement Coordinator: sol.villarreal@seattle.gov or 206.233.2656)

Volunteer Services
The service plan initiative is focused on education and youth development priorities identified through the Mayor's Youth and Family initiative.  Please join the effort to ensure every 3rd grade student can read at grade level, every middle school student is supported through the transition to high school, and every vulnerable child has a traned and committed mentor. (Contact Lynda Petersen, Chief Service Officer: lynda.petersen@seattle.gov or 206.684.7020)

Developing Future Leaders
Want to be more effective in the community? In a short series of workshops, community organizations can give participants the tools they need to be organizers for change within and aross Seattle's communities. Projects will be assigned between sessions to help participants develop their skills. The series are offered three times a year beginning in january, July and September. (Contact Sol Villarreal, Civic Engagement Coordinator: sol.villarreal@seattle.gov  or 206.233.2656)

Watch the Video:

Seattle Channel Video can be played in Flash Player 9 and up

If interested about engaging with Seattle, please contact the either Sol or Lynda.

Regards,
NAAAP Seattle Board