Thank you all for your patience, event photos of the recent 3rd Annual Holiday Gala have arrived…more importantly, we would like to sincerely thank all who attended and joined us in a funfilled evening. Good times had by all! To view all photos, follow instructions below:

♦ Visit www.climbinc.org // gallery // main menu // fundraisers and events // 3rd Annual Holiday Gala

♦ photography provided by NPhocus Photography, www.nphocusphotography.com

♦ Save the Date: CLIMB General Body Meeting Jan 31 // Professional Networking Mixer Feb 27

by Jullien Gordon

Before the business plan, the pitch deck, the company name, the logo, and the business cards, the most powerful thing you have as an entrepreneur is a vision that people can believe in. A powerful vision will attract the right people, opportunities, and ideas.

One of the myths about visionary companies revealed by James Collins and Jerry Porras in “Built To Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies” is that it doesn’t take a great idea to start a great company. The reality is that few of the visionary companies the research began with a great idea. Several began without any idea at all. Most just began with a few people dedicated to realizing a singular vision.

Your product will evolve over time, but your vision should remain constant. Your first product may fail, but if you’re truly committed to the vision, then you will go back to the drawing board to try to find another way to achieve it.

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By Asher Mathew

There is no single book that covers all that we need to know to succeed in Corporate America, but no matter which facet of Corporate America you are involved in there are guidelines to build a career centered on respect and integrity. My favorite set of guidelines was articulated by Kwame Jackson, runner-up on the first and best season of The Apprentice. Following are some lessons from the boardroom by Kwame Jackson slightly modified by my experience:

1. NO FEAR

    - Look people in their eyes when you speak to them. There is no reason to fear someone because of status and/or title. Looking at them sets a tone of mutual respect that will go along way in communicating self-confidence.

2. BE ACCOUNTABLE

   - Don’t twist the truth. If you messed up dont hide the events, talk about them as they happened and explain your judgement, you will be forgiven (maybe not in the way you expect). It is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.

3. NEVER FORGET THE TEAM

    - Business, Family, Friends…know who got you here and thank them. 

   - Back people up and spread the credit, not the blame. One of the best ways to build lasting relationships and demostrate true leadership is to make other people shine, there is no greater satisfaction in life than to help someone get to where they want to be.

4. TAKE CALCULATED RISK - “Wait for your pitch!” 

    - Go with your gut, and have the logic train to back it up. I am a firm believer of using logic to understand all possible outomes of a situation but taking the one that your gut feeling drives you to. 

    - Don’t be afraid to go for what you want! You only live once so why not shoot for the stars. 

5. STRAIGHT TALK - “CANDID DIPLOMACY”

    - Call them like you see them! Ofcourse choice of words is important to deliver good/bad news, but never sugarcoat the intensity of the situation.  

6. BE YOURSELF

    - I hate fake people!

    - Do what’s important to you, not anyone else

    - Prove things to yourself, not anyone else

7. LEADERS ARE NOT ALWAYS OUT IN FRONT 

    - Play your position..identify your strengths and weaknesses and act accordingly 

8. KNOW WHEN TO SHUT UP

    - Two ears and one mouth, use them in proportion…definitely from Sales 101

    - Listen, Observe, Process, Act…

9. PLAN YOUR WORK & WORK YOUR PLAN

    - Have a road map..time and again I have planned a generic road map, it is good to have both short term and long term goals but even more important to understand that live will bring your surprises so be prepared and know that hope is not a strategy.

    - Get smart people, smarter than you, put them in the right place, and get the hell out of the way. A simple management technique.

    - Know what you want out of life…this probably is the most important lesson, knowing what you want shapes who you are and what you’ll be…

10. STAY POSITIVE & PERSEVERE

    - Life is not what happens to you but how you react…

    - Where God closes a door, he opens a window, just look for the draft…have faith!

Video Links:

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-6hxgbatnA

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRXA5AnpNAQ

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4kyaoLTW_k

I hope this serves as a basic foundation for success not just in Coporate America but Life.

For important event info, visit www.OceansLA.com/info

by Jullien Gordon

If you guessed a raise and a promotion, you’re only partially right. The only two things your employees really want are to to feel valued and and to create value. Virgin and Johnson & Johnson have developed company cultures that put employees above shareholders. In his book “Losing My Virginity”, Richard Bronson, Founder and CEO of Virgin, states “Convention dictates that a company looks after its shareholders first, its customers next and last of all worries about its employees. Virgin does the opposite.

If you start off with a happy, well-motivated workforce, you’re far more likely to have happy customers. In due course the resulting profits will make shareholders happy.” Johnson & Johnson’s 60 year old Credo places employees second after customers, but before community and shareholders. Both companies recognize that their employees are their most valuable assets and thus create organizational cultures that allow employees to demonstrate their value.

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Va. Man Spends $1 Million on Inaugural Package for Disadvantaged

By Michael E. Ruane (Washington Post Staff Writer)

It was billed as the biggest, most eye-popping of the inauguration hotel packages: the JW Marriott’s $1 million “build-your-own-ball” offer. You get 300 rooms, four suites, $200,000 worth of food and drink, and a primo site overlooking the Pennsylvania Avenue parade route.

click here to view deals »

Source LA Times: Eritrean refugees, wearing white masks, participate in a protest in front of Israel’s Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv. The protesters are seeking refugee status in Israel after coming in from a county where the U.N. says men are often forced into military service for life. Israel has granted refugee status to people fleeing Darfur, but says it will deport all others who have entered illegally.

Of course it would be none other than Jaime Macias (sidenote: jmacias is one of the most creative ppl I know; and I know tons of creative folks, trust me) who would introduce me to this wonderful installment highlighting the thought process and brand development behind one of the most impressive brands developed in decades.

Below, I urge you to enjoy the thoughts, ideas, and considerations from the desk of Sol Sender, Strategist at VSA Partners.

I watched it like 5 times each, but I’m just weird like that.

Part 2

Arne Duncan has a reputation for boosting test scores and closing weak schools. His policies — and basketball skills — are seen as a match for Obama’s.

By Michael Muskal (LA Times) 

President-elect Barack Obama today formally announced Chicago schools superintendent Arne Duncan as his choice for Education secretary.

Duncan has built a reputation over seven years for improving test scores in the nation’s third-largest school district. He has also closed failing schools and replaced ineffective teachers.

“If we want to out-compete the world tomorrow then we’re going to have to out-educate the world today,” Obama told reporters in a televised news conference this morning at the Dodge Renaissance Academy, which was once closed as a failing school.

Duncan reopened the school as an academy where candidates for advanced degrees in education could gain practical experience in classrooms. Obama and Duncan, who often play basketball together, visited the school three years ago and hailed it as a successful model for teacher residency programs.

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