October, 2001 Newsletter
Nancy Stephan - October 9th
an art - is practiced by successful
entrepreneurs with regularity.
October 9th offers networking
facilitator, Nancy J. Stephan, of
Synergy Resources, Inc.
presenting: "Optimal Networking
Attracts Success."
cards, networking under the
tutelage of Stephan includes
ways to:
entrepreneurial wisdom to
help grow your business.
Tackle your biggest issues.
Transform your obstacles
into opportunities.
Draw on your peers to
enhance your success.
Leave with three useful ideas upon which to build your success.
expand business possibilities. Come prepared to partake in lively
discussions about your business using the Appreciative Inquiry
Communication method, a process that offers an energy-enhancing
perspective for entrepreneurs.
dreams by developing their people. She has over 25 years of
executive coaching, mentoring, team-building, interpersonal skills
training, public speaking and consulting.
entrepreneurs, startups and Fortune 500 companies. Her hands-on
experiences in industries as varied as automotive, manufacturing,
wholesale distributors and medical lends invaluable insights that she
utilizes in her work. As her company name suggests, Stephan
creates a synergy that leads to achieving both organizational and
personal goals.
Networking Attracts Success."
6:30 p.m. Informal Networking
7:00 p.m. Meeting
Fortifying Network Perimeter Security
Pre-meeting Seminar - 5:30 -- 6:30 p.m.
names, computer viruses result in billions of dollars of destruction to
computers around the world. The biggest threat to the 21st Century
company is damage, termination or unauthorized access to the
computer network and primary data systems. And viruses are just
the beginning. Fortifying network perimeter security requires much
more than installing an anti-virus system.
p.m. pre-meeting seminar, offers ways to identify and manage the
security of all connections to external vendors, clients, partners and
the Internet. Learn perimeter security principles that utilize layers of
perimeter security methods. Raise the security bar so high that
hackers will choose to look for easier prey.
company that specializes in network security solutions.
http://www.upstreamsolutionsinc.com
Inc., Mary Martin Mason has resigned. She has taken a full time
position as Adoption Information Clearinghouse Coordinator with
MARN (The Minnesota Adoption Resources Network.)
to the outstanding service that Mary Mason has provided as the
club’s Executive Director. THANK YOU, MARY for your 17 years of
proud of this accomplishment. Be sure to take a moment to thank
Mary. Ed Palmer
word of the first WTC terrorist attack reached me. Before finishing, I
witnessed live on TV the second WTC terrorist attack (plane crash).
You may recall, I was supposed to be in NYC in another 48 hours.
Of course, this was postponed like a lot of other meetings. By early
updated the web site and sent notice out to our members via email.
As the nation scrambled to understand what was happening, I was
grateful for the ability to communicate with our members so rapidly.
a student of the Bible, I reflected on the words of Jesus: “Do not let
your heart be troubled.”Then I found myself in a conversation with
God wondering if all that sadness we felt was the same thing as
having a troubled heart. It didn’t take long before concluding that it
was okay to feel sadness and that the troubled heart really related to
an internal fear setting into our lives. Put another way, these words in
the Bible really meant: “Do not live your life in fear.” I quickly realized
just how often the entrepreneur is faced with one or more decisions
surrounded by fear.
action, fear of inaction, etc. Mostly, I suspect, it is the fear of the
unknown that usually grips us. Traveling new ground is very exciting
on the one hand and can be tremendously filled with anxiety and fear
on the other hand. Our last speaker, Dileep Rao used the
terminology of the “cliff” to describe three types of ability
entrepreneurs have in dealing with fear (the cliff). Some just jump off
the cliff. Some measure the depth of the crevice before they jump.
And, some measure the depth of the crevice on their way down.
Sometimes I just jump. Other times I measure; even on the way
down at times. FEAR was cited as one of the main impediments to
being a successful entrepreneur by many of our speakers.
like you should, you will experience fear. The second lesson I have
learned is that often you do not have a choice in the matter. All of a
sudden, you are simply faced with a situation that is fraught with the
elements of fear. So, how do you face fear? How do you deal with
fear?
at the face of fear or we choose to continue on in our life. For the
least not for me. Yet – everyone knows, we can only move forward if
successful living is our goal. That almost always means staring down
the face of fear; knowing with certainty that success is around the
corner – just past the fear we are facing.
anyway.”Which is to say, at an early age I learned to simply jump off
the proverbial entrepreneurial cliff. I have learned that 99% of the
time my fears were unfounded. Still, it always seems scary when you
are facing the unknown issues of life. I can tell you that this fact has
never changed in my 55 years of life and I am constantly amazed at
just how often I have to choose to “do it anyway” in spite of fear.
of your business decisions. For now, let us all pray that the nation
can “choose to move on” or we will all find that business has taken a
strange twist that none of us ever anticipated or had the chance to
fear ahead of time. Like the airline industry (business) nose-diving?
Who could have thought such an event like the WTC terrorist attack
was possible?
elected President Pro Tem. Board elections will be held at the
November meeting and then the board will elect a new President
along with the other officers.
might want to contribute yourself. We are looking for nominations to
the board. The board will choose a new president, vice president,
treasurer, and secretary. Please give this some serious thought and
forward your nominations or even nominate yourself.
experience that all of the board members are warm fuzzy teddy
bears. This is a real opportunity for you to challenge yourself by
joining our board.
Finally, as Mary Martin Mason steps down from her Executive
Director’s position, I would like all of you to give her a personal thank
you at next Tuesday’s meeting. Mary, thank you for your 17 years of
(I have to thank her
here, as I will be in NYC on the day of our next meeting facing some
more fears.)Give Kathy Gatliff a warm welcome as she considers
replacing Mary in this critical position.
opportunity to make my pitch for $2.5 million in NYC. Nancy Stephan
is our speaker on October 9th and she will be speaking on networking
skills and leading our group through some interesting networking
sessions. Make sure you attend this meeting where you can hone
your own networking skills. I am sure you will not want to miss this
one. A pre-meeting seminar is also being held at 5:30 on Network
Security. Check it out.
President Pro Tem
5:30 -- 6:30 p.m. Meeting Held at Minnesota Business Academy-
Pre-Meeting Seminar: "Fortifying Network Perimeter Security" with
Liz Stanton of Upstream Solutions, Inc.
MEI Monthly Meeting: "Optimal Networking Attracts Success" with
Nancy Stephan, the president of Synergy Resources, Inc.
Restaurant at 225 W. 7th Street in St. Paul.
Pre-meeting seminar 5:30 p.m.
Branding On A Budget - Eric Strauss
Simon Foster of SimonDelivers.com
Minneapolis Group meets at 7:30 a.m., Dover Restaurant, Doubletree
Park Place Hotel in St. Louis Park. Call Bill Lehnertz-:952-948-1105.
meeting may gather on October 9 at Patrick McGovern's Pub &
Restaurant on 225 W. 7th Street. McGovern's is located on the
corner of West 7th Street and Chestnut, one block west of the new
RiverCenter. McGovern's offers a full menu until midnight.
Questions? If so, talk to Cameron Smith at the meeting.
William Bengtson - - Upland Consulting, Inc.
Mark Coronna- - Entrepreneur
Travis Earsley- - Best Buy, Inc.
Gerald Keinath -- Entrepreneur, Retired
Jeffrey Knight -- Borealis Communications
John Lawson- - Professional Career Solution
Todd Mortenson -- DiscBurn.com
Bjoern Olufsen -- Economic Development Authority
and needs a marrow transplant. His family is looking for items to
donate for a fundraiser at the American Legion on Oct.12. You can
donate items for the fundraiser or make contributions by calling his
sister-in-law at either 763-576-8981 or at her home: 763-421-9558.