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Investing in Your Leadership


Context impacts your vision. Sonny Bono was Cher’s short husband and he had a hard time shaking that identity when he became a U.S. Member of Congress. I’m not sure his fellow Members took him seriously. On the other hand, Ronald Reagan went from B-grade actor to Governor and President and was able to shed much of the Hollywood residue.

Context impacts your vision. Sonny Bono was Cher’s short husband and he had a hard time shaking that identity when he became a U.S. Member of Congress. I’m not sure his fellow Members took him seriously. On the other hand, Ronald Reagan went from B-grade actor to Governor and President and was able to shed much of the Hollywood residue.

Given the context of my role in MEA, some of you may see me as a “woo woo guru,” but I’ve spent most of my career as a “hardcore mentor,” primarily in business. I’ve been fortunate enough to be the mentor for three Fortune 500 CEOs, more than a dozen well-known entrepreneurs, the Governor of California, the Burning Man CEO, and an award-winning musician. A classic mentor elevates your strengths, identifies your areas for growth, and encourages you to live up to your potential. As many of you know, a great mentor is both The Librarian and The Confidante

I’ve been asked to give more business-oriented workshops at MEA. No, we’re not going to create an MBA program, but we are going to offer more workshops that are well-suited for those who want to develop their business, entrepreneurship, or leadership acumen, all still using the MEA lens reminding us that certain skills grow with age. I wanted to outline a few of those workshops on the calendar this year so you can plan ahead and enroll as many of these programs will sell out (all of the ones listed below are in Santa Fe). 

February 3-8: What Now? Finding Passion and Purpose After a Big Success. Whether you’re thinking of selling a business (or have sold one), are transitioning from being a “big wig” in politics, sports, or academia, or feeling fearful that people will judge you on your most recent performance (and not all of your historical successes), you’ll find this workshop with me and well-known leadership coach Edward Sullivan to be of real value because you’ll be surrounded by fellow strivers who are worried about being a PIP, a Previously Important Person, while looking to create a new narrative. 

March 17-20: PEAK: Boost Your Company’s Mojo With Maslow. Of all my books, PEAK is the one that’s had the biggest impact on companies as diverse as Airbnb, Zappos, Whole Foods Markets and Southwest Airlines. I feel like I channeled psychologist Abraham Maslow in developing this leadership and organizational theory and I’m excited to offer it in MEA’s first three-day workshop program (which is well-suited to busy people since it’s less time and costs less than our normal five-night program). 

March 20-23: Wisdom@Work: How to Become an Impactful Modern Elder. I was fortunate enough to be the “modern elder” to the three young founders of Airbnb, spending seven and a half years helping guide them in taking their small tech start-up to become the most valuable hospitality company in the world. My book, Wisdom@Work, won awards for being a seminal, real-life story of how to evolve into being an excellent mentor. This workshop is perfectly-suited for those in the second half of their career who are trying to stay relevant. Like the PEAK workshop just before it, this is a three-day workshop for busy people and we’re offering special pricing for those of you who want to do both the PEAK and Wisdom@Work programs back-to-back.

May 5-10: Reboot: Leadership and the Art of Growing Up My co-leader for this workshop Jerry Colonna has been called the “CEO Whisperer” because he’s well-known as a mentor to so many famous CEO’s. Our workshop this past fall was one of MEA’s highest scoring workshops (based upon guest satisfaction) as Jerry and my approaches to leadership are very synergistic based upon the premise that lasting leadership development is founded upon personal human development. Be prepared to answer Jerry’s deep question, “How have I been complicit in creating the conditions I say I don’t want in my life?”

August 11-16: From Strength to Strength: Finding Happiness as You Age My co-leader of this workshop Arthur Brooks’ last two books have been blockbusters, “From Strength to Strength” and, with Oprah, “Build the Life You Want.” While this workshop won’t be specifically about business, it will focus on how our crystalized intelligence (as opposed to our fluid intelligence when we’re younger) is a foundational part of creating a long, effective career path. As many of you know, Arthur wrote about MEA in “From Strength to Strength” and loves what we’re doing – this is the first time he’ll be teaching at an MEA campus.

I hope you’ll consider these different workshops for your career path. Sort of like getting your MBA and MEA. Investing in yourself as a leader is one of the wisest things you can do as your lessons can serve you the rest of your life. For those of you who’ve been looking for some 1:1 time with me talking about your career, this is a great opportunity to do so as I stay in touch with folks after the workshop as well. 

-Chip

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