Success Pathways, LLC

...My first public speaking bombed! It was a disaster!!! When I stepped on the stage and made eye contact with some audience members whom I didn’t expect to be there, I was stunned, thrown off, and forgot everything I had to say. I froze! It was for seconds, but it felt like an eternity. I was tempted to run away from the stage without saying anything. Somehow, I mustered courage and stayed on the stage for 10 or 15 minutes. To be honest, I didn’t know what I was saying for the first 60 to 90 seconds. I winged it. After that, I began to remember the content I had memorized. The moral of the story is that since I was convinced of the extraordinary benefits of public speaking, I WENT ALL IN and endured embarrassment. Though I felt like quitting after that dreadful Saturday morning, I kept speaking publicly while feeling scared and nervous… Let me ask you: 1. From 1 to 10, how do you measure your public speaking abilities? One means I’m scared to death to speak publicly, and whenever I speak, I perform very badly, and ten being I speak like a pro. 2. If you scored less than 7, how can you take it to the next level in the next 3 to 6 months? Back to my public speaking journey, Dale Carnegie’s book persuaded me for the first time that if I speak articulately, I can: 1. Achieve my goals, 2. Get what I want, 3. Make friends, 4. Influence others, 5. And more. At that early stage in life, the above benefits alone were enough to launch me into a new path I never thought I would take. I’d still be in the village I was born without options. Most importantly, I’d not be where I am today without my ability to communicate effectively on stage and in front of a camera. Over the years, I witnessed with my own eyes how professionals who excelled at public speaking with average technical skills took leadership positions while those who had off-chart technical abilities without presentation skills took the back seat. For instance, I worked for a research organization in Ethiopia. I knew the researchers who: 1. Wrote killer proposals, 2. Attracted millions of dollars research project funds, 3. Designed the research methods, 4. Collected data and analyzed, 5. Wrote the final research papers and published them in peer-reviewed journals. Unfortunately: 1. These extraordinary scientists weren’t making critical decisions about how the funds were used. 2. They weren’t the authors mentioned first in the papers. 3. These researchers weren’t willing or able to speak on stage to present the final results of their own research. 4. And so on. Fast-forward to these days. I’m PAID well to speak. What is more? I coach both beginners and advanced speakers. I travel around the country to facilitate one-day and two-day workshops and webinars on public speaking... To read the rest: https://lnkd.in/eK7pKheY

In the last two weeks, I have had two opportunities to empower leaders to speak like pros. Last week, I shared a blog about my origin story. I wrote about how I began my journey as a speaker. I also shared how I've evolved over the last more than 2 decades including now training and coaching others to take their public speaking to the next level. If you’ve not yet read the blog, check it out: https://lnkd.in/eK7pKheY Attached is also a ~ 1 min video clip I took before the start of this week’s two-day workshop on Public Speaking: https://lnkd.in/ekuEZUbt #PublicSpeaking #PresentationSkills #SpeakLikeaPro 

Going away and traveling to different places offers me the wonderful opportunity to visit new places, meet great people, eat delicious food... However, I also enjoy getting up from my own bed, make my own coffee, and drive my own car. For my current assignment, I only drove less than 15 minutes. As you can see from the pic, this work place is gorgeous. What a beautiful place to work here on a daily basis! Which one do you prefer the most? Traveling or staying local?

Organizations that constantly invest in their people are strategic. They understand that they can’t fulfill their mandates, achieve their goals, improve performance, decrease turnover, turn conflicts into opportunities, and enjoy harmony and synergy without regularly empowering their people. Smart organizations recognize that the return on investment from equipping their human capital is exponential. As a result, they are intentional and proactive toward developing their people. We want to partner with organizations that prioritize the holistic growth of their people. We are a one-stop learning platform offering organizational, leadership, and personal development programs. To learn more, check out this video clip.: https://lnkd.in/gi8igBt2 To schedule a one-on-one consultation, reach out via info@TheAtoZInstitute.com 

We're a one-stop shop learning platform. We're the Amazon of Organizational, Leadership, and Personal Development. Rather than searching for many vendors to meet your development needs, you can simply work with ONLY one learning company that provides your team's or organization's A to Z growth needs. For more, check the short clip below: https://lnkd.in/gi8igBt2

Whatsoever world-class people, the latest technologies, and unlimited finance a company has, without a vibrant culture, it is unlikely to leverage all of these advantages. Bridgewater, a New York multibillion-dollar hedge fund, has a vibrant culture called Radical Transparency. Many Ivy League universities studied this corporate culture and how it contributed to creativity and innovation. Unfortunately, many companies struggled to replicate this culture. Why? This 3-minute video explains the reason. https://lnkd.in/eUn-2WHF #CorporateCulture #BridgeWater #RadicalTransparency #OrganizedDisagreement #Creativity #Innovation

How My Hometown Shaped Me to Embrace Disagreement: https://lnkd.in/eQnJGRNQ #CorporateCulture #RadicalTransparency #OrganizedDisagreement #Creativity #Innovation

Untie Their Tongue, Unleash Their Creativity. This is an excerpted clip (~1 min) from a video that discusses the importance of creating a corporate culture that incentivizes and encourages disagreement and how that, in turn, unleashes the creativity of its inhabitants. Here is the video clip this excerpt was taken from: https://lnkd.in/e7E8m_6m If you prefer to read, click this link to read the text: https://lnkd.in/eWThXCWE 

In this short video, using the headbutting between Mark Cuban (who supports Kamala Harris) and David Sachs (who roots for Donal Trump) in their recent conversation in the All-In Podcast, I shared the power of creating a corporate culture that incentivizes and encourages open dialogue and disagreement. I also cited the culture of Bridgewater, a Network-based multibillion-dollar hedge founded by Ray Dalio, as a good example. Many Ivy League universities studied this corporate culture (called Radical Transparency) and how it contributed to creativity and innovation. If you’re a reader, click this link https://lnkd.in/eWThXCWE If you would like to watch it, click here: https://lnkd.in/e7E8m_6m #CorporateCulture #RadicalTransparency #DavidSacks #MarkCuban #DonaldTrump #KamalaHarris 

Most of my workshops are on-site and outside the DMV area. Last week, however, I facilitated a workshop on the theme of DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion). This theme is one of my favorites. I like it because it is different from the other themes I love facilitating. As a learning professional, facilitating a DEI session is challenging on multiple fronts. I presume it also makes many of the participants uncomfortable. Who blames them?! Conducting public debates on any theme is nerve-racking. Imagine how engaging in public discussion about 'uncomfortable' topics such as stereotyping, biases, discrimination, and so on would make you... DEI is important to all teams, organizations, and communities with diverse members. The data shows that companies that achieve 'true diversity' outperform, outearn, outperform, and out-innovate those that do not. Here is the truth. Many organizations attained the bare minimum of diversity. However, very few went beyond diversity and created an inclusive culture. They not only brought diverse people to the table but also mixed the people at the table very well. If you're interested in getting the full context of why companies should go beyond mere diversity and how to achieve truly inclusive culture, check this blog I wrote recently: https://lnkd.in/eP99fUEn By the way, I am aware that DEI is a point of contention. Some support, advocate for, and promote it, while others remain skeptical. If DEI programs are designed and delivered properly, they can bring tremendous results and a win-win for the culture's inhabitants and the greater good. I'm proud of our DEI programs. We design them based on the latest adult learning principles. Plus, we start each session by setting up a safe atmosphere for participants to reflect, share, ask questions, and engage in constructive dialogues. That is exactly what happened in the workshop I facilitated last week. I need help fully describing how engaging the session was. You must be in the room to fully appreciate participants' constructive dialogue. A quick disclaimer: One DEI workshop can’t result in an equitable and inclusive culture. However, it lays a solid foundation for building a truly diverse, inclusive, equitable, and accessible culture. It provides the necessary insights, models, tools, and strategies participants need to return to the workplace and play their fair share in creating and sustaining a truly inclusive culture by becoming cultural change agents and Cultural Ambassadors. If you haven't yet, check out the short video attached here. In this video, I explained why only a few organizations and teams have achieved truly inclusive cultures. I also shared one of the challenges of creating an inclusive and equitable culture: micro-aggressions. I also offered one strategy to combat micro-inequities: receiving and Providing Feedback. https://lnkd.in/eqJ8wNMU