be inspired – all this was covered by the Leadership for Life Conference which took place on
28 June 2011 at the Grand Majestic Plaza Hotel in Prague. Lance Secretan, charismatic leader
and one of the top five global speakers on the subject of Inspirational Leadership, was the
keynote speaker at the conference, and he held almost a hundred conference participants
spellbound by his presentation, in which for almost two hours, he shared his unique corporate
experiences.
Wake up and get inspired!
The idea of the Leadership for Life Conference was conceived by Jim Cusumano, American-Czech entrepreneur and the owner of Chateau Mcely as part its Mcely ForumTM Program and Rinaldo Brutoco, president of World Business Academy who engaged Lance Secretan as the keynote speaker. Lance Secretan delivered two hours of captivating presentation, in which he covered the principles of Inspirational Leadership and how this concept can be applied to businesses. He used his latest book The Spark, the Flame, and the Torch: Inspire Self. Inspire Others. Inspire the World, that has just been released in Czech and offers his outlook on the principles of systematic development of ‘inspired’ and ‘inspiring’ leadership, as his springboard.
“To live an inspired and inspiring life means that you have to go through these three stages: personal inspiration – the spark; we live an inspirational life – the flame; we share this experience with others – the torch,” Lance Secretan explains his leadership principles, adding: “When you motivate someone, you are lighting a flame underneath them. When you inspire someone, you are starting a fire within them. Inspiration is the only way how we can truly understand others and inspire them to a better life and better professional performance. At the Leadership for Life Conference, Lance Secretan proved that he is rightfully called one of the most original teachers of leadership skills of our era. “All businesses have formulated a mission statement. But only a few have a dream. To have a dream, and the courage to follow it, distinguishes true inspirational leaders and their companies from the rest of the field.” Mr. Secretan gave several examples of companies which by a commitment to Inspirational Leadership created numerous jobs and enhanced annual revenue and profit well beyond expectations. Inspirational Leadership is not mutually exclusive of financial performance. In fact, properly executed, it enhances it.
Understanding leadership in the Czech Republic
The conference opened with a session in which top executives of Czech companies shared their leadership experiences. Pavel Kavánek, CEO ČSOB, talked about his experience with transforming the bank to a business with emotional intelligence. Jiří Kejval, founder of Techo, focused on the key pillars of the company’s corporate culture and addressed the question of preserving its DNA after integration into a multinational group. Doug Brodman, CEO Pilsner Urquell, talked about the importance of communicating with employees. Conductor Mario Klemens introduced a fresh angle on leadership as he demonstrated its principles as an example of leading an orchestra. The local experience, which was certainly very interesting due to the variety of angles and speakers, however proved that our understanding of leadership focuses only on management style – not on the fundamental principles, and the extent and depth of the mindset is still lagging behind inspirational visions, which were presented by Lance Secretan as the way to a real business and management success.
A change is coming
The afternoon panel discussion chaired by Rinaldo Brutoco, President World Business Academy, with panellists Karel Janeček (RSJ Algorithmic Trading), Michal Růžička (PubliCon), Jiří Pavlíček (Bright Element) and Miloslav Rut (Česká pošta), gave a signal that time is right for a change. Michal Růžička did start by expressing his frustration that “maybe there are leaders here, but we do not get to see them,” but the subsequent discussion showed that many entrepreneurs and managers begin to ask themselves deeper questions than how to meet the budget. We are beginning to see the emergence of various communities of people who realise that they want to be a part of a broader societal change and who have begun to talk openly of their dreams. Not being risk averse, not being a populist and taking a stance against parasitism, especially in the form of corruption - those were the challenges that resounded most with the sentiment in the auditorium. “All you need is more personal courage and responsibility,” were Karel Janeček’s words which concluded the panel.
Contact:
Blue Events, s.r.o.
Zuzana Mračková, Client Service Manager
Tel.: +420 222 749 847, +420 737 216 978
e-mail: Zuzana.Mrackova@BlueEvents.eu
www.BlueEvents.eu
Information for the media:
When/where:
28 June 2011, Grand Majestic Plaza, Praha
Organisers:
World Business Academy, Chateu Mcely and Blue Events in partnership with Stance Communications and Koučink Centrum