Bret Simmons
Profile
Summary
I speak and train passionately about leadership, followership, and social media for business
Experience
- Jul 2006 - PresentAssociate Professor of Management / University of Nevada RenoMy day job. I teach, research, and do service. I teach undergraduate courses in organizational behavior, leadership, management research, social business, and personal branding. I teach MBA courses in organizational behavior and personal branding. My research focuses on positive organizational behavior, eustress, employee health and employee performance.
- Jan 2008 - PresentPresident / Sierra Management Research, IncPublic speaking, organizational training, and consulting. Specializing in leadership, followership, positive organizational behavior, evidence-based management, systems thinking, personal branding, social business, social media for business, and inbound marketing.
- 1994 - PresentFederal Sales / Telect
- Jan 1989 - PresentCOMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS PROGRAM MANAGER / United States Air Force
Education
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1995 - 2000Oklahoma State UniversityPh.D. in Management
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1993 - 1994Whitworth CollegeMASTERS in INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT
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1990 - 1992Park CollegeBS in MANAGEMENT
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1987 - 1988Community College of the Air ForceA.A.S in LOGISTICS
- University of Nevada-Reno
Additional Information
Posts
The very first article I assign in my MBA class on Organizational Behavior is “Teaching Smart People How to Learn,” by Chris Argyris. People that are too smart to learn are very skilled problem solvers, but very unskilled at reflecting on and changing their own behavior. Successful people just like you and me are most likely to be too smart to really learn. It’s difficult for people to understand that there is a difference between performance and learning.
It’s tough getting through to smart people. Their defensive reasoning mechanisms create a stronghold of incognizance. If you even care to know, here are ten signs that you might indeed be too smart to learn:
1. You spend your time and energy trying to convince others your views are right instead of trying to understand their views.
2. You believe that making mistakes is a sign of incompetence
3. People that know you can’t remember the last time you changed your behavior in any significant way
4. You look for someone to “blame and shame” whenever something goes wrong
5. You take great pride in your intelligence
6. You consider yourself an expert
7. You would rather be recognized for your accomplishments than for your efforts
8. Self-esteem is the focus of your self-reflection
9. It’s impossible for you to question your assumptions because you’ve either never taken the time to identify them or have long since forgotten them
10. If you read outside of work, it’s primarily for pleasure
Our organizations are full of smart people masquerading as leaders. Do you want to be an authentic participant in the process of real leadership, or is being smart good enough?
What do you think? I know I’ve probably missed something, so please share your thoughts in the comment section below!
Related Posts:
My MBA class in personal branding was one of the most enjoyable classes I have ever taught in my entire career. The majority of my 30 students challenged themselves and encouraged each other to create blogs they could be proud of. I’m sure they used my name in vain many times when they were reading three different books, tweeting, commenting on blogs, and posting their own blogs each week; however, a few might even agree it was worth the blood, sweat, and tears. I’m proud of what they achieved, and I think they realize the excellence of what they individually and collectively created.
We had some amazing guest speakers this semester. Via Skype we spoke with authors of the books we read for class: Erik Deckers, Jason Falls, and Shama Kabani. In person, we spoke to local entrepreneurs Milena Regos, Dave Polivy, Laura Zander, Abbi Whitaker (with Connie Aguilar), and Mark Estee.
In a separate post, I listed the best of the best undergraduate student brand videos. I hope you will check that out, because my undergraduate students produced some amazing work. Below are the names and blog titles of some of the best MBA videos. Please click the links and view the videos!
Daniel Herr: On a Search for Smarter and Mindful Living
Marie Wiere: Blue Sky Management Blog
Nicole Carlsen: The Local’s Reno
William Mullen: Young & Eager Professional in the Casino Industry
Laura Brigham: Raising an iChild
Kristin Stith: What Keeps the BIGGEST… Little
Angel Willis: Business Intelligence Blog
The best videos in my MBA class were done by Samantha Conway, Brian Anderson and Cory Bettinghouse. The videos were so impressive I’ve posted them below:
What do you think? Please post your thoughts in the comment section below!
I taught courses in personal branding and social business this semester to 32 undergraduate and 30 MBA students at The University of Nevada, Reno. At the height of the course, students were required to blog three times per week and tweet three times per day, five days per week. We produced a mountain of content.
Students were also required to create a 3-5 minute video that communicated the essence of their personal brand to post to the “about me” page of their blog. I gave them very little direction and almost no training. I simply encouraged them to create something they would be proud to put their name on. When I’ve done this in the past, a few students have produced stellar videos (e.g. Caitlin Durkin and Kendra Wilson), but most of the work was not very impressive.
This semester was different. The majority of my 62 students produced work they should be proud of, and a number of them produced some extremely impressive videos. They gave themselves permission to be excellent, and they blew me away with the quality of their effort and results. I’m going to list below the best of the best of undergraduate class, with a hyperlink to each video. If you take the time to click on a few of the links and watch some of these videos, I think you too will be impressed with my students. I’ll list the best of my MBA class in a separate post.
Here are the names and blog titles of some of the best undergraduate videos:
Renee Haynie: Helping Yourself by Helping Others
Kali Whipple: A Simple Guide to Healthy Living
Jasper Jacobs: Atmosphere Dive Apparel
Jesse Capps: Championship Power Poker
Kevyn Holden: Cooking for Pleasure
Blayne Osborn: A Look at Nevada Politics
Lesley Pastell: Recruit to Hire
Liz Provasi: Cultural Connections
David Bozsik: The Numismatic Enthusiast
Harvey West, III: Rural & Volunteer Fire Service 101
Clark Macario: Drinking & Dining Made Easy
The two best videos in my undergraduate class were done by Mark Omohundro and Kati Nelson. The videos were so impressive I’ve posted them below:
What do you think? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!
I experienced the worst car rental company customer service I can ever remember from Enterprise Car Rental in the Oklahoma City Airport recently. The line at the counter was ridiculously long, and they only had one person working the desk. The reservation system ensured they knew the other customers and I were coming, but they chose not to be prepared when we arrived.
I stepped back and took a video of the line which I then posted to my Youtube channel. I tweeted my complaint and within a short time received a reply tweet from @enterprisecares. They gave me an e-mail address and asked for more information, so I sent them the link to my video of the long line along with an explanation of the situation. Within a short time I had this direct reply in my e-mail.
The e-mail promised someone would get back to me and discuss the issue. That was nine days ago, and I’ve heard nothing – no call three days later and no e-mail reply. By any standard, that is dismal customer service. If the long line at the counter was not evidence enough that Enterprise Car Rental does not really care about customers, the non-response to the e-mail certainly is.
When I returned the car a few days later about 5:45 am, there was only one attendant working a lot that was a mess. Once I finally located the attendant, I just gave her my keys and took off.
I see two big problems with Enterprise based on this experience. One is operational. There are no excuses for failing to prepare to impress your customers when you know they are coming. That’s a local leadership issue that I suspect is driven by corporate level training, policy, and reward systems.
The other problem is the disconnect between their social media monitoring teams and the people with the real authority to resolve customer complaints. The Twitter team actually did their job very well, but because of the way Enterprise has structured their response system, the social media team has neither control nor responsibility over the final resolution of the complaint. If you are going to give your Twitter team the authority to promise customers a response from other departments in the company, you should also make it a responsibility for them to follow-up on the promises they make.
Enterprise does have low rates, but their service sucks. I think other companies offer competitive rates and competent service, so I won’t be renting from Enterprise again anytime soon.
What do you think? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!
Related Posts:
Redbox: Best Ever Customer Relationship Management On Twitter
I ran my first marathon on October 3, 2004 at the age of 43. I’d been a casual runner my whole life, but always thought that running a marathon was something “other” people did, and certainly not something an old fart like me could even consider. In 2003 I was working at North Dakota State University when a colleague of mine, Joe Mike Jones, mentioned in casual conversation that he had run two marathons when he was in his 40’s. I knew then that if Joe Mike could do it, so could I.
As I learned how to train for a marathon, I discovered the biggest barriers to accomplishing this goal were between my ears. It’s amazing what your body can do once your mind gets with the program. I learned a lot about how to train from a good book by Hal Higdon, but I learned the most from two very gracious women that let me crash their party and train with them. They taught me much of what I know today about how to prepare for a marathon.
I really enjoyed that first marathon, so much so that I set a goal to run 10 marathons before I turned 50. I pursued my goal with determination and ran my 7th marathon in May 2007 and my 8th marathon in June of 2007, only two weeks apart. That summer I was training for marathons 9 and 10 when the wheels feel off my bus.
For the next three years, I struggled to run even 5 miles, never fully recovering from the effects of my injury. It was very discouraging, but I never gave up, never quit, never lost hope. Even though my body kept telling me “game over,” I always believed that I would eventually find a way to recover and get back on track.
I ran my 9th marathon on December 4, 2011 and just completed my 10th on April 29, 2012. I’m already 50 now, so technically I did not accomplish my goal, but that’s not the story I’m telling myself.
My 10th marathon was The Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon, and it was an extremely well organized and very moving event. Race day was warm, humid, and rainy – very challenging for a heavy runner like me – so I was totally wasted by mile 20. But as I struggled through those last 6.2 miles of the race I reflected on how thankful I was to be alive and healthy, and I was equally thankful that I was able to participate in a tribute to the 168 innocent people that lost their lives to domestic terrorism in my home state of Oklahoma on April 19, 1995.
It took me 7 years to accomplish that goal. My next goal is to stay healthy and continue running at least one marathon a year until I am selected via the lottery to run in the NYC Marathon (I don’t see myself ever qualifying for the Boston Marathon). I did not get selected this year, but hopefully sometime in the next few years I will get selected and have a chance to accomplish this new goal.
In June, I’ll start training for The Biz Johnson Marathon in October 2012 .
What’s your goal accomplishment story? Have you struggled through difficult circumstances to achieve a goal that really mattered to you? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!
Related Posts:
I’m doing a presentation today about Inbound Marketing for the WordPress Reno group. I’ve spoken about Inbound Marketing, Social Business, and Personal Branding many times before, but I am particularly excited about this presentation because the audience understands the value of blogging. For those of you that have heard “blogging is dead,” keep in mind that you did not hear that from Google, which still very much values and rewards sites with active blogs that produce relevant and socially shared content. If you don’t have a blog, you don’t have an engine of relational capacity; therefore, your site can only practice outbound marketing.
Related Posts:
Inbound Marketing: Picking The Right People To Help
I had coffee this morning with a local small business owner interested in learning more about how to use social media for business. The first thing I did was search on his name, and his business website ranked number three in my Google search. I was impressed that his website has a blog, which gives him the opportunity to practice inbound marketing, but his most recent blog post was April 2011.
He asked for my advice about a social media agency he was considering hiring to do some work for him. I Googled the agency and explained my concerns. The advice I gave him and always give others is in line with Michael Brito’s counsel from his book Smart Business, Social Business:
If an agency truly is a social media agency, examining the website closely should validate it. Are they blogging? Using Twitter? Does their content make any sense? Is their website optimized with social functionality with social bookmarks, Twitter, and Facebook? Simple observations such as these help narrow the focus and separate social media agencies from ones who just add social media as an add-on service. There is an important distinction between the two, because agencies that are socially proficient should be very active on Twitter, blogging, and also have some level of Facebook presence. (pp. 136-137).
These criteria are why I never hesitate to recommend The Abbi Agency to folks here in Reno. This agency practices every solution they sell, and Abbi Whitaker leads the way for her team by contributing blog posts and running her own twitter account and professionally personal Facebook page. She employs folks like Constance Aguilar and Nicole Rose Dion. – real digital citizens. Abbi gets it because she is personally immersed in it.
Google is a learning machine. It knows the people in your market who know what they are doing because those folks have taught Google that they understand social business. Ask your friends for advice, then always consult Google.
Related Posts:
Inbound Marketing: Picking The Right People To Help
I love Redbox! At 9:57 am this morning, I posted a question to @redbox asking how to resolve a problem I encountered this morning. I got a response to my tweet one minute later, at 9:58 am, from @redboxcare telling me to e-mail them to request a refund. I sent the e-mail at 10:03 am, and by 10:06 am they had responded to tell me the issue was resolved. WOW!!
This was VERY impressive customer relationship management (CRM), especially considering the problem was my fault and not theirs. I am now not simply a satisfied customer, I am a raving fan of Redbox. No regrets at all about cancelling my Netflix account and spending my money with Rebox instead.
What do you think? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!
Related Posts:
ATT Has Twitter’s Number For Impressive Customer Service
The process of leadership flourishes when people assume responsibility for the choice to pursue substantive changes that enhance a shared purpose. This process is potent when its participants have hope – the belief that one knows how to perform and is willing to direct and sustain consistent effort to accomplish goals that matter. Hope requires three steps from leadership:
1. Help identifying meaningful goals that really matter
2. Help understanding what it takes to achieve those goals
3. Encouragement to assume responsibility for investing effort
The first two steps toward hope are relatively straightforward, but it’s probably where most leadership surprisingly flounders. Do the people in your group know what really matters to the long term success of your organization? Do they know the most important things they need to do on a daily basis to help the organization thrive? Do they understand how and why their daily behavior makes a difference? How do you know?
The third step won’t happen without the first two, but even when the first two steps have been done well, it’s no guarantee that everyone will care and then choose to put forth effort to perform. Leadership can never provide hope because ultimately hope is an individual choice that involves uncertainty, risk, responsibility, patience, perseverance, and fear.
Leadership lives and dies on its ability to help people move forward through fear in the right direction, in the right ways. When we commit to the process of leadership, we can never be responsible for the hope of those we engage with, but we must always hold ourselves accountable.
Related Posts:
Three Beliefs Leaders Hold About Employees That Cause Silence
The April 2012 Leadership Development Carnival is out and as always, it’s packed with links to great blog posts. The heavy lifting this month was done by Tanmay Vora of QAspire, with the continued stellar support of Dan McCarthy at Great Leadership. My contribution this month is entitled “The Difference Between Leadership and Management.”
I usually find good material from a blogger new to me, like this article entitled “The Adaptability Paradox” by Linda Fisher Thornton. So take a few minutes to browse what Tanmay has assembled for us and see if you can find something new to help your own leadership development.
Posts
What I have learned Silence your body to listen to your words Silence your tongue to listen to your thoughts Silence your thoughts to listen to your heart beating Silence your heart to listen to your spirit And silence your spirit to listen to His spirit In silence, you leave many and be with the One Mama Maggie Gobran, August 12, 2011 Global Leadership Summit
One of my former students, Corey Ryan, forwarded this announcement to me today. If you are interested, contact Corey directly at the e-mail provided at the end of this post. Thanks, Corey!
Position: Part-Time Marketing/Social Media Intern
Company Overview:
Barnard, Vogler & Co. has a long history of providing a full range of accounting, auditing, consulting and tax services to clients in the northern Nevada area. The firm was founded by J. Richard Barnard who acquired a small one-man public accounting practice from a retiring practitioner. Now, forty years later, the company has grown into one of northern Nevada’s largest local independent accounting firms and is 100% owned by professionals who practice full time in our Reno office. The firm combines the depth of experience and breadth of knowledge found at the big national firms with the independent critical thinkingand personal service of a local firm.
Nature and Scope:
We are seeking a Marketing/Social Media Intern to assist in the launch and maintenance of a social media campaign. The ideal candidate will have a thorough understanding of the major social media platforms (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.) as well as familiarity with writing/developing a blog. The candidate will develop/optimize sites for social media, create social media marketing content, work closely with members of the firm to develop blog content, and champion social networking initiatives. In addition, he/she will also assist in the proposal process, sales pipeline maintenance, and various other functions as required. This
position requires a self motivated individual who works well independently and has the ability to effectively communicate his/her goals and objectives. Because social media is relatively new to the firm, the ideal candidate will work closely with others to design processes, establish a universal understanding of the initiative throughout the firm, and assist in the overall change management function.
Minimum Qualifications : Requirements - Required and/or Preferred
Minimum Education:
Junior or senior level undergraduate in related field, or equivalent
experience and qualifications. Preference will be given to those who
have completed Dr. Simmon's course on personal branding.
Minimum Experience:
Thorough understanding of the various social media platforms.
Exposure to one or several blog platforms (Wordpress, Blogger, Etc.)
Basic understanding of accounting firm operations and marketing
activities.
Knowledge / Background / Experience:
Proficient in MS Office Word, Excel, and PowerPoint (HTML coding
a plus). Excellent written/verbal communication skills.
Other Qualifications:
Must be energetic, organized, accurate, flexible, and willing to manage
various projects at once. Must have the ability to be a positive team
member, encourage marketing efforts and effectively communicate
marketing vision.
Contact Corey Ryan at the e-mail below for more information or to apply
I turned 50 last week, so to celebrate we took a short trip to South Lake Tahoe. We are so blesseed to have this world class resort within an hour's drive or our home. The weather was cool and windy, but sunny and beautifu. Here are a few pictures from our trip.
A few pictures from a day with my son's class on a school field trip to Virginia City, Nevada. Visted a mine, museums, and took a ride on the railroad. Fascinating history. Love this country, but it was cold!
I'm creating a twitter hashtag for members of my church in Reno, Nevada. The hashtag is #gracechat . Hashtags are a great way to organize conversations in Twitter among people with shared interests. So, for example, this week Dan asked us to think about doubt and then to tweet our thoughts. If you will include the hashtag #gracechat somewhere in the body of your tweet, then we can all see what each other's comments simply by clicking on #gracechat when we are in twitter or whatever program we use to access twitter.
This week the topic is doubt, but this hashtag can be used anytime anyone in the Grace Church community wants to organize a topical discussion on Twitter.
You can follow hashtag organized chats easily from either Twitter, Hootsuite, or a program like TweetChat. An easy way to do this is to set up a separte stream in Hootsuite just for #gracechat .
Give it a try!
Below is the text of an e-mail request from Dan. If you think you have something that he is looking for, contact Dan directly. How cool would it be to get your story in his book?!!
I'm looking for success stories from employees who have 0-7 years in a company (preferably a large company) for a new book I'm writing on workplace success. I'm looking for younger employees who have done activities at work that have made them stand out and advance in the workplace. I'm only looking for people that are currently employed.
I'm especially interested in employees who have:- Switched roles inside their company without getting any backlash by their current manager
- Turned their passion (inside or outside of their company) into a new position at work
- Found ways to network with key executives
- Gotten compliments by the way they dress and behave at work
- Started a new business on the job or helped their company enter a new market
- Had their online profiles (what they published, their picture, etc) effect the way they were treated in the workplace for better or worse
- Exhibited teamwork that has led to a promotion or more responsibilities
- Gained more visibility at work with more people knowing who they are
- Developed cross-generational relationships
- Challenge themselves in a new way, which led to a new opportunity
- Became the go-to-expert at work for a specific skill or on a topic and then sought after internally for that ability/expertise
Please let me know asap.
Thanks!- Dan--Dan Schawbel
Managing Partner, Millennial Branding, LLC
2010 Inc. Magazine 30 Under 30
#1 International Bestselling Author of Me 2.0
BusinessWeek / Wall Street Journal / Forbes / Metro Columnist
Brad Ingber of Target contacted me and asked for my help in getting the word out about full-time job and internship opportunities with Target in Las Vegas. He told me they have hired UNR graduates in the past for these and they have done well, which I was glad to hear. I've known students that have gone through the Target management training programs and they loved it. My impression is they run a very good training program so I am very happy to recommend them. The position announcements are below and Brad's contact information is at the bottom.
FULL TIME JOB DESCRIPTION
JOIN US AS AN EXECUTIVE TEAM LEADER
Executive Team Leader: Full-Time -Video
About This Opportunity
Use your business, leadership and people skills to inspire exceptional performance. Maximize sales and profits for your Target store. Ensure great guest service and team member satisfaction. Create a fast-paced, energetic environment that delivers a consistent Target brand experience for team members and guests.
Use your skills, experience and talents to be a part of groundbreaking thinking and visionary goals. As an Executive Team Leader in Training, you'll take the lead as you…
- Drive sales by overseeing the guest service and merchandising of two to three departments with sales ranging from $2 - $9 million
- Act as leader on duty, as well as opening and closing the store on assigned days
- Assist with recruiting and hiring of your team
- Receive extensive training to help you become a strong store executive leader
- Ensure great service by interacting with guests and team members
- Strive to achieve sales goals and maintain budget controls
Requirements
- 4-year college degree
- Supervisor level experience
- Proven conflict management skills
- Ability to communicate clearly and effectively in all situations with great interpersonal skills
- Flexible work hours including some nights and weekends
- Strong cognitive skills, including problem analysis, decision making, financial and quantitative analysis
Benefits
Eligible team members will receive one of the best earnings packages anywhere, including competitive pay, all-around insurance coverage, 401(k), flexible scheduling, training and development and many other perks and benefits. Target is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and is a drug-free workplace.
About Target®
Expect the Best. At Target, we have a vision: to become the best - the best culture and brand, the best place for growth and the company with the best reputation. We offer an inclusive, collaborative and energetic work environment that rewards those who perform. We deliver engaging, innovative and on-trend experiences for our team members and our guests. We invest in our team members' futures by developing leaders and providing a breadth of opportunities for professional development. It takes the best to become the best, and we are committed to building a team that does the right thing for our guests, shareholders, team members and communities.
Minneapolis-based Target Corporation serves guests at stores nationwide and at Target.com. Target is committed to providing a fun and convenient shopping experience with access to unique and highly differentiated products at affordable prices. Since 1946, the corporation has given 5 percent of its income through community grants and programs like Take Charge of Education®.
INTERNSHIP JOB DESCRIPTION
Executive Team Leader: Internship - Video
Executive Intern
· The objective of the Executive Internship is to give you an overview of Target Stores’ Operations and company programs while strengthening your leadership skills, enabling you to be an effective executive and strategic business partner for the stores pyramid. As a Stores Executive Intern, you will receive support of all areas within a store as you develop your leadership skills in our three part program: Target Fundamentals, Basic Leadership, and Hands-on Special Project.
Skills we’re looking for:
· History of academic success
· All majors are encouraged to apply
· Participation in school or extracurricular activities and experience in leadership roles
· Ability to communicate clearly and effectively in all situations
· Strong organizational skills with the ability to multitask
· Problem-solving skills, assertiveness and strong initiative
· Team-oriented thinking
· Desire to learn about a career in retail management
· Leadership and strong decision making skills
Training and Support we offer:
· 10 week internship program
· 400 total hours
· Paid training and opportunity to receive school credit
Follow your Internship - Imagine an offer to start a career where you will:
· Receive 6 of training in our Business College Program
· Manage a $10-15 million+ work center
· Oversee the staffing development, and retention of 25-40+ team members
· Strive to achieve financial success for you and your store
· Be on a career path to run a $30-50+ million business with 200-400 team members within 3-5 years
612-696-5591
Below is a message from Ski and Eric at NSET on the new running groups that start this Saturday. This is a great group to run with – people of all skill levels including beginners. Bret
NSET New Year Baby (runners, run/walkers, walkers)!!!
We realize how difficult it is to get started with your New Year’s resolution. The Answer is NSET. We would like to invite you to come be part of our Northern Sierra Endurance Training family. Save this information or just go to our website: www.nset1.org for your waiver to get started.
This group will start preparing you for your 1st 5K, 1st 10K and look to train for Rock N River 1/2 Marathon in May. We will have seminars in: using the training schedule, shoe and equipment, nutrition, stretching/injury prevention and race preparation.
Start Date: Saturday, January 15th
Time: 7:45 a.m.
Location: Eclipse Running Store (Corner of Lakeside and McCarran)
Any questions just email our two coaches:
Coach: Stacie DeRushe Email: staciederushe@yahoo.com
Coach: Richard Bartholet Email: richardb@unr.edu
See everyone on Jan 15th!!!
Cheers Eric
The 24HourFitness on Sky Mountain Drive is the worst health club I've ever been a member of in the last 30 years. I had to leave the club today BEFORE I could finish my workout because their facilities are not adequate. They don't have near enough treadmills, and 12% of the ones they have are broken and have been broken for several weeks. Today there was a line three deep to get on an open treadmill at 10 am. I don't have time for that.
When I toured the club, the sales person that gave me a tour told me the peak times for the gym were between 4 pm and 7 pm, and even then she had never seen all the treadmills full. I've been a member about one month, always go in the morning, and this is the second time I've not been able to get a machine. Obviously, either the salesperson lied to me or she does not know her product well enough to be selling it.
I tried to speak to the club manager, Jessica, today before I left, but she was not in her club.
24HourFitness wasted my time today, and I don't appreciate that at all. In a service business like theirs, that is totally unacceptable. If I had known how low their operational standards were, I would not have signed up for a 2 year membership.
I'll keep you posted on www.bretlsimmons.com where I will write more about their operatonal medicority and lack of a sense of urgency in serving their guests.
Balloons from the Great Balloon Races in Reno landed in our neighborhood this morning. Some glided right over our home and a few landed just down the street. What a surprise!
Don't miss our final speaker in the series of free social media public events we have hosted this year. Scott Armstrong, CEO of Dibbs, will talk not only about the new app he and his partners are developing for the Iphone, but also about the challenges and joys of being an entrepreneur. This is event is also part of NCET eWeek and The UNR College of Business bWeek.
As always, this event is free and open to the public. Details:Thursday, September 16, 6-7:30 pmWells Fargo Auditorium of the UNR Knowledge Center (lower level)
Parking available in the Whalen Parking Complex at 15th and Virginia St. Moderator: Dr. Bret L. Simmons, UNR College of Business
Co-Host: Kathleen Carrico, Nevada Small Business Development Center
Co-Host: Jim McClenahan, UNR Extended StudiesIf you have any questions, please call 682-9163, leave a detailed message, and I will return your call as soon as possible. See you there!
Don't miss our next social media public event! Join us as Esteban Kolsky shares his thinking on why and how to conduct a social media readiness assessment for your business. Mr. Kolsky is the Principal and Founder of ThinkJar, an advisory and research think-tank focused on Customer Strategies. He will be a featured presenter at SM@RT 2010 this December in Reno.
To learn more about Esteban Kolsky, visit http://www.estebankolsky.com/
6-7:30 pm, Tuesday, July 27, Wells Fargo Auditorium of the UNR Knowledge Center. Park in the Whelan Parking Garage or metered parking, 15th and Virginia. Walk across the street to the lower level of the new UNR Knowledge Center. This event is free and open to the public.
Last year, I was in Spain on the 4th of July. This year, I was in London.
I LOVE London. There is history, culture, and fun around every corner. It is a VERY diverse city both in terms of it's citizens and it's visitors. There are people here from every corner of the world. This is a fabulous country, and the British are wonderful people. Still, I firmly believe that the US is the greatest nation on the planet. I'm very grateful to be an American, and very mindful that when I travel abroad I am an ambassador for my country. I always feel a tremendous sense of responsibility for my behavior because I want to represent my country and it's people as well as I possibly can. It really is an honor and a privilege to be an American. I'm sure that sounds pretty sappy, but it's too easy to take what we have and who we are for granted. One of the things I enjoy the most about traveling abroad is reflecting back on what I have to return home to.
The weather in Bilbao, Spain was lousy the three weeks I was there recently. Two Friday's ago, another faculty member gave me a copy of a novel called "The Girl That Played With Fire." I started it at 2 pm that Friday afternoon and by noon Saturday I had read all 640 pages. I rarely read novels, and I don't recall ever finishing one in a day.
Unfortunately, the book she gave me was the second book in a three book series. Ugh. So the following Monday I made a trek to Bilbao to find one of the few stores that sold books in English and payed WAY too much for the first book in the series, "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo." I also read it's 600 plus pages in a single day. There is an AMAZING bookstore two buildings down from my dorm here in Spain called Waterstones. The place is massive and the collection of books is impressive. Today I bought the final book in the series, "The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest." It is 743 pages long, and I doubt I will finish it in one day. Oddly enough, I don't think the first two books were that great. I am surprised that they have become such huge bestsellers. But, I have read two novels in two days, something I have never done before in my life, so there is more to it than just having lots of time on my hands. The stories in each had some gaping flaws, but they were nonetheless very compelling. But what hooks you in these books are the characters Stieg Larsson has crafted, namely that darn Lisbeth Salander and her buddy Mikael Blomkvist. In between consuming tons of coffee and sandwiches (which we now know must be big in Sweden), they are very interesting as they solve mysteries and chase some very bad men. I read novels only once every few years, and despite the fact that they really are not all that good, I am enjoying the heck out of these.After three weeks in Bilbao, Spain, I am now in London for the next four weeks teaching International Organizational Behavior through my own College of Business at The University of Nevada, Reno. I love Spain, but the weather in Bilbao was disappointingly bad the three weeks I was there. I did not get to lay on the beach even one day :(
I've traded my quite, comfortable apartment with a view of the beach in Spain for a small, noisy dorm room on the campus of the University of London. I'm sure glad I packed plenty of ear plugs because a good night's sleep would otherwise be hard to come by. But I LOVE London, and the location of the dorms is excellent. Characteristic of London, around every corner are coffee shops, pubs, great places to eat, and often good shopping and historical sites. I will be here for a month, and I'm hoping to walk (not take the tube) all around town. My first night here was spent eating fish and chips (check, got that done) with mashed peas washed down by a delicious cask ale at the pub around the corner. I don't see much more fish and chips in my future, but alas, the same is probable not true of real ale. If you've never had ale pumped up fresh from the cask, you don't know what you are missing - it is delicious. And much to my delight, the pubs are non-smoking! While the traditional food in Spain is hands-down better than traditional food in the UK, I personally could never fully enjoy it because EVERY place I ever ate in Spain was full of smoke. Here in London, I can enjoy the food and atmosphere and not have to take a shower to wash the stink off me when I get home. Although noisier, the dorm room is also much better for working than the apartment. I have fast, reliable internet access and a comfortable desk, something I did not have in Spain. So who knows, I might even get a bit of work done :)
Here are a few pictures of the USAC group gathering the Thursday night before the end of the term tomorrow. Most of the students are pictured as well as most of the staff. Ibon, Maria, Aranxta, Marne (not pictured) and the rest of the USAC staff are just fantastic. This is a diverse group of students from all over the US. Most are off for home on Saturday, but some will be back for the second term. They will get to experience sunny, warm, and vibrant Getxo. Even though the weather was not good, it was once again great to be in Spain. I love this place. Off to London on Saturday!
I am trying to eat better this summer in Spain than I did last year. I am staying away from the fresh (and delicious) breads and pastries and eating lighter. I fix myself a three egg omelet for breakfast with Spanish Ham and cheese (yummy), I have lunch meat and cheese (no bread) for lunch, and usually a salad for dinner. I treat myself to some of the delicious fruit they have here for desert, and it would be a shame to come to Spain and not drink the wine.
Spain is famous for it's Rioja region of wines. The red's are more popular, but my favorite is an inexpensive white wine called Diamante. It is quite sweet and one of my favorite white wines ever (I am NOT a wine connoisseur by any stretch). I can't find it back home so I drink a glass almost daily the three weeks I am here in Spain - it is that good. I was going to save my beer tasting until I got to London because Spain is not famous for it's beer. Most of what you find in the store is imported, with a very good selection of German beers. But I saw this beer the other day named Pagoa, a basque beer, and decided to give it a try. Again I am not a beer buff, but it is as good as any pilsner I've ever had. If you can find this beer, give it a try - I bet you will like it.
Don't miss our next social media panel discussion! This one will feature local business people that are practicing inbound marketing on their websites and through social media. Learn from their experience about what works, what does not, and why you should get started using social media to market your own business. Come with your questions!
Our panel features:Alice Heimanhttp://aliceheiman.com/ Kristy Crabtree
http://kristycrabtree.com/Larry Rickman
http://www.dream2clean.com/Ron Bell
http://renohomevoices.com/Co-host and moderator: Dr. Bret L. Simmons, www.bretlsimmons.com
Co-host: Kathy Carrico, Nevada Small Business Development CenterThursday, May 13, 6-7:30 pm, Wells Fargo Auditorium of the UNR Knowledge Center. Park in the Whalen parking garage or metered parking at 15th and Virginia. Walk directly across the street to the UNR Knowledge Center. The Wells Fargo Auditorium is on the south side of the lower level. This event is FREE and open to the public. Call Dr. Bret Simmons, 682-9163, if you have questions. Link to Map: http://bit.ly/aNZRY7
The Sparks Chamber of Commerce is a fantastic chamber. Join us for lunch next Wednesday when I will be speaking on social media and specifically content marketing. See the flyer for details or visit this link:
http://www.sparkschamber.org/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=86
