From Jeeves and Wooster to Downton Abbey

I hope, like all of us here at Highclere (aka Downton Abbey), that you are rather excited about NBC’s announcement that they are making a “Downton Abbey” film.  Michael Edelstein,  president at NBC Universal International Studio, said that the movie is in the works although it is a logistical challenge to assemble the cast of 18 or 20 much loved characters into one time frame. Of course the largest and oldest “actor” has always been delighted to collaborate and to my eyes, even in old age, has never looked better.

Last week, Senator Kamala Harris, a Democrat from California, made headlines when Republican senators interrupted her at a hearing of the Senate Intelligence Committee while she interrogated Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The clip of the exchange went viral; journalists, politicians and everyday Americans debated what the shushing signified about our still sexist culture.

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” – Abraham Lincoln

You are reading this because you have been asked to create 'an experience'. Planning a conference can be a challenge, but it’s also a co-creation -- some would say it’s a collaborative work of art. Like a film director or curator it's your job to create the proper canvas for the top speakers and workshop leaders you want to showcase. It takes months and months of planning to do this well.

She’s back. Already.

Usually, the losing candidate does a vanishing act after the presidential election. Not Hillary Clinton. Last Tuesday she returned to the political fray. “If the election had been on October 27, I would be your president,” she told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in an interview in New York.

“I was on the way to winning,” she explained, “until the combination of [FBI Director] Jim Comey’s letter on October 28 and Russian WikiLeaks raised doubts in the minds of people who were inclined to vote for me but got scared off.”

The media elite will gather at a much-diminished White House Correspondents’ Dinner this week. The dinner grew to feature a glitzy parade of celebrities under President Obama, and has also become an increasingly controversial event. This is in large part due to the entertainment.

There is perhaps no greater investment than one made for your workforce. The ability to unlock the potential of the people that work for you has a greater ROI than any technological upgrade or cost savings program. This is especially the case for your sales force. As a result, consultants and think tanks invest large amounts of time researching the best way to motivate salespeople -- in many ways, sales motivation is the holy grail of revenue growth and productivity. Articles are published every year, each one claiming to have found the answer to what really motivates salespeople. 

(CNN) – Experts say we are “due” for one. When it happens, they tell us, it will probably have a greater impact on humanity than anything else currently happening in the world.

And yet, like with most people, it is probably something you haven’t spent much time thinking about. After all, it is human nature to avoid being consumed by hypotheticals until they are staring us squarely in the face.

Such is the case with a highly lethal flu pandemic. And when it comes, it will affect every human alive today.

Like many barriers in the workplace, the glass ceiling is one that has always been in corporate existence. While 21^st century women have really proved their ability and demanded equality, a stereotype still remains for those who have exceeded through levels of management or are in the process of currently doing so.

In 2017, there was a hyper focus on women in the workplace as March was “Honoring Trailblazing Women in Labor and Business”. WWSG is proud to represent a few who have really made their mark in their business societies. From secretaries to CEOs and minority students to organization Presidents, Founders, and CEOs, some of WWSG’s exclusive speakers can shed light over their experiences and inspire everyone following in their steps. Take a look at some of the most influential women who have shattered their own glass ceilings.

When super PACs backing 2016 presidential candidates announced their hauls this summer, it was hardly surprising that the 67 biggest donors who gave $1 million or more together accounted for more than three times as much money as the 508,000 smallest donors combined. Even some candidates with poll numbers then down in the single digits—Ted Cruz, Mike Huckabee, Rick Perry—were getting more than three-quarters of their outside funding from donations of $1 million or more. Welcome to the campaign new normal, where a handful of wealthy donors can be the ticket to the debate stage, or a retired neurosurgeon could outspend sitting and former governors and senators.