Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "perspectives 2009"

Perspectives 09: A day of controversial views

2009-10-10T00:52:33Z

It was a day of speeches, but it was anything but dull. At the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s Perspectives 2009 event, no topic was too controversial. Really. One of the speakers even quoted Chairman Mao Tse-Tung.

Five heavy-hitters in a variety of fields, including Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, took the stage at the Sacramento Convention Center Friday and delivered speeches that were decidedly energetic and provocative.

The high-profile speakers spoke to about 2,000 people during the chamber’s event, which was titled “An American Experience.” Rice shared the spotlight with entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki, finance expert Jane Bryant Quinn, author James Bradley and creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson.

Rice praised the private-sector, saying it should lead economic growth. The private sector is “creative, innovative and risk-taking,” she said. By contrast, Washington, D.C., cannot be described with those three words, she said.

Private sector-led growth is crucial to global economic growth, she said, adding that if the U.S. “does not stand for free trade, no one will stand for free trade.”

Quinn’s speech provided a sharp contrast to Rice’s remarks. Quinn said the nation’s recession is coming to a close “almost entirely” because of the billions of dollars President Barack Obama’s administration put into the economy. “Sometimes the government is the solution, not the problem,” she said.

Kawasaki turned the typical power-point presentation upside down with plenty of controversial statements. He promoted the concept of revolution as he gave pointers to the audience on producing innovative work. When you’re creating something new and different, you’re allowed to have a first version that’s simultaneously revolutionary and flawed, he said. “Don’t worry, be crappy,” he advised.

In another example, he urged innovators to not get hung up on marketing to one particular audience. He quoted Mao to illustrate his point: “Let 100 flowers blossom.” You don’t know which kinds of people are going to embrace your product, he said, so don’t think about your market narrowly.

Also on Friday morning, about eight demonstrators gathered outside the convention center, holding signs opposing Rice's policies. One sign referred to Rice as a “Bloody War Monger.”

Asked to comment on the presence of protesters, Metro Chamber President Matt Mahood said: “It’s great. It’s what freedom of speech is all about.”

Inside the building, audience members chatted with each other during lunch. Tiffany Stokes, a student ambassador for Cosumnes River College, attended the event with other student leaders in the Los Rios Community College system. She said she found Kawasaki’s presentation helpful and plans to use his points in a presentation to fellow students.

Kawasaki was also popular with attendee Mike Motroni, the chief financial officer of Nor-Cal Beverage Company. Motroni described Kawasaki’s presentation as “dynamic” and “enjoyable,” and also said he was looking forward to hearing Rice’s perspectives on international affairs.

The aim of Perspectives is to “bring world-class figures to Sacramento, so business and civic leaders can hear their points of view,” Hal Silliman, communications director of the Sacramento Metro Chamber, said. Another goal is to familiarize the leaders with Sacramento, he said.

The event also provides attendees with an opportunity to network and host customers and clients, Mahood said.

Businesses, civic leaders and elected officials attend Perspectives, Mahood said, describing the attendees as the “who’s who in the business community.”

Metro Chamber officials said the poor economy affected this year’s turnout. Silliman estimated about 2,000 people turned out for Friday’s event. About 2,400 people attended the event last year, said Mahood, noting that the best year for Perspectives was 2006 with an attendance of 3,500 people.

Mahood declined to release figures for the amount of revenue the event generated through ticket sales this year. He noted that the chamber’s budget is about $5 million per year.

The revenue from the event goes toward the chamber’s work and advocacy throughout the year, he said, adding that the group’s work includes policy advocacy, economic development efforts and promotion of the Sacramento region.

Photos by Kati Garner.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Sacramento Press contributor Kati Garner contributed to this report.

Perspectives 2009 welcomes VIPs

2009-10-09T04:33:32Z

The Sacramento Metro Chamber office has been buzzing this week as Chief Executive Officer Matt Mahood and the rest of the staff finished last-minute details for their big annual event.

One of the most important things they've done to prepare for Friday's "Perspectives 2009: An American Experience" is to work closely with each of the nationally recognized guest speakers.

Surrounded by signed and framed programs from past Perspectives, Mahood talked earlier this week by phone with speakers preparing for their presentations.

The work continued Thursday when speakers started flying in from around the country and Metro Chamber staff became chaperones for the VIPs. Such behind-the-scenes work does more than ensure all the speakers enjoy their time in California's capital. It also has won the city good PR from very high-profile people, from former secretaries of state Colin Powell and Madeleine Albright to boxer Sugar Ray Leonard and CNN anchor Soledad O'Brien.

"Every time we have a speaker come here and they have a great experience, they go back and they tell people about Sacramento," Mahood said. "We dot all the i's and cross all the t's and make sure there's icing on the cake, so when they leave, they can say, 'Wow, Sacramento's really cool ... and they really know how to treat people well there.' "

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will headline at the 15th annual Perspectives, which runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Sacramento Convention Center, 1400 J St. The lineup also includes "Flags of Our Fathers" author James Bradley, venture capitalist Guy Kawasaki, personal finance guru Jane Bryant Quinn and creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson. Their presentations will share the theme of turning challenge and adversity into opportunity and even success.

Roughly 3,500 people have turned out for the forum in peak years, but the Metro Chamber expects only about 2,000 Friday due to the recession.

In the last 15 years, the event has brought many sought-after speakers to Sacramento. In 1995, its inaugural year, President George H.W. Bush and Dick Cheney, who would become vice president under Bush's son, shared their views. Arnold Schwarzenegger spoke in 2001, before he entered politics, and former U.S. Senator Bob Dole came here in 2006.

Speaker fees range from $10,000 for unknown guests to $200,000 plus expenses for former presidents and heads of state, who are flown in on private aircraft.

Metro Chamber staff greet guests at the airport and check them into luxury hotels. They will escort the speakers to the convention center for the event Friday, as well as to other VIP events and elsewhere around town.

Lawrence Summers, President Clinton's secretary of the treasury, was one of the guests who had positive things to say after his experience in Sacramento.

"He goes, 'Man, you guys should be doing this all over the country. This is such a great event,' " Mahood said. "I laughed, knowing how hard it is to do one."

Volunteers help at the event, but logistics are handled only by the Metro Chamber's staff of 25.

"The entire chamber staff is all hands on deck," said Mahood, who also serves as the organization's president.

The public affairs speakers forum was launched to mark the Metro Chamber's 100th anniversary. Since then, Perspectives has become the chamber's signature event, Mahood said. Speakers' rosters that included motivational speakers and people representatives from both of the two major political parties have grown to include entertainers and intellectuals.

Rice is returning for the second time. She first spoke at the event in 2000, before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and before she became President George W. Bush's national security advisor and later, secretary of state. At that time, Rice was a political science professor at Stanford University and Bush was running for president.

Now, she brings significant political experience and a high-level understanding of complex international and security issues, Mahood said.

"I think she comes back eight years later with a whole new perspective," he said.

Suzanne Hurt is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Perspectives 2009: An American experience to present Silicon Valley guru Guy Kawasaki

2009-08-05T18:12:59Z

SACRAMENTO–Perspectives 2009: An American Experience brings to Sacramento author and entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki—international technology guru, among America’s best business speakers and by Forbes’ calculation, the most influential Twitterer in the world.
Known as one of the top 50 bloggers with the web column: How to Change the World, Kawasaki’s expertise is grounded in the early days of the PC revolution in Silicon Valley, where as an Apple employee, he helped market the Macintosh in 1984 by creating passionate user-advocates for the brand.

“Business people attending Perspectives will enjoy not only a dynamic, out-spoken commentator but one who possesses keen insight into current day business practices,” said Matt Mahood, Metro Chamber president & CEO. “With Sacramento working on becoming a green and clean tech center, we can learn much from him.”
A venture capitalist, Kawasaki currently is managing director of Garage Technology Ventures, a seed-stage and early-stage venture capital fund. Other business ventures include Fog City Software that created an email and list server products and Alltop.com, an “online magazine rack” of popular topics on the web made successful by social networking tools such as Twitter.
Sharing his vision with irreverent wit, Kawasaki’s passion at mentoring entrepreneurs is another example of an American Experience that will be on display Oct. 9 at Perspectives. Like many of the other top Twitters, Kawasaki also ranks prominently—ninth place—on Forbes’ annual listing of the Internet’s most famous people. Although he’s been called a business legend, Kawasaki says that being a legend shouldn’t be a goal. “What you should do is create a great product or service—the goal is to change the world—if you do that, maybe you’ll be a legend.”
Guy Kawasaki’s newest book, Reality Check: The Irreverent Guide to Outsmarting, Outmanaging, and Outmarketing Your Competition is an all-in-one guide for starting and operating great organizations that ignore passing fads in business theory. He is also the author of nine books including The Art of the Start, which has become a highly acclaimed book for small business.
Since 1995, the Metro Chamber has introduced the region’s business people to some of the world’s most influential and world-renowned leaders including President George H.W. Bush, Gen. Colin Powell, Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Gov. Ann Richards, President Gerald Ford, Capt. Jim Lovell, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Perspectives was launched in celebration of the Metro Chamber’s 100th anniversary and century-long service to the community. Annually drawing an audience of nearly 2,500 people, the day-long program is informative and creates first-class networking opportunities for business and civic leaders.

The complete speakers lineup for Perspectives 2009: An American Experience comprises Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, NFL Hall of Famer/Fox Sports Analyst, Howie Long, Personal Finance Expert/TV Host Jane Bryant Quinn, Flags of Our Fathers Author James Bradley, Author/Entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki and returning emcee, Fox News Radio Host Tom Sullivan.

Perspectives will be held 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9 in the Sacramento Convention Center. Tickets are $195 for Metro Chamber members and $245 for the public. Tables of 10 are $1,950/$2,450. Tickets can be purchased online at the Perspectives website or via the events hotline at 916-444-1919.

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The Sacramento Metro Chamber is the largest, oldest and most prominent voice of business in the greater Sacramento area. Representing nearly 2,200 member businesses and business organizations in the six-county Sacramento region, the Metro Chamber serves as the region’s leading proponent of regional cooperation and primary advocate on issues affecting business, economic development and quality of life.

When citing the organization, please use our preferred name:
Sacramento Metro Chamber on first reference and Metro Chamber on second reference.