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NY to LA First-Class Airfares Plummet

Virgin America has substantially lowered rates for first-class seats from New York to Los Angeles. The Wall Street Journal recently reported their highest price at $699 versus several times that amount from competitors. Their presence has also lowered coach fares on that route. (We have no connection to Virgin America).

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Speakers 2.0 - The Evolution of the Speaking Industry by Jim Carroll

Jim Carroll is a Promenade Futurist and Author of the new book: Ready, Set, Done: How to Innovate When Faster is the New Fast

The business of speaking has evolved dramatically in the last five years, have you noticed?

It used to be event planners would spend quite a bit of time planning for next year’s annual conference. A committee would begin a slow, careful, and routine process of planning a program agenda, which would include finding a celebrity speaker or two to fill the agenda. Year in, year out, they’d carefully follow the same old process. Often, they’d end up with the same old conference.

Today, of course, faster is the new fast, and we are witnessing a different role for both the speakers and the bureaus that represent them. Let’s call it strategic knowledge delivery as we are helping organizations to get the right knowledge in the right place, at the right time, for the right purpose. Events have evolved from, well, events, to critical get-togethers that help a company, association or organization adapt to sudden new realities.

Today, a company might find itself in the midst of a rapid product launch. After all, product lifecycles are collapsing. (Just look at your iPod, and think of the rapid changes occurring in the consumer electronics industry!) There’s now a new requirement for fast knowledge; they need to pull together their sales force quickly, update them on the forthcoming marketing plans and sales strategy, and give them a strong motivational push out the door. They call a speakers bureau, and quickly line up a retail expert, an expert on selling strategies, and a top motivational speaker to boot.

Oh and they need these people in two weeks!

For the rest of this article, visit articles section of www.promenadespeakers.com

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Four US Senators and Representative Compare Universal Health Plans

Recently, the New School hosted a panel on Universal Health Coverage, featuring competing pieces of national legislation. We attended the event, which included Former Senator Bob Kerrey, Current Senators Ron Wyden, Bob Bennett, Richard Burr, Tom Coburn and Representative John Conyers, Jr. One Senator is a medical doctor, about to return to private practice, a welcome perspective. Three of the four plans engage private health plans. We summarized the plans and discussion. Let us know if you’d like a copy by e-mailing your contact information to mtaubleb@promenadespeakers.com .

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"Band-Aids" for the Boring Office Holiday Party

Ahh, the holiday party, making small talk with people you barely know or huddling with a small circle of associates… trying to maintain that conversation over the loud band. Probably, you’re listening to the same senior management speeches about what kind of year your firm had. Wondering if they’ll credit your department for their success.

If you want to genuinely build momentum for next year, consider a speaker or corporate entertainer. Someone who can “break the ice”, make everyone laugh, peak into the future or build excitement about your accomplishments. Contact us for ideas.

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Women's Leadership Exchange Takes New York

Congratulations to Women’s Leadership Exchange for their recent successful NY event. We attended and were impressed by the quality of their speakers and participants’ efforts to build each other’s careers. To attend one of their executive development and networking events in your city, visit www.womensleadershipexchange.com

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Keeping Up With The Future

If you like keeping up on global trends like us, a fascinating magazine is “The Futurist”. They cover just about any important industry and profession plus many coming out of nowhere. All with a refreshingly non-political perspective. Visit www.wfs.org

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About Promenade:

Your unbiased source for professional speakers, trainers and executive coaches. Promenade specializes in the insurance, banking, financial services, auditing and healthcare fields. We are not tied to "exclusive" celebrities, so there is no conflict of interest in our thoroughly researched recommendations. For health and insurance industry experts, visit our newest site: www.allhealthspeakers.com

Please share this newsletter with a colleague and feel free to submit future articles. To re-use articles, kindly advise where and when they will be published and include proper attribution to the author and our bureau: www.promenadespeakers.com.

For a free consultation, contact 718-789-1136 or mtaubleb@promenadespeakers.com.