In Conversation: EXPO Preview with Lee Silber
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With the official announcement of our impressive Education Agenda, we simply couldn’t wait until EXPO to speak with some of the key participants and speakers for Education Day.
Up first in our pre-EXPO coverage is Lee Silber, award-winning motivational speaker and best-selling author of 19 books, including The Wild Idea Club. As a motivation and leadership expert, we knew we were asking the right guy when it came to networking advice. Read on to get Lee’s full list of tips and find out what he’s looking forward to most at EXPO.
About Lee: Lee is a surf shop owner who became the best selling author of 19 books. He started his first small business at the age of eleven and has since founded five others including a chain of retail stores and a corporate training company with clients that include the San Diego Padres, Marriott, Petco, Lucent, HP, GM, GE, and Proctor and Gamble. Silber has hosted his own radio talk show, was featured in USA Today and appeared on CNN. An award-winning speaker, Silber has given over 1,400 speeches to nearly 900,000 people around the world. Lee lives with his wife and two young sons in Mission Beach, California.
Q: Your top three networking tips for APEX members?
A: If you have ever watched a Sherlock Holmes movie or saw the television versions (especially “Sherlock” on the BBC) you will notice that the secret to Holmes’ incredible deductions is his observational skills. When it comes to networking, we can all be more attentive by looking for things to compliment the person we meet on, being a better listener, seeing the non-verbal clues, and most of all noticing the things we have in common with them and for ways we can work together.
Sherlock Holmes didn’t miss a thing. For us, we should work on really trying to remember people’s names when we first meet them. Holmes used something he called his “Mind Palace” as a way to remember important information. To do this we must pick something meaningful to us and label it in a way our brain can quickly recall. Maybe that means we attach a physical attribute to a person to help us recall their name (“Tall Tom” or “Sandy from San Diego”) to help us. It’s okay to ask someone to repeat their name if we forgot it, it shows we cared enough to want to remember it.
Collecting business cards are always a byproduct of attending an event like APEX. Most people don’t do much with these cards when they return to work the following week. To be extraordinary, follow-up with a nice note. As smart as he was, Sherlock Holmes’ social skills were not that good . . . but he was such a genius he got a free pass (most of the time) for his lack of tact. What if you combined your superior intellect with incredible manners and a mastery of following up with a clever or caring note?
I love what I do and I love what the people at APEX do so this is a match made in heaven.
Q: What is your favorite passenger surprise done by an airline?
A: For the people who work to make the in-flight experience enjoyable, they get very little thanks and a lot of complaints. They are there when we need them and they try their best to meet our every need–which are increasing exponentially. However, what we forget is their main function is our safety. Not many people can say they have been a part of a life-threatening problem when on a plane or a train. I can. The fact that it was my life that was threatened makes it even more personal (obviously).
As someone who travels over 100 days a year, I guess the percentages that I would find myself in trouble on a plane surely tilted my way. This is what happened. In 2007 I was working on two books at once and giving over 100 customized speeches a year. I was exhausted and I was out of shape. I let myself go from 185 pounds to 240 pounds . . . okay, 250. I was in Dallas rushing to make a connection and didn’t have time to eat, was sleep deprived, and as I said, in sad physical condition. To make a long story longer, I felt terrible and shortly after take-off I got up to use the bathroom to splash water on my face because I felt faint. I never made it that far. From what the flight attendant told me, I passed out and hit my head just shy of the bathroom. Everyone working that flight came to my aid and even though this flight didn’t serve food, they gave me their own sandwiches and other substantive items for nourishment and made feel comfortable and safe.
According to my doctor I was a walking time bomb and I was lucky that I passed out on a plane where I was able to have the help of caring professionals. That incident was a wake-up call for me and I have since lost a lot of weight and feel much better.
Q: What are you most looking forward to at APEX?
A: We often hear we should do what we love, which is true. But it’s also true we should love what we do. Most people would get nervous thinking about speaking in front of hundreds of people, but I can’t wait. When you know what you do can make a difference, there is no fear, only excitement. I love what I do and I love what the people at APEX do so this is a match made in heaven.
Make sure to catch Lee on Monday, September 15th from 11:40-12:30 for his address: What Next? Ways to Drive Leadership & Excel the Passenger Experience