Motivational Speakers by FIVE STAR

Futurist and Keynote Speaker David Houle’s April 15th Post:Driving Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles

Driving Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles by Futurist and Keynote Speaker David Houle

April 15th, 2009

In the last column I wrote about the National Hydrogen Association annual conference and that it was both informative and generated unprecedented attendance from the public. One of the most exciting aspects of the conference was the opportunity to drive hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, a first for me. I drove three vehicles, and the experience was, in a word spectacular.

The first vehicle was the Daimler A-Class F-Cell from Mercedes. A small, compact car, the driving experience was incredible smooth, responsive and of course very quiet as there was no motor that needed muffling. It was unnerving to accelerate with no sound. The car handling was very tight and responsive. It handled like a dream and was the most fun I have had driving a compact car. Continue reading →

Futurist and Keynote Speaker David Houle’s April 9 Post: Hydrogen, the Fuel of the Future…

Hydrogen, the Fuel of the Future, Starts to Show up in the Present

byFuturist and Keynote Speaker David Houle

April 9th, 2009

Hydrogen has long been looked at as the ‘fuel of the future’. The general impression is that it will be a marketplace fuel in the future but not for a decade or more. Well, surprise, hydrogen is coming into the fuel marketplace today, albeit slowly.

Last week I attended the National Hydrogen Association annual convention in Columbia South Carolina. In addition to delivering a short keynote address and moderating a panel, I was there to learn as much as I could about this future fuel. I was fortunate to spend discussion time with, and listen to presentations by, some of the best and brightest from academia, corporations and governmental agencies on the subject of hydrogen. Continue reading →

How You Say Something is as Important as What You Say?

How You Say Something is as Important as What You Say? By Steve Gardner, Partner of FIVE STAR Motivational Speakers

Use these seven tips to improve your communication skills and be a better presenter

Every single time we open our mouths, we are trying to influence somebody-a boss, colleague, client, spouse, date, friend, child, parent.

In business, we may be trying to convince a banker to loan us money, a client to continue working with us or a potential customer to buy our product. In each case, the way we present our case matters. So, our results in nearly everything we do will be improved with more effective presentations. Continue reading →

Futurist and Keynote Speaker David Houle’s April 2 Post: While the Automotive Dinosaurs…

While the Automotive Dinosaurs of the 20th Century have Two Feet in the Tar Pit…..

by David Houle

The automotive industry of the 21st century is making promises and delivering on them. As I wrote in a column four months ago, if the federal government is thinking about spending tens of billions to prop up the remnants of last century’s automotive industry, it should also spend billions to support the innovative auto industry of this century. Our investments should be towards birthing the future, not just on keeping the dying on life support.

In recent emails, Elon Musk, the visionary entrepreneur and founder of Tesla Motors wrote about the progress his company has made at it looks to the future. In early March Tesla sold its 250th roadster. The purchaser writes about it here with wonder and pride. Tesla is now manufacturing 20 roadsters a week and will shortly increase to 30 a week. It has a paid waiting list of 1,000 which means that it is sold out through October. This comes at a time when the Big Three are still trying to get 2008 model cars off their lots. Continue reading →

Business and Motivational Speaker Chester Elton’s Latest Post:How Integrity Lifts Companies …

How Integrity Lifts Companies Above the Competition? by Leadership, Business and Motivational Speaker Chester Elton

April 02, 2009

The data shows that sometimes this week, nearly half of all businesspeople in North America will lie to a client, to a boss or to an employee. A recent survey of 13,000 employees reveals that fewer than two out of five (39 percent) say they trust senior management at U.S. companies. This economic collapse and the resulting lack of trust has left us edgy, nervous, suspicious, unsatisfied and searching.

A few years ago I wrote The Integrity Advantage with Harvard Business School researcher Dana Telford because after thousands of hours of interviews with executives and employees, I realized that it doesn’t matter what you do for a living – a used-car salesman or a Fortune 100 executive – or where you do it. The difference is how you do it: with integrity or without.

An advantage is gained when you have something that others lack. Today, as a surprising number of corporate leaders have abdicated the moral high ground in pursuit of money and power, individuals who maintained their integrity have a distinct business advantage. They realize that integrity works. Continue reading →

Economist and Keynote Speaker Jeff Thredgold’s Weekly Column:Limits

Limits

Written by Jeff Thredgold, CSP, President, Thredgold Economic Associates

Take a peek at the two charts below. The first illustrates annual budget deficits during most of the past 40 years in actual dollars. The second chart identifies annual budget deficits as they compared to the size of the enormous American economy, arguably the more important measure.

Both charts make it painfully clear that the new course of American government is indeed scary.

It wasn’t all that long ago that investors and the media complained of deficits run by the previous Administration, following four years of actual budget surpluses late in the Clinton era (kind of hard to believe now). Concerns at that time centered around the irresponsibility of running $150 billion – $400 billion deficits…and the impact that such deficits would have upon our children and grandchildren… Continue reading →

Motivational Speakers by FIVE STAR

Futurist and Keynote Speaker David Houle’s April 15th Post:Driving Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles