SELDI Podcast with Tony Williams

Greetings, Summit Leaders.   Rejoice! This day is a new day for us. "One we have never seen before and will never see again." How can we make the most of this day and impact others as we go?   Many people we meet have visions and goals for themselves and need encouragement now and then during the rough times and those seasons of life and career when challenges beset us. The greatest asse...

Greetings, Summit Leaders. We are ready for a breakthrough in our lives and business! Unity is a powerful attribute that makes a difference in life and business. Someone said, "A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken." Every great team, leader, company, or famil...

  Greetings, Summit Leaders.    I am encouraged by my conversations with Summit Leaders who describe themselves as "servant leaders." They are intentional in their thinking about their vision to have a positive impact on people.   One Summit Leader shares how she coached a group of high school lacrosse players following a career-ending injury. I asked her to recall someone from years ago...

Greetings, Summit Leaders.   Rejoice! Again, I say rejoice!     We have a great opportunity before us to experience what great leaders enjoy every day. They lead themselves in intentionally living purposeful lives.    A Summit Leader shared this quote, "Nothing so conclusively proves a man's ability to lead others as what he does from day to day to lead himself." Thomas J. Watson  ...

Greetings, Summit Leaders.   Change is inevitable and is the friend of great leaders.   Great leaders understand that change is necessary for growth.  They embrace change as being part of something new! "I am so grateful to be a part of 'I am doing something new. Now it springs forth. Do you not see it."   Perspective on change is vitally important. The mindset of gratitude dominate...

  Greetings, Summit Leaders.   Congratulations on the position you hold and the service you are providing!   This week, I asked a new group of IBM Garage leaders to answer these two questions. Do you believe you are supposed to be here in your role? Do you think it is an accident that you are here? Unanimously they all believe that they are supposed to be here.   They are correct in their belief,...

Greetings, Summit Leaders.   Rejoice in the new opportunities in front of us as leaders!   Our response is to be one of faith and boldness with confidence to move forward to more incredible accomplishments.   Some of our most significant accomplishments and impact can be inside the little opportunities. Don't despise the day of small beginnings. Be faithful to take the steps required of us.  ...

Greetings, Summit Leaders!   I love Summit Leaders!    They are some of the most dedicated, committed, and confident people I know.     Why is this possible? They have vision! Most of them have a written vision statement to keep focused on what matters most!   Now faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain about what you cannot see. We see our vision through the miracle of our minds and...

Greetings, Summit Leaders.   Rejoice! Again, I say rejoice.   Think about your gifts, talents, abilities, and skills. Think about the opportunities you have now to exercise them in serving and impacting others on your life and career journey.   We are here for such a time as this!   After the victory, when we experience success, we tend to drift in practicing the disciplines that positioned us for...

Greetings, Summit Leaders.   Congratulations!     You are emerging from some of the most challenging times in our lifetime. Your perseverance, patience, and faith all contributed to your ability to navigate the storm.   You persevered and adapted. You believed and encouraged others along the way.   Someone once said, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the evidence of things n...

Greetings, Summit Leaders!   I admire greatly the leaders who understand their calling and surrender to it.  Great leaders focus on serving others and step forward in faith.   In the development of their vision, the opportunities for more excellent works emerge.   Here is one vision statement I received last week for a member of "The Accelerate 150."  They are a group of leaders in colle...

Greetings, Summit Leaders.   Congratulations! You are on your way toward your vision. Discover and experience the "The Power of a Vision."   Finding our purpose in life begins with "vision"!   SELDI Career Principle # 1 "Vision is essential."   Definition" "How one sees or conceives of something. Showing competence in discernment or perception; and intellige...

Greetings, Summit Leaders.   This week I spoke with several Summit Leaders regarding their journey thus far in IBM and life. Two quotes came from them that I believe represent the mindset of Summit Leaders everywhere.   "I think it is going to be a fun adventure!" Summit Leader As he reflected on the challenges he overcame, the perseverance to keep going when things were tough. He asked...

Greetings, Summit Leaders. Today is the day of opportunity for us! We have the gifts, skills, talents, abilities, and know-how to become everything we envision for ourselves, IBM, and new customers! The timing is now. Be joyful that you are here for such a time as this! Take every opportunity before us. We must not delay, slow down, or back off. Great leaders hear the encouraging words of the batt...

Greetings, Summit Leaders. Be encouraged today if you are facing the impossible! Count it all joy when you face various trials knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance and let endurance have its perfect result so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing in life and career journey. Recall a situation that "impossible" is the only word to describe it. How did...

Greetings, Summit Leaders. Each of us has a pathway for our life and career journey. The exciting part of life is an awareness that there is a pathway for us as leaders. Life presents challenges, tests, and trials that often keep us from discovering our pathway. Every new job is a challenge - even for the most experienced leaders. Faith ignites the conviction, courage, and confidence needed to mak...

Greetings, Summit Leaders. Rejoice! There is hope for all who aspire to do more outstanding works of service. Hope for the future is one of the most empowering attributes great leaders exercise in their lives. "A leader is a dealer in hope." Napoleon Bonaparte There are several critical benefits of hope in our thinking. A leader's mental health matters immensely. Life events, disapp...

Greetings, Summit Leaders. Be encouraged, my friends, because you are preparing now for the best! I am always inspired when I speak with Summit Leaders and recently a group of IBM Summit Interns by their optimism about the future. As I listen to their stories and journey thus far, it is impressive to see the leadership attributes they developed during times of challenge and testing. Qualities such...

Greetings, Summit Leaders. Many people seek the experience of a lifetime. Advertising attempts to portray it in ads and campaigns and catchy slogans. Businesses promote the unique experience customers, and clients enjoy if they select their offerings and implement their solutions. The company that creates the "distinct experience" becomes the winner in the race for mindshare and market s...

Greetings, Summit Leaders. When we want to experience growth, obtain a higher goal, find purpose in life, and fulfillment, we look for leadership to help us on our way. People observe your leadership every day. Compassion, courage, and consistency are three qualities we see in leaders. Compassion is a quality that enables a leader to see with their heart and respond to another's circumstances...

Greetings, Summit Leaders. Rejoice! Again, I say rejoice as you continue your career journey. I recall a conversation with a Summit Leader in 2015. He said, "I want to be at IBM a long time!" He is now in a sales leadership role and committed to the career journey in IBM. He is like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, yielding fruit in its season and whose leaf does not wither, an...

Greetings, Summit Leaders. In part 1, we heard from a Summit Leader enjoying his first ten years at IBM and his vision for the next ten years. What's your strategy for resiliency? Great leaders focus on building a system in preparation for the inevitable challenges they know will come on their journey. "Yes, I know. It doesn't seem like it's been that long. I remember coming in...

Greetings, Summit Leaders. Rejoice! Again I say rejoice. Each of us has an opportunity to become master builders. We are in the process of building lives, careers, and business. One of the essential things needed is a strategy for building resilience for our life and career journey. We will face challenges and storms in life and careers requiring us to have a solid approach to weather the conditio...

Greetings, Summit Leaders. Today, in business, we see leadership displayed through genuine caring for each other. Our emotions are significant drivers in our life and career success. Someone once said that "faith, hope, and love will remain, but the greatest of these is love." Love is caring for another person. It is one of the most distinctive qualities of a leader. I am encouraged with...

Greetings, Summit Leaders. Congratulations on the skills and competencies you are developing in your life and career journey. Great leaders seek to develop new skills and talents to better equip them for serving in a more impactful way. One quality found in outstanding leadership is kindness. What does this quality look like in leadership? "Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear, an...