Filming a PledgeMusic video with Bishop Lamont

Bishop Lamont is one of my favorite people and clients I've had the honor of working with at Oniracom throughout our 15-year history.  As part of our marketing campaign to re-brand Bishop and release his album "The Reformantion," we are launching the album pre-order via PledgeMusic.  

In order to properly sell Bishop's fans on why they should participate in the Pledge campaign, we filmed a welcome video for the fans at our office.  Our long time friend & video production partner Luke Archer directed and edited the video which you can see below.

Bishop and I reviewed our script / talking points and game plan.  Essentially, we decided his tone and voice would be direct, excited and a little bit edgy.  

Bishop may have even cracked a smile from my terrible jokes.

The final result...

Bishop and I hanging at Oniracom.  Gotta love his Elvis shirt.

Goodbye Mr. Bottleneck

Jason Hartanov is a visionary.  I had the pleasure of collaborating with him during an all day off-site workshop via my Santa Barbara Vistage group.  Jason is a change agent, a success coach, a progress catalyst.  Before I dive into the transformation he helped craft with me, check out Jason's philosophy: 

After a couple hours of digging into my deepest limiting beliefs (which were forged in my childhood, and adopted as survival mechanisms) we landed on what I was to change.  My limiting belief has been that my role (at Oniracom and in life) was to be a problem solver, a fixer, one who constantly serves others before self.  But where would I get value, if not in assisting (cough, enabling, cough)?  Over time, I've found my purpose & significance in this role, which often limited my own needs, and prevented my team from achieving their full potential.  

When on a flight, the attendants instruct you to put your oxygen mask on before assisting others around you.  In a nutshell, my new mantra is to ensure my oxygen mask is in place before assisting others. 

This mode of operating has bottlenecked my ability to consistently set (and reset) the vision.   Now when I define the vision, I will empower the smart people around me to execute on my vision.  So Jason and I worked out how I would shed my 'enemy persona' of "Mr. Bottleneck," and reveal the new imagined superhero self, Jacob Tell 2.0.  The new self is built around communicating my vision, delegating and ultimately empowering others to passionately execute.  Thus, the birth of the Chief Empowerment Officer, the new C.E.O. 2.0. 

So I tell myself "stop fishing for your team.  Remember, if you teach them to fish, they'll eat for a lifetime."  And to hold myself accountable, I have several members of our Vistage group contacting me regularly to check in and ensure the new superhero self has emerged.

If you'd like to discuss this process of defining your limiting beliefs, setting a plan to shed your enemy self, and how to redefine your super hero self, please do reach out. 

Thank you Jason for your incredible wisdom, compassion and energy!

UCSB Entrepreneurs' Chat

The Entrepreneurs Association at UC Santa Barbara is a business, entrepreneurship, and technology club.  They recently invited me to speak to a room of their members during a Tuesday evening meeting.  I told a few stories to give context to the type of company Oniracom is, and the range of skills I've developed as spanning our 15 years of operations.  The emphasis was to have a casual conversation, so I fielded sharp and engaging questions from the group.  

My perception is the students I've interacted with today are quite a bit more entrepreneurial than when I was at UCSB.  Many already have startups in action, others are teaming up to explore ideas.  The future is bright -- these millennials are showing up, forming a club, and sharing ideas in the spirit of innovation. 

Fed & Directed

I am honored to be included in the Film & Media Studies welcome video which is shown on loop at UCSB's Pollock Theatre.

A great team arrived and set up quickly and professionally.  They fed lines and directed me, both of which add to my on-camera experience.  Thankfully, they also powdered the glare from my face.