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Rick Saldan is an excellent inspirational speaker who tailored the seminar to the needs of the individual students being instructed. This office thanks the Mayors Office of Information Services for having such a vendor.

 

Timothy K. Lynch

Office of Fleet Management

City of Philadelphia

 


 

Rick has a magical approach that provides a clear and concise message specifically designed to the needs of his audience. Rick will provide all the motivational magic you will ever need, propelling your organization to the next level of greater success.

 

Thomas Mulhern

Frontier Communications

 


 

Rick Saldan is a compelling and absorbing motivational speaker and magician.  I have been to five of his Motivational Magic presentations and it is amazing how he keeps our college audiences on the edge of their seats. A highly entertaining performer with great comedy flair. Rich content to increase students' productivity, peak performance and motivation. If you need an outstanding motivational speaker for colleges, Rick is definitely one of the world's greatest speakers and magicians!


Dr. Rob Gilbert, Sport Psychologist,

Montclair State University

 


 

Rick Saldan has the wit, wisdom and sorcery of a wizard. He has a dynamic personality, and all will enjoy his captivating stories, comedy and magic!

Dennis Slaughter
Credit Suisse First Boston

 


 

Rick Saldan delivers a first-class show! A pro in every sense of the word. Funny, unique, entertaining and polished.

Brian Letscher, Actor

Hawaii Five-O, NCIS, Cold Case, Law & Order and The Mentalist.

 


 

Rick Saldan is a wonderful combination of master magician, comic improviser and first class speaker. The audience loved his program, which was music to our ears. If you love celebrity motivational speakers such as Tom Hopkins, Dale Carnegie and Zig Ziglar, then you'll love Rick!

Dottie Burman, President
Burtley Productions, Inc.

 


Rick Saldan is an incredibly talented performer and motivational speaker with great insight. He shares many powerful motivational messages that will enhance your life for the better!

Jack Murray, President
Dream Illusions

 


Rick is one of the best inspirational speakers on the scene today. Funny, fun loving and highly energetic. If you want to make your next event into an extraordinary one, then invite professional speaker  Rick Saldan and his amazing  Motivational Magic.

 

Andres Lara, President

Inspiration Times Magazine

 

 

Soft Skills In the IT Environment – Part 2 of 2
Author: Carole Nicolaides

by Carole Nicolaides, Copyright © 2002, All Rights Reserved www.progressiveleadership.com

In part one of this article, we covered the importance of soft skills, especially for those in the information technologies vocations. After qualifying the advantages of implementing soft skills into IT management, we left one question unanswered. Where do you find soft skills training? That will be the topic we focus on during this article.

As a business leader, I’m sure you understand the benefits of continuing education. However, I have no doubt that you also struggle with an overly full schedule that may prevent you from attending workshops and implementing the concepts you have learned.

Richard Boyatzis, co-author of Primal Leadership; Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence suggests that executives who can incorporate coaching into their daily routines have the potential of bringing a metamorphosis in their respective organizations. Coaching is a relatively new, yet proven, form of mentoring/consulting that has brought about tremendous improvements in the professional lives of countless executives over the last several years.

Even for those leaders who have exceptionally full schedules, coaching can be the route that leads to success in a number of areas – including the implementation of career-boosting soft skills. Yes… I said “career boosting” soft skills.

According to a July 23, 1999 article in Computing Canada Magazine, “"The single most common requirement (of managers) is to hire individuals with very good interpersonal communications skills and business sense," said David Tighe, Canadian area manager for RHI Consulting Inc. That's backed up by a recent RHI survey of 1,400 CIOs in the United States. Twenty-seven per cent said interpersonal skills are the most important factor for reaching management levels in the IT field. Advanced technical skills ranked second and customer service orientation ranked third.”

Does coaching really work? Even the most skeptical of people have been impressed. One Associated Press article reports this occurrence: “When his boss first offered him a coach, Ken Saji, a director for MTV Networks, hedged a bit. "I didn't want anything touchy-feely," he says.

”The 30-year-old, who considers himself a bit of an introvert, wanted to show more leadership in meetings. His coach suggested he build on his analytical nature to become an "active listener," who distills what's been said and offers new suggestions.

"I feel I perform 100 percent better in the areas we worked on," Saji says. "I'm now much more confident and more self-aware."”

Coaching can be conducted via telephone, email, or in person, so regardless of the pace of your schedule, there is always time to improve. Considering the results coaching brings to the table, the investment of time and money are both well worth it.







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Carole Nicolaides is president and founder of Progressive Leadership, Inc., an executive coaching firm. She assists companies in creating high-performance teams and leaders that produce outstanding results. Discover her free ezine, teleclass training and consulting in Knowledge Management, Coaching and Leadership Development when you visit http://www.progressiveleadership.com.

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