You Are Destined to Be Great

See our latest video on how you are "Destined to Be Great!

The Supa Group
thesupagroup@gmail.com

Be a Supernova!

We just put the final touches on our first company video!

Take a look and let us know what you think!

Quenita Fagan
President/CEO
The Supernova Advisory Group
(aka The Supa Group)
www.thesupagroup.com

New Year, New You Series: Learn Something New

Our New Year, New You series will be posted throughout the month of January to give you ideas, tips and resources to help you continue to develop the best version of yourself.

To be successful and world class, it requires constant and purposeful growth...but you don't have to try to figure it out by yourself.  Our company's mission is to facilitate the growth of individuals and organizations through tools and resources aimed at empowered visions and goals, equipped strategies and execution and expanded impact and results.  We are here to partner with you to get results!

EMPOWER.EQUIP.EXPAND

For this part of our series, we wanted to inform you about a great continual learning site called Coursera.  Coursera is an education company that partners with the top universities and organizations in the world to offer courses online for anyone to take, for FREE. It is the new, innovative way of continued adult learning. Every student earns a Statement of Accomplishment.

No matter what your new year's goals, resolutions or objectives, the learning you can supplement for yourself, organization or board can be found at Coursera.  And it's not just for the serious stuff...there is also personal enrichment type classes that are diverse across multiple disciplines (see our favorites list below).

We perused the Coursera site for the best upcoming classes in diverse categories and wanted to give you an idea of what you can signup for.  Signup up is free although some courses do offer an opportunity for you to get a "Verified Certification" which would be great for professionals who can also charge the fee to the allotted training and development budget given by your company!

Course Category: ARTS
Class:  Roman Architecture
Teaching Institution: Yale University
Start Date: January 16, 2014
Length: 15 weeks
Why We Recommend: If you are planning a trip to Italy or just a person who loves to travel--in actuality and virtually--to a wide variety of places, this course will help you explore great buildings and engineering marvels of Rome and its vast empire in their ancient and contemporary contexts.

Course Category: BUSINESS
Class: Developing Innovative Ideas for New Companies: The First Step to Entrepreneurship
** Rated #1 Entrepreneurship Course and #8 Overall Business Course on Coursera**
Teaching Institution: University of Maryland, College Park
Start Date: January 13, 2014
Length: 6 weeks
Why We Recommend: Great for aspiring entrepreneurs!  If you are serious about becoming an entrepreneur, this is your year and get it kickstarted!  This course will help you explore how to identify and develop great ideas into great companies. Learn how to identify opportunities based on real customer needs.  Develop solid business models that create successful companies.

Course Category: ECONOMICS AND FINANCE
Class:  Globalization of Business Enterprise
Teaching Institution: IESE Business School
Start Date: February 3, 2014
Length: 8 weeks
Why We Recommend: The majority of businesses say they want to become more global. And business leaders say that the lack of people with global intelligence is the key constraint holding them back. This course will address both gaps — at the business and the personal level, it will focus on practical strategies for dealing with the real consequences of globalization. Great for any organization or team, including boards, with global expansion in mind.

Course Category: EDUCATION
Class:  Student Thinking at the Core
Teaching Institution: Vanderbilt University
Start Date: January 27, 2014
Length: 4 weeks
Why We Recommend: This course explores how teachers can capitalize on what students bring to the classroom--their ideas, perceptions, and misunderstandings-- to advance the learning of all in the class, a practice they call "leveraging student thinking".  We need more great teachers and this course can help edify what you are already doing in the classroom to create great students.

Get Freshology Here

Course Category: FOOD AND NUTRITION
Class:  Nutrition, Health and Lifestyle: Issues and Insights
Teaching Institution: Vanderbilt University
Start Date: January 20, 2014
Length: 7 weeks
Why We Recommend: This course explores nutrition concepts that take center stage in mainstream media outlets and become conversation topics among consumers interested in food choice as it relates to optimal health and physical performance.

Course Category: MUSIC, FILM AND AUDIO
Class:  Songwriting
Teaching Institution: Berklee College of Music
Start Date: January 27, 2014
Length: 6 weeks
Why We Recommend: This course explores the efficient, effective process for writing songs that express your ideas and emotions, including a range of tools that revolve around the concept of prosody—the matching of lyrics and music to support your underlying message.

As you can see, there is not limit to what you can learn through Coursera...signup, get started and be one of the people who gets to experience the fulfillment of what it means to get results from working towards your goals and the vision you have for yourself and/or organization.

To your success...
The Supa Team
thesupagroup@gmail.com

Life Lessons from Extraordinary People

We know you are out there gearing up for a new year and we thought you would be motivated by this blog post by Harvard Business Review with "10 Extraordinary People and Their Lessons for Success".

Here's our favorite by Historian David McCullough:

 

McCullough on hard work: “When the founders wrote about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, they didn’t mean longer vacations and more comfortable hammocks. They meant the pursuit of learning. The love of learning. The pursuit of improvement and excellence. I keep telling students, ‘Find work you love. Don’t concern yourself overly about how much money is involved or whether you’re ever going to be famous.’ …In hard work is happiness.”

For more lessons on success from Maya Angelou, Sandra Day O'Connor, and more, go here.

The Supa Group Team
thesupagroup@gmail.com

Best 2013 Commencement Speech Quotes for a Purposeful Life

We are amazed that the only time there tends to be great advice given is during life's elations or tragedies.  Well what about the kind of advice that happens when you are able to sit at the doorway of your biggest life opportunities and that advice comes from a well experienced person hoping to give you their best advice right before you are released with all the opportunity and courage that you will likely be able to muster before life gets more complicated?

This advice normally only comes during commencement!

As we perused the different pieces of advice shared thus far from commencements occurring across the United States from some of the most intellectual, seasoned and knowledgeable leaders of the highest influence, we wanted to give you nuggets that we think are applicable to anyone no matter what season of life they are in...


Dick Costolo, CEO of Twitter (University of Michigan)

"As you get ready to walk out under the bright lights of the improvisational stage of the rest of your life... be bold. Don't always worry about what your next line is going to be."

David Brooks, NY Times Columnist (Sewanee, University of the South)

"Don't think about what you want from life. Think about what life wants from you. If you're observant, some large problem will plop itself in front of you. It will define your mission and your calling. Your passion won't come from inside. It will come from outside."

Carson Kressley, Fashion Celebrity (Philadelphia University)

"If you live your life only following the path you think is approved or acceptable, or the one you think is expected of you, you'll be making a huge mistake. Not a single successful person... has ever done great things because they played it safe. You've got to be true to yourself."

Darius Rucker, Hootie & the Blowfish (University of South Carolina)

"..find something that makes you want to give 'til it hurts."

Cory Booker, Mayor of Newark (Yale University)

"Get out of bed. Keep going. I will not quit. I will not give up no matter how dark the days, no matter how big my failure. I won't lose lessons that I could gather while on my knees. I won't lose the lessons I can find in my lowest pits of despair, because when I emerge, it's those lessons that will define my being.'"

Mark Shields, Political Analyst (Saint Michaels College)

"Call your mother...not text, not e-mail--call her. She wants to hear how you sound." [If you become parents,] "spend more time than you judge to be reasonable with your children. Please know that no one in recorded history, on his or her death bed has ever said, 'Gee, I wish I had spent more time at the office.'"

Rick Hodes, Physician and Author (Brandeis University)

"Remember this: Run to do good. Create a momentum in the right direction. Get your hands dirty. Wear out your shoes. Don't try to get too comfortable, please!"

Carlos Eire, Author and Professor (Midland University)

"If it weren't for my failures and my painful experiences, I would not be here today speaking to you...It's a way of saying the risks I took brought me here. Failure has brought me to his podium, more failures than I can count...These failures are my trophies."

Steve Case, Co-Founder of AOL (University of North Carolina)

"Be curious. Be open. Be flexible. Let your life unfold as a series of chapters. Don't be so fixated on a specific ending that you neglect to open the door when opportunity knocks."

Arianna Huffington, Journalist and Author (Smith College)

"And remember that while there will be plenty of signposts along your path directing you to make money and climb up the ladder, there will be almost no signposts reminding you to stay connected to the essence of who you are, to take care of yourself along the way, to reach out to others, to pause to wonder, and to connect to that place from which everything is possible."

No matter your age, stage, season or past, these quotes are still applicable in the life that wants to be impactful and fulfill its purpose...

The Supa Group
thesupagroup@gmail.com
www.thesupagroup.com

11 Rules for Success (Part 1 of 2) (Inc. Magazine)

In the February 2013 issues of Inc. Magazine, they shared the 11 Rules for Success by founders of Twitter, Whole Foods, Zappos, Huffington Post, and more.  These people represent the world's top minds in business-- entrepreneurs behind the nation's most dynamic companies, as well as thinkers from leading business schools.

For your quick empowerment and to give you an injection of wisdom, we have summarized the 11 Rules below:

Rule #1:  Do Less (Evan Williams, co-founder of Blogger, Twitter and Medium)

When I meet the founders of a new company, my advice is almost always, "Do fewer things." It's true of partnerships, marketing opportunities, anything that's taking up your time. The vast majority of things are distractions, and very few really matter to your success.

Anything I've done that really worked happened because, either by sheer will or a lack of options, I was incredibly focused on one problem. When you're obsessing about one thing, you can reach insights about how to solve hard problems.  If you have too many things to think about, you'll get to the superficial solution, not the brilliant one.

Rule #2  Embrace Accidents (Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos)

At Zappos, we prioritize collisions over convenience by intentionally making exits on all four sides of the building.  It's all about maximizing collisions and accelerating serendipity.

It think you can create your own luck.  The key is to meet as many people as you can and really get to know them.  Meet lots of different people without trying to extract value from them.  You don't need to connect the dots right away.  But if you think about each person as a new dot on your canvas, over time, you'll see the full picture.

Rule #3:  Choose Your Playing Field (Roger Martin, Dean at Rotman School of Management)

Company leaders think that if they have a vision or aspirations, that's enough.  We need to understand the difference between strategy and aspiration. 

The heart of strategy is defining where you're going to play and how you're going to win. A lot of companies don't consciously choose where not to play.  Southwest Airline has one kind of jet.  It flies between smaller airports.  That decision about how to win affected its decision where to play; only in the continental U.S. Otherwise, the system didn't work.

Rule #4:  Fail (Arianna Hiffington, co-founder and editor in chief of The Huffington Post)

Very often, success stops people, because they're afraid of taking a step that leads to failure.  My mother used to call failure a stepping stone to success, as opposed to the opposite of success.  When you frame failure that way, it changes dramatically what you're willing to do, how you're willing to invent, and the risks you'll take.

There's absolutely no one who's succeeded who has not failed along the way.  Reading biographies of the successful people you admire is a great way to put failure in perspective.  Steve Jobs said that being fired from Apple was the best thing that ever happened to him. 

Rule #5:  Let Others Lead (Micheal Useem, professor at Wharton School and "The Leader's Checklist")

With unpredictable markets, shorter time cycles and an increasingly complex business environment, resilience (the ability to come back from crisis) is the single most important quality a leader needs to possess.

Leadership is a team sport.  You need to build leadership through the ranks, by empowering people to independently make good decisions.  You can't do that if you don't make clear what your vision is.

Rule #6:  Slow Down (founder and CEO, Union Square Hospitality Group)

I'll never forget sitting in the living room with my brother, sister and mom as my dad tearfully told us his travel company was not going to make it.  After that, I always associated bankruptcy with overexpansion.  I think that's why after my first restaurant, it took me 10 years to open a second one.

Now I realize, despite whatever emotional issues led me to go slowly, I gave myself a real gift.  I was able to take a deep dive into the skills of being a restaurateur in a way that I never would have done had I lacked that patience.

It's easy to think running a business has to be a sprint.  If I've learned anything at all, it's that if you're lucky enough to lead a healthy, long life, there's time.

During those first 10 years, I learned the value of allowing a business to develop its soul.  Soul happens almost as slowly as it takes for a baseball glove to break in; you  have to play catch for a really long time.  Time helped Union Square Cafe achieve something very few businesses do, which is essentially, the sense that it mattered in people's lives.  The shelf life of innovation is about two seconds today.  Even if you have the best idea, it's going to get copied.  The thing that cannot be copied is how I made you feel.

We are committed to bringing you the best snap shot wisdom, ideas, opinions and strategies that correlates to our advisory services.  We hope this post edifies your vision and execution plans and stay tuned for Part 2!

The Supa Group

www.thesupagroup.com

Game Changing Focus (A Summary)

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Dennis Kimbro, a lecturer and researcher with specialties in management, entrepreneurship and human potential.  The purpose of our interview was to discuss how individuals can have game changing focus as it relates to leadership, success and wealth.  The webinar interview was conducted as apart of my service as Chair of the Board of the INROADS Alumni Association.

Dr. Kimbro has a long history of data on wealth, leadership and what it takes to succeed.  He speaks to senior leaders at companies and has been featured on NBC and ABC and in Success Magazine and USA Today.

I wanted to provide a high-level summary to you on what it means to have game changing focus during these times!

Question:  Dr. Kimbro, you have interviewed, spoken to and analyzed data on a lot of people over the course of your career including senior executives and game changers as well as people who have experienced exemplary personal and professional success on a global scale.  What critical success factors do these achievers attribute to their success?

Answer:  I have repeatedly found a common thread amongst these people and it includes:

Dr. Dennis Kimbro and Quenita Fagan at INROADS Atlanta

• If you want to be at the top of your game, you have to focus on being innovative and creative. Innovation is about executing on a great idea and creativity is how well you see opportunities for what you will execute upon.
• Do more than what's expected...this has been universally repeatedly since the days of Napoleon Hill when he produced "Think and Grow Rich" and also was underscored in the research that supported my book "Think and Grow Rich: A Black Choice".  Don't even expect to be successful if all you give is what is expected of you.
• Put yourself in a position to be in "top of mind status".  What does this mean?  It means that when you think of great cars, you think of BMW, Mercedes, etc.  When you think of top retailers, you think of Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, etc.  In order to be great in business, you have to strive to achieve "top of mind status", whether that is your department, industry, or community.

Question:  Based on feedback from industry leaders, what makes employees or customers standout amongst teams/competition and get noticed and promoted?

Answer:  First and foremost I am going to use Google as an example.  Interviewing with Google for a job takes months and two things are involved in their primary objective of who they hire:

• IQ:  assessing smarts and analytical ability
• EQ: a person's personal passion and the value they bring

The difference between confronting having an Excellent Game versus Game Excellence:

• Excellent Game: we all can do this but this is just a one-time, transactional experience. 
• Game Excellence:  true achievers are constantly in a state of "preparing to win" for each and every opporunity.

I believe that another area in which individuals and companies can stand-out is determining what is their U.S.P...

UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION

If you can't clearly articulate your brand, what you believe in and how you are utilizing your time to specialize and be the best at your U.S.P., then how can you expect to win? 

Let me give you a statistic: studies have found that average people read 1-2 books a year.  Millionaires read one book a week and/or three books a month.  You HAVE to out read the other guy!

This was just one-fourth of the interview but no matter where you are today, I hope these nuggets will give you a quick insight into what can help you have game changing focus towards your personal and professional goals.

Que Fagan
President/CEO
The Supernova Advisory Group
www.thesupagroup.com