Good News on the Doorstep

Introducing NOW or NEVER: The 11 Secrets of Arimathea

Joe Cervasio has brought us behind the scenes of ‘The Greatest Story Ever Told’ to deliver gifts of revelation never before communicated.

Just how did those around the crucifixion of Jesus really react?

And with his body missing three days later, how would their lives change?

Xulon Press, Christian Publisher, to Distribute Now or Never: The 11 Secrets of Arimathea

Stand by as Dr. Ken Atchity and Joe Cervasio get ready to announce the details.

July 3: Book to be ready by end of July.

July 13: August-September Book signings, lectures, workshops being planned for businesses, churches, sporting organizations... in Jersey, New York, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Florida. Contact Joe at 973-725-8713 for open dates.

July 14: Book will be available at publisher at www.xulonpress.com  , www.amazon.com , www.barnesandnoble.com  ; Joe's first book, Bad News on the Doorstep, is being sold by publisher at www.authorhouse.com   , as well at other websites listed above.

Dan Brown's "Angels and Demons" and "DaVinci Code" Hardly at War with Church

The controversy of the plot of The DaVinci Code cultivated much anticipation for a war between the Roman Catholic Church and Dan Brown and his movie friends Ron Howard and Tom Hanks.  But once the blockbuster hit the screen, the battle turned out to be more of a short-lived skirmish.

Then along comes Angels and Demons, and many figured the Illuminati vs. the Church might play with even more excitement than when Miami went head to head with Notre Dame for the national collegiate football championship a bunch of years ago; The Criminals vs. the Catholics. Same result: ... just a few yawns.

Why?

With The DaVinci Code, some of the clergy who live under the Golden Dome in South Bend, Indiana were quoted as saying, "Doesn't change my faith whether Jesus was married or not, ... after all, did not Paul the Apostle state, '...it's better to be single, but if you have to, be married.'?" Even the Evangelicals joined in and said, "So what!" Boy, talk about turning the other cheek and taking the wind out of the sails of the anti-church/God bunch!

With Dan Brown's rush around Rome, looking for Cardinals and Angels and Demons, you'd figure the revelation of the intellectual elite battling the Vatican for years would spin off that anticipated mayhem? Again, little to talk about. Yea, the Illuminati today may have snickered that their spiritual church-going friends may have been ignorant of their existence, ... but again little controversy.

Why, again?

Well, when Dan Brown and his wife turned the movie production over to Opie and Forest Gump, what' ya expect? Who doesn't love this duo of American Hollywood icons who never make it to the super market tabloids... just great guys who are true professionals, who know how to sell movie tickets and make us feel good at the same time.

Yea, there's lots of controversy in what Dan Brown writes, God bless him. That's what sells books, ... and movies. And like Howard and Hanks, he has a knack of being successful without creating tons of tension, animosity, and hatred.

fyi, ... loved the novel Angels and Demons better than its DaVinci Code counterpart, but it was The DaVinci Code movie that gets my vote.

Joe Cervasio on the road in Tennessee, spreading ... The 11 Secrets of Arimathea.

Ram Returns with Response to Recession Recovery

Stand by over the next couple of hours when I share with you our friend Ram Charan's reaction and response to how American Government and Private Business have reacted to the global recession gripping us all.

Fast forward to May 21: After weeks of travel, I have returned to Jersey, ... and here is a collection of Ram's thoughts, grading President Obama and the ramifications thereoff.

1. Our guest leadership and management guru first looks to the Obama administration as a company with a CEO...

    a. The President is a consensus-building leader and a good recuiter of talent.

    b. With the world blaming the USA for the world's economic woes, our CEO has to restore faith in American leadership. Ram passes him on this, seeing a deceleration in the deterioration of the economy.

2. What has worked?

    a. Obama executives Bernanke and Geithner have opened the gates for credit to flow into our financial institutions, with toxic securities elimination as the target to grease that flow.

3. Geithner's performance in particular?

    a. A clear thinker.

    b. Not a pawn.

    c. Not a great communicator, but with Obama as the CEO, ... who cares??!!

4. Administration use of information...

    a. The President is surely transparent, but more information is needed about the 30-40 banks.

    b. Ram is confident it will come.

5. Automobile Industry

    a. Carrot and stick approach is working.

Ram's lessons learned for Corporate America:

• It's all changing, ... tailor your changes accordingly.
• Recognize that with limited credit, people are spending differently.
• Match your investments to changed consumer behavior.

OK, Ram Charan has not gone too deeply here, but it looks like he's confirmed the need for Leadership, Communications, Talent Acquisition, Strong and Knowledgeable Management, Honesty, and the Realization that Change requires Change. As my friend Dr. Mike Kormanicki reminds me:

"DON'T DO DIFFERENTLY, ... DO DIFFERENT... ALTOGETHER."

It will take time for that to settle in.

Yes, Ram and we just skimmed the surface, but at least we are all trying to learn from this massive reset of behaviors in business and government, ... and in our private lives.

Joe Cervasio

Leadership for Hard Times Different for Good Times?

Ram Charan talks about "new rules" for getting things done in difficult times in his fine book, Leadership in the Era of Economic Uncertainty. While this leadership expert does not imply this, the question that must be asked is whether there is a difference in the requirments for a leader in bad times versus good. In fact, we might query, had business and governmental leaders read Charan's findings during the ... "good times,"  would we even be in such bad times today!!??

Here are Ram's 6 Essential Leadership Traits for Hard Times, with some comments from yours truly:

1. Honesty and Credibility...Ram's talking about leveling with people and getting your team's views. Seems to me that #1 would surely perpetuate good times, minimizing the distrust that's been cultivated since so many figured out their leaders had been only minimally honest and credible in the good times--even maybe a little selfish?

2. The Ability to Inspire...always important says the author. Walking the hallways is now more important than ever. If your leaders are not exercising the competence of "inspirational leadership," are they really leaders, or had they simply been "right place, right time, great interviews" who just happened to get the top job?

3. Real-time Connection with Reality...anticipating and monitoring change in good times really requires great Leadership. Remember how we questioned Tom Peters back in the nineties when he commanded: "If it's not broken, break it." This #3 is a lot easier in tougher markets. When everything was going so well, come on, you have to admit that anyone who urged you to break it in that time was being a pain. Sure, not getting locked into any one view makes sense, but it's a lot easier to constantly update and change during bad times. Once again, had we been more respectful of change and impending change, maybe we would not be in such a fix today.

4. Realism Tempered with Optimism...here we are again. This trait in good times surely makes for a leader worth trusting and following. Without #4, a Leader is one only by his position authority.

5. Managing with Intensity... doing this in good times makes you a "cheerleader," or overly emotional and passionate. Now Ram says you better have this hands-on participation and intensity. Gee, I never knew this was only required in bad times. Could it not make good times better?? Could such personal leadership involvement turn a good company into a great company??

6. Boldness in Building for the Future...well, with Wall Street so consumed with quarterly results, it's not difficult to understand Leaders in good times shortchanging the future. Ram's right on here: lots of imagination and guts will be required to give credence to the future now that results are needed immediately. But again, if only we were looking more to the future during the good times, maybe, just maybe, we would not be in such a mess now.

I know, there is so much more to discuss. For now, however, Ram Charan has a book out on Leadership we should all read. But maybe his tag line should have been: The OLD Rules for Getting the Right Things Done in Difficult AND GOOD Times... not New Rules ... in Difficult Times.

Joe Cervasio

Time-Share Industry Getting Creative in "Hard Reset" of Business Models

It was once a recession-proof business. Now vacation time-sharing licks its wounds after the financial markets froze up last fall, bringing some of their business models into question. "Oh-oh, what do we do with this paper now? Yea, we can finance some of our new clients, but that hasn't been our business. Can we get help? Everybody needs a car, good for Detroit. But our history shows everyone needs a vacation, too, even in these times!! Can the government help us as well?"

With my having been in resort real estate since before fractional ownership, back when selling second home building lots in New England, the Poconos, Ocean City, and deep into South Florida made for great scripts for the likes of David Mamet and his ensemble for "Glengarry, Glen Ross,"  I can tell you things are really changing now! But for the honest, strong, creative survivors in time-sharing, it may just be ... "the best of times, not the worst."

Some of the brands are not as concerned. Their mother ships won't allow their times-sharing subsidiaries to say "no" to a sale--the financing is there, and their penchant for securitization was never as big as the unbranded developers. But the real creativity may be happening with those smaller builders of time-sharing resorts who have endured economic down-turns before--after all, it's a matter of survival for them, and they are "the mother ship," ... no help coming from the Hotel types at corporate headquarters.

Creativity? What kind of creativity? Well, the questions being asked by these medium size builders of vacation dreams are these: "What did we really do well, anyway? What is our true competency? What do the people really want that we have not been giving them?"

As cash-producing products and services, that were always there, but ignored, raise their "bottom-line saving heads," the time-share teams in the middle of the pack are crafting business models that answer those questions above. And with guys like me out there trying to help facilitate the answers to these questions, "it really is the best of times, not the worst."

What are the answers? Stand by as my Diversified Global Strategies group puts on the pads. A little hint: Services and products beyond expectations for the prospect, the client, and the employee. What's new about that? Nothing, ... but now Senior Leadership must stop the talking to Wall Street about such, and truly deliver to the bottom line. Some will survive, and others will not. Ah, a good fresh spring rain should clear the air, ... maybe just clean it up a bit! You'll know who survived when you see all the Talent that is on the street now return to these creative corporate survivors who got honest with themselves and their constituents.

Joe Cervasio, Diversified Global Strategies

"Ed Marinaro, ... the Greatest Player in Ivy League Football History."

Well, it wasn't a Cornellian making such a claim, nor #44 himself, but rather the erudite, articulate, and handsome Jack Ford--award-winning television legal commentator, and himself, an Ivy League Football alumnus. And the guy's a Yalie!!

So now that Jack has his special place in the hearts of all Cornell alumns, what was Ed Marinaro's reaction to such a generous introduction at the Ivy League Football Association tribute to Big Ed and the seven other rain-makers representing the rest of the Ancient Eight?

Marinaro was classic Jersey kid, Heisman runner-up, blue-collar actor--finally getting his chance to sum up the whole career in seventeen minutes. And what a seventeen minutes it was!! Faintly veiling his devaluation of his past achievements for an opportunity to sell his "present" talents in his never-ending search for a "real job," Ed orchestrated a hilarious, self-deprecating acceptance that was even entertaining to all the non-Cornell types there; THEY GAVE HIM A STANDING OVATION WHEN IT WAS OVER.

Go first to www.ivyfootballassociation.org   to get the background of this wonderful event at the Waldorf in NYC. Then give yourself the seventeen minutes required to enjoy what the 1000 plus of us did last Thursday, January 22. The video of his entire speech is at  http://squidoo.com/Ed-Marinaro-speech  

By the way, I know 100 plus Cornell guys who would vote that Jack Ford be the Yale award recipient next time the Ivy League Football Association meets in 2011.

Joe Cervasio, still smiling, and proud to be a Cornellian.

SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION: A MIRACULOUS BELLEVILLE (NJ) STORY

Michael Lamberti has been the Sports Editor at The Belleville Times since he was a student-athlete at Belleville High School back in the mid-seventies. Since then he has complemented his passion for athletics in his hometown with a career in Banking, as well as a regular role as a Staff Sports Writer with our beloved Star Ledger, better known at The Newark Star Ledger to us Baby Boomers.

With my work building teams at all levels of corporate America, as well as in athletics, "Story-Telling" ranks right up there as one of the requirements to assure team success. Well, when you click below on a recent story crafted by Mike, I can guarantee goose bumps! And, I'm also assuring that stories like this will provide Belleville and its High School with team-building ingredients that its leaders can take to create a successful future for both.

If you want to discover that miraculous story about one of BHS's most illustrious graduates, Dr. Edward Aulisi, click onto  http://thebellevilletimes.com/NC/0/339.html  

Enjoy,

Joe Cervasio, Belleville HS, 1965; and proud husband of Dr. Edward Aulisi's first grade teacher, Maria Corino, PS School #5.

Dr. Mike reports in from snowy Minnesota

Hey Joe -- I came across the latest issue of The Ivy League Christian Observer (published by the Christian Union) and caught this article about you. If you haven't put this up on your blog, you really ought to. It's about the best description of Now or Never that I've seen. Also, it connects your writing to your days at Cornell, which was a big plus for me. Keep writing, mighty sage!  Your pal, Mike Finley, St. Paul, Minnesota.

Living Life in the Red Zone

Former Cornell Football Player Set to Release New Book

By Eileen Scott

 

 

Joe Cervasio, Cornell '69, is a storyteller...

Richie Luzzi, #22, Belleville (NJ) High School Legend Remembered

On the eve of Thanksgiving in 1999, The Belleville-Nutley Gridiron Classic Reunion Dinner, at the approval of the Belleville Board of Education, officially retired Richie Luzzi's #22 football number. The night was full of nostalgia, friends of days gone by, great food, and lots of memories. But, it was Richie's night.

I had the profound privilege to be the Master of Ceremonies that evening, and what you will read below was the official declaration which I penned, formally ushering #22 into the halls of Belleville High School Football Immortality. After close to 10 years, Richie's story is again shared below. And then there is an epilogue.

THANKSGIVING DAY HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL MEMORIES

In spite of the advent of playoffs in New Jersey high school football, Thanksgivng Day Rivalries still manage to exist. Indeed, they usher in memories of many games and players of days gone by.

For my family, I grew up hearing of the great Barringer-East Orange Turkey Day Classic, as well as one of America's longest running--Phillipsburg (NJ)-Easton (PA). It has been since only 1984 that our high schools in Belleville and Nutley have been clashing on the holiday, but their first encounter actually dates back to the '20's.

As the season winds down up here in the Garden State, our annual Belleville-Nutley Gridiron Classic Reunion Dinner celebrations on Thanksgiving Eve bring back our local heroes from all over the country. (You can go back to last November's blog entry to meet our Captain of our #2 Ranked Bellboys, Joe Latore.) At one of those special nights a couple of years ago, we honored a special player.

This year, my old friend Chickie Puleo reminded me of a biography I wrote for that night to honor Belleville's greatest Football star, Richie Luzzi. It all came together when the Belleville Board of Education retired Richie's number. It's a great story.

Because of a busy schedule this year, go to our next entry on December 2 to LEARN ABOUT THE LEGEND OF BELLEVILLE FOOTBALL: #22 RICHIE LUZZI. See you there.

Joe Cervasio