Last Friday was the big celebration at MYNT Lounge for
my company, Gracious Host Events, as we hit the 3 year
mark for being in business. At the same time, we
launched our new brand (with a new logo to match!).
It is sleek and sophisticated, and aimed to serve mid
to large-sized corporations. This will be held
separately from Social Butterfly Club, for which we’ll
be designing an independent website to continue to
serve our 1300 plus club members who are mainly small
business owners, entrepreneurs, and professionals.
Close to 200 people showed up for the festivities last
weekend. We showed a 10 minute video of the previous
events Gracious Host Events had coordinated, and some
of the upcoming galas and conferences in the works.
It was really nice to see so many familiar faces, and
meet some new contacts! Drinks were flowing, music
was grooving, people were networking and having a
great time. Everyone loved the unique guitar stylings
of Max Serpentini, and the charismatic salsa moves
from Oswaldo Koch, but Ndidi Cascade and Deanna Teeple
really blew the roof off with their powerful freestyle
rapping! If you missed all the action from last
Friday, you can see pictures at www.gracioushost.ca
under Picture Gallery. Photos are provided by Q
Parker from www.quana.net.

Stand up and MC Service: www.mo-dtv.com (Toronto)
Venue: Mynt UltraLounge www.myntbar.com
Lighting and DÈcor: www.sunam.ca (They did my
Evolution party with red carpet, entrance and lighting
for the venue. Simply amazing!)
Haircut: Brendan Hopwood at 604 689 9957
www.list4all.com/beauty-a-go-go
Make Up: Ya Hsun Lan 604 760-8693
Headshot Picture: Michael O’Shea 604 733-3301
www.michaeloshea.ca
Event Photography: Q Parker 604 618-1634
Ringo from Vida Photo 604 836-0496
Cake: Sweet Success Bakery 1165 Davie Street
Singers: Lori Dane (www.loridane.net)
Max Serpentini (www.maxserpentini.com)
Ndidi Cascade and Deanna (www.ndidicascade.com)
Dancers: Oswaldo Koch (www.mastermoves)
Model Search: www.modelmayhem.com

Credential Christmas Party
Dec 9, 2006 6pm-12 midnight
Formal Reception and Dancing
Law Courts Great Hall, catering provided by Law Courts
Inn.  300 guests

Federation of Foster Parents 40th Anniversary
Conference
May 21-27, 2007, Executive Inn Richmond
300 Guests from all cross Canada
Silent Auction, Reception, Opening and Closing
Ceremonies, Training and Education, AGM and Vote.


I had the extreme honor to have sat in the nose-bleed
section at GM Place to listen to the Holy Dalai Lama
speak when he visited Vancouver in September. It was
quite humorous when near the beginning, Kevin Newman
the MC introduced all the important people for the
event, like Sam Sullivan, etc and no one came out…..
The audience sang the Canadian Anthem to fill up the
time. Apparently the special guests were running
behind time, as they trekked from UBC to GM Place!
This was my first experience seeing the Dalai Lama
live. I have read some of his books but only
understood very little about Buddhism. He spoke for
1.5 hours straight about what seemed to be such simple
topics, yet from time to time he would delve into the
complexities behind them and share a glimpse of his
wisdom.

He talked about the interconnectivity of the human
society, the way news travels around the world in
split seconds, and how due to international
travelling, what happens in Baghdad does now affect
the people in Vancouver. He talked about the
advancement of technology and almost backwards
development of the human spirit. It seemed clear that
people are more sad and lonely now with more gadgets
and electronic conveniences. He brought up religion,
and how all religion is good and is an advancement of
the human spirit. He was stern when he proclaimed:
"If you are religious, then take it seriously. Don’t
go to church and fall asleep!" (which got quite a few
laughs).

He talked about terrorism, and how there is a few
mischievous people in every group, and that we should
not blacken the name of a group due to a few people’s
actions.

I saw some qualities he displayed that truly impressed
me: humbleness, wisdom, and willingness to forgive.

A good example of this is that although everyone
referred to him as his Holiness, he himself has never
said anything of the kind. Instead, he repeated “I’m a
simple monk” several times throughout his speech.


Every year I do something that pushes my comfort zone,
and this year is no different. In Feb, as a present
to myself, I signed up for the Intensive Master
Workshop at Pole Dance Studio. I had heard about pole
dancing as the latest exercise craze and always stayed
away, but this year I thought "what the heck?"! With
my years of ballroom and Salsa experience, I should be
able to do this no problem! Well, in the end, I
pulled a few muscles but was able to choreograph my
own routine, learn to be more sexy, and master the
“fireman swing”. It was fun and intensive, and I
would highly recommend Sharon’s classes to any women
who wants a walk on the wild side! Contact Sharon at
604 762-8606. www.poledancestudio.com

Pole Dance 1 (Beginner)
4 Tuesdays - October 31, November 7, 14 & 21 at 6:30
pm (6 hours total)
4 Thursdays - November 2, 9, 16 & 23 at 6:30 pm (6
hours total)
4 Wednesdays - November 29, December 6, 13 & 20 at
6:30 pm (6 hours total)
4 Thursdays - November 30, December 7, 14 & 21 at 6:30
pm (6 hours total)
Sale $169 (Reg. $199)


Pole Dance 1 is perfect for those who wish to achieve
a solid grounding of the basics and for those who have
more than just a passing interest in pole dancing.
Definitely recommended for "newbies" or "pole dance
virgins". Pole Dance 1 is a challenging all-around
workout including: cardio-striptease warm-up and
stretching, simple pole moves, pole spins, and floor
work -- all combined into progressive, easy-to-learn,
and simple choreographed routines taught at a pace
everyone can follow.

Pole Dance 2†
4 Wednesdays - November 1, 8, 15 & 22 at 7:00 pm (6
hours total)
4 Tuesdays - November 28, December 5, 12 & 19 at 7:00
pm (6 hours total)

2-Day Intensive Master Certification Workshop
October 28 & 29
Intensive Pole Dancing Workshop (complete with Lap
Dancing Workshop)
Get 2 complete certifications - one for pole dancing
and the other for lap dancing! Pre-registration
required. Very limited spacing.
$695

Chair Dancing
4 Wednesdays - November 1, 8, 15 & 22 at 6:00 pm (4
hours total)
$129


† † I was flying home several months ago from a
management-leadership program I was teaching for a
company in Phoenix, and I struck up a conversation
with the gentleman next to me on the plane. During the
conversation, I asked him if he considered his boss to
be a good manager, and he said, "Yes, he is." I then
asked him if he thought his boss was a good leader,
and after thinking a moment, he said, "No, he isn't."

† † This man was not alone in the way he thought.
According to a survey by the marketing information
company TSN, "Less than one-third of all supervisors
and managers are perceived to be strong leaders." As a
result, increasingly larger percentages of our
workforce are disengaged. According to the survey

† † † † * " 40% of workers feel disconnected from
their employers
† † † † * " Two out of every three workers do not
identify with or feel motivated to drive their
employer's business goals and objectives
† † † † * " 25% of employees are just " showing up to
collect a paycheck"†



† † There is a tremendous opportunity for managers and
supervisors to set themselves and their companies
apart from their competition. So what does it take for
a manager to be "perceived as a strong leader?"



† † THE FIVE "C'S" OF LEADERSHIP

† † Character

† † People will not follow someone for long if they
can't trust them. Not long ago a well known CEO was
"ousted" after a probe into a personal relationship
with a female executive at the same firm. "The board
concluded that the facts reflected poorly on his
judgment and would impair his ability to lead the
company…his actions were inconsistent with our code of
conduct." Leaders have to be trustworthy to produce
sustainable results.

† † Caring

† † The old clichÈ is true: "People don't care how
much you know until they know how much you care." When
Lou Holtz was coach at Notre Dame, the second question
he used to ask every player before being selected to
play after "Can I trust you?" was "Do you CARE about
me, your teammates, and Notre Dame?" If a player had a
selfish motive for being on the team and didn't care
enough to put the team interests first, he didn't want
that young man on the team. He also said if the young
man didn't believe that he could trust the coach and
feel cared about in return, he shouldn't want to be on
the team. Leaders show they care about their team
personally and professionally.

† † Commitment

† † There's a poster on the gym wall in Clint
Eastwood's movie Pretty Baby that says "Winners do
what losers won't do." Leaders are like that also.
They DO things poor managers won't do. Arguably, one
of the greatest business leaders of our time was Sam
Walton. What was his number one rule for business
success? COMMIT to your business. "Believe in it more
than anybody else. I think I overcame every single one
of my personal shortcomings by the sheer passion I
brought to my work. I don't know if you're born with
this kind of passion, or if you can learn it. But I do
know you need it."

† † Confidence

† † Leaders know where they are going and demonstrate
by their words and actions that there is no doubt that
they will arrive. Furthermore, they make you want to
go with them. They instill confidence in you as well.
They get you to believe in yourself and your team and
to see yourself as winners before it actually occurs.
In his book Reagan on Leadership, James Strock lists
Ronald Reagan's accomplishments while in office and
concludes "Above all, Reagan restored America's belief
in itself."

† † Communication

† † Leaders have crystal clear compelling visions and
communicate those visions repeatedly.
† † In his book Leadership, the first principle
Rudolph Giuliani shares is his insistence on his
routine morning meeting. "I consider it the
cornerstone to efficient functioning within any
system…We accomplish a great deal during that first
hour, in large part because the lines of communication
were so clear."

† † In addition to letting people also know clearly
where they stand, leaders are also exceptional
listeners. In his book Team Bush - Leadership Lessons
from the Bush White House, author Donald Kettl
discusses how President Bush "makes sure he listens"
to his top advisors. The lesson? "Make sure you get
unfiltered information. Top managers need all sorts of
information, good and bad…especially bad. This is why
it is crucial to have a mechanism in place that
insures a steady stream of information from all
quarters."

† † Managers that develop these qualities will create
an environment where their team will willingly do what
they would not otherwise do.


† † John Wright is a speaker and trainer for High
Impact Leaders Management Training. He specializes in
leadership and management programs for all levels
throughout organizations. He can be reached at
1-800-872-7830 x107.

Quote of the Month:

"Success is when you get paid to do something you love
so much, you would have done it for free anyway."

Have a great month of Business!

Alice Zhou
Vancouver's Networking Queen
Gracious Host Events
Tel 604 676-1587
Cel 604 773-5231
alice@gracioushost.ca
www.gracioushost.ca