"The secret of joy in work is contained in one word: excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it." - Pearl Buck


Photos: By SBG-Media

"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect."- Mark Twain


Photos: By SBG-Media

The Author/co-author of In Search of Excellence, Thriving on Chaos, Liberation Management and his newest title, The Tom Peters Seminar. As one of the leading business experts, Mr Peter's books have been bestsellers in the business category for several years.


Photos: By SBG-Media

Dream Living

Calling ALL TECHIE Smarty Pants, or not such Smarty Pants.. ALL TECHIES.. ;-)

For this Blog to be effective I need to tap into the "Techie" industry. I am referring to ANYONE involved in the technology world. If you are a Software Entrepreneur, High-Tech Venture Capitalist, Info. Tech Investor, Internet Marketing Consultant, Technology firm Business Owner, C-level Technology Executive, or you consider yourself someone with a fine taste for the finer lifestyle, I need you. For some time now, I have been wanting to know what YOU are dreaming when you say, " My dream home consists of...." The question I pose is the following. "If you could have a first or second, or third home anywhere, would you get a:

1. Private island
2. House on the Beach
3. Horse Ranch
4. Country estate
5. Loft/Penthouse in a major City
6. Buy a lot and build a custom home
7. Ski lodge
8. Condo on a golf course
9. ANYTHING you dream.

What are some MUST have amenities?

Inside the home: Smart Kitchen, Self-cleaning & deodorizing bathrooms, other than a totally wireless environment, do you dream of any other quirky technologies? :-)
(Let your imagination or wildest dreams free.)

Outside the home: Waterfront - Beach or Bay with a marina? Golf or River? Mountains or Lake? Anything else you have dreamed?

Ok.. I don't want to keep on writing, I am going to set this puppy loose, and I do hope you help me out.

Gracias - :-)

I will post the results on a later entry.

Positioning Resort Communities

My friend , Jorge Moreno, who is a really fun singer and a Latin Grammy winner.

This was a fantastic event where my company, ALTEEVA, participated in a networking event to launch an exclusive community in the Bahamas. I find that the entertainment component is a critical in launching and positioning a community. For example, I know from experience, that people who experience a night of dancing, great music, and lots of fun will seek to recreate this experience. Of course it is naive to think that music, and entertainment alone will make a successful launch, but good entertainment never hurts. Has anyone experience FANTASTIC entertainment at any event? If so what was it? Did you have a band, karaoke (yup, this is super popular especially when catering to an Asian market segment), Latin dancing.. Share some unforgettable nights. This night was a blast for me. Other entertainers I have found rocks in real life at Resort Community launch and PR events are Sherryl Crowe, an Jimmy Buffet.

Here I am at the Opening of new resort in South Florida, Tony the Tiger is my date. :-) 

ICON - "Where you Live is Who you Are."

SBG "P" = Sunny Breezy Gal "Pilar"  

This is a setting in South Beach (SoBe), Miami Florida, one of the best places to be. The picture is a view of one of the terraces of the ICON building in SoBe. The ICON is truly a spectacular place. The gorgeous interior design was one of the masterpieces of the eclectic designer Phillippe Starck. I really like the motto of the ICON: "Where you live, is who you are." The obvious question that comes to mind then, is J.Lo, or Jennifer Lopez, an ICON? She did after all purchase the penthouse at the ICON for a sum over $9 million dollars..

The marketing, positioning, and branding of this building is AWESOME, and some of the strategies their marketing team used are fantastic, stay tuned to find out some of them.. :-) Has anyone visited any other "iconic" buildings? -

Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How they Got There

The issue of change is more than ever a constant in the "paradigm shifting," "flavor of the month craving," "reality TV loving," society in which we live. And, so there is a book by David Brooks, Bobos in Paradise, that seeks to examine how the biggest and most powerful demographic group, aka. baby boomers, seeks to re-engineer themselves. When I first saw the tile, "BOBOS" I thought Brooks wanted a literal Spanish translation of the meaning of the word. "Bobos" in Spanish means "Stupid, Dumb." This caught my attention. However, I soon found out what he meant by "bobos" was "bourgeois-bohemians."

Unlike the 80's uber-consumer decade, the 'bobos' generation seeks to justifies its extravagant spending. In my opinion what we are living is the exploration of the 'bobos'class, by the more astute and driven entrepreneurs who understand what the 'bobos' want, yet have not been lured to become a 'bobo' themselves.

As food for thought I give you the following: Think about the rise in hybrid cars, there are waiting lists for this 'sensible,' environmentally conscious, anti-SUV product - a smart entrepreneur thought, hey these people want a car that is 'good' for society. Organic foods, the growth of Whole Foods, where you can find the perfect Quinoa, a product which by the way was consumed by the Mayan tribes thousands of years ago, has all of the sudden become the "new" good carb. Or a new line of high-energy, organic drinks called, Sambazon, whose main ingredient is Acai a berry that has grown in the Brazilian Amazon jungle as long as the jungle has existed - another set of visionary entrepreneurs. Even Starbucks, the favorite retreat of the 'bobos,' where the ability to order a Chocolate Creme Frappuccino, Raspberry Mocha Chip Frappuccino half-calf, machiatto.. ok (here is a little cheat-sheet of all the drinks, for all of those who are Starbucks obsessed. http://www.quicksilverweb.net/sbucks/sbcharts.htm.) All these are little morsels of the reality of the 'bobos' growth.

According to the author, his motivation for the book was that after returning to the U.S after four years in Europe he was welcomed to a paradise of change: Smoking was evil, health was cool, alcohol was out, double lattes were in; obnoxious conspicuous consumption was out, inconspicuous (but still obnoxious) consumption was in. Sheryl Crow and her likes would not be playing at anti-war protests, but rather booking concerts for Goldman Sachs. The Bobos are here, growing, and indoctrinating new 'bobos' at lightning speeds.

And you would think that Brooks would have a lot to say in terms of comparing Europe and this new America (after all, Europe is the home of so much of what Bobos aspire to — or, at least, aspire to visit on vacation). But his silence on this point belies the his argument's biggest weakness, because if Bobos really were enlightened and caring and committed to social improvement (and not, as one might assume, self-absorbed materialists) then the United States would look more like Europe. (Hopefully the Dollar starts looking more like the Euro sometime soon.)

But despite all this supposed incorporation of anti-materialist values, we still work our butts off in search of "the American Dream." We still measure success by the size of our portfolio, the 'iconic' place where we live, the exotic vacations we take ( and I am not talking about Venice or Paris, but rather Machu Pichu, Tierra del Fuego, the jungles of Colombia.) In essence the "bobos" are making the world a better place not by exercising their votes but by slimming their wallets. ;-)

Entrepreneurs know that for "Bobos," their purchasing power is a modern-day spiritual exercise; they decorate their homes with authentic Balinese batiks, they cook with olive oil made by Tuscan peasants, and they eat ice cream made by fat, aging hippies. (Yes, Ben & Jerry.) They run businesses with slogans like "you can't separate your social goals from your business," and they tell everyone that they don't work 100-hour work weeks because they have to, but because they really "love" and are "passionate" about what they do. Materialism and self-absorption still rule the day, albeit wrapped in earth tones, handmade soaps, and a Vaseline rubbed smile from Martha Stewart. (Yup, the 'bobo' chic is out of the big-house and will soon be on prime time. Only in a 'bobo' culture. ;-)

It's good to live in a Bobo world. The Bobos are really a great bunch of people who "have the ability to go down in history as the class that led America into another golden age."