Bestselling Author and Leadership Expert Uses Polycom Telepresence for Lectures and Consulting
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, and PLEASANTON, Calif. - Aug 20, 2009 : At the upcoming CIO 100 Symposium & Awards Ceremony, Aug. 23-25 in Colorado Springs, Colo., information technology leaders from around the country will have a unique opportunity to work with renowned leadership expert and best-selling author, Dr. Stephen R. Covey, via a live, interactive forum enabled by Polycom (Nasdaq: PLCM) telepresence.
From his home in the Rocky Mountains of Utah, Stephen Covey will direct this special workshop and share his views on the leadership qualities needed to thrive, innovate and excel, even in today's tougher, more complex business realities, as outlined in his new book, Predictable Results in Unpredictable Times, co-authored by Bob Whitman, the CEO of FranklinCovey Co. (NYSE: FC).
The CIO 100 Leadership Workshop with Stephen Covey also marks the debut of new telepresence-enabled lecture services from FranklinCovey Co., which is investing in Polycom telepresence to extend the reach and accessibility of its services around the world.
Stephen Covey said, "If there's one thing that's certain in business, it's uncertainty. Most organizations can get predictable results in an environment that is predictable. But, there are great organizations that consistently perform with excellence, even in the most unpredictable times, which we are now experiencing. These organizations not only survive the tough times, but they thrive and set themselves ahead of their competitors."
"The industry-leading CIOs at the CIO 100 Symposium are an ideal audience to debut this new book via our new telepresence interactive forums, as they fully understand the challenges of today's global business environment and are in positions to make a difference. We designed this leadership workshop with Polycom telepresence specifically for this event to include exercises, small group discussions and direct interaction and feedback," continued Covey.
The CIO 100 Leadership Workshop with Stephen Covey will help attendees learn how to excel within today's complex and often unpredictable business environment. He will focus on the four key principles outlined in the new book: Executing Priorities with Excellence, Moving with the Speed of Trust, Achieving More with Less, and Transforming Fear into Engagement.
"We are thrilled to offer attendees of this year's CIO 100 Symposium the opportunity to interact with Stephen Covey, one of the most respected experts on leadership worldwide," said Maryfran Johnson, editor in chief of CIO magazine and events. "Having access to Polycom's telepresence facilities will make this unique workshop highly engaging, giving our attendees a memorable learning experience that fits well with the innovation and business value themes of the overall agenda."
Polycom telepresence solutions provide natural, interactive collaboration between geographically dispersed workgroups to help people work more efficiently and effectively across distances. The standards-based solutions deliver high definition video, voice and shared multimedia content and interoperate natively with an ecosystem of more than two million standards-based systems in use today. Polycom delivers a complete offering with its partners to video-enable organizations and facilitate collaboration with their customers, vendors and partners.
"Although this represents the public debut of our telepresence interactive forums, Stephen Covey has used Polycom telepresence to successfully collaborate with business leaders in Denmark, South Korea, Egypt and with educators and school administrators in the U.S.," said Boyd Craig, executive director, Stephen R. Covey Group, FranklinCovey Co. "We are excited to now formally offer these services more broadly."
"I am personally excited about our relationship with Stephen Covey, as I have benefitted from the principles of his books, including 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,' in my own career," said Robert Hagerty, CEO and chairman of Polycom, Inc. "The CIO 100 Symposium is a great venue to debut Stephen Covey's new telepresence interactive forums, as it fits extremely well with the event's theme: 'Innovation for Customers, Collaboration and Cost-Management.'
"Telepresence is transforming how our customers operate. For Stephen Covey, this represents a new, innovative model that will help extend its reach more efficiently and cost-effectively and create new opportunities for collaboration with its customers and the global FranklinCovey franchise network," continued Hagerty.
Attendees of the CIO 100 Symposium will receive a free copy of Stephen Covey's new book "Predictable Results in Unpredictable Times," as well as a special offer to host a similar type of interactive forum with Covey among the leadership teams within their own organizations. Organizations interested in hosting this type of event should call 1-800-245-8152 or email michael.ockey@franklincovey.com.
About Dr. Stephen R. Covey
Dr. Stephen R. Covey (www.stephencovey.com) is an internationally respected leadership authority, teacher, writer, organizational consultant and co-founder and vice chairman of FranklinCovey Co. He is author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, which Chief Executive magazine has called the most influential business book of the last 100 years. The book has sold nearly 20 million copies, and after 20 years still holds a place on most best-seller lists.
Stephen Covey earned an MBA from Harvard and a doctorate from BYU, where he was a professor of organizational behavior. For more than 40 years he has taught millions of people—including presidents of nations and corporations—the transforming power of the principles that govern individual and organizational effectiveness. He and his wife live in the Rocky Mountains of Utah.
About FranklinCovey
FranklinCovey Co. (NYSE: FC) (www.franklincovey.com), is a global provider of training and consulting services in the areas of leadership, productivity, strategy execution, customer loyalty, trust, sales performance, government, education and individual effectiveness. Clients include 90 percent of the Fortune 100, more than 75 percent of the Fortune 500, thousands of small- and mid-sized businesses, as well as numerous government entities and educational institutions. FranklinCovey Co. has 40 direct and licensee offices providing professional services in 147 countries.
About CIO
CIO produces award-winning content and community resources for information technology executives thriving and prospering in this fast-paced era of business, as well as create opportunities for information technology and consumer marketers to reach them. The CIO portfolio includes CIO.com, CIO magazine (launched in 1987), CIO Executive Programs and the CIO Executive Council. CIO properties provide business technology leaders with analysis and insight on information technology trends and a keen understanding of IT's role in achieving business goals. The U.S. edition of the magazine and website are recipients of more than 200 awards to date, including two Grand Neals from the Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Awards and two Magazine of the Year awards from the National Society of Business Publication Editors. CIO websites and printed publications appear in more than 20 countries, including Australia, Canada, France, India and Sweden. CIO Executive Programs—a series of face-to-face conferences including the CIO 100 Awards & S
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