Some of you may know that I have been spending most weekends with Sol Trujillo planning and prepping for L’ATTITUDE, a seminal event that will bring together the largest collection of Latino movers and shakers ever assembled. Robert Rodriguez, Zoe Saldana, Oscar Muñoz, CEO of United Airlines, Governor Bill Richardson, Guillermo Diaz, CIO of Cisco, Secretary Ken Salazar, are committed to attending – just to name a few. The event will also feature writers and thought leaders such as the three-time Pulitzer Prize winning writer/journalist, Thomas Friedman. Friedman has sold millions of books including The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century. But, he is probably not as well known among Latino artists and small business professionals who will be attending the event. When I expressed concern to Sol that some of our audience may not know Friedman, he responded by saying, “well, they should”. He went on to tell me a story about his time at AT&T in the ’80’s when he was a rising star in the corporate world. After about a decade at AT&T, at the time the largest company in the world, Sol was one of only a handful of young executives who were selected to participate in a competitive set of interviews and tests to determine who among them had the right stuff to make it all the way to the top. Sol said the process was so intense, two of his colleagues suffered nervous breakdowns. After the testing was complete his superiors told Sol that he scored at the top in every category except for one, a category they called, Awareness. In fact, Sol said he scored near the bottom in Awareness as it relates to art, culture, literature, etiquette, and world affairs. AT&T understood that part of what makes great leaders is the possession of a multi-dimensional understanding of our society and other societies around the world. Sol told me that he didn’t score well because he was never exposed to those things growing up and never realized how important they are to be successful and happy at the highest level. Sol committed to acquiring a better Awareness about the world and eventually became the CEO of one of the largest telecoms in the world, US West. It was a fascinating story that truly inspired me. Sol and I believe that along with providing some of the most compelling dialogue and entertainment in the world, part of our responsibility at L’ATTITUDE is to make sure that the Latinos who participate are exposed to information and perspectives that will dramatically expand their Awareness and prepare them for great things in their lives and careers. L’ATTITUDE will be the catalyst to a new generation of leaders including CEOs, billionaires, superstars, and presidents.
The large majority of undocumented immigrants are decent, hard-working people desperate for a better life in America. However, there are also some bad apples, violent criminals that not only terrorize our communities but also damage the image of Latinos in America. Trump promised to prioritize criminals in his deportation plans. In the first few weeks in office, the data shows that...
When the government tries to tackle a specific issue with a policy, it often causes new variations of the problem to emerge in different areas. In other words, "any action has an equal and opposite reaction." When taxes and regulations are reduced, as is expected in 2025, two things tend to happen: those at the bottom economically have it tougher because there are fewer safety nets and protections. Those at the top make a killing.
Next week, I will be speaking at a Hispanic Leadership Summit at the United Nations. I was asked to speak on the topic of Unity. The following is a preview of my speech.