Jennifer with mentor Carlos Dominguez from Cisco.

It was recently announced that Jennifer Brown, President and CEO of Jennifer Brown Consulting, was selected to participate in Cisco’s 2010 Executive Mentor Protégé Program.  This program indicates that Cisco has made a commitment to a small handful of woman- and minority-owned suppliers who currently do work with Cisco on a client basis, with the intent to invest in growing the relationship between each supplier and Cisco. In JBC’s case, this growth will mean a continuation and expansion of the well-known leadership development, executive coaching, and diversity and inclusion programs we’ve delivered to the Cisco community.
 
One of an elite handful of partners chosen, and the only human capital consulting company to be included, JBC has enjoyed a multi-year consulting partnership with many Cisco clients, building cutting-edge team development and leader coaching programs.  Jennifer is also considered a subject matter expert in the arena of inclusion and diversity, and her pioneering employee engagement strategies, as well as her work with Employee Resource Groups, were featured as part of last year’s Cisco Inclusion & Diversity Symposium, broadcast company-wide on Cisco TV. 
Jennifer and the JBC team are already leveraging the EMP2 program to broaden their business with Cisco, and with Cisco’s partners and customers, as well as spread the word generally about the opportunity of programs such as the EMP2.  Jennifer was quoted recently on the relationship between supplier diversity initiatives such as these, and building more inclusive organizations generally:

“We are so honored to be chosen to participate in Cisco’s program, and be invested in as one of Cisco’s minority-owned small business partners. Programs such as the EMP2 program demonstrate how companies can proactively drive diversity in all its forms, including the diversity of CEOs of Cisco’s company partners and suppliers. Leading companies are increasingly investing in incubator programs such as these, which encourage the participation of more diverse voices from the company’s existing supplier base.”

JBC has been assigned a key executive-level resource to enable the company’s exposure at Cisco, Carlos Dominguez, SVP, Office of the Chairman and CEO.  Carlos is an ideal mentor for the effort, as he shares many of the same passions as the JBC team for collaboration, new innovation strategies, and the role of technology in enabling a more engaged workforce. 

To find out more about JBC’s unique approach to developing leaders, harnessing the power of teams, and channeling the energy of diverse workforces towards real impact, please contact us, at www.jenniferbrownconsulting.com.

What if you could have a device that did all of these things?

• Pre-load the device with the best books of 2010.
• Share an executive reading list.
• Provide links to your favorite online resources.
• Build a product that is web-based where your team could tap into a network of diversity champions.
• Build a web-based company-wide platform to share ideas.
• Hook up each reading device with a blog reader that accesses expertise feeds.
• Develop a network vetted and determined by our team via the Jennifer Brown Network.
• Highlight different diverse populations within your organization: Ask a Chief Diversity Officer, Ask a Gen Y!
• Highlight what are people doing in their Employee Resource Groups in a news feed or calendar function.
• Share info on where the best conferences are.

In a dream world, these are JBC’s top five uses for a Kindle or iSlate of the future. Read on…

Later this month Apple Inc. is set to announce the release of a “secret” project, the Apple Tablet (likely called the iSlate). Its going to be portable, hand-held, but with a larger screen and ability to read books, surf the web, and potentially run iPhone apps (we’re crossing our fingers the price point is reasonable). The fun thing about Apple’s device is that its going to be in color, like a glossy magazine. JBC thinks that the release of technology like this (which we are expecting from Apple around March 2010), is fit for discussion. In an age when eBook sales are skyrocketing, even outselling old-fashioned books, and But, what do you think?

We love the puzzle that technology presents to us: How are we using new technology in our business strategy, alignment with our diversity goals, and outreach to our clients? What do you think about technology like Amazon’s Kindle, Blackberry and iPhone applications, and Apple’s pending announcement for their tablet? Is there any room here for the development and implementations of a diversity-aligned business strategy? We think there is!

Think about the possibility of sharing books, links, blog feeds, tweets, collections of tweets, video, images, and events directly with your customer base, employees, prospects, and team leaders. We think there is a lot of potential here.

Want to learn more about this topic?
Email us, and tell us what you think!
eBook Software and Apps Guide from the Huffington Post
Mashable.com’s Apple Tablet news items.
Amazon’s Kindle Page.
Newsweek Article: “The Future of Reading”.

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