Happy New Year!! It's 2008...Are You the Person You Thought You Were Going to Be??

Success is the direct result of your efforts. I read that somewhere, or I maybe I heard it. Whichever the case, I firmly believe it and have reminded myself of that throughout the years.

It's a simple enough formula, but it gets complicated and muddled when we start lying to ourselves about how much effort we've put into something. (read Mark Cuban's post for more on this.)

90% of life is showing up. I used to believe that, until I showed for a lot things and well...I got to be seen a lot. That's all, just seen.

I believe 90% of life is taking action. Your career won't improve if you don't take the necessary steps to make it better, get a promotion or change careers altogether. Apparently paying my membership dues isn't enough for me to lose weight. A friend reminded me I have to actually show up and work out. (Oh...that's what I was doing wrong!)

In my End-of-Year Yhank You post I get gushy about how great a year it was. HPNG's end of year survey went out last week and it reminded me of how HPNG raised the bar of networking events.

Back in the day when I was looking for quality Hispanic networking events, I only found social ones. After prompting from some friends whose opinions I respected greatly, we started HPNG. "We'll see what happens," I thought.

Those same friends became our Steering Committee and HPNG's mission was to provide quality networking events for Hispanic professionals.

Interestingly, this survey has shown requests for HPNG "social" events. Yeah...we don't that. (However, there are hundreds of Latino social groups in NY that do. A quick Google search can take you there.)

HPNG produces networking events where Hispanic professionals can congregate and develop professional relationships. And by relationships, I don't mean giving your card to someone you spoke with for two minutes and whom you'll call the next day hoping you can sell them something or that they'll hire you for a job. We don't do that either. As Mariela Dabbah pointed out in her HPNG workshop, taking the time to develop ONE quality contact during a event, beats out getting a roomful of cards of people who won't remember you.

Don't kid yourself about the effort, time and money you're spending on developing yourself and your career. The begining of the year is a great time to take that personal inventory. Commit to take action. And, if you're serious about it, HPNG will have the tools for you to do that.

Success is the direct result of your efforts.

The clock is ticking, are you the person you thought you were going to be?

See you in '08!


HPNG NY

HPNG MIAMI

Who's In Your Network?

"Career Networking" events are filled with people you don't want in your network. - Ben Casnocha

Who's in Your Network?

HPNG NY

HPNG MIAMI

Happy Holidays! Thank you very much for being part of HPNG this year.

HPNG events have high-level speakers and attract accomplished attendees from across diverse industries. The business contacts I've made at HPNG events have added value to my professional network.

- Robert Valencia

This year, in addition to our monthly networking events, HPNG took new paths in bringing you career and professional development opportunities.

Our new offerings included Mariela Dabbah, who presented a workshop on networking skills and Lt. Roque Torres who took us on a path of introspective leadership in our first networking lunch.

HPNG's monthly networking events not only bring you the opportunity to connect with other successful Hispanic professionals, but also to interact and learn from our community's Latino leaders.

A big, special thanks to the HPNG crew, guest hosts and my partners in crime that keep me motivated and inspired: Adele Farina, Juan Aycart, Rossy Castillo-Almonte, Dee Sepulveda, Harrison Wise, Phyllis Shelton, Carl Reid, Jose Marquez, Rey Polanco, Leslie Sanchez, Mindy Figueroa, Juan Guillen, Laura Martinez, Melissa Minchala and Juan Manuel Benitez.

Big hugs to our sponsors who helped keep the HPNG mission alive this year: NY1Noticias, State Farm Insurance, LatinInsights and Microsoft Corporation.

I'm very grateful to our speakers who shared their stories on success, determination and sometimes hardship. What was interesting, is that the resounding message from everyone was about empowering oneself with the right experiences, tools and mentors in order to succeed. Thank you all for inspiring your community!

Our speakers: Felix Sencion, CEO, Mundial Group; Leslie Sanchez, CEO, Impacto Group LLC; Juan Guillen, Publisher, DTM Magazine; Milton Olave, CEO, Exito Latino; Ralph Paniagua, President & CEO, R. Paniagua, Inc.; Jacqueline Hernandez, Publisher, People En Español; Elsie Ramos, Chef, Author and TV Reality Show Star; Stephen Palacios, Executive Vice President, Director Hispanic Practice, Cheskin New York and Walter Dominguez, Principal Consultant and Security Architect, Microsoft Corporation.

AND most of all, thank YOU, HPNG members, for your support!!
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Now that we all feel warm and fuzzy, here are some useful tools you can use when not attending HPNG events:

HPNG LinkedIn Network
If you haven't taken advantage of this great online networking tool, here's the scoop: LinkedIn is the premier professional online networking community. With LinkedIn, you find the people, jobs and services you need through the people you know and trust, while you strengthen and extend your existing network.

HPNG Forum
HPNG introduced the Forum as a way to allow you to distribute info to other HPNG members. You can post events, announcements, post jobs, etc. It's like Craigslist for HPNG...and like Craigslist, it's free to use.

HPNG Membership
The long-awaited membership format for HPNG finally arrived. The idea is to bring focused training workshops for HPNG members that you wouldn't get through any other networking organization.

Beginning in January 2008, HPNG's quarterly Career Management Program will be delivered by ETP's Rod Colon. One of the most dynamic Latinos in the coaching field will lead you through the steps of branding yourself (Me, Inc.), then leads you through self-assessment, career options, and an efficient job search, then teaches you all the skills necessary to land the job. Whether your changing careers or just need to brush up on the your career management skills, attending Rod's sessions will make it work for you.

For those interested in high-end leadership development, HPNG's Latino Leader package offers the six-month Breakthrough Leadership Model series delivers results. The this workshop, participants will acquire tools to produce results through others, instead of trying to do it all themselves. These tools will empower the participants to create the catalyst to instill innovation in their direct reports as well as themselves. These tools are appropriate for managers that are responsible for orchestrating change and navigating through new territory.

These monthly meetings will be supported by online private forums for participants to discuss assignments between sessions. The forums are moderated by the presenter who will also in engage in online discussions. The first Breakthrough Leadership session will be on January 29, 2007.

CLICK HERE for HPNG Membership Information

We look forward to seeing you in 2008 in NY and Miami with more exciting guests, new programs and partners and of course, a great way to build relationships with other Hispanic professionals!

Gracias y saludos,

-Ali


Ali T. Curi
El Presidente

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Joining HPNG has been such a great experience for me! The organization has introduced me to influential leaders in our community, and has helped me forge relationships with other members. I have been inspired, motivated, and most importantly, connected with other Latinos.
- Stefanie Lauria

CLICK HERE to join the HPNG NY mailing list