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Join Me at This Year’s Chick-fil-A Leadercast

Admittedly, I am a conference junkie. Thankfully, attending conferences, discovering new speakers, and raising the visibility of my company is part of my job as CEO of a book publishing and live events business.

Seth Godin Speaking in Front of a Live Audience

Seth Godin Speaking Live

But that doesn’t mean I’m not selective. I pass on nine conferences for every one I attend. I can’t attend all of them, but I want to make sure I attend the best, most stimulating ones. That’s why The Chick-fil-A Leadercast is on my short list of can’t-miss events.

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The Chick-fil-A Leadercast is a one-day leadership event that will be broadcast live from Atlanta, Georgia on May 6, 2011, directly to 75,000 leaders in North America. The conference will feature eleven renowned speakers, including Seth Godin, Dave Ramsey, John Maxwell, and Robin Roberts (co-host of “Good Morning America”).

However, the live event is only part of the story. If you are a pastor or in a position of leadership in your local church, this is an opportunity for you to reach the leaders in your business community in a powerful, relevant way. How? By hosting a live feed of the event in your church.

This will enable you to:

  • Build relationships with influential community leaders and begin significant conversations that are relevant for their world.
  • Meet the leadership training needs of your business community with relevant content, unavailable anywhere else.
  • Gain recognition in your community as a credible source of relevant, excellent marketplace inspiration.
  • Generate alternative revenue for your church.

Gene Mermilliod, a host for Chick-fil-A Leadercast in Gray, TN, said it well:

The church has consistently had ministries for preschool, children, youth, men’s ministries, and women’s ministries. But no church that I’m aware of is really doing effective work at reaching out and engaging the business community. Our church saw this as an opportunity to minister to a new and important audience that we had never attempted to reach.”

Gene has now hosted Chick-fil-A Leadercast for four years at Tri-Cities Baptist Church. He started the event with a desire to provide a service to business people in his city. Each year the event has grown: They had 260 attendees the first year and and 400 attendees last year.

Though Gray is a small town, Gene and his team have managed to build relationships with twenty different partnering sponsors, who participate at all different levels. (Click here to read more of his story.)

Last year, I hosted Backstage Leadercast and had the privilege of interviewing several of the event speakers, including Jim Collins, author of the business bestseller, Good to Great, and Dan Cathy, President of Chick-fil-A. (You can watch these here and here to get a sense of the content.) I will be hosting the Backstage program again in May and can’t wait to interview this year’s roster of speakers.

If you want to make a difference in your community, please consider hosting the Chick-fil-A Leadercast. You can get more information here. You will also be entered in a contest to win a free iPad. (You know you want one!)

Also, you can visit the Chick-fil-A Leadercast website for in-depth information about the 2011 event. You can follow Chick-fil-A Leadercast on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to be kept up-to-date on the latest leadership resources and news about the this year’s event.

Question: Have you attended or hosted a Chick-fil-A Leadercast previously? If so, what was your experience? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored post.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to write it. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Posted on January 26, 2011

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  • Dwright

    I have attended the Chic Fil A Leadercast via satellite for the past two years at one of the local churches in my area. This conference provides incredible value and the top thoughgt leaders in the world. I would highly recommend it to anyone! As a matter of fact, I am now trying to decide whether or not to attend the satellite or the actual live event this year. One thing is for sure, I will attend!

  • http://uma-maheswaran.blogspot.com/ Uma Maheswaran S

    I haven’t attended a Chick-fil-A Leadercast previously. Hence, I am planning to attand the same this year through video. I love to attend in person but my geographical location becomes a disadvantage.

  • http://www.davidsantistevan.com David Santistevan

    I’ve never attended the Leadercast but now that you mention it, it seems like a great opportunity.

  • DrDavidFrisbie

    This is a battery-recharging event packed with inspiration and practical help. One of the best new-idea generators I’ve experienced!

  • Adrianne

    I had the privilege to attend the live event last year for the the first time. It was an incredible day filled with high energy excitment and gifted speakers who shared powerful insight into how to leverage your influence as a leader. It was engaging and I walked away challenged. This is a conference that is well worth your time investment!

  • Andrew Acker

    Luckily my church is already signed up to host it! Next is just figuring out a way to attend (time/money). This is truly one of the best line up of speakers I’ve ever seen. A close running for last years Leadership Summit.

    And yes, I really do want an iPad

  • http://twitter.com/2020VisionBook Joshua Hood

    Seth Godin, Dave Ramsey, John Maxwell, and Robin Roberts? What a lineup! Add this even to the spicy chicken sandwich as another wonderful reason I love Chic-fil-A!

    Josh Hood
    2020visiononline.org

    • http://michaelhyatt.com Michael Hyatt

      It is a killer line-up. Several of my favorite speakers.

  • Jean

    I haven’t attended a Leadercast, but I have worked as a freelance writer/editor for Chick-fil-a’s kid’s meal premiums. I just want to say what a great company this is to work with. Leading with and through the Lord makes all the difference.

    • http://michaelhyatt.com Michael Hyatt

      I love the company, too. I love what they stand for and how they run their business.

    • http://michaelhyatt.com Michael Hyatt

      I love the company, too. I love what they stand for and how they run their business.

  • Ashley Musick

    Sounds like a great group of speakers! If a church or business hosts the live cast of this event, is it usually free? Just interested in seeing how people are offering this to their communities. It’s really a brilliant idea and great way to give back. At this point in life, I’m more likely to be somebody who attends rather than hosts.

    • Rachel Christopher

      The beauty of the event is that you can offer it in several ways – some sites choose to charge a fee in order to generate a profit or simply cover costs. Others get sponsors to underwrite the event so that they can offer it to their communities for free. If you’d like more info, you can email info@chick-fil-aleadercast.com.

  • http://twitter.com/ThatGuyKC K.C. Pro

    While I haven’t attended this leadercast before it sounds awesome!! I’ve passed it along to my pastor and to my supervisor at work.

    Thank you for passing along the conference recommendation.

  • http://twitter.com/doughibbard Doug Hibbard

    I have not attended or hosted, but really would like to. There’s not much recognition of the need for leadership development out here, but I’m hoping we’ll grow in that in the years to come. Rural areas tend this way, that what always has been good enough will be good enough. More and more, though, a lot of the old farmers around here are realizing that things have to change for their grandchildren, and are growing in their hunger to learn and grow.

  • http://www.jeffrandleman.com Jeff Randleman

    I would love to attend, but unfortunately, budget prevents it this year…

  • http://kennysilva.net Kenny Silva

    I attended Leadercast at Oasis Church in Nashville last year and had an amazing experience. The speaker lineup was simply incredible and this year looks to be just as good. Dr. Ben Carson had a huge impact on me that day. I would strongly recommend this event to anyone interested.

  • http://www.uknowpr.com Melissa

    CFA Leadercast is awesome. My husband and I hosted in Puerto Rico last year and the experience was beyond everybody’s expectation. We are hosting this year and we’re getting ready to transform even more lives and make an impact in our island. Thanks Michael for being part of it too.

    • http://michaelhyatt.com Michael Hyatt

      Awesome. Thanks for that testimony. I have heard the same from numerous pastors.

  • http://www.bigb94.webs.com Brandon

    I have heard great things about this conference!

  • http://www.gospellab.com Gospel lab

    A church could host the live feed and also talk to a local Chick-fil-A to see if they would cater the lunch.

    • http://michaelhyatt.com Michael Hyatt

      That’s an idea!

  • http://successbeginstoday.org/wordpress John Richardson

    I didn’t get a chance to see the Leadercast last year, but your after speech interviews were awesome. I really liked the leadership focused questions you asked. You were able to capture the real personalities, which made for interesting interviews. Your session with Dr. Ben Carson (One of my favorite authors) really hit home. His story of his mom and her unwillingness to let him fail was powerful. I hope I get a chance to hear this year’s program, here in Southern California.

    • http://michaelhyatt.com Michael Hyatt

      I loved talking with Dr. Carson. His story about reading in particular had a huge impact on me. Thanks.

  • Erica

    This is awesome. Just the other day I told my husband that I thought Chick-Fil-A should write a book about Customer Service entitled, “The Chick-Fil-A Way!” Irregardless of which one we go to, we have never been let down and the employees always go above and beyond.

    • http://michaelhyatt.com Michael Hyatt

      That would be an awesome book. I would publish it!

      • Erica

        Well, when you do… I’d like a finder’s fee! haha!!

        Can’t wait for the cruise – just got another 8 inches of snow in NJ – I’m so over this weather!!

        • http://www.christopherscottblog.typepad.com/ Christopher Scott

          I believe there is a book out by Chick-fil-A about leadership. I saw it at a used book sale on Friday. I can’t remember the title.

          I believe it’s written by Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick-fil-A.

  • http://jeffgoins.myadventures.org Jeff Goins

    Do you get free chicken minis as part of the event?

    • Rachel Christopher

      :) At the live event in Atlanta, everyone gets a free Chick-fil-A lunch!! For other sites around the country, it just depends on the location. I love chicken minis!

  • http://twitter.com/lovinglyyoursG Georgiana

    Sounds like this conference has a fantastic lineup of speakers and it should prove to be very inspirational and motivating for all who can attend!

  • http://twitter.com/homeSTRONGcoach Dean

    So Michael, you said you attend a lot of conferences. If you had to choose only one leadership conference to attend, would this be it?

    • http://michaelhyatt.com Michael Hyatt

      As a publisher, I am trying to find potential authors. I am looking for people who have a compelling message. Conferences are a great place to find that, because the event host has already filtered the potential speakers and tries to get the best of the best.

      Fortunately, I don’t have to pick just one conference. However, this would definitely be in my top five.

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  • http://christopherscottblog.typepad.com/blog/ Christopher Scott

    I have led the effort at our church to host the Chick-fil-A Leadercast the past three years.

    It is a world-class event. The program is stocked with great speakers, a good MC, and the programming is superb.

    We won’t be hosting a site this year because we have not been able to make the event pay for itself. Each of the last three years the event has lost money.

    I want to emphasize that the seminar is an awesome event. The speakers are great and it is well organized by the folks at Giant Impact. We just never were able to get it to pay for itself financially, and we can’t afford to keep holding an event that’s in the red.

    Sorry to be a little negative, but that’s our experience. Perhaps the leadership on my part has not been good enough to get the job done, or our market in Central California is worse than most parts of the country.

    Even though we won’t be hosting the event, I hope to attend the event at a neighboring church.

    • Chick-fil-A Leadercast

      Hi Christopher, thanks for your honest thoughts and I’m sorry that this was your experience with Chick-fil-A Leadercast.

      Some sites certainly find it easier to make a profit than others, depending on location, sponsorship support, and so many other factors. It is our goal to partner with you by offering best practices, support, and ideas along the way.

      This year, we are creating new opportunities to make this support more accessible – through webinars about profitability, a private Facebook page where hosts can share their ideas, an improved host-only website with new marketing tools, and samples from sites who have found avenues for success.

      We’d love to hear your ideas on other ways we could improve our service to you. Our goal is to make leadership training affordable and accessible to all leaders throughout North America and the world – and we are honored to partner with sites like yours to make it happen! We value your opinion on how we can better reach these leaders.

      • http://www.christopherscottblog.typepad.com/ Christopher Scott

        Thanks for responding and sharing your insight.

        I will admit, that last year Giant had great support for local sites hosting the event. The webinar you did a few days before the event helped us prepare even more and allowed us to get a feel for what was going on.

        Thanks for doing that. I know it’s always a work in progress to improve, and I’m sure you are doing that.

        Thanks for responding and good luck with the event. I do hope to attend this year.

  • http://twitter.com/MattBeard Matt Beard

    I haven’t attended before but there’s a host site that’s a reasonable distance from me. I’ll be getting info on attending there as well as hosting one. I think this is one of the best and most exciting ministry opportunities I’ve heard of recently and would love for our church to take advantage of it next year if not this year.

  • Rlewis

    We’ve hosted it for the past seven years and will be hosting it again this year. It has been an amazing experience! Every year we think it can’t get any better, but every year it does! Everybody that attends always appreciates having been there. Just Tuesday gone the husband of one of my associates shared how he used a quote by John Maxwell, that he heard a couple years ago at the event, that really got the attention and respect from his peers and bosses.

    Your post is very informative as usual. Thanks!

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  • http://jeffgoins.myadventures.org Jeff Goins

    Have you ever done a top conferences post? I’d love to see which ones you recommend and why.

    • http://michaelhyatt.com Michael Hyatt

      That is a great idea. I will consider that. Thanks.

  • http://twitter.com/chris_r_stevens Chris Stevens

    I’m attending the webcast at a church an hour away from where I live here in southern Indiana. I’m so happy I don’t have to go all the way to Atlanta to hear from these great leaders. Your post from last year convinced me to go this year. Thanks for the info!

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