Dr. Yvonne Thompson, CBE; stops in Brooklyn, NY to talk with What's The 411TV about her new book, 7 Traits of Highly Successful Women on Boards

Dr. Yvonne Thompson, CBE, was born into a family of entrepreneurial parents who left the Caribbean and immigrated to England at the request of Queen Elizabeth to help rebuild England after the war. Dr. Thompson arrived in England as an elementary school student and came of age during a time when racism was legal in England; John F. Kennedy was elected President of the United States and assassinated; freedom fighter Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream and was assassinated, as well as, Robert F. Kennedy. These events could have dimmed her spirits, but they were countered with man landing on the moon. This one act helped to develop Dr. Thompson's entrepreneurial spirit and propelled her thinking that she could do anything.

At her first job at CBS Records, Dr. Thompson realized quickly that she would not escalate up the corporate ladder as quickly as she would like. Consequently, she started her own company, which was the first black public relations company in the UK. Dr. Thompson was also the editor of the first black glossy magazine in the UK; and a founding director of the U.K.'s first black-formatted radio station, Legal Choice FM. As a director of Legal Choice FM, Dr. Thompson was the lone female voice on a board with nine men. Although people advised her not to invest her money in a "pirate radio station," Dr. Thompson made the investment and looks back with pride because it was a wise investment and the black music played by Legal Choice FM helped to change the culture of the UK for the better.

Despite the financial and cultural success of Dr Thompson's investment in Legal Choice FM, being the lone female voice on a board with nine men was not a walk in the park.

"It was a struggle to have my voice heard," Dr. Thompson stated. "It was a struggle for me to come in and work with nine men who...nine men who thought they knew it all."

Through this experience, of working with nine men who thought they knew it all, she realized that there must be other women with common experiences, so Dr. Thompson decided to write the book, 7 Traits of Highly Successful Women on Boards to share her experience, strategies, tips, advice, her challenges, and how to overcome them.

In the process, to make the book, 7 Traits of Highly Successful Women on Boards, multi-dimensional, Dr. Thompson interviewed 22 women on other boards including one woman who for the first 40 years of her life lived as a man.

The result is a highly informative guide to navigating the dynamics of human behavior; 7 Traits of Highly Successful Women on Boards reads like a businessperson's novel, and the book includes its methodology and space to take notes. 

Lastly, and hugely important, 7 Traits of Highly Successful Women on Boards, shows how one can arrive in the UK as an immigrant and be honored by the Queen because of one's contributions for the greater good.

Bravo, Dr. Yvonne Thompson, CBE, bravo!

Much continued success to you.

Freedom Williams gives advice to would be music and recording artists: remember you are the brand

In this interview with What's The 411TV's Courtney Rashon, hip hop artist and dancer, Freedom Williams, gives us some insight into his life today, thoughts on the state of the music industry, how he got his record deal, and how some artists today are replicas of the past.

Freedom Williams, born Frederick Brandon Williams, started as a hip-hop head and evolved into a dancer. Today, Freedom has his hands in everything. He built a recording studio for artists to use; tours several months out of the year, manages a couple of groups, directs videos; mentors artists including the Williamsburg Bullies; builds houses through his construction company; and he has two children, a son who recently graduated from Columbia University and a 15-year-old daughter. 

Regarding the state of hip-hop today, Freedom believes hip-hop has lost some of its punch. The music industry as it was when he started is no more; people are making music in their basements, everybody's sharing and record sales have plummeted.

As far as ghostwriting goes in the rap industry, Freedom thinks today it's a silly argument. However, back in the day, rap artists would have gotten beat up for ghostwriting, but today is a different day. The industry has changed and the culture has changed.

What's on Freedom's playlist? You can find Janelle Monae, Stevie Wonder, classical music, Haitian music, and even Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speeches on Freedom's playlist. As an artist, Freedom listens to everything. Who are Freedom Williams' favorite artists? Stevie Wonder, as a producer-musician, is Freedom William's favorite artist of all time. In 2015, Freedom likes Janelle Monae; Anthony Hamilton; Drake; Immortal Technique; and Latin music. 

For those looking for a record deal, what's Freedom's advice? Remember you are the brand, work on you. The real money is in performance, so make people want to give you their money.

"Be the best that you can be, Freedom said. "Work on your songs, work on your craft, so when you are presented...the real game starts in practice, you bring that to the field."

Also, take care of your health. Freedom Williams believes in being physically fit; he says that when he's performing, he can see the audience getting tired before he does.

How does Freedom feel about social media?

Although social media is a valuable tool to market and promote artists today, Freedom advises artists to have thick skin and don't get caught up in the negativity.

Thank God there was no social media back in the day; today there are so many finger gangsters.

Would Freedom Williams go on Dancing With the Stars?

Perhaps.

Although Alfonso Ribeiro set the bar really high, if the producers of Dancing With The Stars called Freedom Williams, he would answer the phone.

Mathew Knowles, the creator and former manager of pop icons, Destiny's Child, Beyonce, and Solange Knowles, drops wisdom in his first book, The DNA of Achievers: 10 Traits of Highly Successful Professionals

In this wide-ranging interview with What's The 411TV, entertainment mogul Mathew Knowles, is a business consultant, teacher, and adviser, as he imparts nuggets of information about the music industry and life in general, while discussing his first book, The DNA of Achievers: 10 Traits of Highly Successful Professionals.

In 53 minutes, Mr. Knowles talks with What's The 411TV correspondent, Courtney Rashon, in a down-to-earth manner, about the inspiration for his book, The DNA of Achievers: 10 Traits of Highly Successful Professionals; the importance of passion in realizing goals; the Talk-to-Do Ratio, a phrase Mathew Knowles coined that he uses as an indicator of success (and soon will everyone else); how music artists really make money; elements needed to be successful in the music industry; the effects of growing up in Alabama; challenges leaders face; social media; and more.

Clearly, as the genius behind the success of the Destiny’s Child, and the launch of Beyonce into super-stardom, Mathew Knowles is appropriately positioned to discuss the qualities of achievers. 

Each chapter of The DNA of Achievers: 10 Traits of Highly Successful Professionals is focused on the ten traits that Mr. Knowles believes are essential to success.

Mathew Knowles is emphatic that passion is the primary trait for success and discusses passion at length in this interview with What's The 411TV and, it is the first chapter in the book. Mr. Knowles' 10 Traits of Highly Successful Professionals are:

1.  Passion

2.  Vision

3.  Work Ethic

4.  Team Building

5.  Planning

6.  Talk-To-Do Ratio

7.  Risk-Taking

8.  Learning From Failure

9.  Giving Back

10. Thinking Outside the Box

The teacher in Mathew Knowles wants to make sure that the reader really absorbs his message, so The DNA of Achievers:10 Traits of Highly Successful Professionals provides a quiz at the end of every chapter.

As serious as Mathew Knowles can be in discussing The DNA of Achievers, he also displays a sense of compassion when discussing a student in his class whose family was the recipient of a home from Habitat for Humanity and his now raising his 13-year-old sister. He also likes to have fun (and who doesn't) and he showed off his zany side when talking about his fraternity and then again when he hilariously compared social media to yesteryear's rag magazines that are still positioned at grocery store checkouts. The bottom line of the comparison was to drive the point that many people are generating enormous wealth off of the emotions of undiscerning people.

The DNA of Achievers: 10 Traits of Highly Successful Professionals will be out in time for the upcoming gift-giving holiday season.

Angela Flournoy, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Tracy K. Smith, Robin Coste Lewis, Terrance Hayes, Ross Gay, and Ada Limon are among the 2015 National Book Awards Finalists

After months of reading through hundreds of books, the National Book Foundation released this morning its book reviewers' short list of 20 authors who comprise the finalists for the upcoming National Book Awards.

This is the most ethnically diverse class of authors to reach the National Book Awards Finals in its 65-year history.

The 2015 National Book Award finalists are:

Fiction

Karen E. Bender, Refund
Angela Flournoy, The Turner House
Lauren Groff, Fates and Furies
Adam Johnson, Fortune Smiles
Hanya Yanagihara, A Little Life

Nonfiction

Ta-Nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me
Sally Mann, Hold Still
Sy Montgomery, The Soul of an Octopus
Carla Power, If the Oceans Were Ink: An Unlikely Friendship and a Journey to the Heart of the Quran
Tracy K. Smith, Ordinary Light

Poetry

Ross Gay, Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude
Terrance Hayes, How to Be Drawn
Robin Coste Lewis, Voyage of the Sable Venus
Ada Limón, Bright Dead Things
Patrick Phillips, Elegy for a Broken Machine

Young People's Literature

Ali Benjamin, The Thing About Jellyfish
Laura Ruby, Bone Gap
Steve Sheinkin, Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War
Neal Shusterman, Challenger Deep
Noelle Stevenson, Nimona

The book community is talking about this class of National Book Awards finalists. Excitement is in the air. One poster on Twitter likened today's National Book Awards finalists announcement to "Christmas."

Diversity doesn't happen in a vacuum. The National Book Foundation in opening its doors to include more diverse judges makes us all the richer for it.

The National Book Awards ceremony will be held in New York City on November 18. Winners in each category will receive a bronze sculpture and $10,000.

Congratulations to all of the 2015 National Book Awards Finalists.

Photo Credits:

Angela Flournoy
Twitter

Ta-Nehisi Coates
Nina Subin/Random House

Tracy K. Smith
TheAlchemistKitchen.blogspot.com

Ross Gay
Zach Hetrick

Terrance Hayes
Literary-Arts.org

Robin Coste Lewis
Twitter