Councils of 10 Utah cities & counties will start the day with Hindu prayers next week
Hindu mantras will open the meetings of ten city and county councils in Utah, most probably for the first time, between June four to seven, containing verses from world’s oldest existing scripture.
These include Weber County Board of Commissioners (Ogden), Wasatch County Council (Heber City), Juab County Commission (Nephi), Payson City Council, Centerville City Council, Heber City Council, Woods Cross City Council, Salem City Council, West Bountiful City Council and Charleston Town Board.
Hindu statesman Rajan Zed will deliver the invocations from ancient Sanskrit scriptures before these city and county councils. After Sanskrit delivery, he then will read the English interpretation of the prayers. Sanskrit is considered a sacred language in Hinduism and root language of Indo-European languages.
Zed, who is the President of Universal Society of Hinduism, will recite from Rig-Veda, the oldest scripture of the world still in common use; besides lines from Upanishads and Bhagavad-Gita (Song of the Lord), both ancient Hindu scriptures. He plans to start and end each prayer with “Om”, the mystical syllable containing the universe, which in Hinduism is used to introduce and conclude religious work.
Reciting from Brahadaranyakopanishad, Rajan Zed plans to say “Asato ma sad gamaya, Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya, Mrtyor mamrtam gamaya”; which he will then interpret as “Lead us from the unreal to the real, Lead us from darkness to light, and Lead us from death to immortality.” Reciting from Bhagavad-Gita, he proposes to urge councilmembers and others present to keep the welfare of others always in mind.
During this trip Zed will also meet Utah Lieutenant Governor Spencer Cox, Director of Interfaith Relations of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints John Taylor, West Jordan Mayor Jim Riding, Kakuyo Sensei of Salt Lake Buddhist Fellowship, leaders of Urgyen Samten Ling Gonpa; and visit Weber State University (Ogden) and Utah Valley University (Orem). Zed will also meet Chair James H. “Jim” Harvey of Weber County Board of Commissioners, Chairman Clinton L. Painter of Juab County Commission, Mayor Rick Earnshaw of Woods Cross, Mayor Kurt L. Christensen of Salem, Mayor Brenda Kozlowski of Charleston and Mayor Pro Tem Stephanie Ivie of Centerville City before the respective invocations. During this Utah visit, Zed also plans to address students at Brigham Young University (Provo) and meet its Dean of Religious Education Dr. Brent L. Top; and address a gathering at Sri Ganesha Hindu Temple of Utah (South Jordan) and meet Utah Indian community leader Dinesh C. Patel and Temple President Satish K. Nachaegari.
Rajan Zed had opened Utah State Senate, Salt Lake County Council, Utah County Commission (Provo); and city councils of West Valley, Provo, Sandy, Layton, Taylorsville, South Jordan and Draper—all in Utah; with Hindu invocations in the past.
Zed, a global Hindu and interfaith leader, has been bestowed with World Interfaith Leader Award. Zed is Senior Fellow and Religious Advisor to Foundation for Religious Diplomacy, Spiritual Advisor to National Association of Interchurch & Interfaith Families, on the Advisory Board of The Interfaith Peace Project, etc. He had been panelist for “On Faith”, a prestigious interactive conversation on religion produced by The Washington Post; and leads a weekly interfaith panel “Faith Forum” in a Gannett publication for over seven years.
Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about 1.1 billion adherents and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal. There are about three million Hindus in USA.
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LIL AARON
Premieres New Single
"Anymore ft. Kim Petras"
Exclusively with Billboard
"a pitch-perfect pairing" - Billboard
ROCK$TAR FAMOU$
Out Tomorrow, May 31st
May 30, 2018 - LOS ANGELES, CA - The internet has been buzzing with anticipation ahead of tomorrow's EP release of ROCK$TAR FAMOU$ from lil aaron. Today, he is giving fans one more song with the premiere of "ANYMORE ft. Kim Petras" over at Billboard.com, who called the collab a "pitch-perfect pairing between the emo-rock rapper and subversive pop singer that is actually rooted in a long-standing creative partnership." The latest project from emo-rock-rapper is being released via HAZHEART Records on his birthday, May 31st.
In an exclusive interview with Billboard, Aaron shares that the track with his friend Kim was in the works for over a year. "It's funny because Kim and I were both in Hawaii working on our separate projects when I started making 'ANYMORE' with Ryan OG, Dallas K and BHAM, but it wasn't until about a year later that I finally got her on the song and finished it."
The two have been working together for about two years and actually wrote Kim's single "I Don't Want It At All" the first day they met. lil aaron was featured on her recent hit "Faded" and the two have more projects in the works. Billboard shared that "The two artists bring out a different angle to each other, with Petras stepping away from her signature glossy upbeat pop sound to fill a beat built around a crunching guitar and hand-claps, while Aaron opts for a more direct, impassioned delivery with slick yet accessible bars."
The track joins previously released single, "QUIT ft. Travis Barker" which garnered a coveted spot on Spotify's New Music Friday playlist. The video features Travis Barker (Blink-182),andgives a visual of the story so many people know too well - loving someone who you know is wrong, but being unable to quit those feelings. Check it out, here.
ROCK$TAR FAMOU$ Track Listing:
1. 4 LIFE
2. ANYMORE ft. Kim Petras
3. MAKIN MONEY ft. KIIARA
4. QUIT ft. Travis Barker
5. STUNT
6. ROCK$TAR FAMOU$ ft. Rico Nasty
7. SOMETIMES
In celebration of tomorrow's release, lil aaron is hosting an epic EP Release and Birthday Party at On the Rox. Space is limited, but more information is available by reaching out to RockStarFamousMay31st@gmail.com.
Aaron not only delivers a unique sound in a sometimes other-wise formulaic music scene, but also embraces his own grunge-goth style with 100% confidence. He is able to blend the internet music discovery scene with a mainstream audience while collaborating with artists and creators from vastly different genres. Transitioning from a songwriter to performer, lil aaron's first EP, GLOING PAIN$, was released in 2016 and he has since shared the stage with artists like Blackbear, Kim Petras, smrtdeath and more.With the release of ROCK$TAR FAMOU$ later this month, 2018 is set to be the year of toxic green.
For updates on lil aaron, please visit:
https://www.facebook.com/lilaaron911/
https://twitter.com/lilaaron911
https://www.instagram.com/lilaaron911/
Download EP Cover Art Here
Download Press Photos Here
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Disruption Doesn't Happen Only to the Other Guy:
Why YOU Too Must Be "Inbound" (and Six Steps for Making the Shift)
Are you still running your business like it's 1989? Most leaders know (in theory) that buying and selling have changed forever, yet their own mindset and corporate structure are decades out of date. The authors of the new book Inbound Organization offer six steps to help you start adapting to your customers' new reality.
Hoboken, NJ (May 2018)—Everybody wants to grow but nobody wants to change. It's as true for companies as it is for people. Despite the fact that customers have changed everything about the way they buy—and have an endless array of sellers at their fingertips—too many organizations treat them like all parties are in a (pre-Internet) time warp. This is not just short-sighted; it's self-destructive. And it points to a massive collective blind spot that keeps leaders from seeing the disruptive forces flying up behind them.
"In a world where buyers now hold all the power, it makes no sense for companies to behave as though they still do," says Dan Tyre, coauthor along with Todd Hockenberry of Inbound Organization: How to Build and Strengthen Your Company's Future Using Inbound Principles (Wiley, 2018, ISBN: 978-1-119-48245-1, $25.00). "Yet so many continue to talk to customers the old, interruptive way.
"They're still spamming customers with emails and unwanted calls, putting them through voicemail purgatory, and subjecting them to other poor service practices," he adds. "They're still treating employees badly—apparently blind to the fact that this poisons the customer experience. It's as though they've missed the last couple of decades."
Pre-Internet, sellers controlled the information buyers needed to make a decision. Buyers had to rely completely on what sellers said about their products to evaluate their options. Now the balance of power has shifted. Customers just go online, do research, and compare your product (and its price) to the products (and prices) of your competitors. And if they have a bad experience, an hour later the story is on Yelp.
We all know this, of course. In theory. But for many companies, this knowledge hasn't affected how they reach and interact with their customers. Perhaps these companies underestimate how much has changed, or they believe they are somehow an exception. But there's no arguing with statistics like the following. In the U.S....
The point is clear: The old "outbound" approach will not—cannot—serve you long-term. You must fix any misalignment between buyer expectations and your own corporate structure, mindset, and the culture you're creating. You must deliberately build an inbound organization—one that has the people, culture, and strategies in place to succeed in the age of buyer control. You must build strong relationships with employees, prospects, buyers, and partners and intentionally design a personalized experience to help customers reach their goals.
"Once you've changed the way you think, and everyone understands their new role, you'll experience a massive shift in your culture," says Hockenberry. "It will manifest in every aspect of your customer interaction. Your new inbound approach will be expressed everywhere—in the content on your website, in how your sales team interacts with prospects, and in how your service people connect with customers."
You'll know you've delivered a great customer experience when their reviews, comments, shares, and user-generated content show that you have. Delighted customers share their stories. So do not-so-delighted customers. It's these stories that drive customers to buy—or not. Your success is determined not by what you say your brand is, but by what others say their experience with your brand was.
So how do you become inbound? It all starts with a mind shift on the part of your leadership team. You must follow these six steps:
Assess your current capabilities and build your MSPOT. The book provides an assessment to help you quickly identify strengths and weaknesses inside your organization in relation to Inbound Principles. After you've taken it, you'll be ready to start addressing gaps and areas for improvement. One tool that works well is an MSPOT. This format defines the mission, strategy, plays, omissions, and performance targets in one chart so leaders can structure and distribute it throughout the organization.
"HubSpot developed this format as a simple way to take complex organizational, operational, and financial goals and make them accessible to everyone," says Tyre. "When you're asking people to make a huge change, you absolutely must reduce uncertainty, deliver clarity, and drive alignment. The MSPOT helps you do that."
Get clear on your mission. Don't skimp on this step. It's vital. While many companies have vague, generic, or buzzword-ridden missions, inbound organizations are very clear on the why of their business. A clear and inspiring mission does two things, says Hockenberry. One, it helps recruit the right employees who have the proper values, attitudes, and interest in working toward that purpose. And two, it helps buyers decide to choose you out of the endless options they could choose instead.
"A modern buyer values a relationship with a company that shares her values, without sacrificing any quality or utility," he says. "Buyers increasingly look to buy from companies that match their personal beliefs and that contribute to a mission that lines up with those beliefs. Millennials say they are 60 percent more likely to buy from socially conscious companies."
Build a culture that reflects inbound values. Culture influences all business functions from the first touch, through customer acquisition to customer service, and impacts buyers' expectations and goals. As the connected world evolves, culture has taken on a more important role, because a quality culture creates employee loyalty and loyal employees generate more value for customers. In their research, the authors identified seven key attributes that are critical to creating an inbound culture:
1. Trust, Transparency, and Accountability
2. Putting People First
3. Teams and Teamwork
4. Inbound Decision Making
5. Good Judgment
6. Inbound Operating System and Culture Code
7. Inbound People
"A negative company culture can be expensive, inefficient, and hard to mask from the outside world," says Tyre. "To practice inbound with your clients, you need to build an inbound culture. An inbound culture creates an extraordinary employee experience."
Adopt inbound decision making. Inbound organizations solve problems with an emphasis on enterprise value (EV), which means acting in the best interest of the company as a whole and accepting decisions that help the company mission, even if it makes your job harder. EV means solving for the long-term success of the organization so it delivers value to customers. The authors offer the following example:
Let's say you are a direct sales rep working on a target account and you are forecasting a deal close date by the end of the quarter. In the final weeks before signing the contract, the prospect decides that they would like to have a partner do some of the services associated with the installation. As the partner gets involved in the deal, they realize that it is in the prospect's best interest to delay the sale. Solving for EV means that the direct rep works with the partner in the best interest of the customer, which is in the best interest of the company. Even if it took the salesperson longer to close the deal and she made less commission, she does it because that decision solves for EV.
Create an inbound operating system. An inbound operating system provides tools to support non-hierarchical communication, provides employee feedback, and gives teams the data they need to be successful. It binds everyone together to function as one unit in pursuit of the organization's mission.
An inbound operating system serves as an early warning system for potential problems or bottlenecks. When teams are meeting their goals, leaders don't need to spend much time inspecting their progress. The operating system identifies potential issues, so leaders can get a pulse on how teams are progressing and help keep them in alignment with the organizational mission and strategies.
"An inbound operating system is unique to each business, but there are a few consistent components," explains Hockenberry. "These include open communication tools, employee feedback mechanisms, regularly scheduled and structured interactions, a culture code, and a regular review of the mission and goals."
Find inbound people. As companies grow, culture changes. Hiring people who naturally embody your core values makes it easy to continue to scale. It is a challenge to retrain experienced workers if they don't naturally embrace the company's values. You don't want to find people who fit the culture; you want to find people who add to it. And this doesn't happen quickly. If creating an inbound culture is a priority, recruiting is the single biggest time investment required to build it.
"Smart companies share their inbound culture as the most important attribute of the job responsibilities," notes Tyre. "They tout a culture that supports the opportunity for meaningful work, a positive environment, open communications, individual and team growth, and opportunities to develop and advance. They also build a process to attract, engage, and hire top candidates and promote their inbound culture as a prime attraction, sometimes years before someone becomes an active candidate in the recruiting funnel."
Of course these six steps only scratch the surface of what it means to be an inbound organization. But they do create the foundation that allows the rest of it to happen.
"The companies that recognize and adopt inbound will be able to deliver amazing customer experiences," says Hockenberry. "These companies will create differentiation, in some cases an insurmountable advantage, and establish first mover advantage in many, if not all, industries and market segments. The organizations that understand these ideas now have the best chance to be the winners in the future."
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1. BIA/Kelsey, "Nearly All Consumers (97%) Now Use Online Media to Shop Locally, According to BIA/Kelsey and ConStat," Cision PR Newswire, March 10, 2010, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ nearly-all-consumers-97-now-use-online-media-to-shop-locallyaccording-to-biakelsey-and-constat-87221242.html.
2. Liz Smyth, "B2B Marketing in a Downturn Part 1: Lead Generation and Lead Nurturing," Marketo, March 2012, https://blog.marketo.com/2012/ 03/b2b-marketing-in-a-downturn-part-1-lead-generation-and-nurture.html.
3. Google, "Winning the Zero Moment of Truth," 2011, https://www .thinkwithgoogle.com/_qs/documents/673/2011-winning-zmot-ebook _research-studies.pdf.
4. Lori Wizdo, "Are Your Reps Butchering Your Early-Stage Leads?" Forrester, July 29, 2015, https://go.forrester.com/blogs/15-07-28-are_your_ reps_butchering_your_early_stage_leads/.
5. Ibid.
6. K. Jaramillo, "B2B Buyers Are Calling for a Change in How You Socially Sell to Them on LinkedIn," Salesforce, April 20, 2016, https://www.salesforce.com/blog/2016/04/b2b-buyers-change-social-sell-onlinkedin.html.
# # #
About the Authors:
Dan Tyre and Todd Hockenberry are coauthors of Inbound Organization: How to Build and Strengthen Your Company's Future Using Inbound Principles (Wiley, 2018, ISBN: 978-1-119-48245-1, $25.00).
Dan Tyre joined HubSpot as a member of the original start-up team in 2007, and has led the sales recruiting, sales training, leadership program, and managed national and international sales teams. An authority on inbound marketing and sales, Dan is a regular speaker, writer, blogger, instructor, and coach to those who seek inbound success.
Todd Hockenberry founded and runs Top Line Results, a management consulting firm specializing in helping companies change and grow with inbound marketing and sales, matching best practice inbound strategies to each company's particular situation and goals. He has helped hundreds of clients grow their businesses over the past decade.
About the Book:
Inbound Organization: How to Build and Strengthen Your Company's Future Using Inbound Principles (Wiley, 2018, ISBN: 978-1-119-48245-1, $25.00) is available at bookstores nationwide, from major online booksellers, and direct from the publisher by calling 800-225-5945. In Canada, call 800-567-4797. For more information, please visit the book's page on www.wiley.com.
