More than 1 BILLION people have watched the blockbuster movie The Pursuit of Happy-ness . Will Smith plays the amazing Chris Gardner and was nominated for both an Academy Award and Golden Globe for his role. So to say we were excited to partner with TRET (Total Real Estate Training) to bring Chris to Australia for the first time is a slight understatement!

The movie itself depicts just one year of Chris Gardner's life. While we couldn't wait to hear that part of the story, we knew there was so much more to the man...

Ovations International was delighted to be awarded the IASB Community Service Award at the recent 2013 IASB Conference in Miami. Aimed at increasing awareness on the ways in which speakers bureaus can make a difference in their local community, Ovations took out the Award for our continued support of the Australian Human Rights Commission throughout 2012.

Jane Rowland-Smith, Ovations Chief of Relationships, was the driving force behind our involvement with the AHRC. We're exceptionally proud of the work Jane has done for this cause. 

This month, Leanne Christie was lucky enough to catch up with chief financial prognosticator, Stephen Koukoulas.

A former senior economic advisor to the Prime Minister and past chief enconomist to both local and European banks, Stephen has his finger on the pulse of the Australian economy - while keeping one eye on the global picture that informs us of what's to come.

If your business needs to know what's coming next for the Australian and world economies, then you need to pay attention to The Kouk!

HOW ARE YOU MANAGING DISRUPTIVE TRENDS? ARE YOUR LEADERS AWARE OF THE NEXT TIDAL WAVE OF CHANGES ABOUT TO HIT YOUR INDUSTRY SHORES? WHAT DISRUPTIVE RIPTIDES WILL BE ERODING YOUR MARKET SHARE TOMORROW?

What new Silicon Valley cloud innovations are likely to change how your IT department thinks about the future? What is going on amongst mobile phone vendors in Bangalore that will upend how you think about mobile devices at work? Which Shanghai pirates are likely to shift your thinking about intellectual property? What Barcelona designer is likely to give shape to the tablet device of tomorrow? And which Sydney cafe owner is likely to inspire co-working and innovation hubs of 2020?

In order to position yourself and your organisation favourably for tomorrow and for 2020, you need to think global, and act local. Glocalization is upon us, and that is why global, yet local, insights from around the world are critical to your business success.

This month's theme of 'Think Global, Act Local' exemplifies a trend from both our speakers and our clients towards thinking beyond the typical geographic boundaries of Australia. It's a trend in flux, with benefits flowing both ways and influenced by a myriad of factors - the new world order of instantaneous information allows us to import and spread new ideas and new tools, while the fluctuating Australian dollar changes the balance of how we prioritise real-world commerce.

To dig deeper into this trend, we spoke to our senior consultant Jane Rowland-Smith.

Who are the global gurus who best 'Think Global, Act Local'? Our Global Gurus We Love feature those incredible visionaries who walk the talk and can show your business how to do the same.

Social media can be a confronting, daunting tide of information to jump into, particularly if you're a business wanting to engage your clientele and increase your customer base. This month we've curated some of the most amazing speakers in social media - follow their example and reap the rewards!

By Robert Brand

Well, not all by itself, but it sure accelerated the time it took for acceptance in the global world of real space missions. Two years ago I was not even working in Aerospace and had no credentials. What I did have was the capacity to make change within myself to get on top of aerospace and an ability to make the web work for me.

Heck! Australia is not even a player in space missions these days so it was multimedia to the rescue.

If you've always thought you were destined for the comedy circuit, now's your chance to prove it!

What did Abe Lincoln have to say about the internet?

If you've never had the opportunity to attend one of our fabulous breakfast showcases, here's your chance to experience just a little of the incredible atmosphere that is the hallmark of an Ovations Speaker Showcase. Watch Craig Reucassel, Kamal Sarma, Paul Wallbank and Narelle Hooper strut their stuff on stage, demonstrating the business savvy and vision that helps our clients succeed!

By Paul Wallbank

Now we’re in the second decade of the Twenty-First Century, business is accelerating as a combination of changes in technology and society come together.

Some of these changes are global, such as the continued rise of China and the Western world’s aging. Others affect us on a personal level. All of them will have a big impact on our businesses and the way we work.

Many of these trends have been predicted for some time. It’s the availability of the cheap (almost free!) computing power that’s delivering many of the promises made by technology over the last thirty years. These are worth examining more closely.

Here are the top twenty...

I have watched literally thousands of demo videos during my Ovations days.

Congrats to Lena Dubojski (REA Group), Karen Sales (Concept Event Management) , Belinda Peuser (Sanitarium), Nikki Abercrombie Smith (Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth) and Ann McCormack, the winners of our Big Book Giveaway!

Fortunately, if you're a book lover, we've got another giveaway this month and this time everyone's a winner!

We're giving away eBook versions of Kamal Sarma's the Leadership Leap! 

By Narelle Hooper

First a quick quizz.

• Q:1 Are you expected to devote extraordinary amounts of time to your work?
• Q:2 Do you seem to spend more time with your work colleagues than anyone else?
• Q:3 Has work taken over your life?

Actually I borrowed these questions from reFocus.org, a web site dedicated to helping former cultists recover.

Has work become the new cult?

By Kamal Sarma

Technology has shaped nearly every aspect of our lives. It has drastically altered the work/life balance many of us had previously enjoyed. In that regard, technology is often viewed as both a blessing and a curse.

While many of the most exciting new speakers for 2013 have been in the public eye for quite some time, they haven't necessarily been available or known as speakers.

We've curated an exciting list of the most exceptional new voices to hit the speaking arena for 2013...

This month we've scoured the web to find you the most incredible, inspirational and moving videos from our speakers. It's a big net to cast, but we've collated what we think are videos you'll truly love!

If you missed out on last month's incredible Sydney Speaker Showcase, don't worry, all is not lost!