City of New Canaan Announces Plan for Youth Sports Participants to Pay

Since 1998, Michael Chen has worked as the general partner of Chen & Associates in New Canaan, Connecticut. A community youth baseball coach and a member of the New Canaan Baseball Board of Directors for many years, Michael Chen coached a group of 10 year olds for the 2006 Cal Ripken World Series, where his team came in second in the country, which was the best finish any New Canaan team has ever achieved.

In February 2015, officials who oversee youth sports in New Canaan announced that they plan to institute a mandatory $20-per-player fee to cover fields usage. Previously, the fee and contribution system was less consistent across private organized youth sports. The park district asked for $20 donations, but the sports organizations each funded the request differently.

Park and Recreation Commission chairperson Sally Campbell and selectman Nick Williams announced that the new payment plan would ensure that the fields remained well kept and would avoid preferential play time for different teams.

A number of questions about the proposed policy have been raised. Stakeholders questioned if the fee would apply to high school athletics and Recreation Department sports teams, as well as private organizations. There is also a question of how the fees will be earmarked once they are collected to ensure they directly support field upkeep and are not funneled into other general projects.

Strategic Advisor Position Helps Clients Improve the Organization

With more than 20 years of experience building and leading effective business teams, Michael Chen currently serves as general partner and chief executive officer of Chen & Associates in New Canaan, Connecticut. He frequently accepts speaking engagements on a variety of topics, including venture capital, diversity, and personal branding. He also develops and implements business strategies for a family foundation and office. In addition, Michael Chen focuses on being an effective strategic advisor and business partner to his clients.

Strategic advisors act as business consultants and focus on a specific setting. They tend to possess significant experience and education in their specific field, whether it be marketing, sales, or business. Much of the training they receive occurs on the job, but often times they have an MBA from a top university.

To be successful strategic advisors, individuals must learn as much about their clients as possible. Their job requires them to provide detailed advice and alert their clients of ways to run their businesses more efficiently. They also work with colleagues and clients to improve the organization’s overall outcome by defining issues, asking questions, and working together. Michael Chen and his firm Chen & Associates is focused on listening to and understanding his clients needs, and tapping into his 25+ years of leadership experience at various companies, including IBM, GE Capital, and NBCUniversal to provide key strategic and operation advice and act as an overall business partner for his clients.

The Thrill of Victory

As we go through in life, I’ve learned that we win have many victories and many defeats.  Some are big victories, and some are big defeats.  People say that one’s character is defined by how they handle adversity (defeat).  I am one of those people who believe that to be true.   However, it takes a lot of energy and perseverance to handle adversity.  Where do we get that energy?  For physical energy, we look to food, sleep, and exercise to give us endurance.  But what about emotional and mental energy?  Yes, we turn to our family and friends for love and support.  However, another source of energy (fuel for our soul) is having “small victories.”  These small victories energizes the brain.  When the economy was going through tough times during 2008-2010, and my job was extremely stressful, I found small victories such as watching my son win a basketball game, or my softball team winning a competitive game as very helpful “distractions” to the adversity I was facing at work (as well as my investment portfolio).

A couple of weeks ago, my partner Ritush Venugopal and I played in the Canadian National Championship of Platform Tennis.  This is a great outdoor sport played in the winter time, and is a combination of tennis, squash and ping pong.   Ritush and I had played in a lot of tournaments, with mixed degree of success.   However, we finally played to our potential and came out victorious.  Although in the scheme of life it was not a big victory (no prize money, no media attention, no accolades), it was fuel for the soul and brain.   For the last two weeks, when I was having a rough moment at work, (or at home), I thought about the excitement of that platform tennis tournament, and how we pulled through in the critical moments of the championship match.  In a way, thinking about how we overcame adversity during the platform tennis match, gave me confidence I can overcome adversity in everyday life as well.

I hope all of you find opportunities to achieve “small victories” in your life, as the thrill of these victories is the fuel that provides the energy for the bigger battles in life.

Blessings to you – Michael Chen

Digital Media Trends for 2015

As general partner of Chen & Associates in New Canaan, Connecticut, Michael Chen serves as a strategic advisor and business partner to company executives in the media, financial, infrastructure, and aviation industries. Michael Chen of New Canaan also stands out as founder of the Peacock Equity Fund, a joint venture capital project in the digital media space.

Experts have suggested that in 2015, the most promising trends in digital media exist in personalized messages and connectivity. Multiple sources predict that targeting of consumer behavior will become more prevalent than ever before. In addition, many professionals are seeing an expansion in the use of big data, which has allowed companies to predict trends and create content that aligns with consumer interests. Furthermore, content creation tools are allowing ordinary users to make their own media, which marketing professionals see as a potential for customers to market products to their own friends and families.

Another key trend lies in the prevalence of smart devices. From Internet-connected cars to smart thermostats in the home, users have been introduced to the idea of managing their environments via their devices. This has extended to smart watches and other wearable devices, which experts believe will surge in popularity over the course of 2015. Meanwhile, businesses are taking advantage of this trend by introducing connected devices in industries ranging from health care to manufacturing.

Full-time Graduate Business Study at Cornell University

Michael Chen, general partner of Chen & Associates in New Canaan, Connecticut, takes an active role in his community. Michael Chen of New Canaan serves on the advisory board of Cornell University’s Johnson School of Management.

For students seeking a full-time graduate program, Cornell University’s Johnson School of Management offers several options. The two-year program targets those professionals who intend to advance their careers and strengthen their leadership skills in a dynamic and diverse environment. The 21-month program commences with a foundational orientation program and subsequent core coursework, later progressing into targeted study by specialty in the second semester. Students may opt for a second-year breadth or depth concentration in areas such as entrepreneurship, global business management, and strategy.

Potential students with existing advanced degrees may opt to pursue the one-year MBA program,
which focuses on preparing students for senior management or entrepreneurial roles. The program begins with a 10-week term that includes orientation, development, and core coursework, after which time students progress into an intensive curriculum that includes management practicum work as well as hands-on learning experiences. Students in both the one-year and the two-year track collaborate on real-life business projects while also having the opportunity to participate in interest-specific immersion learning experiences.

Using Elevator Speeches as Part of a Public Relations Strategy

General partner and chief executive of New Canaan, Connecticut-based Chen & Associates, Michael Chen provides companies with information regarding investing, marketing, and business trends. A frequent speaker in New Canaan and worldwide, one of Michael Chen’s areas of expertise within his marketing role is how to effectively develop a great communications and branding strategy.

A communications and branding strategy is designed to improve the image of a specific product or company. In order to fully develop a communications strategy, marketers are encouraged to prepare an elevator speech. An elevator speech is a tactic that explains in one minute or less a certain product and why customers should buy it or endorse it. The elevator speech should also cover how the business model is sustainable as well as its competitive edge. In short, people invest in what they understand, so it is crucial that CEO’s, marketing leaders and brand managers keep this in mind when attempting to boost their image.