 
About Me
I'm an entrepreneur, sales executive, business author,
columnist, speaker, stand-up comic, drummer and
television producer.
Born and raised until age 9 in
England, I adopted both American citizenship
and accent. After spending my teenage years living in
Virginia, South Carolina and the south coast of Spain
(my American step-dad was in the navy),
I joined the US Navy after high school. While
stationed in Hawaii, I put down the trumpet I'd been
playing in bands since 6th grade and learned how to play
the drums.
In Southern California, after the
navy, I became a full-time professional drummer,
playing in smoky clubs 5 nights a week. I also began my
study of Eastern philosophies including Zen and Taoism,
which I contrasted and compared to my Christian upbringing.
(I saw the similarities in 'ethics of reciprocity,' yet
I appreciated the reduced Eastern focus on dogma along
with the increased tolerance for
diversity.)
When life as a drummer on the road
started to lose its luster after a few years, I went
to college and ended up with a bachelor's degree in
computer science. Hired
as an entry level computer programmer in 1981, I
advanced into technical team management, then into technical sales, and
finally into sales management.
While growing my new family (which
included two daughters, who are both now wonderful young adults), I held
sales management positions at Banyan
Systems and Shiva (before their acquisition by Intel), I
led Compaq's launch of their new networking products
division in the Western US, and I managed Southern
California sales for Extreme Networks. During the
evenings I studied at
the Graziadio Graduate School of Business and
Management at Pepperdine University, and this entrepreneurial
acumen led to my co-founding of Telsius
Technology, a healthcare IT security start-up in Los
Angeles that, after four years in operation, achieved
profitability in 2005. After selling my equity in
Telsius to my partners and resigning my position as VP
of sales and marketing, I took on the role of growing Western
North America sales for a Boston-based identity management software
company. In less than two years I quadrupled revenue in
that previously poor-performing geography by
implementing new sales processes, opening new offices
and hiring top talent. Currently I manage Western US
sales teams for a high-tech healthcare-focused firm.
My 2004 book,
ZenWise Selling: Mindful Methods to Improve Your
Sales...and Your Self, explains how to sell goods
and services profitably and ethically, and how to
achieve both financial and personal success as a sales
professional. ZenWise Selling is translated and
distributed internationally, and it was
a Finalist in ForeWord's Book of the Year
Awards. I've written dozens of business articles and
columns for The Los
Angeles Times and the Long Beach Business Journal,
I've written cover and feature stories for Referee
Magazine, plus countless articles and stories
(including short fiction and science fiction) for other
publications. As a keynote speaker and workshop leader my
clients have included conferences, associations,
chambers of commerce and universities.
Several years ago I earned my
license in television production, and immediately
created a TV program called Good Business on
which I interviewed CEOs and other leaders of
ethically profitable companies. The show was named
Best New Television Program of 2005 by Charter
Communications. I was offered the position of West Coast correspondent for the PBS
TV series Ethical Markets, but decided to focus
instead on creating the Good Business Seal of
Approval to help build consumer trust and corporate
responsibility by drawing positive attention to
companies that similarly value investor interests and
social/environmental awareness.
To balance all these serious matters,
I maintain my funny bone, as illustrated by the comedic TV show I produced, Not
Quite Right, starring top comedic actors from across
the country, which is now on its way to the big screen
as a feature-length, all-sketch movie called
SketchFlick. As a stand-up comic
I have performed at venues throughout Southern
California. I have notebooks filled with humorous stories,
poems and lyrics I've written over the years. Stress
relief comes from meditation, regular workouts and full-court
basketball at the gym, plus riding fast-but-safely on
5-wheeled speed-skates, in 4-wheeled cars and on 2-wheeled
motorcycles.
Finally, I am still actively
involved in the music business. While drumming with BGB
these past few years I've shared
the stage with acts including Three Dog Night, Eddie
Money, Leon Russell and Macy Gray. My other
band, the 12-piece (including a 5-piece horn section) funk/rock/rap group Project Tru, has
performed alongside Poncho Sanchez and Salvador Santana at venues such as
Hollywood's House of Blues and the Galaxy Theatre. We
recently released our second album, "In Case
They Still Believe." The 15-song CD took us over
two years to record and mix, but the end product -- the
music -- speaks for itself.
1.866.936-9473
Lee@LeeGodden.com
|
 |
