President's Message The Top Business Lessons I Learned From An Angelic Team
An angel with a broken wing. Fallen angels (isn’t this a song by Jackson Browne?). The metaphors abound. So does the advice. Our 19-year old son, Devin, being the logical, Lego-builder-turned-mechanic, explains why the angels fell—“It’s a beveled edge, Mom. The angels need to sit on a straight edge.” He whisks them off to glue the wing and set them up high (on a straight edge of the bookshelf) to dry. (Ahh! All is well again. Back to the eggnog and unwrapping). Looking at the expressive faces of the cherubs leads my husband, David to invent their conversation:
So how does this angelic tragedy apply to you as professional speakers, facilitators, and coaches? Sometimes in our work with clients we’re somewhat like fallen angels. It could be Audio-Video (AV) challenges, lack of audience research, flight delays or missing the mark with our self-serving stories or wooden delivery. I know I’ve been there. I bet you have too. Which can lead to being a “one-hit wonder”. A common yet deadly phenomenon in our industry. (Somewhat like my angels story—they were a one-hit wonder…). Our CAPS National President, Peri Shawn’s theme this year is “A Quantum Journey: Delivering Compelling Value.” It’s a series of quantum leaps we’re taking for our association and our members to deliver timely and compelling value for our clients in times of constant, unrelenting change. For CAPS Edmonton, I believe the key to taking quantum leaps as an organization as well as in each of our businesses involves COOPERATION, not competition. The Oxford Canadian dictionary defines cooperation as “working together to the same end, especially agreeably”. At CAPS we call it “The Spirit of CAPS.” Simply stated, we share our expertise and help one another grow ourselves and our businesses. Which ultimately results in delivering compelling value to our clients. With this in mind, my 2010 CAPS Edmonton theme is based on our acronym, CAPSEDM:
One thing I know for sure, we do business with people we know, like and trust. It’s the same with joint ventures. You’ve got to know, like, and trust your colleagues to feel confident referring or bringing them in on contracts with your clients. You can get to know your colleagues and take quantum leaps in your business by:
One thing you know for sure—you won’t succeed in the long run in this business if you’re strictly a one hit wonder. You’re always on the hunt for new clients, new business. It’s unsustainable and just plain tiring. It actually takes less effort to sell a 6-month training and coaching program a few times a year than it does to sell the equivalent in one-off break-out sessions/keynotes. So, commit to trying ONE of these ideas. CAPS members are here to help you glue your wing back on after you fall! I bet you’ll find a few fallen angels amongst our members who’ve learned the advantages of cooperation and would be happy to share a few ideas in The Spirit of CAPS. Best wishes on behalf of the 2010 CAPS Edmonton Board. Lynn Fraser
|
