Kit Prendergast, PCC
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Tag Archives: entrepreneurship
Coaching Takes Off Internationally!
What a whirlwind! I just returned from the wonderful annual international coaching conference (ICF) held this year in Las Vegas, NV. This is my sixth conference – Quebec, Saint Louis, Oakland, San Jose & Montreal – and each have been a great experience well worth the money and time.
Here in Nevada, we had approximately 1,000 coaches from 42 countries attending bringing a wealth of experience and expertise to this four day conference. My head was spinning from first attending our own state-wide NV coaching conference to hearing from the incredibly inspirational key-note speakers (Michael Gelb & Steve Farber) to soaking in the rich content offered by renowned coaching professionals in the many breakout sessions. The evening wine & hors d’oeuvres events in the exhibit hall finished off each day beautifully.
Coaching is Growing World-Wide
But the very best for me is always meeting coaches from all over the United States and the world. During the opening session, it is truly a thrill to see the world map up on the big screens and then as each country is called the country’s coaches stand to thunderous applause. This year there were more coaches from Africa, the Middle East and the Eastern European bloc than I remember in past years. The UK, Canada, China, Australia and South America have hundreds of coaches attending as well.
The International Coach Federation (ICF) is the industry recognized professional association for coaching. Currently, there are 8,000 credential ICF coaches and 125 chapters in 109 countries. It is relatively young for a professional association – just 16 years old – but then again our profession is young as well with its formal beginnings in the early 1990’s. At the conference, I saw a significant trend toward corporate internal coaching, business development and leadership coach specialties.
Individual Conversations with Coaches
And what a delight to have great conversations with Anne-Marie Sevenster, South Africa; Vedat Erol, Turkey; Alexander Vreede, Netherlands; Gilles Gambade,Greece and Angela Kontgen & Victoria Stikeman from Toronto, Canada. I also had a chance to work in small groups with coaches from Mexico, Brazil, Sweden and Romania – even got an invitation to meet with the coaches in Greece! There is such a positive energy, an incredibility strong entrepreneur spirit and a willingness to think BIG – all in the service of others world-wide.
Ideas, resources and business cards were flying back and forth. Some of my training materials are going to South Africa and others are going north to Canada. What fun to share our expertise, our experiences and our support for each other and for the emerging profession of professional coaching. These individual conversations are truly what I treasure after each conference. I feel connected and honored to have several more friends and colleagues around the world . . . and I think I just might followup on that invitation to visit the coaches from Greece!
New England Chocolate & The Entrepreneur Spirit!
The New England Chocolate Company is a delightful oasis in the midst of the busy beach town of Salisbury, MA (north of Boston). In 2002, Jayne Murray, owner & entrepreneur extraordinaire, decided she was ready to leave 22 years of being a speech pathologist. But what could she do or want to do? A delicious idea began bubbling up . . . she and her husband, Les, really like (love) chocolate especially fine Belgian chocolates. In their many travels over the years, they have always gravitated to the chocolate shops in every city and village. But they couldn’t get that quality of chocolate in New England. An idea . . . could they make and sell fine chocolates themselves? The answer was yes.
Chocolate making it was. One year later Jayne & Les were in business making Belgian chocolates from their kitchen and selling it out the side door. In time, they rebuilt their property to accommodate a 750′ sales and kitchen area with their living spaces custom built above it. It all worked out and now Jayne & Les make undisputably the best Belgian chocolates in all of New England.
So what can we learn from the New England Chocolate Company? Jayne is my twin sister, Diane, favorite breakfast buddy and fellow twin mom. Just last week I had the chance to join them for a early breakfast in Salisbury. I asked Jayne the secrets to her success as a Chocolatier and a successful small business owner. With her wonderful laugh and savvy business sense, Jayne shared several tips for the new business owner. The first I want to share with you is the best . . . love what you do!
You Have to Like (Love) Chocolate!
To start your own business you have to like (preferably love) the product or service you are providing. Sounds so simple but it’s amazing how often this idea is overlooked when entrepreneurs start their own businesses. Loving what you do and what you provide will sustain you both during the prosperous times but, more importantly, during those tougher economic times. If you’re not very excited about the actual work you do then the work will become drudgery and you will quickly lose your interest, passion and commitment to making your successful.
So think about the work you do, or would like to do. Do you like it as much as Jayne likes her chocolates? Can you work day after day, month after month and year after year in this kind of work? If the answer is yes, you are well on your way to creating a business that truly fulfills you and that is profitable and fun to boot.
Now go celebrate with a piece of chocolate. Order direct from Jayne www.newenglandchocolatecompany.com or just stop in and see her when you are next in the New England area. You’ll be glad you did!
Be Welcoming, A Valuable Tip from Starbucks
Recently, I had the opportunity to visit the Starbucks Coffee distribution center located here in Northern Nevada. With beautiful views of the Carson Valley mountains, this distribution center is a huge operation shipping coffee throughout the western region. As I waited in the lobby, I was intrigued to read the Starbucks’ mission statement posted on the wall. Was it just words or does the organization really do what they say they believe in?
Within minutes I had my answer – yes, they really have a warm and welcoming culture that radiates out from all the interactions between HR, supervisors and the employees or “partners”. It’s not only words on the wall here at the distribution center but in every Starbucks store I’ve visited across the country. This core philosophy of “Be Welcoming” is included in The Starbucks’ Five Ways of Being which is captured in a pocket-sized book called The Green Apron Book given to each partner.
I love this idea . . . and how often we forget that being welcoming is not only critical to attracting new clients but to keeping our current and past clients engaged with us. Starbucks defines “be welcoming” as “offering everyone a sense of belonging”. It’s creating that sense of genuine connection (not just a transaction) that we all naturally want with others. Here are a few simple ways we can provide this in our own businesses and professional work.
- Learn people’s names – remember & use them always
- Listen to at’s important to people in both their personal & work lives
- Be flexible in responding to people’s needs – everyone is different
- Do a little extra for others – you will be appreciated and remembered
- Stay in touch – don’t ignore people once they start to do business with you.
Going Through Change “Backwards”
It might surprise you but we usually go through transitions in our lives “backwards”. As I told you in my last blog “a change” and “a transition” are very different. A change is an external event and a transition is the internal psychological adjustment to the change. So the challenge is not the change but rather the emotional transition and that varies greatly depending on the timing, intensity, impact and duration of the change. So what do I mean by going through this process by backwards?
3 Phases of Transition
William Bridges, author of numerous books on transitions, explains that there are three phases of a psychological transition. These are:
- The Ending
- The Neutral Zone
- The New Beginning
We don’t start with embracing the new beginning as many would think. It’s perfectly normal (and healthy) to recognize and deal with the losses of what is ending first before being able to move on to that Neutral Zone and then finally into the New Beginning. Think about changes you’ve had in the past. Maybe a new job, a move to a new community or maybe a new relationship. It’s critical to “let go” of that all identity, routine and comforts before being able to move on to that new beginning.
The Whirlwind of the Neutral Zone
The middle phase is one of great turmoil but also of opportunity. The old ways are gone but in its place is the chance for new growth. This is the phase that we see that entrepreneur spirit – the creation of new and exciting ventures. Think of yourself and also of your business in times of change. I bet you were far more willing to try something new during this whirlwind of the middle phase. It’s an opportunity – embrace it!
Know Your Audience Well
I’ll be offering the Public Speaking tele-class again in early fall as one of three business classes for entrepreneurs. But here is a tip to get you started right now – know your audience! This is critical. Take the time to ask the folks who invited you to tell you important details about the needs and expectations of the audience. Here are some of the things I ask right away.
- What are the needs of the group (ie., why am I being invited)
- How many people are expected to attend including ages & gender
- What is the audience expecting to take away from my presentation
- What is their experience already with my topic
- Logistics: length of time I have; location; need for visuals etc.
Now you can develop your learning objectives – what do you want the audience to walk away with? You want them to take away one or two ideas that are meaningful to them. They will then remember you not only as an awesome speaker but also as someone who brings real insight, ideas and value to the conversation.