A business consulting firm that specializes in helping veterinarians grow their businesses hired me to deliver a tailored 4-hour business development workshop, as part of a 3-day intensive training event in Dallas two weeks ago.
I think pets are a gift of life that is part of what makes life worth living. And so, I knew I would have a great time with this group of veterinarians. And I was right!
What you see at the top of this message is the title graphic I created for the 17-page workbook I put together to go along with the workshop training. The title we chose for my workshop was, “Developing Your Business Front End for Steady Business Growth.”
The consulting firm that hired me insisted that the workshop be very “hands-on,” filled with training exercises & role-playing, to insure the attendees would productively integrate the training into their business practice. (I love that mandate!) So, I also created an online download page for them, with audio recordings & a leader’s guide to assist them in implementing what they learned.
> The client respectfully requested there be no videotaping of the event or my workshop presentation. They feel their information & training sessions are proprietary, and they want it all to be private. We always understand such requests. (They did allow Sandi to take a few still photos with her iPhone.)
> I taught this group how to use the “Action-Mapping Tool” of the Creative Process, with a hands-on exercise.
It’s not easy to take a group of successful business operators through an exercise like that, to give them a new tool for creating results in a new way. It’s amazing the kind of revealing discussions this sort of exercise generates. But they dug right in, and by the time we completed that 75-minute-long exercise they really got it, they understood the productive power of it.
And there was a remarkable energy in the room. The CEO of the consulting firm that organized the 3-day training event, even jumped in to this part of my training to communicate his excitement about its productive value.
> Business growth cannot take place without “activating & developing team performance,” so I also taught them the “team ideas method” I created for business work teams.
Again, we did this as a hands-on exercise, where they generated ideas for activating and directing their employees as a business work team. This prompted some very spirited discussion during the exercise. In less than 35 minutes the group generated more than 570 ideas, and then quickly chose the best ideas for implementing. More than 25 ideas were evaluated as valuable enough for immediate implementation to activate their staff members as a team.
When I was done, the CEO of the consulting firm admitted to me that he’s planning to use the “Action-Mapping Tool” and the “Team Ideas Method” in their own business operation. (This man has a reputation as a business genius, so that was great to hear.)
> Here’s a photo of the standing ovation I received after taking them through 4 hours of very rigorous hands-on training & role-playing. (I love the fellow in the front giving me a full “thumbs up” gesture.)
> They continued the standing ovation & applause for so long, I decided to walk out of the room to politely bring it to an end. As I was walking to the back of the room, they rotated to follow me with their attention, and continued the standing ovation. And the CEO of the consulting firm stood up on a chair to join in.
What a wonderful experience with a great group of people!