directedfocus

What’s different about your delivery model?

Most workshop or educational/training models are based around a single event or short-term connection.

People attend an event, are provided with information and leave at the end of the day. Other options are based around additional contact points in the next week or two.

I see this as a form of infotainment or edutainment and the whole delivery process is what I now call the Cinderella Syndrome.

What participants in our workshops receive is a longer term supportive process.

Prior to the workshop there could be some required reading, some information to be researched, at others there may be a survey and follow up analysis. All have a period of ongoing connection afterwards, to support the implementation of what was learnt. Application and action is most important.

How do businesses gain from this?

Having completed some “work” prior to an activity ensures that all participants are at a general level of competency and have focused on some of the issues to be addressed at the workshops. It also serves to focus participants on their own business in the same context. This ensures that right from the beginning participants have something in common.

All too often people attend events and leave enthused to make changes and then the daily humdrum of business gets in the way and old habits creep back. With a minimum of 2 month support for workshops and longer for others, participants have support when obstacles arise or clarification is sought.

This process also allows people to observe that their challenges are not isolated; others have similar issues and can share their learning.

Your emphasis is on change and planning, do you offer other topics as well?

The concept of planning as distinct from plans applies to every topic covered in our programs. Our model is based on flexibility, change and bite sized activities. We also emphasise the fact that people need to be more than enthused, or shown new ways or ideas, they need to implement them for change to occur.

Having a plan in the filing cabinet, draw or on the computer is of little or no use when it comes to creating and managing that change. As such plans are rarely looked at. Going to a workshop and being entertained and enthused doesn’t mean actions occur as a result.

We offer a number of stand alone workshops covering three key areas … Marketing Strategies, Planning and Running Your Business, Your Business on the Net.

Our longer term group programs cover a more comprehensive range of topics, including those above and are dependent upon the needs of participants.

How do you work with businesses in delivering these programs?

There are a number of ways.

Firstly it could be in a one on one basis. I work with a small number of business owners where we meet face to face or over the phone on an agreed time frame, that best meet their needs. Whilst this is a great way for people to move forward, for others they need something more.

The second way is in a single issue workshop, such as those I outlined before. Group learning is a great way of enabling people to realize they aren’t alone with their issues, and for some, the learning process can appear to be less challenging.

What I mean here is that some people fear being personally challenged, one-on-one, whereas the same challenge in a group allows them to have more space and time come to terms with their reactions and fear of change.

Thirdly we offer a year long workshop program where members met every 6 weeks. The businesses are non competitive and as a result more in depth discussion takes place along with a higher level of participation and learning.

The second and third options are focused toward, industry groups, banking business clients, accountants and local government sponsored programs.

These programs are designed to meet the specific needs of the participants and are designed to add value to the “sponsoring” organisation and are normally branded under their name.

Where did the idea for longer term support come from and how does that dove tail into the ‘sponsors’ services.

I was involved in a number of programs conducted in three states, delivering 2 and 3 day workshops with ½ and 1 day follow-ups with participants. Reviewing participants 6 to 8 weeks afterwards the majority of people had slipped back into their old habits and many commented that they really needed some ongoing support and contact, to help keep them focused on what they were hoping to achieve. A number suggested a 3 or 6 month support addon would have been the best for them.

Consequently the concept of the 2-3 months support and the 12 month program were developed.

For industry groups and accounting practices specifically, the programs actually drive “business” back to them. Issues that the industry groups support members around, are able to be addressed and information provided and contacts made. Accountants comment that participants are more motivated, positive, seek more services and support and appreciate what the program offers. Time is available for ‘sponsors’ to interact with groups in specific time-frames through the programs.

How is the ongoing support delivered?

Three ways: email, an internet forum text messaging. Phone is only used as a last resort

For some people this can be a challenge as sadly some are challenged even with email, let alone loging into a forum and contributing.

This interaction is very important as questions are usually answered with … I’m facing the same issue

Each group has their own secure access and no outsiders are permitted to view the conversations. Especially the year long programme.

This type of support means that people can contribute to an ongoing conversation around an issue, conversations are not reliant on people being online at a specific time and they serve as a resource to return to over time.

Also this system means that the time cost to participants and myself is so much lower. We each access the system at a time most suitable to us and pre reading, research and investigations are posted before workshops for the year long programme.

I understand the concept of the workshops but the year long programme sounds like a real challenge.

It is and it’s meant to be, but not in an onerous way.

The parameters are … participants agree to meet every 6 weeks for around 4.5 hours and make a commitment to open honest communication and to have a go at all activities even if they feel they are beyond their comfort zone. There are no competing businesses, each participant signs a confidentiality agreement, each participant completes a GPS and analysis (one of our tools) , pre workshop work is provided to cover the upcoming area being focused on and requires information from the business.

Those are just some of the expectations. What is really being asked is for them to make a commitment to their business, to ensure it grows and develops and to commit to that for 12 months. It’s something that most business owners figure they do but not in this context.

Members complete a regular review of ‘what’s hot and what’s not’, and the next workshop covers the top burning issue and provides insights and tools to discover a way forward. Time is given for a business to “sit in the hot seat” where they ask the others to help them resolve a “burning issue” that needs an outside perspective to resolve.

What happens over time is a level of camaraderie, mutual respect and teamwork appears. People become supportive of each other, and encourage and challenge each other to perform better in many ways.

I meet with each participant individually before the first workshop to ensure they understand the expectations and their commitment to their business and personal growth. The first 2 weeks are pretty full on and serve to remind people that this isn’t the usual programme that they have participated in.

And incidentally I’m challenged as well. For the participants to achieve I have to know them personally, have a good grasp of their business and where they would like it to be. My challenge is to be the “leader by standing back’. By providing the environment for them to discover for themselves what their learning is to be, and to stand by and let people be frustrated and struggle with as a way of their learning for themselves.

At the same time I must gain their confidence so that they know I’m there for them and their business, to facilitate a way forward working with their other professional support networks.

Some accountants feel challenged when they begin discussions about establishing a workshop programme as they feel it reflects on their ability or inability to support their clients. In actual fact it achieves for them a more informed and enthused client who seeks a higher level of accounting support and service level. Some bankers are concerned that their clients in becoming more skilled may be able to out negotiate them.

So a Council, an accountant, a bank or an industry group contacts you, what’s the next step?

I’m big into doing and showing rather than telling or talking and so after having a conversation like this one I’d get you to complete a GPS questionnaire and we’d analyse that for you or run you through a CVP on a current burning issue you may be facing.

That way you would be experiencing what all our clients do to begin with. You would receive a different view of your business or issue and at the same time learn a new skill in decluttering decisions.

There are a number of next steps that could be taken from here

One off workshops  - are usually just that. We work with you to put together a communications promotions package to your clients, setting the scene and expectations. We normally do all the venue arrangements and you look after the bookings.

For the longer term programs we usually conduct a complimentary 2 hour introductory activity, which gives people a taste of what they will experience. At the end of this people leave with a plan of attack, which addresses an issue they face, again using one of our decision decluttering tools.

People interested in joining these programs are contacted after the event and we arrange a time for an individual expectations meeting.

This setting the scene process is very important for everyone. There is little point in people joining a group and then pulling out because they didn’t know what to expect.