Day 16 – 2:53 p.m. – I’m sitting in the St. Louis airport right now, waiting with Lorin to head to Chicago and then home. One interesting thing that’s happening in the world right now is an “outbreak” of swine flu – a flu that came from pigs in Mexico and has killed about 80 people there. It’s affected a few people here in the states but no one has died yet. Personally, I feel the media blows it way out of proportion but who knows I guess.
I talked to Becky and things seem to be going well there. Caleb has been a bit whiny but overall things have been really good. I guess Caleb LOVES his new “big-boy” bike (the one he was supposed to get at Christmas but couldn’t fit in to. He cruises around and will probably be off training wheels soon.
The conference we went to was great; our presentation went really well. I got to clog as part of the opener, talking about auditory, visual and kinesthetic learning. I think Lorin and I made a good team – I loosened the mood with a little clogging, Lorin talked all about what we do, and then I tied it all in with my story and Melissa Sweitzer’s story of success with an online business. I’ve really been so blessed with Prosper. It’s been a wonderful place to work, get trained and learn about business in a whole new level. I’m not sure if it’s Lorin’s negative attitude about Dane and Jason or if it’s just the reality that Prosper is making some changes that I feel will potentially really hurt them in the long run. Dane is in a tough spot but the bottom line is, I’m not sure what he’s bringing to the table to put him in charge of all of us. Lorin’s perspective is that all the divisions are going to blend in to one and we are going to be full time coaches again. We shall see, we shall see… I guess the best thing I can say about all of this is what I learned from the keynote speaker:
5 Key Steps to Deal with Hard Times:
1) Do what you have to do
2) Do your best
3) Choose to grow through the experience
4) Keep a sense of humor
5) Keep the faith: in yourself and your beliefs, and in others
“No matter what happens in our lives, we have the ability to choose how we let if effect us, for better or for worse….Unify people FOR something, not against something.” – Dave Carey
Some other things I thought of while listening to this presenter included:
a) Cost
b) Control of outcome
c) Commitment
I believe these thoughts came as I thought about change and things to think about when dealing with change and innovation in a business setting. When new ideas are presented, these 3 things are critical to the success or potential failure of any endeavor: 1) What’s the cost to create this new idea? 2) What control do I/WE have of the outcome? (who else influences control of the outcome?) 3) How committed am I/WE to helping the change take place? Why? What’s in it for all involved? Will I pursue the idea come “hell or high water”?
I also learned that companies like Edward Jones update their curriculum every month or so (3 modules at a time). They assign people to stay on top of the changes in their area of influence. I really like this idea for our curriculum – put each coach in to a team of 3 or so people who are in charge of making sure the curriculum is clear, up to date and applicable to today’s markets. My best writers: Dan Patterson, Ben Burr and me. Fair writers: Stace, Ryan, Patrick Others: Monty?, Kirk
I’ve also started the process of putting together a “Social Media Strategy for Businesses” that I plan to present to Zagg for $2500 or so. I’m hoping to get a few quotes from other social media firms to see what they can do, then compare, contrast, etc. I also hope to use this for Prosper and profit off it that way as well, maybe even turn it in to an ebook that then opens doors to speak at more conferences. The main problem is that I’ve never “tested” the ideas directly and monitored progress for a business other than mine.
Until tomorrow.
Nate
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