Learning from the Mentors in our lives!

Good evening all. I hope everyone is doing well.

I want to share a thought tonight with you. I have two trainer colleagues that I look up to more than they can even imagine. Their names are Dave & Paul. Now why do I look up to them so much? I look up to them because they are what I believe a trainer/facilitator should be. They are, humble, teachable, confident, strong, able, risk takers, and more than anything else, great listeners and keen observers.

These two gentlemen are great examples of what it means to be a true trainer. I have always taught that we ought to have mentors to show us the way, whether they know it or not. These guys are my silent mentors. I watch them and I observe them and more than anything else I try to emulate the success they have. Now don’t mistake me, I am my own person, but if I can only use some of their abilities and become a better trainer/facilitator, then I’m moving in the right direction.

Being a coach and a mentor is a huge responsibility, but I think that if we are just honest and true and always working forward, we can be an effective mentor and coach. Don’t think that its just that simple, but it’s a start. I’d love to talk more about this, but time won’t allow at the moment, so I’ll try to follow this up later on. Have a great day tomorrow.

Success!!!

Evan

Making the Old~New and so on.......

This one is for you Typh, cause you listen to the stories and your reading the blog.

As I wrote earlier this week, I was at a conference with my colleagues. By the way, they beat me up pretty good over my blog on the 11th. I never new a personal lesson learned could have such an effect on people. OK I digress. Anyway I heard a great message from a talented and able trainer by the name of Keith New. If you haven’t heard his name yet, just wait, he’s good and he’s coming your way, Anyway he reminded me of something that really had a profound effect on me, but tonight it really settled in. He taught us that we need to make sure as trainers and teachers, that we keep our material fresh and new. So while I thought about it, I realized how out of date some of my stuff really is. I need to rethink all of my material.

Tonight I had a luggage flub-up and ended up waiting 6 hours for my bag to get to me so I didn’t have to make a 3 hour round trip. Most people would say what a pain, but NAY, I say, NAY!!!

This is new material. I have material about customer service, patience, conflict resolution, and time management. Oh and those old stories I can still use them, but I still need to update them. Tonight made me re-think all my old stories and I’m going to renew them.

Anyone have an old story that they want to share?

Success!!!

Ev

Last night I was going home from a day of work in Burbank. I was sitting next to this lady and talking to her when she pulled out her salad and asked my permission to eat in front of me. No problem I said, then she looked around for a moment and didn't start eating. After a few I asked her why aren't you eating and she said I can't find my fork. I thought about it and then said, "are you hungry?" she said yes, so I said "desperate times call for desperate messures, use your fingers" she laughed and started to eat with her hands.

As trainers and instructors, we often forget that we have so many tools available to us that we forget to use. Its an error we make often, when we forget to use the tools that are right infront of us. OK, you're saying, "I'm not going to use my hands to eat a salad all the time" and your right, you shouldn't, but when push comes to shove we shoudl use what is available. How often do we think that a tool is too simple or out of date or non-effective? How often do we put a tool away because we've used it soo much or we think it might not be effective? We need to pull those out and use them.

The same lady then told me about a cloths mess up she experienced in one day. She lost two pieces of clothing to mistakes then while looking for a quick resolve, she was horrified to find that her only source was a box retailer that I'd mention by name but you problaby know who I'm talking about. She went there and got blouse and it worked.

What's the lesson there? Don't discount the value of a place even when you think it might be cheap or out of your style. You'll never know when you need it.

Success

Evan

9/11 & Return with Honor

I wrote this blog that your about to read while I was on a flight going somewhere ironically on 9/11. When I got off the plane I was bombarded (in a good way) with the scenes of that fateful day 5 years ago when we as a nation were attacked. I’m not ashamed to admit that I have openly wept as I have thought about what happened that day and how powerful it was. No matter where you fall on the political scale, I think you will agree that it has had an affect on us as a country. I want to pay my personal respect to all those who died that day as well to those who serve to give us the privilage and right to disagree and protest and to vote and to challenge ideas. My heart is full with emotions as I think of these people. Two of my cousins are among them, one having recenlty returned from Iraq and the other just getting there.

God Bless them and their families and may God speed their return to their loved ones and our victory over evil in this world. I’m proud to be an American and proud of our leadership even when I disagree with them. I have the right to write this blog because of the sacrifices that they and others before have made.

Now on to the blog of the day.

“Return With Honor”

This weekend I had the opportunity to hang out with my wife and some of my colleagues in the training industry. We had various workshops about training, learning, selling, presenting and more. We looked at new training products from Nightingale Contant, Thompson Learning, LearnKey and others. We networked, enjoyed conversations, went out and played together and expanded some friendships. With all this activity, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t learn and grow, but the lesson that hit me the hardest and perhaps the last lesson I expected to learn was the following.

On Saturday night we had an awards banquet and then following a dance with Karaoke and an open bar. I’m not a drinker so I’ll say that upfront. I’m also a contractor so some of my colleagues where actual employee’s of the company who sale work and then contract with me to do the work. Anyway, a few of them did quite a bit of drinking and by the time the banquet folded up, we were going out dancing to a local bar. The action of a few of them became somewhat inappropriate and down right vulgar. At the dance hall after that it didn’t improve much up to the time that my wife and I and about 3 others left due to the discomfort and the behavior of a few. Wow I thought to myself they were out of control.

The next day I was listening to a morning keynote when the presenter shared an experience that while she was training one day she was accompanied by her husband. At lunch they went to have lunch together and had a glass of wine and then as they left the lunch place her husband gave her a “love tap” on the back side (you know what I’m saying). She then got an evaluation from a participant that stated that it was offensive that she was drinking and getting physical during a date of business. Now we can argue for ever on the validity of the complaint and the lack of real importance with it, but the lesson is still here and it is a very potent lesson in my mind.

We as trainers and presenter and representatives of our companies still represent something especially when we are at a company function, whether it is during business hours or not. I thought to myself, “what would these sales reps think of me if I were the one getting slammed and making the same comments or the same actions? Would they want to book me or send me on a date of business with the possibilities that I might act the same way while on company business?” I know you might think that this is prudish or maybe even ridiculous, but we as trainers need to be aware that due to what we do and what we teach, we are often perceived with a different eye. The lesson I learned was to be aware of what I’m doing and how I’m doing it. Don’t live my life worried about what others think but at the same time don’t forget that I am a professional and that I represent a professional organization.

I have often heard a statement in my culture that is simple and yet very powerful and it means more that I might seem on the surface. That statement is simply, “Return with Honor” don’t do anything that might tarnish your honor or place your honor in question.

Success!!

Evan

A Trainers/Teachers Responsibility

What is our responsibility as trainers or teachers to our clients and our students? What should we be doing above and beyond the classroom work that we do?

Today as I finished my work I had an opportunity to talk with my client about what they wanted to accomplish after the class was done, after I left the classroom. The client proceeded to tell me that no other trainer had ever sat down with them and talked about what was next and how they could make the training continue on. The client continued to tell me that most of their previous trainers had always focused the money or the next day of training. They were impressed with my concern for the continued success of the training without pushing the issue of more classes or more work with them. This was, he said, one of the most positive signs about doing work with me again.

Now I’m not tooting my horn here, I’m just telling this experience because it make me really think about our responsibility to our clients to teach or train them and be focused on their core growth before we are concerned with our financial growth. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t be concerned and even focused on the money and work prospect, but I’m thinking that if we are concerned first on them, then the rest will come.

In ‘Principle Centered Leadership” by Stephen Covey, he tells the story of Nephi Grigg and J.R. Simplot the two potato farmers from Idaho and famous with the names Orida Foods and Simplot who were competitors yet never forgot the idea that there was always enough to go around. They never felt the need to down each other or hog their customers to keep them from going somewhere else. Its called the Abundance Principle. Are we thinking that there is enough to go around or are we so concerned in that next day of business that we forget to take care of our client and focus first on treating their issues and helping them grow?

I think we need to refocus our priorities and make sure we service our clients first and the money will come without a doubt.

Success!

Evan

The Next Step-Money? Or Growth?

Remember the last time you participated in a seminar or training session? Do you remember how you thought at the end of the day that you wanted to find a way to make sure that the training stuck? You wanted your people or the people around you, maybe even you, to apply the lessons learned that day and make that day worth while. Then the trainer comes up to you and say’s that they would love to work with you again and that they would be in touch with you soon to discuss future classes.

Well, the next day of business should be the last thing on that trainers mind, in fact the next day of business, unless it is within the next 7 days should be the last thing on their mind. The first thing that comes out of their mouth is, “Here is what you can do to apply this learning in the next few day’s, weeks and months. In other words, they should be giving solid “Internal Next Steps” to give the present day of training more bang for the buck.

I have a colleague and dear friend named Dave who is the master at this process. His focus is first and foremost on the learning of that day and how to make it continue in the immediate future after the session is delivered. As a direct result of this focus, he does make more money and he does retain his clients. I’ll argue that his focus on helping his client get the most of that date of business is the single most important factor in keeping him busy, because his clients see that his focus is first on them and their growth. Wow what a thought.

Now some of you who are not independent contractors might be saying that you already do this and or that it’s not the same in the corporate world. I would argue that this applies to you as well, because when our clients see us put the value on them first, they trust us more, seek us out more and give us more business. How can we show them that they are first?
Listen to their needs from the beginning and then tailor to meet those needs
Address only the things that need to be addressed and not unimportant issues
Know when to stop and review
Tie in the “Next Steps” to the session just given and the possible next session that might be given.

Its not that hard and it only requires that you think less about you and the money and more about them and the growth. The money will come. In the end I’m saying we need to embody the principle of serving our fellow man, and since the money does end up coming in the end it just might be about the money, but not about the money in the greedy sense.

Success!

Evan

Money in the Seminar Business

Have you realized that we are doing all this work and getting paid bunk?

OK let me be realistic here. There are three types of trainers/coaches out there.
1. The trainer coach who does it for the money and for no other reason.
2. The trainer coach who does it because its the job they have and they just happen to be pretty darn good at it, but make no mistake they still do it because its their job.
3. The trainer coach who does it becuase they love it and they would do it for nothing except they can't so they accept money (sometimes great money other times bunk).

I personally fit into the 3rd category. The issue I have is that there are way to many of us in this minority 3rd group who consistatnly take the bunk and don't expect more. So here is an idea for all of you who are in that 3rd group.

Find out what your clients are paying the booking or brokerage house that hires you and then sends you out to them. This will usually be between $2500 and $3900 and then figure out what your hotel, car and perdium is per day and subtract that and there you have your daily value. In other words, why are we settling for $300 to $800 a day when we can be making so much more?

Don't misunderstand me, we get great work and great experience, but we underestimate ourselves and accept so much less than what we are worth.

Food for thought.

Take Care

Ev