Note from Sue: When's the Last Time You Did Something for the First Time?
In March my husband and I took our kids (Eric's now 11 and Kimberly turning
9) for an adventure vacation in Belize. Each of us pushed through our
respective fears as we snorkeled with stingrays, flew along ziplines in the
rain forest and traveled down a river with crocodiles so close you could
touch them! I have to say that it was truly exhilarating!
On the ziplining outing, the staff wore T-shirts with a slogan that summed-up the spirit of our trip, "When is the last time you did something
for the first time?" There were plenty of new experiences for us, which was
exactly our goal as a family.
The T-shirt phrase has stayed with me long after our vacation as I've
noodled over what's important about leadership for my clients. reflected on
my coaching specialization in Onboarding. and reviewed my service offerings.
So, this newsletter is a hodge-podge of ideas all with the common thread of
doing something for the first time.
1. Sprucing Up Our Company Logo: The Development by Design logo
was developed for the first time over a decade ago. It's stood the test of
time and yet I did hunger for a bit of a facelift. So, we've added a splash
of bold lime green to our business cards and the Development by Design and
the Clearing the 90-Day Hurdle logos. Feels great!
2. Inviting Clients to My Home & Coaching in Groups: As many of
you know, Development by Design is run from my home office. When I meet
clients face-to-face it's usually at their office or a meeting center.
I've also typically coached leaders one-on-one, unless I'm working with an
intact leadership team. Given current challenges in the world economy, I
believe that it's important to do whatever I can to offer highly
cost-effective formats for my clients. I also feel strongly about the power
of an uplifting and relaxing environment to stimulate fresh thinking. So,
I've shaken-up my typical business model and for the first time I'm offering
Group Coaching-poolside in my own backyard.
I can't wait for June 18th and the launch of Lemonade & Leadership! I hope
that a number of you who live or work in the Carlisle, Guelph, Hamilton,
Burlington or Oakville, Ontario area can join us. You're welcome to pass
the word along.
3. Leveraging Social Media to Build Relationships and Reach Out to
New Alliance Partners: You'll see from the Connect With Me section in
the sidebar that there are plenty of ways to be in touch with me...many of
which I've recently tried for the first time.
- I joined Twitter a mere 4 months ago and I've found it
to be a tremendously valuable business tool.
- I've just launched an Onboarding "Twibe" (yes, that's
Twitter lingo for a "Tribe".)
- I've had a presence on LinkedIn for some time but the
launch of the Onboarding Best Practices Group on LinkedIn has grown my
involvement exponentially. There are now more than 275 members globally.
- I'm fostering new relationships with consulting
organizations offering highly complimentary services. I'll be excited to
introduce to you to them for the first time in my next Newsletter.
Stay tuned!
4. Reminding Clients What It's Like to Join a Company for the First
Time: On May 26th I'm giving a presentation called Onboarding: Through the
Eyes of the New Hire. I feel strongly that this perspective needs to be
front and center when designing Onboarding Programs. All too often we think
more about the information that the company wants to impart rather than
creating connectivity for new hires, providing clarity to them on their
mandate and the informal "rules of the game"
and finally providing support with the myriad of challenges faced by even
the most talented hires. When welcoming someone to your
organization-whether a peer, direct report or internal client, be sure to
think back to the last time YOU joined a company for the first time.
So, as you look ahead to the start of a new season, what will YOU do for the
first time in a long time (if ever)? Where will you venture forth into"first times" at work and in your personal life? I'd love to hear your
stories.
Sue Edwards
President
Development-By-Design
www.development-by-design.com
www.clearingthe90dayhurdle.com
Sue's Blog
http://development-by-design.blogspot.com
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News & Upcoming Events
Sue presents:
Onboarding: Through the Eyes of the New Hire
Federated Press
May 25 & 26, 2009
More information
Sue presents:
-It's HR's Turn! Enough with the Shoemaker's Children Syndrome
-Top 10 Success Factors and Seven Deadly Sins for Leaders
2009 Northern Ontario Human Resources and Business Conference
and Expo
May 28 & 29, 2009
More information /
Register
Sue hosts:
Lemonade & Leadership: Drop-In Group Coaching
Choose 4 sessions over 6 weeks starting June 18th
More information / Register
Sue & Patricia Muir host:Women Leader's Retreat
July 10th
More information / Register
Connect With Me:
Follow me on Twitter:
onboardingcoach
Join Our Onboarding Twibe: twibes.com/group/onboarding
Connect with me on Linkedin:
sueedwards
Join Our LinkedIn Group: It's Free!
Make sure you have a LinkedIn account first, login, and then click on the links below.
Onboarding Best Practices Clearing the 90-Day Hurdle (for HR, recruiters and onboarding specialists)
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