Navigating The Future

"When life knocks you down, roll over and look at the stars."

 

- Unknown

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good Day EWI!

 

One of our members posted this quote on her Facebook page this week and I love it!  Stars have been guiding mankind forever.  With any setback thrown your way, one has to stop, analyze where and why you fell off track and then "recalibrate" (as our GPS ladies love to tell us)!

 

I am going to think of 2013 as a re-calibrated journey for EWI, one that is navigated not only by where we have been but of course by what we learned along the way.  Our destination? It goes back to "One Vision".  We all want to be part of strong and healthy Chapters who are part of a stronger and more purposeful larger organization, empowering others for positive change.

 

We have new leadership in place...a COO who knows this organization better than many of us and can see the potential of what EWI can be once again.  And I say again, because if the past did not matter, why do we have rear-view mirrors?  We must be cognizant of our history, if only to not make the same mistakes again.  How did we shrink from 5,000 members?  Did we lose relevancy?  Did we forget to focus on our member, which is the firm?  Our employer that pays our EWI dues and that wants to see us, their employee, gain confidence, learn new skills and grow professionally, all while promoting their company?

 

As we stated on our Open Forum call today, those Chapters that are thriving, have heavy Executive engagement.  They can be such an incredible tool for Chapter's to utilize!  Please be sure that you are sharing your monthly Connects and the Annual Report with your Executives.  Invite them to your next meeting and just see what they say!  Remember...it is THEIR job to ensure that you, their employee, are developing and receiving a return for the dollars they spend with EWI. 

 

Speaking of Executives, I am happy to report that we had six members of the Calgary Executives Association attend our Chapter meeting on Wednesday evening.  They told me today that, "you can expect some applications!"  They came, they witnessed what we had to offer and they get it.  Your Chapter Executives will too if you give them a chance!  Perhaps through Executive engagement we would experience more firms willing to renew?

 

I am working with the International board of Executives Association to determine our next steps for a reciprocal endorsement of one another's organizations.  Very exciting for both EWI and IEA.  Where both organizations have Chapters there can be great synergy and assistance in growth objectives.  We have Executives.  Their Executives have staff they want to develop.  IEA helped EWI grow before, and they are willing to do it again, but we have to be able to provide them with our audience of Executives too.  Quid pro quo.

 

All right, enough of my rant on Executive Engagement.  It is late Friday, it has been a wonderful week with the launch of our very professional Annual Report and I now have to prepare my webinar for Tuesday! 

 

I also want to apologize to a past representative of EWI of Baltimore, Tamara Coleman, who was actually the first black member of the Corporate Board in 1996-1997.  Tamara unfortunately though was unable to complete her full term.  Thank you to Sylvia Napper, EWI of Jackson and Pati Dahmen, EWI of Spokane for kindly pointing out my error in naming Benita as the first in my blog last week.  Another perfect example of why knowing and acknowledging our history is so important.

 

Today, I sadly saw photos of the grave site of our Founder, Lucille Johnson Perkins.  A tragic story really and it just keeps getting sadder.  I am determined to honour her appropriately and I would like to thank the 75th Anniversary Committee for their due diligence on finding Lucille, especially Anna McCutheon, EWI of San Diego, for her exhaustive research.  We hope we will have something very special to show you at Spring Conference in Chattanooga!

 

Remember, deadline for early-bird registration for Spring Conference is next week!

 

Have a wonderful weekend EWI and thank you to all those who took the time to attend our Open Forum call today!

 

- K

 

 

Happy President's Day!


"The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time."

- Abraham Lincoln

 

 

Good Day EWI!

 

Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans...my heart broke a little last week when my flight from Toronto to Philadelphia was cancelled due to the severe snow storm, part of the awful Nor'easter that hit last weekend.  As such, I could not join Wendy Cowley and Kerry Feltenberg on the site inspection tours of hotels in Philadelphia or Arlington.  I was so looking forward to making that trip and visiting with Chapter representatives there.  I know Wendy and Kerry are expert evaluators though and will forward the best choices to Nancy Harrison, LCAM Site Selection Vice Chair for her and her committee to summarize and put forward to you for the member survey due this month.  Remember, "One Voice"...it is up to you the membership to decide where LCAM 2014 will be held, so please do take the time to cast your vote when invited to do so.

 

I did make it to Montreal though for a business meeting on Sunday/Monday and had the wonderful pleasure of watching the move, "Lincoln" on my flight home.  How wonderful that I watched it this week in particular with the State of the Union address on Tuesday, President's Day coming up on Monday and of course it is Black History month, not only celebrated in the US, but in Canada and the UK too.   In researching Black History Month I did not realize February was chosen because of Lincoln's birthday on the 12 February.  I learnt a lot from that movie and I am now rooting for Daniel Day Lewis to take home the Oscar for his mesmerizing performance.  Lincoln's presidency changed a nation and literally the world.  Such awe inspiring leadership from a man who had a vision of what the future could hold.  As Americans, you can look to him and be so proud.

 

We too have a lot to be proud of in EWI and I am so happy to have Benita Collins, Corporate Director serving with me on the Corporate Board this year!  Our first black Corporate Board member and she is a shining example of why diversity in our membership is so important.

 

I know a lot of you are sad at this time of year as not all member firms opt to renew for various reasons.  I am heartened though by the upbeat attitudes of those Chapter leaders who realize that our future state is cast simply by what we do each day.  They continue to make recruitment their top priority and while it is always sad to see valuable member firms not renew with EWI, I firmly believe that what we do offer will resonate with other new potential firms wanting to advance their firms and the skill sets of their employees.

 

Yesterday I had the pleasure of sitting in on the Career Development webinar with Heather Petherick.  Heather spoke to us about finding that "sweet spot" in your career and gave very valuable tools on how to better find meaning and fulfillment in our day to day lives.  A great webinar that is now posted on our website for those of you unable to attend live.

 

Just a reminder that we have our first Annual report coming out next week and I am also hosting our first Open Forum call on Friday, the 22nd.  Please do join in!  I saw a draft version of the annual report and I literally had tears in my eyes as I read it through.  To have a vision and see it surpass your expectations is truly one of the most rewarding things my current position in EWI offers.  My fervent hope is that you too will love the report and use if for your recruitment and retention efforts.  I would like to offer my deepest thanks to Brittany Jones for taking on this project and running with it!

 

Speaking of R&R, I will be conducting a Chapter Development webinar on that very subject on Tuesday,  the 26February at 1pm MST.  I do hope you will attend!

 

One final comment for this week...please don't forget to register for Spring Conference in Chattanooga, April 18 - 20th.  Early bird registration ends on February 28th, so don't delay!  I look forward to seeing you there!

 

Have a wonderful weekend and holiday Monday!  For those of you in Alberta, have a great Family Day!

 

- K

 

 

 

 

 



How a tribe is born...

 

"A group needs only two things to be a tribe; a shared interest and a way to communicate." 

- Seth Godin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good Day EWI!

 

Again, writing this a day early as I am leaving tonight for a whirlwind trip to visit Philadelphia and Washington areas along with Wendy Cowley, ED/COO and Kerry Feltenberg, Events Chair, EWI of Phoenix.  We are touring the short-listed hotels in each city for LCAM 2014.  Our goal is to meet with the Chapters in each city, the CVB's and through site visits, narrow the choice down to one hotel in each city.  We will then advise the LCAM Site Selection Committee, headed up by Nancy Harrison as Vice Chair.  The committee will then summarize the two choices and distribute to you, the member, to cast your vote on where we will be gathering for LCAM in 2014.  How exciting!  Of all the initiatives we undertook last year, I am very proud of bringing this decision into the hands of the membership.  I was always very vocal about allowing Chapters to formally express their interest as it is a critical component when there is any revenue to be realized for the Chapters in being named host city.  I am very excited to be making this trip and really looking forward to my first Amtrak experience!

 

This has been a very short, crazy week as I was in Las Vegas last weekend.  Always such an intense city to visit.  You come back wiped and ready for a vacation!  The travel agent in me must take a moment here to pass on to you an enthusiastic endorsement of Gordon Ramsay's "Steak" restaurant in the Paris Hotel.  It was the most incredible meal I have ever experienced.  If you go, be sure to do it right and go for the five course tasting menu with wine pairings.  Unbelievable!  And yes, the menu did include the Beef Wellington which literally melted in your mouth.  Here is last seasons winner of Hells Kitchen, Christina, busy at her new job.

 

 

 

If you are heading to Vegas within the next five weeks, make sure you also take in the Soul 2 Soul show at the Venetian with Tim McGraw and Faith Hill.  Lovely!

 

Okay, enough travel talk!  Yesterday I had the distinct pleasure of attending the Calgary Executives Association breakfast, followed by a meeting with their Chapters ED, President and a Corporate Board Member of IEA.  What exciting energy we shared!  Concrete plans are underway for how their local Chapter and ours can connect and support one another.  Their Corporate Board meets in May again and will be presented with a motion to formally endorse EWI.  Once that occurs, IEA globally will be aware of who we are, where we are and all that we can offer their member Executive's employees! 

 

We have so many things in common and it is easy to see how we emerged from this dynamic group of business leaders meeting in San Francisco back in 1938.  Their concepts are all so similar;  support the firm as that is the member, limit membership to only one company in each minor classification and most importantly, gather regularly as like-minded business professionals to grow from one another.  EWI and IEA can soon easily be described as a "tribe" as we share a common purpose.  I am very touched by their willingness to work together with us to establish a joint community.  The impact on one another where each organization has a Chapter will be huge, as demonstrated by their Calgary Chapter's willingness to attend our upcoming meetings, dedicate one of their meetings to EWI and to help us in our upcoming fundraisers.

 

For locations where only one of us exists, the growth potential can be huge for EWI.  If we want to launch a Chapter in a new location and IEA exists, we will have a group of businesses with the same overall vision and that will make our recruitment so much easier!

 

I look forward to sharing more with you as conversations develop.

 

Have a wonderful weekend and I will have lots to share from this weekends trip in the next blog!

 

- K