Newsletter

 

September 2007 Edge Associated Newsletter

 

Edge Associated

Dedicated to

Accelerating Our Progress Together

through coaching, training, consulting and speaking.

===================================

 Contents:

1.     Announcements & Quick Tip

2.     A Coach's Pondering & Tips

3.     Reviews - Books & Other Media

4.     Privacy Policy

5.     Contact Info

==================================

1. Announcements & Quick Tip

 

Announcements:  Welcome back from our summer hiatus. We hope yours was enjoyable.

 

Quick Tip: The Change Process – Bruce Tuckman coined the terms ‘forming, storming, norming & performing’ as states of team development yet I associate them with any type of change. I am compelled then to remind readers of this notion given it is the beginning of a new school year when families are undergoing major changes due not just to school schedules but also after-school activities, bedtimes, commuting patterns and seasonal changes. Also, at work, everyone’s back from vacation and pending decisions are now urgent, sales people are knocking again and budgets are likely due. There is a lot of change and with it potential stress. Reminding ourselves of the storming that comes with this change can assist us to ride that wave more effectively.

 

Thanks: To Interchange, Empire Painting, Wellpoint and CREW Inc. for their continued support and referrals.

 

Check out our partners:

 

CREWInc http://www.crewinc.ca

– ‘growing companies 90 days at a time’, marketing, sales, mergers and acquisitions, financing, and more

 

Interchange http://www.interchangeknowledge.com

– President peer mentoring and business growth

 

Wellpoint Health Services http://www.wellpointhealthservices.com

- Canada’s leading edge executive, corporate and family services organization providing comprehensive medical screening and preventative healthcare.

===================================================

2.  A Coach's Pondering & Tips

 

Expectations

 

In our motivating factors model, 3 factors – values, assets and cravings – are within us. The fourth – expectations – is more outside of us. We could call them goals, milestones or vision. They are what we are attempting to create and I subscribe to the belief that in life, something can be effective at times and ineffective at other times.

So it is safe to say that expectations can guide us to create great things or they can lead us to ineffective behaviour.

 

Consider our family trip to the Toronto Zoo last week which was the first time for most of us. As a coach and a goal oriented person, I usually have clear expectations of something before going into it. My expectations are also usually focused on doing rather than being. That’s to say I tend to set out to accomplish a list of things rather than just enjoying the process. Kathryn, my wife, is more inclined the other way.

 

We both had clear expectations of this family trip and this time it was flipped around. Kathryn had expectations of the children having a “zoo” experience. In her mind she had a list of things we should see at the zoo. I, on the other hand, was focused on spending quality time with the family regardless of what we did or did not do.

 

We invited another family along, bringing our head count to 6 children and 4 adults. As you can imagine, it took far longer to get to the zoo and once there everyone had different agendas. For once, I was the one less concerned with what we did and could sense the frustration when half the kids wanted to spend the day at the water park. It was clear that some of us adults were thinking we did not come all this way just to go to a water park. What about the animals?

 

My wife had expectations of the day and as a result experienced some frustration and even disappointment. This can often happen with our expectations when they don’t come to fruition. When faced with frustration, one might want to ask if the expectations are exactly what we want to create. In this case, was it important how the children had fun (i.e. the zoo experience) or just that they had fun?

 

I enjoyed having my expectations more focused on ‘being’. It was an effective choice for me this time. It would not necessarily be the best choice when trying to drive some of my business strategies.

 

How can you improve your handling of expectations in ways that will grow you and your business success?

 

Remember, Progress is Always Possible!

Jody, whose ethos is ‘Determined, Compassionate and Influential Explorer’, can be reached at jeagen@edgeassociated.com

===================================================

3.  Reviews - Books & Other Media

 

Next review is in October

 

===================================================

4. Privacy Policy

 

We at Edge Associated agree never to provide your contact information to any party. If a graduate (or anyone else) requests your contact information, we will inform you and provide their information to you. This places you in a position of choice and honours your privacy. In the case of email, we may facilitate this by replying to the person who is requesting your information and blind copying you.

 

We agree not to abuse our rights to use your contact information. As a training business we want to inform you of other growth and development opportunities to consider as well as respect your time. We agree not to broadcast information to our collective distribution list more than once a week. The only way that you would receive something from us more than once a week is if you are on a separate follow-up list for a specific opportunity in which you have expressed interest.

At any time, upon your request, we will remove you from any or all distribution lists and/or our database completely.

===================================================

5. Contact Info

 

Head Office:  905-319-7369 or 877-410-8461  fax 905-319-1675

Jody Eagen, President............................. jeagen@edgeassociated.com

Kathryn Kavanagh, Editor…................... kkavanagh@edgeassociated.com

To change your subscription information or to unsubscribe to this newsletter, hit reply and send your request to Jody Eagen at jeagen@edgeassociated.com.