(Email invitation to my contact list yesterday.)
July 9, 2013
Hello:
Several
area small business owners have asked us to coordinate a group training session
to help them initiate Character First. On August 6, we have the
opportunity to participate in a Character First Orientation Training in
Independence Kansas. Through a joint effort, the Innovative Business
Resource Center (IBRC) and the Successful Entrepreneur Program at Independence Community
College will host the training at ICC's West campus providing a cost effective
way for small business owners and other organizational leaders to take
advantage of this training.
Training hours will be from 9:00 to 5:00 and include a light
lunch and refreshments. Cost of the training is $149 per
manager/leader payable to IBRC. Registration is open with
links at www.ibrc.org or you
can call me at 620-332-5470 to register.
Since
2006 when I began to work with entrepreneurs and small business owners through
this program at ICC and the Chambers and Main Street groups in both
Independence and Coffeyville, I've observed small businesses and organizations
struggle to "engage" their employees to enhance the relationships with
customers, vendors and coworkers. Although experiencing organizations
with disengaged and dissatisfied employees is common, there are also the
exceptions; organizations with employees
that excel in serving others seem to enjoy
what they are doing while receiving a sense of fulfillment in their work.
What makes the difference?
I have
become convinced over the last couple of years that having a set of common,
core values in a business or organization is an essential element to hiring and
retaining employees that will be actively engaged in serving customers, vendors
and coworkers in better and better ways while at the same time receiving a
sense of purpose from their work. Any time is a good time to start the
effort to establish a culture of common values. For new businesses, the
absolute best time is to start just before or after the
first employee is hired. For existing businesses with one to many
employees, there is no better time to start
a new culture than right now. Once the culture is established each new
employee will embrace it.
Character
First provides a methodology of using 49 character traits as common values for
the organization. Each month, small groups within an organization studies
the featured character trait and how it is relevant to the success of the
organization. Eventually, a culture of character develops which provides
many of the common values needed for the organization to be most successful.
If you’re not familiar with Character First, there’s a great introductory
video on the Character First web site: http://www.characterfirst.com/
Character First Orientation Training is a full-day program
that introduces Character First to business leaders in a way that
explains, trains, answers questions, and practices techniques to help
roll-out the Character initiative in an organization. Through lecture, Q&A
and demonstration Character First materials are presented to lay the foundation
of this culture shift. “At the end of the day, leaders will walk away knowing
the steps to implement Character First in their organizations”, says Beau
Bailey, training facilitator with Character First/Strata Leadership. LLC.
Please feel free to
call me at 620-332-5470
with any questions you may have.Jim Correll,
Facilitator/Business Coach
Independence Community College
Independence, Kansas
