The Most Engaging Lunch & Learn

Thank goodness that it is Friday.

I’ve been working to rule so to speak since I came in off the road just before Good Friday on March 20th from Edmonton/Calgary/Saskatoon and putting in regular hours with no extras.

I’m building my energy back up from recovering from the airplane flue of bronchitis and a mild case of pneumonia. I have even withdrawn from a few speaking opportunities.

I’ve been sensing for quite a while that I am approaching a time where I want to do less speaking and more product development which means finally sitting down and writing the book which I can’t do if I am always speaking.

Like nature, a business has seasons of spring, summer, fall and winter.

This means that I am going to have to be more selective when it comes to speaking because I need to spend some time in winter preparing the soil by enhancing our product ( book ) and speaking presentations to have a stronger launch in the spring of September of this year.

I’ll still make the space to speak at Advocis and Private Corporate events.

Removing Your Roadblocks drew the largest crowd and was the most engaging lunch and learn presented by the Calgary chapter so far in 2008. We didn’t receive one negative comment. Simon brought enthusiasm to the presentation right from the get go, causing the audience to immediately look up from their lunch because there was something that was really going on.

The presentation addressed how to leverage the advisor’s time and challenged the audience to determine whether they were busy doing $20 & $25 per hour work. This really resonated with people and caused them to ask themselves whether they were choosing to really invest in their business or just sit and be frustrated with the paperwork. We can all be busy just being busy. But Simon spoke about the need for prioritization, being leaders and making a positive impact on both our clientele and staff. The presentation also addressed succession planning for the financial advisor. The reality is that it doesn’t make sense for financial advisors to talk to their clients and prospects about succession planning and then not practice what they preach.

Simon really caused the audience to look at the emotional side of their business and to understand that in times of change the best get better and the worst disappear.

Jeff Dyck
Advocis Calgary Program Chair ( 2008 )
PPI Financial Group
Calgary, AB
jdyck @ ppi.ca