It was fantastic to see the Bigger Future workshop – this series is based on Strategic Coach tools and concepts and was brought to Rwanda by a “Coach” client, Dave Ormesher. The one day workshop, which takes place 4 times a year (approx. 90 days apart) provides entrepreneurs with a lifetime of personal and professional growth, strategic planning so they can work on their business rather than in their business, and enables to them confidently focus on the many opportunities that are available to them. In this first workshop series there are approx. 35 entrepreneurs who come from a variety of industries such as architecture, medical, solar energy, construction and development, cookie and cake decorating, law, importing and exporting, and coffee production/farming, to name a few.
What surprised me most during the day was that it doesn’t matter where the entrepreneur lives or what language he/she speaks, they all have the same struggles and concerns. I had the opportunity to participate in the workshop in Kigali on Tuesday and use a tool called D.O.S (dangers, opportunities, and strengths) which is a client focused conversation we use daily at Strategic Coach. The woman I was paired with is president of the local Junior Chamber of Commerce, has two young daughters, and is in her 30’s. She runs a very successful book distribution company that just got a contract with the government which allows her to sells books to various organizations around the country. Her issues of time and money were no different than what I’d here from my clients and/or prospects in Canada – she wants to spend more time with her family, would like to take an annual vacation with them, she’d like to motivate her staff and create a team culture that enables them to continually increase their sales, and she wants to expand her business into provinces around the country. Her dangers – she’s very busy, doesn’t like to delegate to her staff, and she wants complete control over every detail in the business. Sound familiar, entrepreneurs?
Dan Sullivan, the creator and owner of the Strategic Coach program is a genius for designing a program that is applicable to any business owner around the world, and for understanding exactly how they think and act – even before they understand it!
Because this workshop was their last one for the year, at the end Dave asked each of them to provide a testimonial about how the workshops have helped their businesses and/or their lives. Some of the responses we heard – I was able to grow my medical business by 15%, I took time away from the office to spend with my family, I’m thankful for the tools because I didn’t have to struggle like so many entrepreneurs do, and so much more.
After the workshop we were whisked off to the US Ambassador’s house for drinks with him on the terrace. Mr. Ambassador is a very interested man who loves Rwanda and what the Bigger Future workshops are doing for the country. He’s very supportive and appreciative of the work Dave does here. I’ve never met an American politician and I can assure you they are different than Canadian politicians and any others I’ve met through my travels/experiences. The Ambassador is both gracious and tactical. He touches you at least two times- the first is through a handshake and the second may be another handshake, a pat on the back or possibly your arm, he says your name at least once and cross references members of the group throughout the conversation. He also makes a point of going around the group to get “your story.” I’ve been told that he’ll never forget your name or your story so I look forward to testing this next time I’m in Rwanda with Dave and Bigger Future. (Unfortunately my picture is blurry so I'm hoping somone in our group has a clear one)
After our 45 minutes with the Ambassador, 16 of us dined at a great Indian restaurant near the President’s house. Three of our Rwandan friends came with us and none of them had tried Indian before and I doubt they’ll go back anytime soon. At one point I thought our friend Cyusa (chew-sa) was going to blow up because one of the dishes was too hot for him. The next day I asked him how his stomach was holding up and he grumbled and then moved on to another topic!
