Yay! SAB HR Spring Day!

A huge, big thank-you to all of you who helped pull off such a successful tour…The food was waiting on the bus when the delegates got in (thanks, Kanasa and Nomsa!)

The snack packs were lovely and the people commented on how much special attention to detail went into everything and how much work it must have been to get it all together!

The books were ooohed and aaahed over, used and tucked under each person’s arm when they went home. Someone even asked how long it took to cover all those books! And thank-you so much for checking that even all the drinks were from ABI, even ‘though I forgot to say specifically that they should be. It is such a pleasure working with you guys and just knowing that it is all going to be PERFECT!

Love. Hanli

“Our success will and must be measured in the happiness and welfare of our children, at once the most vulnerable citizens in any society and the greatest of our treasures.”
Nelson Mandela.

A little while ago we received a phone call from the Girls & Boys Town Regional Development Office. This is the team responsible for securing funding from private and corporates to keep the organisation afloat.

In our industry we all know how incredibly  hard cold calling is. People are just so busy that you really need to wow them if you’re going to get any kind of agreement from them. Can you imagine how much harder it must be to secure funding through cold calling?

Anyway, we agreed to meet with Girls & Boys Town to see how we could support the Regional Team. We then went on to meet the Regional Co-ordinator and we agreed to support Girls & Boys Town with the Avo training interventions.

Well, we’ve just had our first session with the team and it was awesome. We presented the team with the Brand of One workshop which Tracy facilitated. It was such a humbling experience to see how much the ladies appreciated Tracy’s work. It was equally rewarding to experience humbleness of the team. Nothing else matters to the ladies but the success of the organisation. Each and everyone of the ladies are wholey and solely committed to their jobs. They just have so much passion and belief in what they do. 

Below please find an e-mail from Elrina Bower, the Regional Development OfficerDear Elaine.

“Thank you once again for the wonderful workshop on Tuesday! We all enjoyed Tracy’s entertaining, but very professional presentation. You guys really know how to do it!

We will be overjoyed to have a follow up on this workshop at a time later this year, whenever it might suit you. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU from all of us. With much appreciation.”

Elrina  I think Tracy and I both realise that the privilege was all ours, sometimes meeting up with teams who are focused on enriching the lives of others actually puts our lives in perspective… Thank you Girls & Boys Town for allowing Avo to partner with you !

It certainly is a sad state of affairs when one has to blog one-self. Luckily for me I have no qualms about my self esteem and rather than rob you of me…I decided to blog me.The article this time was called “View from the Top”, and was featured in the August 2006 GIBS Review.

To quote from the article:

“Partner and director at Avocado Vision, Elaine Joy Sampson, believes this life leads you to where you are supposed to go and teaches you lessons you need to learn. While some might consider this a very disempowering outlook on life, she believes the contrary: It is hugely empowering to see the road ahead and to grasp an opportunity with both hands and run with it.”  

“But understand that whatever path you take, and however challenging it may seem, your abilities, strengths and talents have been given to you to suit the road you must travel. So, rather than doubt yourself, accept that who you are is enough.” she points out.  Read more

Cool hey ……

I’m a sports psychologist and executive coah. I worked independently for the last 10 years helping corporations and athletes all over the world achieve peak performance. I’ve applied the lessons learnt from professional athletes very successfully in the corporate world.

My experience includes many industries, across different roles, functions and levels within organisations and from extreme to mainstream athletes. I’ve been involved in the preparation of athlete’s climbing Everest, professional tennis and golf players on the international circuit and free divers competing in world championships.

Prior to this I spent 6 years in the financial services industry managing a large team. In addition I also worked for an international management consultancy involving both business and leadership work.

My approach is to educate, support and teach clients how to manage performance levels especially under pressure. I have also developed a holistic coaching model called The Corporate Athlete which focuses on managing the clients from a performance and wellness perspective.

If you would like to select Sean as a coach, email Carla-jo Barry.

Dear Avos

I have just finished working on a project with you guys - and it has been an extraordinary experience. As a freelancer, I have worked with a diverse range of people and organisations - big, small, corporate, non-profit, government, non-government and several that defy categorisation. I have worked on learning design, materials development, research , writing, training and facilitation for these organisations.

I have given all this CV type information to persuade you all that I’m not a naiveté or a Jilly-come-lately and with all these years and variety of work experience I have never had as rewarding, constructive and learning an experience as I have had with the Avo team and associates.

The level of trust, the degree of delegation, focused feedback, the abundant warmth and the depth of creative co-operation have blown me away and taught me an enormous amount. And you extended all this to a newcomer! WOW!

It has been such a pleasure and a great privilege to have been part of such a unique team.

And I got paid for the experience!

Thanks to all of you!