Winning together

This month I  had the great fortune of being asked to acts as facilitator / MC at a 2 day Purina conference held at Phantasialand just outside of Cologne. It was absolutely fabulous for a number of reasons:-

• It was the first ever conference for this region, so it was very exciting.
• Well conceived theme and well organised by the HR team.
• The HR Director is a one of the best people oriented HR people I know, a role model for the changes that are happening within the HR profession.
• The 100 participants came from 10 countries ( and what made it even more special for me is that I knew many of them through my years of being a trainer at Purina) and they were great!
• The focus was on people getting to know one another, and it was real fun to see them putting faces to the names they already knew.
• They were all given an A5 book which had all the key facts about each country, plus the photo, function, phone and email address of every participant. Part of the 'getting to know you' was that they had to obtain the signature of every participant in their books.
• They showcased successful projects that had been implemented across the region and this was very impressive
• Being in Phantasialand just added to the atmosphere, the African theme of the hotel and the roller coaster rides, plus running the conference within a giant tent!
• From the start the regional director made it safe for people to have FUN!!! He used the Duck Sauce Barbra Steisand song as the theme music and danced and sang it, and it worked so well.

 

 It's always a pleasure working with Purina people as they are so down to earth, passionate about their business, and committed to making a real difference in whatever they are doing. The leadership of this region is exceptional, which translates into motivated people delivering great results. It was summed up for me when I sat next to a young German graduate who told me that he was trained and coached then given the freedom to do the job. It was slightly scary but he always knew he had management support should he need it, and at the end he received recognition for his achievements. He knew this was not the norm from his university pals who joined other companies, and who all seemed to be working for very directive managers.

Final Words ..... Great leadership + Fun = Amazing Results.