Creating Tomorrow

 Dear Friends,

Sometime last year I was camped out in the sofa on the living room working on my laptop with NBC’s TODAY SHOW offering up a soothing wall of sound in the background. Suddenly an energetic young voice cut through my concentration, and I looked up at the tube to see host Katie Couric interviewing former yahoo! exec, Tim Sanders.

Ok, I admit that I usually make a mad dash for the remote when someone I categorize as a “talking head” pierces my consciousness uninvitedly, believing - as I do - that one can only ingest that type of thing in carefully measured doses to remain moderately sane. But I soon found myself being taken in by a youngish, seemingly likable (!) and sincere, upbeat, energic and knowledgeable person. So, I did what I was supposed to do, I guess - I surfed on over to amazon.de and ordered two of his books:

1. Love is the Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends (written with Pete Sanders)
2. The Likeability Factor: How to Boost Your L-Factor and Achieve Your Life’s Dreams

Because I didn’t buy either book with the expectation that it would uncover some unknown wisdom from the universe, I wasn’t disappointed to “only” find Sander’s take on the addage “first you give, then you get” as it applies to life in the business world today in “Love is the Killer App”. On the surface, I received no new knowledge, but he did enthusiastically encourage me to remember and re-asses some of the cornerstone beliefs I held about dealing with people in business. The theoretical aspects of the book were kept lively and involving by Sander’s own highly personal examples and the results they reaped for him.

To use a quote from “…the Killer App”:

“…Sometimes the effect of a Big Thought isn’t so much that it provides a solution, but that it gives us a new way of seeing the world. It’s a fresh perspective. Alan Kay, father of the personal computer, says that perspective is worth fifty I.Q. points…”

So, ok, I understand about the love thing, Tim. And I also believe that it is effective. On the other hand, we are all unique creatures with our own special talents, skills and abilities.

Above and beyond what Tim Sanders calls “love” in business, have you managed to identify YOUR OWN “killer app”?

What special talent or skill or knowledge or ability do YOU possess that allows you to add value to every business (or personal) relationship you enter into? What mental gear do you shift into that makes everything you touch and do seem “easy” no matter how complex or time-consuming it is objectively?

If you still haven’t identified your unique “killer app”, just think about how much easier - and more FUN - your life will be once you do!

Creating Tomorrow is a blog created to provide me with more flexibility in collecting and sharing my reflections on the business subjects that intrigue me most: leadership, coaching, and presentation skills. It’s also a place where I can share my current portfolio of projects and their status with everyone interested in the work in which my company, Creating Tomorrow: The Leadership Consultancy, is involved.

The entries will be eclectic; the information of the pages dynamic. Each will showcase in a different way the journey Creating Tomorrow and I will be taking in the coming weeks and months…and years.

I look forward to sharing some of that journey with all of you!

Trina Roach

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You can contact me personally at trina.roach-raschke(at)creating-tomorrow.com

Dear Friends,

In her article, “Creating Passion Now”, Veronica Conway, President and Founder of the Black Professional Coaches Alliance, shines a spotlight on one of the major dilemmas many professionals face. Caught up in the hamster wheel of position and promotion and money, we often suppress the inner passions that make each of us such unique individuals. In our attempt to measure up to the standards society (our parents? our colleagues? our neighbors? our bosses?) sets, we too often ignore our heart’s true calling.

I totally agree with Veronica when she writes:

“…The most successful people are passionate about what they do because they are making powerful use of their gifts and talents; they do things that are easy for them….”

Do you want to know what else Valerie has to say? Read more!

Creating Tomorrow: The Leadership Consultancy supports business professionals on both sides of the Atlantic who are committed to identifying and nurturing their “ME” Factor, because true leadership begins when you take charge of your own life.

As a coach and trainer I work with people who want to better align their professional lives with their overall life’s purpose. I facilitate them as they gain insight into their professional strengths, and support them as they acquire and improve the skills they need to perform more effectively in the workplace.

Individuals typically are eager to work with me when they:

•   are upgrading their personal skills
• are seeking a professional breakthrough
• have just been promoted/begun a new job
• are considering a change in careers
• are seeking increased work/life balance

Creating Tomorrow also facilitates business and agency owners on both sides of the Atlantic who are committed to more effectively leveraging The Power of “We” to increase their success in the marketplace. As a coach and human resources development consultant I work with businesses and organizations committed to growing their business by recognizing the unique talent of their people and continuously developing their skill.

Organizations typically engage me to:

• recruit “right potentials” for their organization
• nurture the professional growth of key individual employees
• upgrade the personal skills of specific employee teams/groups
• positively influence change within their organization
• act as sounding board for entrepreneurial vision and planning

Creating Tomorrow: The Leadership Consultancy

• Creating Living Leadership
• Creating Leadership in Ideas
• Creating Leaders of Tomorrow

~~~

mail: info(at)creating-tomorrow.com
web: www.creating-tomorrow.com
blog: www.creating-tomorrow.com/blog

As an experienced presenter and presentation skills trainer, I have had the pleasure of conducting my workshops across Europe: from Amsterdam to Moscow and from Hamburg to Istanbul. 

During my 25 year career in advertising and management development, I regularly held presentations for blue chip clients. In addition, I’ve held numerous speeches in front of international audiences – on both sides of the Atlantic. I know that as a presenter I add value to any message I have, because every presenter possesses his own special style, allowing him to convincingly turn every story into “his” story!

I am one of a long list of people who received their rhetorical inspiration directly from the Black American churches of their childhood. I grew up listening to – and fascinated by - the mesmerizing talent of preachers like Martin Luther King and Jesse Jackson, and many lesser known but equally talented men (and women!) in the pulpit. By observing them, I learned to make direct contact with my audience;  to deliver a message that goes straight to the bone! Listening to them motivated and inspired me to reach deep inside myself to discover my own unique presentation style.

The journey towards discovering your Authentic Presentation Personality is an exciting one. Let’s go down part of that road – together!

~~~

training(at)creating-tomorrow.com

Coaching is a 1-to-1 partnership of equals designed to empower you in identifying and achieving your professional dreams, goals, visions and passions. The strictly confidential relationship between you and your coach is highly interactive, and dedicated to supporting you in achieving your goals more quickly and with more energy and focus than you would alone.The core of the coaching relationship is therefore your own professional agenda. Your coach doesn’t have all the answers to your problems. Instead your coach has the relevant questions that lead you to your own answers to your unique professional challenges.

YOU make the first step by identifying your desire to recruit a coach’s support in making a significant move in your professional development or outlining a plan to apply your talents and skills more effectively within your present business context. It’s your coach’s rôle to challenge you and

a.) make sure you get down to the REAL issue you want to address, and

b.) keep you on track while doing all you need to do to realize your dreams.
Although the priorities you set are professional, coaching views your life holistically and therefore supports you in making professional decisions that give your life more balance and fulfillment. In the end, the one real measure of success in a coaching relationship is your own sense of goal-oriented professional growth and development.

Still a fairly young discipline in Europe, it’s not always easy to differentiate between coaching and other related areas, such as consulting, mentoring, training, managing, therapy and counselling.

However:

The coach is not the “expert” who provides you with ready-made solutions to your problems like a consultant would.

Although you benefit from the professional experience of your coach, your relationship is not as informal and unstructured as mentoring.

Although knowledge is exchanged in the coaching relationship, it’s not a “one-off” event like many training courses, but rather an ongoing, co-active professional partnership.

As your partner, your coach also has no authority over you the way a manager would.

Coaching does NOT offer an answer to emotional or psychological problems. It is not a preventative measure in times of personal crisis. It is therefore NOT a suitable substitute for support from a trained therapist or counselor.

During the course of the coaching relationship, issues may be uncovered that have their source in an area other than your desire to fulfill your professional dreams and visions. At such times, your coach will refer you to the appropriate professional.

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Contact me: coaching(at)creating-tomorrow.com

“In the knowledge society into which we are moving, individuals are central. Knowledge is not impersonal, like money. Knowledge does not reside in a book, in a databank, a software program; they contain only information. Knowledge is always embodied in a person; carried by a person; created, augmented, or improved by a persn; applied by a person; taught and passed on by a person; used or misused by a person. The shift to a knowledge society therefore puts the person in the center.”

(Peter F. Drucker)

In my professional life I have had the privilege of working with a few exemplary leaders for whom coaching was second nature. Their support and inspiration led me beyond my professional comfort zone, and challenged me to develop my existing skills, as well as discover, nurture and apply skills I hadn’t even expected I possessed.

However, like many others, I later fell into the professional vacuum that management with a lack of clear people-oriented leadership and the accompanying coaching expertise creates.

During my time in human resources development working closely with people beginning their professional careers, as well as during my own personal quest to extend the scope of my professional competencies, I became more and more interested in coaching; not only as a necessary component in the skill set of any executive worth the title, but also as an independent professional resource.

I strongly believe that coaching provides immeasurable value to any business professional who is at least as committed to his own professional growth, visions, goals and passions as he is to his organization’s bottom line!

That’s why, as a Coach:

• I accompany my coachees on a journey of self-discovery. Unless you are aware of your own values and goals, and understand the implications of your strengths and weaknesses, you will never be able to unlock the full potential you carry within you or take advantage of the many opportunities that present themselves to you.
• I act as a confidential sounding-board who supports you as you formulate your professional goals and develop an effective action plan to achieve them. My thought-provoking (and sometimes uncomfortable) questions challenge you to step outside of your comfort zone as you pinpoint your essential motivations, and design a plan that uniquely reflects both where you are in your business or career, as well as the direction in which you want them to go.
• I partner you as you uphold your accountability to yourself. If a thought is the first step towards creating reality, then making a verbal commitment to your coach to achieve something specific within a specified amount of time is the spring board that gets you there - faster and more efficiently than you can do it on your own. And as your accountability partner I am there to work with you through any setbacks, but also share in the joy of your accomplishments.

Learning from yesterday, living today, CREATING TOMORROW!

~~~

coaching(at)creating-tomorrow.com

Do YOU already have your Next Professional Milestone (NPM) in your sights, but you aren’t quite sure how to go after it most effectively and efficiently?

Is YOUR job exciting and fulfilling – for now – but you are reluctant to linger too long in your comfort zone and eager to proactively begin creating your professional tomorrow - today?

Are YOU working on an important pitch or project and want to utilize the resources of a neutral sparring partner to keep you on your toes and on track as you aspire to create unique and surprising solutions for your client?

Do YOU have a distinct feeling of professional unrest, and need support while discovering the next logical step on your personal career path?

Are YOU having trouble clearly defining the professional and personal objectives and obligations in your life, much less differentiating between – or actually balancing! – the two?

If you are currently facing any of the above scenarios in your professional life, coaching will provide you with a powerful and compelling co-active alliance that will support you in achieving the goals you’ve set for yourself. Working within the framework of

1. Permission: A professional partnership based on confidentiality, trust and credibility
2. Self-Discovery: Where are you today? How did you get here?
3. Creating Tomorrow: What exactly do you want to be different in your professional life in the future?
4. Logistics: What’s the best way for us to work together to make a difference?
5. Tools: Instruments to better deal with what’s likely to happen to you along the way

As your coach, I will be a no-nonsense yet compassionate companion on your road to increased effectiveness and greater competency.

Auf Englisch oder auf Deutsch!

~~~

Take our brief online quiz to find out if professional coaching is right for you or schedule a 45-minute complimentary coaching session today by contacting me at coaching(at)creating-tomorrow.com!

Dear Friends,

I’m very proud and honored to be one of several foreign-born women in Germany highlighted as a female entrepreneur (or in my case: “solopreneur”) in a brochure published by the Ministry for Generations, Family, Women and Integration in the German state of North-Rhine-Westphalia. This brochure – entitled “Success in Two Cultures. Female Immigrants and Their Companies” - was introduced at the Day of the Female Entrepreneur 2007, which took place in Gelsenkirchen on Saturday, 21 April 2007.

Let’s all hope that this brochure motivates and inspires other (not only foreign-born) women, and contributes to the continuing success of the ladies involved!

Trina