King Arthur’s Roundtable

The story of the Roundtable is that Arthur’s most trusted knights sat with him around this table making decisions, having fun and sharing their lives with one another. It’s a good way to think about business even today. A book, written by David Perkins, entitled King Arthur's Round Table: How Collaborative Conversations Create Smart Organizations talks about how this method of business management creates a better decision-making process and therefore a more effective business. How do you do this if you’re a one person organization? Well, there’s help on the horizon.

The Work Place Initiative is just such a Roundtable: the members become your “Board of Advisors”, sharing goals and ideas, different perspectives, and learning and networking with those who will become your trusted friends and colleagues.

The purpose and mission of the Initiative is to provide effective business growth strategies to small and medium sized businesses through networking, educational forums and peer support. The focus is on owners and managers of businesses that have been in business for more than one year and have reached a level of growth where they need help getting to the next level.

One aspect of the Initiative, Insight, is an Advisory Board -- a group of professionals specifically targeted for their knowledge, skills and/or influence in the industry, who are convened by an organization to offer input and advice pertaining to a specific goal or objective. The Board offers “guidance” and functions as an operational Board of Directors, minus legal liability and statutory responsibility.

Through the sharing of thoughts and goals with a small group of respected advisors, businesses involved in Insight learn how to put first things first, optimize their capability and widen their circle of influence. They find win/win situations while developing an abundance mentality.

The other part of the Initiative is monthly networking and educational forums where experts in their field present information on topics of interest to small business owners and managers. Areas such as health insurance, marketing, management and more are all envisioned to be on the agenda in the coming months.

Roundtable Discussions (Insight):
Groups of no more than 6 members gather on a weekly basis to discuss issues of concern to themselves and other members of the group.

Shared Office Space:
Use of The Work Place conference room and computer/printer/Internet access (no rental on room; reduced charges on equipment)

Monthly Networking Meetings:
Provide a business networking environment where members and non-members can meet and greet each other (non-members pay entrance fees).

Access to Member Forums, Blogs and Articles

The Little Engine That Could

One of my favorite stories as a child was about a little train that couldn’t make it up the hill like the big trains around him; but then he gave himself confidence by saying “I think I can, I think I can” and eventually up that hill he went. That’s what I think is needed in the business world today – at the very least for the small business owner out there, me included. We all have to have a sense of accomplishment and know that we’ve got to put in our best efforts to get something back out. A quote I read the other day went like this: “Half of success in life is showing up, and the other half is not quitting too soon.” That’s exactly on the head – we need to just keep telling ourselves, “I think I can, I think I can.”

What are some things that we need to have in order to be successful in our businesses? First and foremost, we MUST NOT give up. There are days when we just don’t want to get out of bed. We can’t face another frustration or piece of bad news. We just want to say “The heck with it – I’m outta here.” But that doesn’t solve anything does it? We have to have faith and patience. We need to tell ourselves that things will get better; the economy will come around, or people will eventually learn about our business and flock to our front doors.

However, we need to have more than just that faith and patience. We can’t just sit at our desks and wait for the phone to ring. If we encounter an obstacle, we have to figure out how to get around it. We need to use our imagination and see what other means we have to get the job done. We must continue with our marketing and networking – don’t be afraid of the unknown. Take a leap of faith and get out there and let people know who you are and what your business can do to help them.

It is also important to understand that you can never stop learning and trying new technology. Don’t let yourself become stagnant; again, sitting there and praying is not going to get the job done. Try new things, learn new techniques for growing your market. It will all help in the long run