Fellow Owners,
Where is the future taking us?
More importantly, where are we taking the future? On January 15-16 the IDCFA Board, DC&A Senior Leadership Team and Innovation Team captains will be meeting to collaborate and answer that question. This meeting is focused on gaining alignment around our strengths, and matching it to how we interface with the marketplace and will be a foundation for the strategic plan. Through this collaboration, we’ll be answering what do our customers want/need, what will they want/need and how do we connect to that for many years into the future?
The Planning Committee [Allyn Walker, Mike Scott and David Fagiano] have selected and hired a facilitator to lead this process. In the near future some of you will be interacting with them as they gain insights, data and opinions on our current reality.
One of our IDCFA tenants is being a strategic partner to Dale Carnegie & Associates in order to create a profitable and sustainable business. A goal in this partnership is to focus the work of the Innovation Teams and accelerate their work. The Innovation Team Process has proven to be an amazing way to leverage the gifted people in the franchise network and DC&A. The five teams with a brief update:
● Product and Delivery - [Matt Norman, Co-Captain] Through global survey the team discovered three macro-trends impacting organizations today [Leadership, Engagement and Succession]. Within those trends there are seven context areas [Change Readiness, Partnering in a Matrix, Virtual Teaming, Salesforce Transformation, Mid-Level Leading, Non-Traditional Selling and Dealer-Distributor Effectiveness]. The team continues to work on deeper integration into how we sell and deliver into these context areas.
● Digital - [Bob Dickson and Dan Heffernan, Co-Captains] As the most innovative new aspect of our business, this team has remained forward thinking on how to best integrate digital offerings into our current offerings.
● Major Accounts - [Anita Zinsmeister and John Covilli, Co-Captains] The team is creating a unified go-to market and pricing strategy to large global organizations.
● Marketing - [Katie Iorio and Piera Palazzolo, Co-Captains] As we move to phase two of engagement the team is looking at ways to make more impact in the marketplace.
● Train-the-Trainer - [Carla Doyle, Co-Captain] The team has been gaining insight on how other non-competitive train-the-trainer organizations go to market and how it fits our current model.
Please volunteer your talents by attending a meeting or two of a team that you have passion for.
I hope you can tell from my message, the tone between the IDCFA and DC&A has changed dramatically. We are collaborating, communicating,and sharing responsibility for our future. If you are not a member of the IDCFA, please join and be a part of our work. We can use your insights in the Innovation Team process and your moral support as we keep Dale Carnegie’s dream alive for another 100 years.
We are in a very exciting and challenging time in our business. We are where we are today as a result of our history and we need to prepare our network for our future. There is such an untapped opportunity in the marketplace for Dale Carnegie Training.
Live the Dale Carnegie Principles!