Greetings Owners!

Dale Carnegie said, 'Action breeds confidence and courage.' Since our last newsletter there has been tremendous action toward the future of Dale Carnegie Training! Here are a few highlights of the work the IDCFA has been doing for you...

Vision - In January the Innovation Team Captains, IDCFA Board and DC&A Senior Leadership Team spent two days crafting the 'Focus Five', our five year vision for the future. We achieved extraordinary collaboration as we defined our foundation (The Principles and the Dale Carnegie Experience), our vision, the markets we want to win in and the strategies to win in those markets. Included in this newsletter are more details of the meeting.

DC&A Board - Also in January, I spent an hour with the DC&A Board of Directors. We had a very candid conversation regarding the current and future state of our business in the marketplace. Topics covered included:
- Concerns of the talent losses, especially on the Senior Leadership Team
- The declining sales in the US (down 10% since 2000) and declining registrations in the Dale Carnegie Course product (down 40% since 2000)
- New product innovation
- Senior Leadership Team succession planning
- Declining franchise resale valuation
Strategic Planning - In early March, Allyn Walker and I, along with 10 of the top owners in the world (two from each region), spent two hours on a video conference with the Senior Leadership Team to kick off their week long strategic planning session.

In April, the same 12 owners will reconvene with the Senior Leadership Team to review and give feedback on the Strategic Plan.

As we look ahead to our Owners Meeting this June in Austin, we are excited about the progress we are making with Peter and his team. It's critical we unite as a global owners group.

We appreciate your time and financial support in our efforts. Our membership is up 14% over last year! If you are not a member of the IDCFA we encourage you to join us. Your investment in the IDCFA is already leading to business results.