A good friend of mine uses to make a joke saying:
“Today I saved 200 euros..”
He presents this as a cliff hanger and you are supposed to ask as a follow up: “Ok…interesting…what did you do?”
Then he says: “I did not buy that 200 euro’s shirt I saw in the shop, I just walked by..” and then he laughs because you bought into his trick.
He told me this joke many times and I already know the outcome but just want to give him a good feeling and play along. My friend is selling cars.
However he is making a point in the way that Costs not made are Costs first earned. Which is a saying that another friend of mine likes to repeat when he takes out his home made sandwich for lunch instead of joining us to go to a restaurant. This friend is CFO at an international company.
Both friends know each other and apparently share this value in mutual appreciation.
I would like to dedicate this appreciation to my business relations who are using internal resources that are there already for training and development facilitation and/or support. Let’s make sure that resources are not spilled but used in order to reach out to a sustainable present and future.
About the Author: Marja van Soest has been working as a director, trainer, consultant and coach in international Sales, Service and Leadership for over 25 years for a diversity of companies and audiences. Parallel to her business career Marja is a sports trainer specializing in In and Outdoor Cycling. Combining her passion for sports, groups, individual and organizational performance Marja developed a highly effective model on Motivation and Engagement to Activate People and Business: Engage, Empower, Perform, Enjoy. Using this model to empower leaders to build a culture of trust is her inspiration for both business and sports practices.
