(dr. michelli speaking to our group)
hi all! back in october, i was asked to speak at the senior portrait artist's (spa) VIP event. this was held up in louisburg, kansas, at my good friends' studio (the antisdels). they also happen to be the owners of spa. :-)
i kicked off the event on sunday evening with a discussion on 'blue ocean strategy' (a book by w. chan kim) - which is something i'm pretty passionate about (check it out if you have the time! the book is a bit dry, but the concept is phenomenal!). it was a TON of fun, and the group (about 50 people) was AWESOME. there was a high excitement level, and lots of cool ideas being tossed around. totally my kind of vibe!
(andy bondurant vividly explaining something... though i'm not sure what :-)
the next day we spent time together shooting and sharing ideas, and also discussing what to expect at spa event in january. jeff richardson photographed a fabulous family while we were there - it is ALWAYS a trip watching him work. what i thought was cool was this family had 3 girls the EXACT same stair-stepped as mine (though the oldest was a senior in high school) - with birthdays in the exact same months too. EERIE!
later that afternoon we had one incredible surprise. dr. joseph michelli - author of 'the starbucks experience,' 'when fish fly' and 'the new gold standard' among many other accreditations - was stopping by to spend a few hours with our group 'interviewing' us and getting a feel for our industry. dr. michelli was our keynote speaker at spa event a few weeks ago and wanted to know a bit more about what we do and our processes and procedures before the event and happened to be in kansas city at the same time we were there.
(thought it odd that he didn't have a STARBUCKS coffee cup, til i remembered there are no starbucks coffee shops in louisburg)
so thus began the 'interrogation' as i call it. and it was certainly eye opening! we never really got over the first 'process' that we go through because he was delving so deep into our intentions and goals that many of us had never thought that far into it. i think this frustrated a few of us, but he told us we actually did amazing - and that even fortune 500 companies couldn't answer the things he was asking (thus the reason he consults with them).
(nope, i really DON'T know what's going on here...)
i have to say - it was a great honor to get to meet dr. michelli. he is an INCREDIBLE speaker with some INCREDIBLE experiences (both personal and professional). if you ever get the chance to listen to him speak, be sure to do so. he has a lot to say, in a very engaging manner. i LOVED it!!
(sarah is one of our more 'assertive' friends - she KNOWS her stuff and is one incredible person!! kent is playing with one of his toys as usual :-)
the rest of the time was spent bonding, pancake flipping, giggling, and eating some AWESOME barbecue. this event is one of my favorite things to attend, and always inspires me in so many ways.
and this year kia also picked up this coat at market knowing that it fit both of our personalities to a 'T'. so we are both (along with my friend joy!) the proud owners of (what i have lovingly termed) the 'everything' coat. as kia explains, it has it all: short sleeves, long sleeves, polka dots, black-and-white, plaid, stripes, color, the biggest pocket you've ever seen (you could possibly hide a small child in them) and bling (in the button). it's AWESOME. many of you have seen me in it - it's my favorite piece of fashion this season. i LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!
til next time...
peace and popsicles!
jen :-)