I have taken a lot of training courses over my 50 working years, many of them extremely valuable to me. Things like public speaking and accounting have proved their worth time and time again, but the most exciting and most life changing was the “Quest Workshop and Leadership Program” I attended in Little Rock, Arkansas, under the leadership of Jim Lord.
In that course I had the pleasure of learning with 8 amazing people from across the continent. Jim taught us so much. He showed us the potential in the world and in ourselves. He taught us to think, always, from a positive place. More than that he taught us how to effectively and creatively use a process called “Appreciative Inquiry.” This is a truly amazing skill that I find useful every day – as a way of structuring investigation and dialogue, it’s applicable in so may different ways, and it invariably brings out the best in people.
I was so impressed that I arranged for Jim to speak at the International National Trusts Conference that my colleagues and I were hosting in 2011. I also arranged for Jim to give two three-day seminars in Victoria to members of my team as well as members of the INTO (International National Trusts Organization) team and colleagues from Uganda.
My colleagues and I in Change Canada Consultants use these skills in so many ways every day. Through the training that Jim provided, we have learned the immense strength and power of this remarkable tool to help make the world a better place.