PurposeBrand – The Story Co.

Dec

Women In Leadership (WIL) Re-cap

Yes, this is a testimonial post – forewarned! 🙂

I have such mixed emotions about them that they feel a bit cringey.

But when my clients say, “should we do testimonial posts?” I say yes. But I qualify it because like all good stories, the story is not about you, it is about the transformation that occurs, and the hero is always the participant.

And heroes they were! (phew I feel so much more comfortable talking about the attendees!)

Over 120 attended from Canada, The United States and the U.K. hosted by an amazing organization called Women in Leadership – WIL. (If you haven’t checked them out maybe you should :)) Special thanks to Keri Schwebius Chapter Co-Chair and MC Keri Lynn Voight fo the amazing opportunity.

The topic was “How to be a Purpose Driven Leader”

It was a virtual session and yet the energy was palpable. Great engagement, sincere interest. These leaders wanted to fulfill their potential as a leader and cultivate high performance in their teams and also be the best version of themselves.

We build a practical road map for becoming a values-based leader in business and in life. Exploring how to determine your own personal set of values, put into words your own purpose and create a conscious leadership mindset.

I believe these conversations are so important right now because a global leadership crisis is rampant.

Within every crisis however, is opportunity. And that is why each of these attendees are heroes because they are saying yes to leading with purpose, to living their values no matter what hat they are wearing, and this is how the world changes!

I love the opportunity to talk about building purpose driven leaders and teams, organizations, and businesses. Lunch and learns, workshops, team events.

What I know for sure – the world of work is changing on purpose!

Are you ready to live yours? (when you read some of these responses it might just motivate you to say “I sure am!”)

So call me!

Testimonials

“I have wanted this kind of purpose exercise for years. This has been powerful and meaningful.”

– Angela

“Love the content and I will be applying the information that was shared.”
– Heather

“Thank you much for a brilliant session today!”
– Lindsay

“I loved your webinar today and thought it was full of useful information.”
– Ren

May

Tower Talks

Wow, that was fun! I was thrilled to be the inaugural speaker for Tower Talks – the brainchild of Matt Geiger, Senior Manager of Marketing and Communications at Harvard Developments.

The event was open to any of Harvard’s downtown tenants, and what a great way to care for your tenants by bringing them knowledge and inspiration about the topics they care about! Many thanks to Matt and his helpful team for making the event effortless and fun (generally, when things seem effortless, you know someone put in a lot of work)!

Sign-up for the event was brisk right from the start. I had a feeling it was going to be something special, and it was.

We dove into what it means to be a purpose-driven leader, exploring how many leaders want to fulfill their potential, cultivate high performance in their teams, and be the best version of themselves. Understanding how to actually do that can feel daunting!

But, like most things, we can get there if we take it step by step.

We started with understanding what it takes to build a practical road map to become a values-based leader in business and life. How do we remove the obstacles that might prevent us from having the impact we know we can have?

We got down to it! Discovering our personal values and what they would be like in our everyday lives if we started living them right now.

Sharing all kinds of practical tips and stories on how to integrate your personal work purpose with the purpose of the business or organization you work for, starting right where you are today (yes, that is a bit of a theme that you can get started right now to be a purpose-driven leader)!

It was an uplifting session because the leaders in the room were fully present and engaged.

If a keynote is one-sided, it falls flat, no matter how good it is. Participants make it three-dimensional, memorable, and meaningful. I am so thankful to every leader in that room for enhancing the experience for everyone.

And as the session ended, there was a buzz.

It is motivating to have a clear idea of how you can live and lead on purpose and have the impact and influence you were meant to have, breathing new life into your work and meaning into your life.

The world of work is changing on purpose – are you ready to live in yours?

We welcome the opportunity to talk to and work with leaders and their teams, so you can live your story on purpose. Email janet@thestoryco.ca for more information.

Mar

Celebrating Each Others Unique Differences

Purpose in business.

Maybe that expression is starting to feel buzz wordy to you. However, people are caring more than ever about the impact companies have on the world, so maybe the concept is buzzing for good reason.

There’s a quote from Michael Kouly, “every activity that is not aligned with your purpose is a waste of resources.” It is a strong statement and a practice that businesses and organizations that want sustainable growth are implementing.

It becomes pretty clear that emphasizing purpose and embedding it into every part of our business means a lot more than throwing around buzzwords.

If a company’s marketing messages aren’t aligned with its purpose and values, then it’s going to have a hard time building a strong relationship with its customers and building a meaningful brand.

People want to do business with companies that share their values and beliefs.

If a company is only focused on profits, it’s going to have a hard time building loyalty both internally and externally.

Internally a company’s purpose should guide everything it does, from strategy, operations, customer service and HR.

When a company’s purpose is part of its culture, it attracts and retains employees who share that purpose. With attraction and retention of talent being one of the biggest challenges businesses and organizations face today, it is not something to overlook.

Purpose driven cultures create a more engaged and motivated workforce, leading to better business outcomes.

It doesn’t take long to realize it’s not enough for companies to just have a purpose statement.

To truly integrate purpose into a company’s structure, it needs to be part of everything the company does.

When a company embraces purpose, we feel its positive impact on the world, creating a better future for all of us.

Nov

Jump in and declare your purpose story & write your strategic story

I am that kid! This summer, I was poised to jump off a 12ft boat house into a beautiful, crystal clear Lake Muskoka.

I wanted to jump so badly!! (actually, my palms are sweating as I write this!) I wouldn’t say I have a total fear of heights, but I would not say I don’t have a fear of heights either.

I would curl my toes over the edge each time, ready to hurl myself into the blue oblivion, screaming, “here I go, yippee!”

And somehow, a moment later, I was still perched on the edge of the dock, toes cramping over the edge, looking down – it seemed so far! My body followed my mind! And I remained rooted to the edge.

I have the most patient family because they waited and waited, and finally, my mind said that the reward was too great – do it!! The body followed, and it was exhilarating.

Overthinking be damned!

So in case you are on the fence about taking this course – it is time to leap. Slay the overthinking, and the overwhelm you might be feeling about your business. The reward is too great!

To be able to put your own purpose into words you can live by is transformative!

Defining and creating the story of your brand (the one that only you can own) is the most sustainable way to grow your business and the best way to guarantee that you have the impact you know you can have.

Clarity so crisp and clear you will wonder what you were waiting for.

Ready?

Jump in. It will be exhilarating!

🗓 Dec 3 & Dec 8
🎉 Live and in person
📍 Path Cowork

May

my Personal Values

I have always liked the work of Jim Collins. On a recent podcast, he talked about personal values. So, of course, he had my complete attention! He talked about pushing yourself hard to determine your values, asking if someone had observed you over the last year, what would they say were your values?

One of my personal core values is creativity. I found my way to understanding how important this value was to me when I least expected it.

My husband and I have twin boys, and when they were first born, it was a little overwhelming – ok, a lot overwhelming! My parents came out to stay with us, and when they walked through the door, they knew! The dark circles under our eyes were one giveaway, the glazed expression another. We were exhausted! Our happy bouncing baby boys were anything but exhausted. Within 5 minutes, my dad said, “Jan, you and I will take the night shift, and Mom will take the day shift.” They were baby people! Both of them could soothe a crying baby innately.

One afternoon while I was resting, my Mom was getting busy. First, she labelled and alphabetized our spices (that is another great story.) She also found my creative nook. Since the boys had arrived, it hardly resembled a creative nook, more like a dumping ground for all kinds of paraphernalia. She found some of my unfinished sketches, random art supplies, and ideas scribbled on scrap paper. She organized the whole area so that it was fresh and ready for creating.

When I woke up, she said, “your Dad and I are taking the boys for a walk. You take some time for yourself and wander over to your desk.” Mothering was wonderful and yet all-consuming. I thought I would never have time for creative endeavours again. I was sure that side of my brain was asleep! I drifted over and started to dabble. As I connected with my creative self, I realized what my Mom knew long before I did that being able to create is essential to my being (my Mom and I happened to share that value).

Since then, I have always respected and nourished this value within myself. I need space and time to create and imagine in order to optimize my best self. This is when I am most aligned and do my best work. It connects me to my center, grounding me. From there, anything seems possible.

For me, the creative process challenges me to drive invention, discovery, and curiosity. It is also at this junction where I have had spectacular successes and failures, often in equal measure and sometimes at the same time (many future blogs worthy of these examples so stay tuned)!

As purpose-driven leaders, we need to know our own core values. Our values will inform our purpose, and when we are aligned, we will have the impact on the world we know we can. Living and leading from our values is our most effective and effortless way to put our own unique stamp on the world.

It sounds easy, but the process can be challenging. Capturing your core values and finding a way to live by them is worth the effort.

And we are here for it!

If you are ready to put your purpose and values into words and action, The Story Co.’s Leaders Journey to Purpose might be just the course for you.

Interested? Email us at janet@thestoryco.ca, and let’s create your path to purpose.

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Women In Leadership (WIL) Re-cap

Tower Talks

Celebrating Each Others Unique Differences

Jump in and declare your purpose story & write your strategic story

my Personal Values

get inspired.

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