Saddleback Manila on Business Leadership

The invitation came as a post on Facebook. Saddleback Manila will be holding a seminar on January 26, 2013 at the AIC Gold Tower in Ortigas, Pasig. They called it the Business Leadership Seminar.It was not something I would normally get excited about. We’ve attended similar seminars before, or so I thought, and I knew there must be something else. Lunch was free and the registration as well. So what’s the catch? Then… the cheerful giving agenda on the seminar invite. I knew it! Some guy will put his hand on my forehead during the event and make me lose consciousness. But anyway I went. I thought jokingly, “The best things in life are free, so it must be one of the best.”And it truly was!After attending the event, we realized we’d definitely have regretted it if we didn’t came. We’ve learned about, and met, some really awesome people. And connecting everything we’ve learned to our life as virtual assistants, we’ve really discovered some real gems.Lynda Resnick, on a taped video interview with Rick Warren, taught valuable lessons about leadership and business branding. What made her a success? She shared:Businesses should offer a unique selling proposition. It is what defines your business and what sets you apart from the rest. Millions of businesses are established every single day. You may not create a buzz immediately, but at least manage to create some ripples which will disrupt the calm and hopefully turn those ripples into waves.Your business should add value to the customers. Be concise, be direct and strive to be understood easily. People nowadays are just too busy. They want solutions to their everyday problems. If you can provide a product that at least manages to make life a bit easier, or would add value, customers would definitely buy.Give back. This one floored me. At times, it’s not difficult for a lot of people to believe that we live in a fast-paced, I-don’t-give-a-damn world. People are always busy with their own lives. Making a living. Making ends meet. Being successful. Making sure that they have all the money that they can get. But when Lynda Resnick talked about giving back, we cannot help but think, that yes, we still live in a world where there’s hope.There are also speakers like Roland Navarro, Berto Guzman, Harmon Kong and Jake Villareal. They are all highly successful entrepreneurs who flew all the way from the US just to share their thoughts and help us understand what business leadership is really all about. I happen to have a client who’s also an executive in Silicon Valley. So, realizing how busy these people are who took the time to speak to us was truly remarkable.Rick Warren’s talk was surely the icing on the cake. A great way to end a great seminar. He talked about the value of TEAMWORK. The core of what a business leader should be in dealing with his team. I’m giving away a few snippets here:T is all about trust. Leadership is all about influence, consistency and loyalty. E is for economy of energy. It’s about working smarter, not harder. A stands for appreciation or affirmation. M is for management of mistakes. W stands for weekly contact. O stands for open communication. R is all about recognition. And K, keep on learning.The event was ended in high spirits. And if there’s one thing about Saddleback Manila that we attendees can share – this seminar is what business leadership is truly all about! And yes, there’s goodness, humility and truly awesome people remaining in this world.Read more about it: http://www.virtualassistant.ph/saddleback-manila-on-business-leadership/