I had an absolutely fabulous time speaking at the 2019 Ambition Conference last week. The event is the brainchild of Andy Lopata – The Professional Relationship Strategist (www.lopata.co.uk) who kindly asked me to open the conference this year.
Essentially, the event is all about “Inspiring Business Success” and is held annually in Broxbourne in Hertfordshire. Businesses from the local community – big and small – make up the bulk of the attendance and it’s a really dynamic day. This was the fifth such annual event and I was struck by the professional way in which it is run and at the same time, the relaxed and friendly atmosphere.
I gave my keynote talk on “The Power of Authenticity” which draws on stories and anecdotes from both my business and personal life. I use these to demonstrate we can be much better prepared to face business challenges, setbacks and adversity if we allow ourselves to be the real us – to be authentic, in everything we do. The lessons we learned as a child are nearly always more use to us in business than any lesson we learned in business. We all tend to forget this, especially at times when we need it most.
I must say, I was in fantastic company – the speaker line-up was excellent! I felt like I really had to rise to the occasion! Following my talk, “Mr Network”, Andy Lopata shared insights from his new book ‘Just Ask’, where he tells stories of success, failure, trauma and vulnerability from all around the world. Some of the people he has met and speaks about are a true inspiration. Andy’s genius is that he challenges us all to ask for help more and be more open with our network. Andy is a real pro on stage and I learned lots from watching and listening to his talk.
Next up was Ester Stanhope and she was a whirl-wind! Her specialisation is all about how to make an impact and be more visible (boy was she visible!) She explained how to command a room and be the person everyone is listening to. She had some really good tips and tricks on how to “effortlessly” achieve this. Really practical stuff you can implement right away.
Nathan Littleton then took the stage to give a really impactful and insightful talk on what he calls Credibility Marketing®. This helps you attract customers who believe what you say, much more than your competition. He really held everyone’s attention with insights like how to make your customer experience a hugely effective part of your marketing and mobilising your customers to do your marketing for you! By the end he had us all folding and launching paper aeroplanes!
Just after lunch Sam Rathling woke us all up from our break-induced slumber with an action-packed wizz through her world of LinkedIn and how to generate leads & build your brand on LinkedIn. She was full of practical advice and strategies on how to achieve this that I was left thinking LinledIn is like my smartphone phone – I don’t know 80% of what it can do and it’s much smarter than me!
Concluding the conference was Lysa Hardy from Hotel Chocolat who, apart from providing a whole hamper of HC goodies (which EVERYONE wanted to win) gave us a really interesting and alternative view on FMCG marketing. Instead of the over-played 4 P’s, she concentrated on her 4 C’s of marketing - customer experience, commercials, creativity, and courage. I loved her take on this approach – really refreshing.
Finally, got to mention our fabulous MC for the day, Jeremy Nicholas. Jeremy does a lot of this stuff – and it showed! In particular, his humour. In fact, Jeremy also helps speakers with injecting humour into their speeches. I never knew that was even a thing! Great stuff!
