Week Two and the project gathers pace. Fitness, mindfulness and open discussions around business transformation.
Author: Sharn
Living Brand Project: Week One Highlights
“It’s actually been fun.”
The story so far – Dale discusses the first five days of the project, from missing GU deserts to juggling his busy schedule. Dale shares his thoughts from Week One of the #LivingBrandProject
Bridge Conference: 2017 Video Highlights
31 January 2017
Courthouse Hotel Shoreditch, London
Bridge Talks: Liggy Webb on Resilience
Liggy Webb, behavioural skills expert, author and founder of The Learning Architect, an international consortium of behavioural skills specialists, joined BridgeTalks on January 26, 2016 to talk on “Service Excellence: The Human Driver”.
The talk was opened by Dale Smith, Director of Creation at Bridge Training & Events. Dale introduced the topic with some of his own experience with resilience.
Focusing on Resilience, Liggy shared findings from research for her latest book, “Resilience – How to cope when everything around you keeps changing”.
Liggy first introduced the idea of living in a VUCA world (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) and turning this around to be full of Vision, Understanding, Clarity and Agility.
The audience came to an agreed definition of resilience (including ‘staying calm’, ‘stickability’ and ‘confidence’) before Liggy moved on to the idea of a “Boomerang” vs a “Doom-erang” and how being resilient is about letting go.
Through her research, Liggy found that the three constant characteristics of a resilient person are:
– Accountability – the ability to take responsibility for a situation
– Agility – the ability to learn and relearn
– Attitude – keeping a positive mindset
Liggy went on to share the top 10 key strategies for building resilience.
Delegates enjoyed drinks and canapés at the networking reception following the talk in the Courthouse Hotel bar.
Interview with Rebecca Robertson of Dunnhumby
Rebecca is Global Events and Engagement Manager for Dunnhumby. She attended BridgeCon in 2015.
One of our values at Bridge is, Keep it Real and Fun – what was the experience like for you at last year’s BridgeCon event?
Last year’s event was an exciting mix of various companies with differing issues, all of which they had tackled boldly and successfully. It was really inspiring to see how a well-planned campaign could have such a great effect on a company, and turn engagement around 180 degrees to ensure a happy, healthy workforce. It was great to see real examples and case studies rather than theoretical learning, and they presented with creativity and humour which kept it entertaining.
Thinking about all the learning that you took away from the conference last year – what was one unique idea that you utilised back in your organisation.
It’s not unique, however the idea of having a strong core purpose was heard loud and clear so we worked with our global leaders to produce a strategic narrative they all agreed on and endorsed which was then cascaded globally at a series of live events to our people to ensure they knew their place and purpose in our global strategy.
Success Stories: Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa
For keeping it real and fun, we wanted to share a little insight into one of our most fun projects – one that was Eau-mazingly successful, because of its realness and authenticity.
In recent years, there has been a shift toward luxury 5 star boutique hotels and the UK-based Lewis Family Trust (known for their global property portfolio and owners of River Island) wanted to move into this market with their property in Palm Beach, Florida.
For 10 years, the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa property was managed by Ritz Carlton with an established market position, returning guests and high employee loyalty. In mid-2013, the Lewis Family Trust took on the management of the property with the directive to create a unique, new-fashioned luxury experience.
In moving to this new name with its own style of luxury, (oft described as ‘whimsical’) the Eau Hotelier population were worried – how could they bring this new and unfamiliar brand to life, whilst still achieving the 5-star, 5-diamond ratings they had previously scored?
We started with the launch of the new values: Hoteliers, Integrity, Authentic, Intuitive and Goosebumps and an Eau-mazing staff event – think infused water, colourful cupcakes, team activities and the celebrity treatment for all staff.
After this, we explored the values, one at a time, across the entire population. ‘Hoteliers’ looked at empowerment and personal responsibility. ‘Integrity’ was about delivering on promises. ‘Authentic’ connected the Forbes standards to their greater purpose; infusing that Eau new-fashioned-luxury touch in achieving the rating. ‘Intuitive’ looked at how asking the right questions and being attentive (in the right kind of way) could help guests feel at home and offer a seamless experience. Culminating in ‘Goosebumps’; Bridge worked with the team to put all the values into action to create unique, personalised ‘goosebump’ moments for each guest experience, leaving a long-lasting impression and leading to guest loyalty.
Why was this project so fun? By tapping into the stories, talents, hobbies and uniqueness of each and every Hotelier, we were able to bring their individual authenticity to the table as part of the guest experience. And Eau-mazing characters they were – see our video below!
In 2016 Bridge Training & Events won silver at the UK Employee Experience Awards for Business Change or Transformation for their work at Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa.
The hotel’s short-term goal was achieved within the first full year of operation, when they received the coveted #1 ranking on the Condé Nast Top 25 Resorts in Florida Readers’ Choice Awards.
Contact me on sharn@insidebridge.com for a copy of the case study.
Bridge Talks: Karen Ward on Brand Personality, Promise & Your People
Karen Ward, Founder and Research Director of Aditi Unlimited, joined BridgeTalks on 5 July 2016 to talk on ‘Brand Personality, Promise and Your People’. Karen has worked extensively across all sectors on the issue of organisational effectiveness, particularly developing sustainable strategic capability.
The talk was opened by Dale Smith, Director of Creation at Bridge Training & Events. Dale introduced the topic with some of his own experience drawing on his university days and posing the question ‘What is Personality?’. Dale then took the audience through the origins of the word and all the parts that showcase ‘the mask’ that you present to the world; your personality.
Karen began by talking about the difference in brand thinking between public and private sectors, and then continued the theme of experiences coming out of university and her first role in Nigeria as a Sales and Marketing Manager. She talked about the difference between strategy, theory and application – stressing the need for practical application.
Karen then took the audience through an example where companies with the same product delivered a different brand promise; the different underground networks of Hong Kong, New York and London. She talked about the re-framing of the Hong Kong network from delivering a service to creating a greater customer experience when people arrive in Hong Kong.
She then went on to talk about ‘moments of truth’ and how each interaction with an organisation influences our opinion of them. Focusing on the Department of Work and Pensions, she talked about how an organisation which has 22million, interacting with customers on a daily basis, can deliver their brand promise.
Karen ended her talk by introducing the ‘Whole System Perspective’ model; Foresight, Insight, Action. She talked through how organisations she has worked with have utilised this virtuous circle to deliver results. Watch the video here
Delegates enjoyed drinks and canapés on the Courthouse Hotel rooftop terrace to a wonderful sunset at the networking reception following the talk.
Bridge Talks: Robert Pratten & Alison Esse on Storytelling
December 8 was the final BridgeTalks evening for 2015, and delegates were joined by not one, but two speakers on the topic of Storytelling at the Courthouse Hotel. Robert Pratten, Founder and CEO of Transmedia Storyteller joined BridgeTalks, as well as Alison Esse, Co-Founder and Director of the Storytellers.
‘Storytelling’ is a methodology and tool that allows businesses to implement organisation-wide change; it engages and aligns employees to drive culture and performance whilst drawing consumers into the brand identity and promise.
The talk was opened by Dale Smith, Director of Creation at Bridge Training & Events. Dale introduced the topic with some of his own experience with storytelling, working with clients and in his own life.
Robert Pratten is CEO and Founder of Transmedia Storyteller Ltd, creators of Conducttr. Robert took delegates through just some of the successful projects and uses of the audience engagement software. Transmedia Storyteller uses multiple platforms to immerse users in a storytelling experience that parallels their real life through interactive storytelling to engage users and convey messages.
With a background in PR and Marketing, Alison Esse co-founded The Storytellers in 2003, bringing together a collective of expertise in change, strategic communications, graphic and event design, film and project management to form a pioneering approach to culture change and strategy engagement in large organisations. During the talk, Alison brought to life case studies through stories as well as giving delegates insight into The Storytellers’ methodology.
Delegates enjoyed drinks and canapés at the networking reception following the talk in the Courthouse Hotel bar.
Bridge Conference: 2015 Video Highlights
14-15 October 2015
Millennium Gloucester Hotel, London
Bridge Talks: Michael Chaskalson on Mindfulness
On September 15, BridgeTalks was joined by Mindfulness expert, Michael Chaskalson as he presented “Mindful Leadership” at the Courthouse Hotel.
Michael is one of the UK’s leading mindfulness trainers, author of The Mindful Workplace, and the founder and director of Mindfulness Works Ltd., a major European provider of mindfulness-based interventions.
Delegates enjoyed complimentary seated massages from Therapy Solutions during registration and were ‘blissed out’ and ready to be mindful when the talk began at 7pm.
The talk was opened by Dale Smith, Director of Creation at Bridge Training & Events. Dale introduced Michael by speaking to the delegates on his experience of mindfulness by using a conscious mind; being aware of the task at hand, finding calm in any environment and setting a daily alarm to remind himself to be mindful.
Michael opened his talk by introducing the concept of mindfulness and what it actually means. He then took delegates back to his beginnings in the subject – as a practising Buddhist, Michael went on to study mindfulness as a formalised subject at University of Bangor. He was the first graduate of his course – at a time where were just 44 peer-reviewed articles on the subject (there are now 50 publications per month). While doing so, Michael realised his future career was to be found in increasing people’s mindfulness, leading to a better work environment for themselves as well as for others.
Michael then continued with examples of the successful results of mindfulness training, particularly in US Marines. Michael explained the necessity of mindfulness and clear thinking, as an act by a marine can lead to great personal and political effects. Therefore, decisions have to be made consciously.
Delegates then experienced mindfulness first-hand with a guided meditation. Each guest was handed a raisin, and Michael guided delegates consider the raisin mindfully, by consciously touching, feeling, looking, smelling and tasting the raisin.
Delegates gave their feedback as Michael asked how they experienced the raisin and how mindful they were when the raisin was consumed so consciously. Some delegates considered the raisin’s journey, some realised they actually liked raisins and others were sad when the experience was over.
Michael illustrated that by training the mind in mindfulness for just 12 minutes a day, decision-making becomes better.
Delegates enjoyed drinks and canapés at the networking reception following the talk, in the Courthouse Hotel bar.