"Sticky Note Motivation" (The President's Mid-Year Update)
Posted by ablack on Apr. 7, 2015 / Subscribe 0
Rewind to last August (2014), and I specifically remember a wise person telling me to write my future-self a piece of advice, something that I would need in six months (the halfway point through my SMPS Chapter presidency). I looked at this woman with a slight smile…probably more of a smirk…and said, “Yeah okay, I’ll do that.” But as I was walking away I thought, “Why would I do that?” And what did she mean by “my future-self?” However, two days later I was STILL thinking about what she said, so I figured that my mind (or my gut) must know something that I didn’t. And that’s when I really began to think about my current situation.
During any given work week, I would probably find myself occupied with approximately six BD meetings, a proposal to review, an interview to prep for, four internal meetings to attend, a strategic plan to implement, an SMPS event to make an appearance at, a dog to train, a husband to entertain, a happy hour with a friend, and…yada, yada, yada. Like many of us do, I bury my face in my computer screen most nights and some weekends just trying to “keep up” with the demands of work. And now I would have to find more time!
Piled on top of my typical fun-filled (and hectic) week would now be an additional serving of responsibilities as the SMPS Chapter President. And just like that, I had an epiphany - or maybe it was just a heavy dose of reality - and I knew exactly what that woman had meant. My future-self was going to be totally overwhelmed at some point during the Presidency. So I took her advice, wrote myself a sticky note and stuck it to my computer…and then stuck one onto the dash in my car and one on the top of my laptop for good measure…and there they remain to this day. My message to myself was short and sweet: Swimming. Stage. Smiling.
- Swimming – Following the advice of Dory in Finding Nemo, I wanted to remind myself to “just keep swimming.” Apparently, my past-self knew that my future-self would need to see this statement on a daily basis. And it has worked wonders, even on an hourly basis! When I find myself with 150 emails in my inbox, action plans to review, a strategic plan to keep pushing forward, and a to-do list that keeps getting longer, I remember to “just keep swimming” and it motivates me to keep on “keepin’ on.”
- Stage – I knew last August, when I was getting ready to step up into the Presidency, that I had put together a powerhouse of an SMPS Leadership Team for the 2014/15 year. Seriously, the 30 individuals that are making this organization Thrive are absolutely amazing! I would put their collective powers up against any of the other 56 chapters within SMPS every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Each one of them deserves to be put on a stage and recognized for their achievements, and the word “stage” would help me keep the idea of recognition at the forefront of my mind.
- Smiling – Did your mother ever tell you that you look much more attractive when you smile? My mom did…and still does…especially when I get overwhelmed or have a lot going on, and I forget about my facial expressions…or rather lack thereof. So I decided to test this theory about a month ago on a particularly stressful day, and it turns out that my mom was right (add that to the list of 3,456 other things she was right about)! Well, mostly right anyway. As it turns out, I may not look prettier when I smile, but I look 20-times more approachable…and I always want people to feel like they can talk to me, regardless of anything else that might be going on.
So how do sticky note messages tie in with this mid-year progress report for the Chapter? Well, it has been six months since the start of our fiscal year and the honeymoon is over. The thrill of the “big picture” has faded and the day-to-day grind is starting to wear us thin…at least, I’m starting to wear thin on certain days. I figured that we could all use some “sticky note motivation.” SOOOO, here goes!
The Mid-Year Chapter Update
At our Mid-Year Chapter Retreat on March 20th, I gave each Chapter Leader a baseball so that they could write down what “success” would look like for them at the end of August (when the 2014/15 SMPS year concludes). I remember getting lots of blank stares, but I was happy to see that they obliged. But what did they write? Although I find myself curious about each Leader’s “sticky note” message, I realize that it isn’t for me to know. Success is determined by the individual. What matters is that each Leader utilizes the baseball as it was intended; a reminder of why they work so hard and a motivator to keep them doing what they do.
Our Leadership Team is making our Chapter’s vision a reality, and I know that they must be exhausted. I know that they work tirelessly (both day and night) to plan programs, meet with new members, balance budgets, conduct surveys and create publicity pieces. And I know that they are all VOLUNTEERS, working on all-things-SMPS as an “add-on” to their careers and family life. The effort and sacrifices that they make for this organization are pretty amazing and a little overwhelming. And now that we are in the midst of year two of our Chapter’s strategic plan, here’s an overview of the greatness happening at our local Chapter level:
- Membership: We started the year with 141 members and just crossed the long-anticipated 160 member threshold! If you take into consideration the fact that on any given month we have around 5-6 memberships expiring, and that we stayed stagnant for almost three years at 123 members when the economy was down, then achieving 160 members is the stuff of myth and legend. We have been at the absolute top of our recruitment AND retention efforts!
- Education/Programs: As always, we have continued to offer quality educational opportunities through ourMarketing Council, CRM User’s Group, local events, and Adobe training. And as always, our programs have allowed our members to not only earn CEU’s, but also acquire the skills and training necessary to achieve their career development goals. Additionally, our Chapter has teamed with ACE for the first time in almost seven years to offer Deconstructing Construction, a two-day program focused on giving new professionals within the industry and non-technical staff the education to navigate every part of A/E/C.
- First Impressions: You asked for it and we delivered. Our newly formed First Impressions Branch has been planning Leverage Your Beverage (LyB) events nearly every month since the beginning of the 2014/15 year. Not only has attendance been amazing at these events, but they continuously bring in a large number of both SMPS members and non-members alike! After all, who doesn’t love an informal networking happy hour?
- Publicity: Struggling to keep up? Don’t I know it! Our Social Media group has really amped it up this year. They are constantly updating all of us on upcoming events and member highlights, and are sending out awesome event recaps with fun photos. The Publicity Branch also launched a new video series (now viewable on our YouTube channel) and re-launched the Chapter blog. Breaking away from the standard “best practices” approach, A/E/C Beat’s personality (BeatBlogger) serves up a healthy dose of human with a little bit of controversy and whole a lot of humor mixed in.
- Financial: The good news keeps on coming with not one, but TWO Build Business Scholarships (a $2200 value), another TWO Southwest Regional Scholarships (a $550 value), a $500 donation to StreetLights USA and a $1000 donation to St Mary’s Food Bank. Enough said!
These are just the highlights of what the SMPS Arizona Chapter has achieved this year; the tip of the iceberg, if you will. Our mission to “Advocate, Educate, Connect to Thrive” is truly coming to life and I am so excited with the growth that our Chapter has experienced. But I am even more proud of the team that has been working so hard to get us to this point. So here’s a huge “thank you” to our Leadership Team! Thank you for all of your efforts!!! I am so grateful for everything that you are doing for SMPS Arizona and am hopeful that each of your baseball "sticky notes" proves to be as inspirational to each of you as you all have been to me!
About the Blogger: When not serving as President of SMPS Arizona or developing a strategy to win the next project for Concord, Grenee Celuch, CPSM can usually be found having her patience and her stubbornness put to the test by her German Shepherd. After countless years and hours of instruction, she finally realized 5% of dog training is for the dog and 95% is for the human. She credits her two dogs with teaching her how to jump for joy when excited, that snuggling and wet kisses can cancel out bad days, and that we should all learn to stop and smell the roses from time to time.
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