Never Fry Bacon Naked….and Other Important Lessons

By Tarah Heupel and Aubrey Watts | May 20, 2010

Yesterday a few of us had the opportunity to attend the first Day of Excellence in Rapid City. Hosted by Leadership Rapid City, the one-day conference focused on fostering personal and professional growth.

We showed up to the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center yesterday, coffee in hand, interested to see if the speakers would have anything to teach us (and praying they would be funny). More than 1,200 people had the same idea, and luckily, we weren’t disappointed.

Aubrey says:

Developing a sense of purpose for everything you do: Mike “oooooh-stir” Oster, Lieutenant Colonel for the South Dakota Army National Guard, began the day with an outstanding discussion on self improvement. Helping others realize their maximum potential is Mike’s strength and the crowd enjoyed it.

Through demonstration and audience participation, Mike showed us the effects of negativity on your mental and physical strength. He said some things are obvious (like not frying bacon naked), but others, like determining your goals and knowing your purpose, are more difficult. My favorite take away from the speech is Mike’s advice to start the day out right by “smiling yourself out of bed.”

The Five Powers of Leadership: As an experienced trainer in the practice of building partnerships, Malcom Chapman provided conference attendees with many useful tools – or powers – that can help anyone become a stronger leader.  Malcom expressed that if you are willing to change, then you can make it happen – a point that touched me and many other members of the audience.

Tarah says:

What goes around, comes around: I had read V.J. Smith’s book, “The Richest Man in Town,” a few years ago, but listening to him tell the story of Marty, a Walmart cashier who touched thousands of lives, still put a lump in my throat. V.J. impressed upon the crowd a few VIPs (very important points), including 1) you get what you give; 2) you don’t need money to be truly rich; and 3) never ever forget to say thank you.

Side note: If you haven’t read V.J.’s book, I highly recommend it! Aubrey even bought a copy, so if you ask nicely, maybe you can borrow hers.

I’m a Sally: Bryan Flanagan, a corporate trainer for Zig Ziglar in Dallas, took us through a series of exercises to determine our personality types (David, Irene, Sally, Charles).  While identifying a working personality is nothing new, Bryan did give practical tips for relating to other personality types – including what words and tones to use to communicate most effectively. Bryan also encouraged us to bring out other parts of our personalities in the workplace, meaning I need to work on bringing out my inner Irene.

We left Day of Excellence feeling happy and uplifted – and impressed that so many people in the Black Hills community turned out for the event. Leadership Rapid City was able to donate $44,000 to local charities, making it a truly excellent experience.

Did you attend? What was the best part of the Day for you?

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