2019. A year in review.
That’s your customer’s brain. We helped to get to many of those in 2019.
“Numbers 13, 74, 1...”
These numbers define my 2019.
After the holiday detox from social media (or attempts), I sat down to jump into 2020 topics today. And then it got me... I realized that it would be unfair to myself and to Meaning Makers if I were to just forgot about 2019 already. Why? Because it was a great year. So let’s jump straight into our summary.
“Number 13”
13 - is the number of countries in which I had the opportunity to conduct training in 2019. London, Prague, Amsterdam - several times. Munich as well. And Brussels, where due to the airport service strike, while returning after a great session - I was almost late for the birth of my second son. It's hard to multitask both business and family - many of you know this.
There was also Dublin - where I lived 13 years ago. There is that shopping center in Wrocław city - called Wroclavia, which advertises with the slogan Unexpected Shopping. I could easily say that I had Unexpected Career in Dublin. I flew for quick money, but came back richer with some nice entries in my CV, but also heavily torn as to what to do next. I honestly left Dublin in a state of mild depression. And totally confused about my place in life. Difficult lessons in looking for myself.
““The counter of countries in which I trained hit 21 this year.””
In 2019 I returned to Dublin, feeling like I could move mountains. I was there for 5 days (2 x 2 training days), so I used the afternoons and evenings to the maximum. Powered by my innate nostalgia and above-average memory for details - I returned to all important places. Quite emotional moments for me ... and apparently the best stories that have so far appeared on Meaning Makers Instagram. At the end of the list - Vienna and Helsinki - unique, because I ran training in Austria and Finland for the first time. Thanks to these events, the counter of countries in which I trained hit number 21 this year. I appreciate that I can do it.
Dublin, Amsterdam, Munich - in these amazing cities I developed the most as a trainer in 2019.
“Number 74”
74 - I spent that many days in the training room in my main role - the trainer. This gives a loose average of one training per week, taking into account that some sessions were 2 and some 3-days. Is that a lot?
It is.
If you've already met with the Meaning Makers approach, you know that none of these trainings were about “clicking through slides and going home”. Effects and quality come at a price. In this case - my energy and commitment. But as always - it's worth it.
““...is this some sort of foreign franchise?””
Who were we training for? I will not give details, but I will reveal that this year I worked with the largest fuel company (# 1) in the world, the top3 cloud computing industry in the world or the largest conglomerate from the electronics industry... in the world. I will not even hide that I am proud of these feats. But I am most proud of what I learned after these trainings. Things I heard from participants and clients - I will remember forever and they are the fuel that carries #meaningmakers idea further.
A funny situation. During one of these conferences we attended this year, someone approached a member of our team and (how we can safely assume) impressed, asked: "Is Meaning Makers so some sort of foreign franchise?"
In these kind of moments I build even more faith in our brand, ideas and how we do stuff.
This summary would not be complete without mentioning our partners - who support us in our joint success. This year our cooperation with the publisher of Harvard Business Review Polska, ICAN Institute, flourished. In 2019, we completed several amazing projects and are now looking to begin others. Massive thanks to both HBRP and ICAN teams.
As every year, we introduced the ideas of Meaning Makers during our MBA classes at the WSB School of Banking in Wrocław. And as every year thanks to venture I met a ton of great people. If you read this - thank you and see you in 2020.
“Number 1”
What about the number 1? Big decisions and tough choices were a theme for us this year. One of these seems to stand out as probably the most important decision for Meaning Makers this year. What? Opening our ideas to the B2C market and starting an open workshop formula. The first consequences of this decision are approaching...
Over the past two years, we have repeatedly received signals that there is a need to open the gate to the #meaningmakers approach for individual participants, freelancers, small businesses, or even large ones - but where few people would like to participate, not e.g. the entire department. In a word, you wanted open Meaning Makers events. I have always wanted it too, but the excuse (I know, I know - excuses or results, so an excuse ...) were both time and a tight calendar. Today, thanks to expanding our team, new organizational opportunities have emerged. It's time to do it.
7-8.02.2020 the first open Meaning Makers training will take place in Warsaw. We still have a few seats and ticket sales are ongoing. Maybe we will meet there? Because it's probably worth starting the new year well and with meaning?
That’s what I wish you this in the New Year. Communication with meaning that raises commitment, interest and is remembered by whoever you communicate with. One that allows you to achieve results in being a leader, an expert or in selling what is important to you. Because other communication... probably doesn't make sense at all, right?
Thanks for your support, sympathy and every feedback we get from you.
We are not slowing down. #meaningmakers #2020
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