December 2006

Holiday Greetings to Members and Friends

As another holiday season draws near, if it is not too frantic and you have a free holiday afternoon, consider putting your own experience and insight into words for the benefit of your colleagues. I would welcome your participation in our newsletter by way of a written contribution to be published in the coming months of 2007. As well, GAMA Canada has arranged with Advocis and Forum magazine to sponsor a regular column specifically for managers. You are encouraged to create an article (approximately 850 words) on management topics (recruiting, retention, selection; training and education; coaching and leadership; business development) and forward them to my attention at michael.tourond@cumis.com

Thank you to Norm Trainor for his contribution to the November newsletter and to Rod Burylo for the article Creating the Right Office Environment in November’s Forum magazine.

If the holidays also find you considering your travel/education schedule for 2007 consider GAMA's International Leadership and Management Program (LAMP) in Toronto in March 2007. It's the first time GAMA International has held the conference outside of the United States and it has proven to be an outstanding program! We are very fortunate to have it in our own backyard this coming year!! I look forward to seeing you there!

Now I am pleased to bring you an excellent newsletter article from Ryan Walter, NHL star now speaker/trainer/coach for business leaders. Enjoy and we wish you a wonderful holiday season!!

Michael Tourond,
Editor and Director

“Success does come in CANS!”

by Ryan Walter

Many pundits agree that the most difficult championship to win in professional sport is the first one, because even professional players must first believe that they can achieve the championship before they CAN actually accomplish this success. Isn’t this, in fact, most of life? Someone has suggested that life is the opposite of school, because most of the time “life” gives you the test first and the lesson later.

For example, experts suggest that by the time the average teenager has reached his or her 18th birthday has heard “no” or “YOU CAN’T” 148,000 times. The irony of-course is that parents then ask these same teens to take initiative, be confident and BELIEVE in themselves and then are surprised or upset at their hesitation inaction and SELF DOUBT.

From teenagers, to professional hockey players, to professionals in business, creating a consistent forward movement away from the “I CAN’T” attitude toward believing “I CAN” is key to energizing the quality of our life.
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