Unusual reunion; unexpected benefit.

In my prior posting I wrote about the success of the Sedgwick County Developmental Disabilities Conference, Nov. 16 & 17 in Wichita, and what it taught me about unexpected benefits. It also provided me, personally, an unexpected benefit; a reunion with a cousin I hadn’t seen in at least 44 years.

During the lunch break on the first day of training a woman asked me a question specific to her work. We had a lovely conversation. Before we separated I wanted to remember her name. The first name on her name tag held no surprise but her last name certainly caught my attention. “Colucci” my mother’s full blooded, immigrant Italian, maiden name was displayed on the lapel of a person whose physical appearance would lead you to believe she was anything but Italian. First there was the surprise about the name and then there was surprise at the person with the name.

I explained my surprise and she quickly told me her husband’s family is from Niagara Falls, my home town. He also works in the field and was present. I excitedly said, “Go get him”. She did and I learned his father James is my age but a year behind me in school. His Dad, Jimmy and my Mom, Big Chris (Jimmy’s sister was Little Chris) were cousins. Both have past away. James remembered my Dad but had a hard time remembering Chris. But when I said, Big Chris, he remembered instantly. Way fun.

I asked James if his Dad was “Jimmy the Mailman”. He was and he was the Jimmy Colucci I worked with for a year or so in a part time job we both had during my freshman year in college. Jimmy and I would deliver the weekend edition of the Niagara Falls Gazette. On Friday evenings we delivered the preprinted section of the paper. Comics, advertising inserts, etc. At midnight on Saturday we would show up to deliver the Sunday news sections. Jimmy drove the truck and I delivered, dropped, tossed and tumbled bundles of papers. We were a team. We worked well. We had fun. We enjoyed each other. We did good work. I learned to respect and like Jimmy. He was a fine teammate and friend.

We all had dinner, told family stories and talked about the Falls.

While I thoroughly enjoyed having some time with this family branch, the most fulfilling benefit was the feelings deep inside that talking about Jimmy brought back. There are people, the briefest mention of whom, makes you smile. I have been blessed to know a few, my wife is one. Jimmy is one. His memory makes me smile and inside I feel a whole lot better. This reunion rekindled a little spirit, makes life a little bit more pleasant and gave me a valued unexpected benefit. How great is that?

Great Training; Unexpected Benefits.

InterHab is a not for profit organization in Kansas which supports the rehabilitation community. I was asked to give the keynote address and a series of breakout sessions on one day of their annual conference in October.

That Shappening proved to be a high impact day, the October day served as a natural promotion for a November Shappening at the Sedgwick County DD Service s Annual Conference in Wichita.

Topic: Shift Happens … Creating a Proactive Organization.
November 16/17, 2009

This was an amazing conference. Following an introduction to the topic at the October InterHab Conference there was a buzz in the Kansas Rehab Community about the November conference. One week beforen the traiing 80 people, about what was projected, were registered. At two days prior 100 people were registered. By the day of the training approximately 180 people showed up. The space would have been comfortable and appropriate for 80.

The Conference was a big success. On a scale of 1 (low) and 10 (high) 83 % of the attendees rated the two days a nine or better and an outstanding 53 % rated it a ten.

The audience was absolutely great. Resistance and defensiveness was absent. People were excited to be there and ready to bear an open mind. They were also gracious.
The space was not at all appropriate for the number of people. It was very nice; just too small for this size group. It looked like a packed church supper. Long rows of tables and chairs back to back so tightly one struggled to walk through their isle.

On Monday morning the first thing we tried to do was to find another space for the second day. Unfortunately none of the leads worked out and by 10:00 it was determined we would be in those tight quarters for the duration. It was then, our team of Hope Townsend, Brian Espada and myself decided we would have to make sure to stay on top of our game; keep things moving and fun. Early on we praised the group for dealing with the tight quarters so well. We continued to do so at intervals throughout the two days. At a point during the afternoon of the second day an observation lead to a thought.

I noticed that regardless of the cramped space and in spite of the normal difficulty finding a temperature that satisfies everyone people were focused. They were listening and thinking. They challenged themselves and our team. It was great. Just the kind of people we enjoy working with.

We trusted the impact of fast moving, insightful, creative material and it proved us correct. Those two days taught me that if the material is interesting and the presenters knowledgeable, passionate and fun it can make up for various inadequacies.

In this case, I was amazed at how well people tolerated the cramped conditions. No complaining, no bailing, no irritability. Just focus and learning. After a while I couldn’t help but think about the Shift Happens material and the audience’s hunger for new and better ideas.

I have always known this material is powerful, but those two days in Wichita were striking evidence of just how impressively powerful it was on those two days. If it weren’t for that, those two days would have been something people endured and perhaps resented. Instead the worries we had the first morning never materialized, the time flew, there were lots of aha moments, laughter and learning.

An unexpected and appreciated benefit of great training!