10th anniversary and X-mas at Les Olivier in Sophia Antipolis
December 4th – 10 year anniversary and Xmas party
We celebrated our 10 year anniversary and Xmas party in style at The Olivier restaurant in Sophia Antipolis. It was a very special evening as both of our former presidents were able to attend.
Live music was provided by Trio Butterfly.
Founding president Barbara Wilson, second president Tracy Stanley (now in Bangkok) and current President Susanne Forsman-Hey shared some thoughts with us, that you can read here
You can find all pictures of the party here
November 5th – Focusing on Solutions
Photini Papatheodorou and Julia Haston presented a workshop on Solutions Focus.
The goal of the workshop was to facilitate participants to make a paradigm shift from a “Problem focus” way of dealing with challenges to a “Solution focus” approach.
This method challenges the concept of delving into problems to find solutions. From our earliest school years to work and societal culture, problems are brought to the table to be solved. The proponents of Solutions Focus state that analyzing the problem and its causes is often a non-productive and stress causing approach which further enhances the problem. Instead, concentrating on creating the solution, that is, the reality we want for ourselves now and in the future is a positive and far more effective way of achieving goals and creating lasting change.
The Workshop was most useful in that participants left the event taking a new look at their resources and strengths. With the Solutions Focus method, they learned how to use them in creating desired outcomes to their present and future.
A copy of the handout is available on the platform.
October 1st – Develop your value proposition workshop
We all need to market ourselves, as a business or individual. Especially in a recession when the only way to increase our revenue is to gain customers from the competition or increase the value delivered to existing customers.
In a highly interactive workshop, sales and marketing expert Ricky Coussins led the group through three very useful exercises to create our own value propositions. You first need to identify the benefit of your offer for specific customers. Their perception is the ultimate proof of value and the only way to differentiate is through the customer’s experience. Examples from the audience provided a large range from training and consulting services to property management and workshops to overcome personal fear.
September 18th – How to Brain Storm
We have probably all undergone numerous brainstorm sessions, and hence it was refreshing to learn a few more techniques (yes, you can even do it solo). Innovation Consultant Wendy Buckly brought it all alive, as witnessed by new member Rachel Wattel: “This was my first meeting and I was very impressed by the overall dynamism, energy and interest everybody had. I felt that it was a ‘hardworking’ meeting, and that whilst the opportunity to network is obviously integral to the ethos of the event, I was surprised by how useful the evening was to members’ actual professional issues and lives. This was exciting, positive and certainly gave me plenty of food for thought for my own personal situation.”
June 27th – Myers Briggs Workshop
Marion Furr, member of the EuropeanPWN – Cote d’Azur, peeled back the layers of our personalities on a Saturday morning as our personality ‘types’ were revealed and shared over an innocent cup of coffee. There were many ‘ah ha’ moments as Marion helped us how to understand and appreciate the affect our personality types have in our relationships with friends, colleagues, partners and children.
Using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator ® (MBTI), Marion invited attendees to complete a questionnaire in advance of the session which allowed her to assess our personality types. Knowing your personality type helps you understand and apply your personal preferences in a positive way and appreciate the preferences of others, that are different from yours. We looked at the characteristics and examples of each type. Once you are aware, you can learn about and appreciate different communication styles and the effects of preferences in work situations and hence adapt your style to different people and different situations.
Marion’s own personality definitely lends itself to putting groups at ease, having a laugh and walking away with information that has opened our eyes to a new way of thinking.
Marion’s profile can be found on the Community Platform (members only).
Feedback a resounding A+ – thanks from us all! The morning was followed by a lovely al fresco lunch and lively conversation at the Novotel CAP3000.
June 4th – Pitching Dinner
Deborah d’Alessandro led a Pitching Dinner at the Dame Nature restaurant in St. Laurent du Var. Deborah gave a short reminder of some of the key points of elevator pitches and everyone practiced their pitch, even those who were only just starting to think about it. Participants came by train from the hinterland of Ventigmiglia on the Italian Riviera as well as from the Cote d’Azur.
April 28th – Making the most of the network – Networking Lunch
Networking lunch at DRAKKAR C in Sophia Antipolis to inform members how to get the most out of our on-line Community Platform.
They were shown how to:
- Complete their online profile, add a photo,...
- Search for members in other countries
- Join groups of their interest (Mentoring, Think Tank…)
- Post/look for jobs
- Advertise their business on the Xchange
- Download files from seminars and workshops
- Post messages on the Forum
April 7th – You have only ONE first impression
You have 3 to 7 seconds to make a first impression, according to Christine Sweeney from ‘The Art of Chic’ who gave a lively, fun presentation in the workshop entitled ‘You only have ONE first impression’.
The evening started with Christine surprising us all with her smart way to pack a 12kg carry on suitcase, with a capsule wardrobe with up to three daily changes to wear for a week of work, seminars, gym, evening functions and a wedding, including the hat! She also explained how to minimise security hassles when travelling, and what you should wear onto the plane to maximise the space in your suitcase.
Sophie and Carmel modeled four ‘work to evening’ dresses, by designer Britt Lintner, www.brittlintner.com, based in London, with Christine showing how to alter the look of the dresses for daytime and evening wear, and giving an impromptu lesson in how to walk like a model to make a good first impression as you enter a room.
An insight into how to optimise the space in your wardrobe to best effect, how to reduce the time spent finding an item of clothing, and how to pack your clothes to keep them looking good, was followed by individual advice on how to improve personal style.
Christine’s profile can be found on the Community Platform by clicking here
The evening ended with a clothes swap between the attendees.
April 2nd – Pitching Lunch
Dorothy Foster and Julia Haston ran a second Pitching Lunch, this time at the DRAKKAR Business Center.
14 ladies met to practice their pitch in a supportive environment receiving feedback from peers. Definitely an event to be repeated.
March 26th – Dealing with Emotions & Giving Feedback
Ines O’Donovan ran a workshop on handling emotions effectively and giving feedback. Eighteen women, including several new EPWN members, went through exercises to identify how they felt. The idea was to observe your emotions and understand what is happening without judgment. Tools like an emotional blueprint and an emotional diary can help to find coping strategies and deal with intense emotions. In a simulation exercise we practiced recognising emotions through verbal and non-verbal signs. We took away a major recommendation to deal with our own emotions: Slow down and do not react immediately.
The food served in Hotel Mercure matched the evening’s topic perfectly: Salmon provided Omega 3 and a chocolate fondant increased the level of magnesium. Both are recognised to support emotional stability.
March 11th – Women: the Antidote to the Financial Crisis?
And what if feminization of management protects companies against financial crisis… This was our topic for discussion to celebrate International Women’s Day. On 11 March, Professor Michel Ferrary shared the findings of his CERAM research which shows that firms with a higher ratio of women in management have better resisted the financial crisis.
Since 2003 French companies are legally obliged to declare what percentage of women within their companies are in management roles (“cadres”). Michel Ferrary researched the global data provided by CAC40 listed companies. He found that the fewer women a company has in its management, the greater the drop in share-price since the beginning of 2008.
Questions that remain to be answered are whether the observed business performance is supported by feminisation or diversity in general? Do feminised companies that perform better when times are tough, maintain and/or improve that performance when the market picks up?
The suggestion that feminisation of management does not negatively affect business performance, or indeed, even stabilizes company performance, could be a convincing argument for industry to encourage more diversity at management level. Only time can tell if moving the gender debate from discrimination to financial justification will bear its fruit.
February 19th – How Green is your business?
Concern for the environment is evolving and influences our choices in personal
life and in business yet do we really understand what all the buzz words mean?
Wendy Buckley examined our “green values” and how they drive our own and our customers’ purchase decisions.
February 7th – Board Retreat
The newly elected Board met for an entire Saturday, in order to establish goals and plans for 2009.
February 3rd – Pitching Lunch (Elevator Pitch)
Want to practice or discuss your elevator pitch and get feedback from peers?
Dorothy Foster and Julia Haston facilitated a pitching lunch. An elevator pitch isn’t just for entrepreneurs. It’s also for sales people, project champions, screen writers, job seekers etc. – in short: any savvy networker! A supporting, informal event, without standing up, projectors or flip charts.
January 22nd – Annual General Meeting & Goal Setting Workshop
On the same evening as the AGM we brought in the New Year on a positive note with a Goal-Setting Workshop run by Julia Haston.
We started with a thought provoking and inspirational presentation by Patti-Ann McNeill who shared with us her story of changing career. After a presentation on the pitfalls and lessons to be learned from not setting or sticking to our goals, we received some tips from Karen Marsh on how to re-motivate ourselves on a regular basis. Then the members took part in several exercises designed at identifying and clarifying our ideas, during which we had a great many laughs at ourselves and each other! Julia finished off with a presentation and discussion on the seven main steps to achieving our goals, thereby generating a lot of positive energy for the year ahead.
The slides with notes can be downloaded from the platform.
