Coaching & Consulting Network

April 2009.  Spring is here at last.  Nature all around us is blossoming, obviously unaware that there is a worldwide economic crisis.  A beautiful illustration that life goes on, no matter what.

Life goes on indeed.  But whether or not each individual is directily and financially affected by the crisis, it seems that everyone is reconsidering fundamental and personal priorities.  Almost everyone I meet is questioning their basic assumptions and often making very important decisions concerning their lives.

We are all focusing on our latent personal and social dissatisfactions, on our true basic needs.  These have been underlined by the recent economic and political meltdown.  If there are clear messages to learn from today’s transformations, they may be that mindless consumption does not bring happiness.  That we need to earn money as a means not as an end.  That very often in the qualitative dimensions of life, more is less and that too much is dangerously too much.  Etc.

In general, new awarenesses are a great gift. For many, the economic crisis is provoking important personal and professional questions and spurring existential transformations.   Some of the raised questions are: What do I really want?  What do I really want to do? Who do I want to become?  With whom do I really want to be?  Important professional questions are also surfacing: What profession do i want to embrace to bring meaning to my life?  With whom do I want to work and develop on the long term?  What meaning is fueling my organization?  How is it serving the community and the world?

Among other fundamental questions, these are completely in tune with what coaching is all about.  Coaching is obviously synchronized with today's needs.  I am both excited and proud to be part of this professional community.


More personally, the month of March has seen me (and Geanina) twice in Madrid, on the Riviera, in Paris, in Belgium and very little at home.  April is the same but add Berlin and Romania where we'll also be staying most of May.  So for us, it's work and travel as usual.

My coach-training and supervision activity is also as usual.  The Romanian market may be slowing down a bit.  The French and Belgium one is holding strong.  Some new activity is developing in Madrid also for corporate clients.

On April 29-30 don’t miss the “Risk-Management / Cubes Exercise” workshop in Bucharest. It is highly recommended both for leaders and entrepreneurs, and for coaches and consultants.  How to help clients change their professional life scripts and risk management patterns.  

On October 29-30, don't miss the "Delegation Processes" workshop in Hamburg, Germany.  Both for managers and coaches, participants will walk away with very powerful tools for team and Organization coaching and empowering.

Clockwork.  As planned, my latest book in French, the "Dictionnaire Commenté du Coaching" will be on library shelves in France this end of April.  The Romanian version is already being translated and we expect to have it out in September this year. Good excuse for another party to celebrate.

Although I seem to have less time on my hands, I have also advanced on my next English book project and have started to put online and in that language a number of chapters in the form of articles.  If you want to stay informed, regularly check for changes on the English page of the website.

You have probably already noticed the cosmetic changes which makes the Metasysteme  website easier to read and much more user-friendly.  More visitors now view more pages and stay longer than before.  The website also has a host of new potentials and functions, such as a newsletter function, of which this letter is the first large-scale test.  You will be discovering more in the near future.

In three main languages and with some pages also translated into Spanish and German on network sites, The Metasystem website is gradually becoming an international resource for professional coaches all over the world.

Some statistics (from Google Analytics) and concerning visits for just this last month:

This bring me to the end of my most recent news.  So I hope to see you  in the course of this year, and if you need information, do not hesitate to contact me by mail or phone.

Coachingly

Alain Cardon