Nobody has ever said being an entrepreneur was easy, but for some this adventure is synonymous with destiny. On October 29, 2019 Servcorp Workspace Solutions hosted a workshop with speakers Marco Blankenburgh, International Director of KnowledgeWorkx, and Matt Trenchard, CEO of Northpoint Academy.
Marco and Matt told a brief history of their companies and answered questions posed by the audience. Having two speakers that have overcome different and similar obstacles created an authentic vibe. Every entrepreneur’s story will be different, but they were able to give quality insight to the members of the audience. This included professional and personal insight because the story of an entrepreneur is the story of a person, not a company.
KnowledgeWorkx was founded here in Dubai in 2000. The market was rapidly expanding and there was a need for new solutions around cultural differences in the workplace. Nobody had ever really created an intercultural solution for the corporate world and as such there was a lot of trailblazing involved. Then there was a global market crash that affected everybody. Life is unexpected and the challenges of a small business are enough to overwhelm anyone. Despite the difficulties, he buckled down and pressed through. He spoke about the hedgehog concept - his personal experience with the finding where capability, passion, and economy meet to create real vocational fulfillment. Marco was open that he is still growing and that he is still discovering how to balance these principals.
North Point Coaching Academy was born in a very different time, but the same city. Coaching wasn’t a brand-new idea, but the way Matt and his team felt they needed to pursue it was new! Matt, in his own enthusiastic humble manner, took every question from the crowd and put it through the coaching methodology. This wasn’t explicit, but for someone familiar with coaching you could tell that his processing of the North Point story was very introspective. He believes in his line of work and he highlighted the importance of this not just in word, but in action throughout the workshop.
Using a program called Mentimeter Marco and Matt were able to get live feedback from the audience. They were able to use this information to answer questions most important to the audience. Among the many questions the three most highly rated were:
How do I grow my business?
How do I build a dream team?
If everything is a priority; what should I focus on?
Matt and Marco were able to thoroughly speak into these inquiries. KnowledgeWorkx and Northpoint are fortunate to work in very people centric industries, so they are able to practice what they preach in their own teams. They shared how they think about business growth strategies from grass roots word of mouth to social media marketing. Building teams around character and vision as opposed to skills. Prioritizing tasks and letting go of perfection, accepting mistakes, and moving forward positively.
These two powerfully unique companies, in pursuit of growth and impact, are now working together. KnowledgeWorkx and North Point are bringing a new program to the market. The Certificate of Intercultural Coaching (CIC) is in some ways an epitome of entrepreneurialism. Two companies coming together in their individuality to bring another new thing to the market. It isn’t just another product born from senseless need for more stuff. KnowledgeWorkx and North Point see a need in the market that is highlighted by people and statistics, so they innovate and collaborate to fill that need.
The workshop at Servcorp Dubai was a great success, which is why we are excited to announce another opportunity at Servcorp Abu Dhabi on December 10, 2019! Join us for networking and discussion.
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