Living the dream

Blistering heat and humidity on July 4 failed to deter over 100 independent opticians intent of improving their businesses’ prospects from attending Independents Day.

Under the banner, Marketing The Niche, ID06 majored on the whole team’s involvement in creating success through comprehensive communication and promotion.

Alongside the expected talks from eminent clinicians, dispensers and ophthalmologists, the day also augmented the clinical elements with the practitioner’s view of how that technique or product could be marketed in a practice setting.

This was done with varying degrees of commerciality. In answer to questions from the stage, the occasional show of hands from  the audience revealed that while everyone was talking the talk, not everyone was walking the walk.

An interesting addition to the day was the keynote speaker and paralympic swimming gold medallist Marc Woods. As well as humbling the audience with stories of his fight against cancer, amputation and bereavement, he also explained how excelling was about the whole team, and everybody connected with that team, buying into the dream.

There was a tangible air of poignancy in the room when he re-told the story of a conversation he had with a guy on the support crew who put out the lanes and checked the pool water. The guy had been more elated than Marc that the team had won gold, he felt he was part of that success and told Woods so.

‘If I had had my medal with me I would have snapped a piece off there and then and given it to him,’ said Woods.
What do you do to ensure your team lives the dream?