On Tuesday, June 16, the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce held a luncheon and a business workshop with executive educator, John Spence. The event was held at the Best Western Gateway Grand and was open to both members and the general public. Joe Cirulli, Chairman of the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce, introduced John by saying, “He is very passionate about what he does, and he has been dedicated to becoming the best. John has presented workshops to some three hundred companies.” Indeed, John is one of the most widely sought after executive educators and professional speakers in the U.S. But be careful how you label him. John warned his audience on Tuesday, “Never call me a motivational speaker. If you get motivated, it’s your own fault! I’m an innovational speaker.”When John took the floor, he began by congratulating the staff of the Chamber for their achievements and wishing a happy birthday to President and Chief Executive Officer, Brent Christensen. John’s good humor and enthusiasm persisted throughout the luncheon, as he began to outline the principles of his new book, Awesomely Simple: The Six Fundamental Principles of Highly Successful Organizations.John believes that a person must have four things to achieve the pinnacle of his/her career: passion, persistence, practice (ten years), and pattern recognition. Sound like hard work? John humbly admits, “For the last fourteen years, this is what I’ve tried to do!” Innovation is a key part of John’s thinking. He stresses the importance of a “culture of innovation and extreme customer service.” A culture where there is open communication, access to information, and a commitment to execution. He finds this kind of environment essential for any successful business, as it will attract the most talented people.The luncheon concluded with a period of Q & A and the opportunity for audience members to pick up their free copy of John’s book Excellence by Design: Leadership. Following a brief intermission, John began his three-hour workshop entitled Achieving Business Excellence. Audience members were each given a workbook to follow along throughout the presentation.During his intense workshop, John discussed the strategies of successful businesses like Dell Computers, WalMart, Microsoft, and Toyota. John stressed the idea that “strategy is not a blue print,” but that his audience should study the strategies presented and “see which ideas [they] can steal.” Several times throughout the presentation, John asked the audience to stop and complete an audit inside the workbook. With titles like “Is Your Company Up To Speed?” each audit pertained to something that was just discussed in detail. After completing an audit, audience members circled the items that they gave the lowest score. Once John’s presentation came to a close, the audience reviewed their audits and spent time brainstorming some strategies that could be applied to their businesses, along with a list of action steps to be taken immediately towards implementing the ideas they learned in the workshop. Both the luncheon and the workshop provided participants with the opportunity to learn from a true expert in the areas of business, leadership, and team work. The silence and the fervent note-taking in the room suggested that John’s workshop method was a great success for the businesses of Gainesville! Want more of John Spence? Visit his Web site: www.johnspence.com.