When CNN Money honored Cedar City for having one of the fastest commutes in the country, I laughed.
Today I’m in Los Angeles, Calif. for intensive training at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Organizational Management and — I’m not laughing anymore.
There’s something to be said for the simple life in Cedar City, Utah. I arrived here on Friday after slurping my way through a big, fresh bowl of freeway spaghetti. When I finally pulled into the parking lot of the Raddisson, I patted my hands on my shoulders, my head and sighed. I really had made it alive.
I drove to L.A. instead of flying for a variety of reasons. The least of which is not the fact that I was craving five hours alone to ponder the meaning of life and the miracle of a 125 degree afternoon in Bakersfield, Calif. The alone time was wonderful, the heat even felt great and it helped me to appreciate Utah’s splendor, Cedar City’s climate and Jiffy Lube for making sure my car was road ready.
It’s critical that people in management positions take time out for training. Training comes in many different forms and in the right setting affords you the opportunity to:
- Learn about new tools and trends in your trade
- Meet other people who share your line of work and can discuss specific work-related issues with you with a deeper level of understanding
- Give your brain a rest from the day-to-day grind and relieve stress that can ultimately lead to serious burnout
- Plant new ideas in your mind that will benefit your company or organization and inspire you to climb higher to reach your company or community goals
- Help you to create a network of advocates in the region, state and even nation depending on the scope and location of your training
- Create a knowledge base that you can share with your employees, clients, customers or members
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce offers the Institue for Organizational Management four times per year in different locations throughout the country for executives of organizations and associations. Institute is a four-year program that allows participants to earn a diploma in a very specific field of study.
During a full week of study I have learned and will learn:
- about hiring and managing employees and volunteers
- how to negotiate with different types of individuals in many different situations
- how to improve my memory and therefore improve productivity and my professional image
- how to add value to our chamber of commerce in order to retain valuable members and attract new members
- how to help keep chambers of commerce strong for the future
- how to project professionalism
- how to keep my organization financially fit
- how to govern
- how to massage the media (whatever that means, I’ll let you know)
If you haven’t brushed up on your managment skills for awhile, look for and enroll in a training program. Southwest Applied Technology College hosts a wonderful program called Custom Fit that will actually help pay for up to half of the cost of your training.
If you’re looking for training opportunities in a certain trade or profession or simply looking for skills training, leave a comment for me and I’ll help you find one.
Please be sure to indicate in your comment how much time you want to invest, whether or not you have a training budget and whether or not travel is included in your training budget.
There are many organizations that offer free training programs and others at ridiculously low costs. Many organizations and associations will actually help pay for your training through grants and scholarships. For example, I was able to secure a grant from the Utah State Chamber of Commerce for the entire cost of tuition because the organization administration is sold on the value this training adds to chambers of commerce throughout the state.
If your company hasn’t budgeted for training and/or travel, let’s talk about some ways you can negotiate this critical opportunity.
Want to learn more about the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Institute for Organizational Management? Visit http://www.uschamber.com/institute/default today!
Want to learn more about the Custom Fit program near you? Visit http://www.swatc.org/programs/cfit/.
Want some guidance on getting specific training or scholarships and grants? Post your comments here.
You’re always welcome to ask questions that are or are not related to the days topics and I’ll be glad to try to answer them.
Bon voyage!
Donna
