Choosing Bravery Over Fear: Pitch It Anyway

He strolled into the cafeteria with bravery registered all over his face. Add a bounce to the stroll regardless of being 20 minutes late and keeping his mom waiting for the same amount of time. His mom is me.

I stood up to hug him as was custom. He expected it.

But there’s something he didn’t see coming. The part of my plan to ambush him with a pitch of my dream; the team building desire. I needed to do this. And the atmosphere was conducive. There was however a voice from deep within, a whisper riddled with doubts and fear, that clang on my veins. Would I do this?

Choosing Bravery and Pitching Anyway

“Son, how many employees do you have?”

He squinted. Wondering. Then thinking. Seventeen permanent employees was the answer I got. And many others on an on-and-off basis. But it was the 17 I was interested in. Because these 17 would carry the day’s message home and in turn teach the numerous temporary staff.

At first it felt rather easy. Smooth to a point. Until he started shooting questions.

When do you want to take us through the team building exercises? What kind of activities do you have in mind? Where do you want us to have them? How much will it cost me? Share on X

These are the questions that came pouring out of him. No pauses. Just questions. The honest side of me began shaking the bravery off and replacing it with doubts and fear.

How in the world could I have missed this? The Date? Nature of Activities? Venue? Costs?

My Plan: Bravery, Not Fear

But that’s why you are here. To help me gain confidence with your comments. Genuine confidence to handle the questions. Not regain. But gain.

I say gain for a reason. I used to fill in my conversations with guesswork, do research afterwards and then call the client again with an edit of my pitch. This no longer is the case. If I have to pitch it, it must be true, honest and trustworthy: The 3 out of 5 sieves of my values must go to work. Creativity and hard work coming close.

So this time instead of meeting with my son for another breakfast, I plan to call him to answer the questions he asked. The Date. Nature of activities. Venue. Costs. Plus any other question that may come up.

From shaking on my knees to pure focus. My plan is to win the deal and carry on with the research.

If I may, no mom expects the bombardment with questions from a son. Unless they have given them permission to do so. Something I may have forgotten.

In conclusion

Team building is hard, making it quite a thrilling territory to venture into in life. There are enough challenges to discourage you along the way. Especially when your goal is to become the most outstanding team building coach by the 24th of November 2024.

All sorts of distractions show up on your way to victory. But you have to do your homework before approaching the next client, keep your eyes on the goal and stick to the written down plan. Edits are accepted and expected on ways to get to the goal. But not on changing dates.

So fear has nothing on me. I admit its presence but go ahead and keep researching anyway. I choose bravery in the face of fear. Team building shall happen regardless of the fact that my son put up a poster yesterday saying he would hold a team building and goat eating event. Not with me though. Ouch!