Case #1: Making Real Change

From February to April of 2002, Sharon Seivert and Dee Dee Magers delivered two Executive Women's Forums at Keystone Associates in Boston. The participants in these two seminars were high-ranking executive women currently in career transition. The seminar was designed as a special program that used The 5 Elements of Success as a model to help these executives determine their next career direction.

The exciting results of those two seminars are listed below:

• Participants experienced a significant increase in their Personal Balance Sheet scores (from Week 1 to Week 7 = + 13%)
• All of the participants could "talk to the scores," i.e., they agreed that the week 7 scores reflected the real changes they had experienced as a result of what they had learned
• Participants gave the seminar top ratings, saying that they would very strongly recommend it to others (9.75 out of a possible 10)
• Participants also said they were highly likely to continue using The 5 Elements of Success (9.63 out of a possible10)

Demographics:

• Average annual earnings of executive participants = +$148K
• Participants came from the following industries (in order): Financial Services, Health Care, Information Technology, Biopharmaceutical, and Utilities
• Data is gathered from the 15 executives who completed the eight-week seminar

Evaluation comments from participants:

"I would recommend this seminar to virtually anyone. There is no one who walks the earth who would not benefit from learning this material."

"Thought provoking...very useful for career, life, and work situations."

"I have spent the first half of my life wasting much valuable time and energy on unimportant activities and thoughts. The second half of my life will be much improved because of the wisdom I have gained through The Balancing Act."

"I would recommend this to anyone whose life has been out of balance and/or is in transition."

"The material has helped me focus on elements of my life that I did not consciously think about."

"The facilitators created a warm, safe environment for us to learn and upon up in."

"This seminar is perfect for anyone in a transition point in life."

"I felt that the class was about me, and that the facilitators believed in the material - and used it themselves."

"Excellent!! Excellent!! I will continue to use the Elements of Success in my work, relationships, and day-to-day activities."

"The Balancing Act presents a wonderful guide for reevaluating your career, interpersonal relationships, and future goals. It helps you work towards the dreams you were meant to live."

"It has been a great personal growth opportunity and also a great experience interacting with the other participants."

"The forum has given me helpful 'nuggets' I can use in my work search. It has taught me more about myself and my habits - good and bad - and how they enhance or sabotage my efforts."

Personal Testimony from one participant:

I began the Executive Women's Forum with low scores overall on the personal balance sheet. I scored abysmally low in the values/identity element. No wonder I felt awful. I was a prime candidate for this forum. I had a difficult time with the "centering" techniques. I tried it daily for 2 weeks and finally "got it." I can't begin to express how important this exercise has become to me. I do it daily, and more often when I am stressed or need to clear my mind from being blocked. "Spiraling" works even better. When faced with a brainstorming or writing exercise, I now, first get centered and go through the spiraling exercise. It's literally magic! The thoughts, ideas, and insights that flow from me are far more productive than before. I don't think my resume (which was an enormous stumbling block for me) would be written today, if not for these newly acquired skills.

The Balancing Act has taught me the critical importance of being in control of one's thoughts, feelings, emotions, as well as how and with whom I spend my time. I think that much of my life has been wasted on misguided energy and effort at the wrong activities and with the wrong people. My thoughts used to run wild with negative looping, adversely affecting my entire being. The "16 second rule" has helped me immensely to curb this debilitating habit.

By the close of the Executive Women's Forum, the scores on my Personal Balance Sheet (score on element 1 doubled) had changed quite strikingly and were all fairly even ...The combination of the 8 week session duration, the material in The Balancing Act, and the leaders prompting the appropriate discussions, created an extremely effective learning experience. I am grateful and feel very fortunate to have been a part of it and a benefactor of it. I have been spreading the word about the Elements of Success. I talk about the book and the Executive Women's Forum to family and friends.

Being fully aware of the Elements of Success and feeling the beauty of aligning them has brought me great peace and contentment even amidst "transition." Having a better understanding of who I am and where I am headed and how I am to behave and think has made me feel very positive, brave and sure that I will find the right "fit" for me in my professional and personal life. I now know that as long as I make sure my core values are upheld and my 5 Elements of Success are in balance, I'll be able to do my real "work:" no matter what profession I end up in.