Tuesday, January 11, 2011 – 19H00-21H30 at KMPG

Happy New Year to all current and prospective WPNG members!

We hope the year is off to a good start for all of you, and we aim to help it along with our first meeting of 2011.

What is my Worth?

How do I put a value on my services? Pricing is management’s biggest headache; maybe it is your biggest fear or nightmare.  Are you under pricing your added value, or over pricing and losing opportunities?  Join us January 11th, 2011 to gain insight, and confidence, in pricing your products and services.

A panel of diverse entrepreneurs will discuss how they have put a price on their skills and services. This will help you better negotiate with customers thanks to a deeper understanding of your added value and of target marketing.

Chairing the panel will be none other than one of the co-founders of WPNG, Teresa Cooper Kislik, a professional trainer and consultant at E M Lyon. Other panelists will be Alice Dauphin (lawyer), Nathalie Perrin (non-profit fundraising), and Carol Bausor (language & training consultancy).

Alice Dauphin is a member of both the New York and the Lyon Bar and currently practices as an independent lawyer in Lyon, after having worked with many large firms in the US and Paris.  In addition to business law, Alice has a specialization in media & communications law on both sides of the Atlantic. Lastly, she is an expert in multi-tasking, with 3 children, a husband and numerous volunteer activities. Besides being well organized, Alice stays fit, mentally and physically with regular Pilates workouts that help her maintain life/work balance. Alice is French, tri-lingual and has degrees from the Paris Sorbonne University and Georgetown University in Washington D. C..

Carol Bausor has been managing a language and training company for over 20 years.  Within the framework of ILTC activity, she sometimes also runs coaching programs, and is particularly interested in “Personal and Professional Success” strategies.  For the past 5 years, she has been studying American style direct marketing, which has, according to Carol “changed her life”.  A passionate and dynamic professional, Carol now includes marketing in everything she does! She is particularly proud of selling some of the most expensive (and effective) English language training programs on the market.

In addition, if you have heard of Toastmasters then you have perhaps heard of Carol as well.  She recently helped found, and runs a new bi-lingual Toastmasters group in Lyon. Carol is British, is married with 3 very international children, her daughter was recently studying in Finland, and her youngest son (aged 16) is spending his junior (première) year in Mexico.

Nathalie Perrin cofounded [co]influence, a fundraising and communication consultancy.  In 2010, their first year of operations [co]influence received the top award from the  Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Lyon at the Salons des Entrepreneurs. Before founding [co]influence, Nathalie spent 15 years in marketing in fast moving consumer goods, with companies such as Beiersdorf Nivea and Panzani.  She has lived on both sides of the Atlantic, and while in Boston (6 years) with her husband and three children she discovered fundraising and obtained a certification from Harvard. Nathalie quickly put this training to work upon returning to France as the campaign director for Lyon’s “new” Musée des Confluences with Philanthrôpia, focusing on fund raising strategy, as well as soliciting big donors in addition to Grenoble Ecole de Management and ESC Dijon.  Today as the [co]influence director they have a very diversified portfolio of clients from “Choeur et Orchestre 19” to Ecole Centrale and EM Lyon.

In addition to having 3 children, being the President of the Parent’s association at the international school in Lyon, Nathalie gives lectures at business schools and at international conferences and is as an active member of the French Association of Fundraisers. Nathalie is French, tri-lingual and graduated from SKEMA.

Teresa Cooper Kislik is the co-founder of the WPNG along with Catherine Bassompierre. An American sales and marketing professional with experience on both sides of the Atlantic, she moved to France in 1992.  Teresa has extensive experience with leading global companies such as IBM, E&J Gallo Winery, United Biscuits and Chevron Texaco, in addition to being a successful entrepreneur. She is passionate about connecting people and leveraging opportunities through international marketing strategy. Since 1995 Teresa has been a marketing professor at EM Lyon and training managers in major corporations around the world.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010 – 19H00-21H30 at KPMG

After a successful meeting last June on Setting Priorities, we’re welcoming back Pat Brans for another aspect of Time Management: Heading off problems early.

One of the key elements of time management is being able to head off problems early. We all know that crisis management is more expensive than crisis prevention. Emergencies draw away your attention and prevent you from doing the important things you planned to do.

It turns out some people are really good at heading off problems before they get out of hand. Learn techniques for setting up solid processes, spotting trouble early, and solving problems at their source.

Pat Brans is founder of Master The Moment, a new approach to time management and personal effectiveness. He has held senior positions with three large organizations (Computer Sciences Corporation, Hewlett-Packard, and Sybase). Most of Brans’ corporate experience focused on applying technology to enhance workforce effectiveness. Now he takes productivity to another level by unveiling the secrets of high achievers.

Brans is author of two books:
- “Master The Moment: Fifty CEOs teach you the secrets of time management”, BCS Press, January 2011
- “Mobilize Your Enterprise: Achieving Competitive Advantage through Wireless Technology”, Prentice Hall, 2002.

Visiting professor at the Grenoble Graduate School of Business, Pat also consults and provides enterprise training on time management and productivity.

As usual, please bring healthy snacks and drinks to the meeting. Home-made quiches, cakes and other dishes are always appreciated and the purchased varieties are welcome too. And for those of you who haven’t renewed their membership yet, please don’t forget to bring your checkbooks!

Tuesday, June 8, 2010 – 19H00-21H30 at KPMG

We all have 168 hours a week. Why is it that some people get an enormous amount done without breaking a sweat, while others never seem to get what they want, yet they are always tired?

For our last meeting of the season, we revisit the topic of Time Management with Pat Brans, of “Master the Moment” – http://master-the-moment.com/, who will talk to us about setting priorities, sticking to them, and turning down what’s not in line with your priorities.

Pat Brans provides corporate training on time management and personal effectiveness. He has held senior positions with three large organizations
(Computer Sciences Corporation, Hewlett-Packard, and Sybase). Most of Brans’ corporate experience focused on applying technology to enhance workforce effectiveness. Now he takes productivity to another level by unveiling the secrets of high achievers.

Note: this presentation will be preceded by our Annual General Meeting (for details see previous post).