LAC LA BICHE - Keynote speakers from the recent Power Up North business conference in Lac La Biche believe their encouragement and examples will help the region’s economic development long after the conference’s last session.
Brad Kotowich and Diana Noble hope their presentations at Oct. 8-10 conference held at Portage College helped grow local business and local entrepreneurship.
Kotowich is the president and principal of the Edmonton-based Focused Leadership Group while Noble is a business owner and entrepreneur from the Fort McMurray area who owns five companies, including Noble Choice Coaching.
Kotowich conducted a presentation titled ‘Leadership is an Attitude.’ Effective leadership, says the professional speaker and consultant, is paramount to organizational success.
“Where the magic happens is when leaders – not by title, but by attitude – at all levels of an organization can have positive impacts for themselves, for the people around them, and for the organization,” he explained. “Leadership is about being vulnerable, being willing to be awkward. When that happens, opportunities are abound.”
When asked why strong leadership is crucial to the success of organizations Kotowich said that ultimately, modern society, whether at home or work, is, as he puts it, ‘too busy being busy.’
“Busyness does not create great outcomes for the company or for its people,” he stated.
People power
Leaders, he continued, need to focus on the ‘right’ outcomes for the organization, and for the people working within it, adding that one is not more important than others. According to Kotowich, it is imperative for managers to change their mindsets and focus on growing people. When this happens, he said, people will automatically grow the organization.
While Kotowich has spoken at conferences in every province across Canada, including the Level Up Conferences that were held last year in Bonnyville and St. Paul, this was his first time at Power Up North.
He praised the annual conference to help local business and attract new ones by saying:
“It is an opportunity to challenge current thinking/mindsets, and to learn about new trends in growing business, and growing people,” he stated.
Noble, who made four presentations during the Lac La Biche event, said branding – having a company known in the marketplace – is crucial for both an internal and an external perspective.
“It is incredibly important because people need to know who you are before they know who you are,” she said.
A good brand, Noble continued, has people resonating with it, adding that they see themselves in it, and also feel a connection. Good branding, she explained, is not just about the company itself, the logo, or the colours, it’s about how people feel when they come into connection with it.
“It’s about the experience that people have and that’s what a good brand really does,” she said.
Marketing, Noble continued, tells people who a particular business is, what they do, what products and services are offered, as well as how to reach out.
“Without marketing, you’re missing out on literally the market,” she said.
Noble became involved with the annual Power Up North conference in 2019, when she was a vendor at one of the first shows held in Lac La Biche. Prior to presenting at this year’s conference, she also spoke at the Power Up North event that took place in Athabasca two years ago.
Power Up North, Noble said, provides a lot of great information for entrepreneurs, from marketing and culture to leadership and other topics.
She continued by saying that every successful entrepreneur needs to invest in themselves. Power Up North, she added, is a way that they can do that by not only taking in the information provided at the conference, but also applying it to their business moving forward.
As a business owner and entrepreneur, Noble said the Power Up North conference series is a good way for area businesses, suppliers, and organizations to make new connections and learn about new opportunities.
Talking about her own great experiences through the series of conferences, is Noble’s own way of branding the Power Up North experience as a worthwhile business tool.
“I wouldn’t have had those connections had I not attended Power Up North,” she said.