The Tale of Two Summits - Introducing EIW (What is that?)

In the past couple of weeks, I had the opportunity to attend two different Leadership Summits. Both of which are pretty reputable and have some significant reputations in the leadership world. I was very much looking forward to and excited to attend both summits. 

However, both were so significantly different, I mean worlds apart different. 

Summit A - was a total disappointment 

Summit B - was absolutely incredible and inspirational 

Summit A:

Within the first 30 minutes, the presenter went right into what seemed to me as a pitch. He went on and on about how important their work was, how it transformed so many people’s lives, how the leader of the group has written over 80 books, and how they’ve been around for so long. Now, we the audience were lucky enough to have an opportunity to join this leadership program and become coaches under this program.

This was not what I expected to get out of a Leadership Summit. To me, I was going to this summit in hopes of learning and growing. I was going with the hopes that this was going to be an awesome opportunity to hear a leading authority in the leadership development space talk about his books, methods, etc, - which I very much admire and use a lot in my leadership development material. I was hoping to listen and learn from other leaders and gain insight and wisdom from other perspectives. I always love learning, growing, and improving upon my business development and personal development knowledge.

However, unfortunately, it wasn’t the case. For 3 hours (which I didn’t stay for its entirety, I got up and left within the first 30 minutes of the summit), it was a glorified sales pitch. 

I was shocked!

This was not what I expected.

Not from such a reputable leadership group.

Summit B: 

This group is just as reputable as the first and is also a leader in the same Leadership Development space. However, walking into this summit in comparison to the other one, is as though you have walked into another planet.

Every 30-40 minutes they were bringing in other speakers. The moderators were incredible with the deep introspective questions that they were asking of their guests. The guests were CEOs, Founders, and Leaders in their industries. So many of them had fascinating stories to share, and so many of them had such pearls of wisdom to inspire us with. I couldn’t believe that 3 hours went by so quickly. 

This was what I was talking about. 

The very end of the summit and I mean the last 20 minutes was dedicated to inviting the audience to take part in a leadership “inner circle” - it was a pitch, but it didn’t feel like a pitch at all. Plus it was left to the very end. 

Questions: 

• What were the differences between the two summits? 
• Why did I enjoy one over the other? 

Preface to Answers: 

Before going into the answers to the above two questions, allow me to preface an important note.

I personally do not believe that there is a “one size fits all” approach. I do not think that one approach is better than any other. Yes, you will find that it’s my general approach to everything I do, you will read in other articles this same paragraph, because, I honestly do not think that either approach is wrong, it’s simply a different approach. Therefore, my responses will be focused on my personal approach and the one that I am developing with my team at Yermi Kurkus Consulting, we call this approach the Exceptionally Irresistible Way or EIW. 

Answers and Takeaways: 

Here are my top takeaways and the “Exceptionally Irresistible” Way (EIW) approach: 

1. Leader - Not Follower

I see myself as a leader and not a follower. I have worked hard on developing my own knowledge by investing in my education, getting experience, reading tons of books, and constantly being on top of my personal and professional development. I personally, do not believe that there is a “one size fits all”, there is a “right” or “wrong” approach, or that I am “G-d’s gift to the world”.  However, I do hold myself to a really high standard and I am not 100% certain that any other “program” or person can tell me how to leave my mark on this world. 

I take the time to observe, explore, learn, and grow from everyone and from every experience. I believe that we are all created in the divine image of greater power and that this greater power decided that we are imperative to this universe. More about that in a moment, however, for this discussion and bearing this perspective in mind, I believe that we all have a unique mission in life and that we are all meant to lead in some capacity. Just as we all have a unique fingerprint, so too, we each have a unique mission in life.

Thus, I believe that people need to be empowered and celebrated to lead. A true leader is one that is able to inspire others to lead and become leaders in their own right.

EIW - seeks to provide that opportunity to others without convincing them to become our followers - we hope to inspire people to find their inner true leadership and lead from within. 

2. Don’t Sell Your White Hairs

People that go on and on about their experience, their education, their successes, and the number of years that they have been doing whatever they are doing, are simply people that are stroking their own egos. For the most part, no one really cares about what you have accomplished or what you have done in your life. Most people care about what value can you add to them and to their life?

Yes, people are actually selfish like that! 

The EIW is to focus on others and to empower others to achieve their greater versions of themselves. It has absolutely nothing to do with me or anyone that is using EIW in order to empower or bring value to others. 

3. No Pressure

Similar to selling the white hairs, high-pressure sales tactics are outdated and are no longer seen favorably. People simply do not like being put under pressure. No one wants to feel like they are forced to make a decision quickly.

Rather the opposite is true, people that have time to consider their options, have time to weigh the pros and cons, and people that have the time to meditate on how they feel about something, typically become loyal and have a better feeling about their purchase and decision.

Granted, the person needs to be serious and someone that truly digs deep, we are not talking about the procrastinators.

Why would we want those in our inner circle? 

EIW doesn’t need to convince anyone that this way of life and this mindset is worth their time and energy. It’s Exceptionally Irresistible and that right there feels awesome. Who doesn’t want to live an Exceptionally Irresistible life and lifestyle? 

No pressure, whenever you want to live that life, you’re more than welcome to hop on board. We’re here and we’re not going anywhere. 

4. Empower and Celebrate 

EIW believes that each individual is unique and has a divine mission custom-tailored for them personally. We believe that no one on planet earth can take that away from that individual. Therefore, we do not believe in competition and we do not think that everyone has to follow us.

EIW wants to partner up with other Exceptionally Irresistible people and seeks to create a roundtable and a community of people that are either Exceptionally Irresistible or are on the journey to becoming more Exceptionally Irresistible.

We see each individual as a leader unto themselves and not a follower on any level.

We do understand that there are many Leadership and Coaching programs that have the desire to scale and grow, we respect that and we seek to do the same. However, the approach we choose to take is not that people have a pain point, not that people cannot succeed without us, and not that our program has any merit other than it’s an empowering platform or a springboard upon which the leader can get on and jumpstart their career. 

We are more focused on the community rather than who follows us or who are leaders under us. 

5. Give More Value

EIW always leads with value.

Lead with value - meaning, continue giving value. Invite speakers and other people to inspire the participants and those in attendance.

At the very end, you are able to invite people to join the journey and become members of your organization - again, there’s nothing wrong with that. However, people want to feel that they are a part of something greater and they want to receive a greater deal of value rather than being pitched to right from the start. 

EIW believes in giving more value, making people feel good, and focusing on giving the participants an experience that they will cherish, remember, and dream to be a part of. 

Conclusion: 

If you want to learn more about EIW feel free to explore this website and join us for one of our FREE Becoming Exceptionally Irresistible (BEI) Workshops.

In that Workshop, you will learn what Exceptionally Irresistible is all about, what the journey looks like, how it benefits you, your personal life, your professional life, and all that are around you.

You will also be in the presence of other leaders such as yourself and other remarkable individuals who either already portrays awesomeness in their lives, or are on the journey to discovering how they can improve on their already exceptionalism and irresistibility.

Come join us in this journey and come celebrate with us your awesomeness.

Link to Sign up for the workshop: https://www.yermikurkus.com/beitheworkshop