Post from: Gavin Anderson

Impressive & Impressionable

She soaked it all in, nothing got by her and everything made an impression upon Barbara. But for me, the thing about Barbara was that - yeah, sure she was spunky, feisty and vivacious - she was Immediately Impressive. That's what she was, Impressive.

You know how there is a gap sometimes before you're impressed with people? Well, that was not the case with her. You were immediately impressed with Barbara as an accomplished and caring human being. She was not all talk, she truly walked the walk!

The example that keeps coming to mind for me was when we were attempting to
launch Catalyst as a nationwide training company, specifically the Speaking for Success course. I had wrangled us an appointment with Harcourt Publishing down in San Antonio, of all places, and so we rode down there together. I noticed I was somewhat nervous; I believed landing a Fortune 1000 client would really put us on the map, so to speak. I was unsure of how to proceed, how to do the right thing, what was the right thing to say so that we could "Get 'Em!" However, Barbara told me, "Gavin, we aren't down here to get 'em. We are down here to interview them and see what we
can provide for them, to find out what their needs are."

Well, that blew me away...I will never forget it! There we were, minutes away from meeting the decision makers at Harcourt and where was her focus? On them, of course! On what she could provide for them. It was not just an integral part of her course and what made it so special, the "positive" coaching aspect. It was the way she was everywhere in her life, always looking for the positive and ways to acknowledge you for it. You know some people say that is what they are committed to and then there are the rare folks like Barbara who truly were committed to enriching others' lives.

I am so glad I knew, I know her. Oh, and by the way, Harcourt signed up for Barbara's course!

by Gavin Anderson