SOUTHREN ACADEMY LEARNING PORTAL ::
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATIONS PROGRAM
Welcome To Southren Group's
Know. Be. Do :: Business Development Foundations Program
At Southren Group, we are committed to helping you attain the knowledge, develop the skills and adopt the mindset you need to succeed - in whatever it is you set out to do.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
This program is designed to guide you in identifying, developing and consistently applying with intention the key qualities, skills and activities you need to successfully build a self-sustaining and fulfilling book of business.
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We want you to think less about being just a valued employee, and more about also being a strong business person who has the potential and capacity to contribute meaningfully to the culture, revenues and commercial aspirations of the firm.
ABOUT THE LEARNING PORTAL
This Portal was developed to make the program easier to navigate, so that you have everything you need in one place. Here's how we suggest using this Portal to get the most out of it:
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Add this page to your bookmarks for easy access.
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Sign up (and sign in) to Slack to begin chatting and interacting with us and with each other.
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Interact and engage with us and with one another through the Modules by asking questions and sharing insights.
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Be sure to visit at least once a week to gather your new material, leave a comment, or join the session.
Here, you'll be able to:
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Find a quick link to the current Zoom session
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View the replays of every Learning Session
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View and download your Content Catalysts and Module Activators
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Quickly access Module Completion Surveys
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Book your One-on-One Coaching Sessions
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Easily connect with your colleagues and program leaders
And so much more. We're glad you're here. Let's get started!
PROGRAM OUTLINE
​​DISTRIBUTED LEARNING PROCESS
Each Module of the program is delivered using our Distributed Learning Process (DLP), in weekly increments over four weeks per Module. Throughout the program we introduce activities, challenges, tasks and exercises that create opportunities for the kind of consistent application of the concepts that helps complete the learning cycle.
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The DLP schedule for each Module is as follows:
Week #1 - Learning Session
Aimed at knowledge translation.
Week #2 - Content Catalyst
Aimed at reflection and catalysing insight.
Week #3 - CoLAB
Aimed at engagement and consolidation of learning.
Week #4 - Module Activator
Aimed at application, acknowledgement and measurement.
PROGRAM CURRICULUM
Learning Session
CoLAB
Module 0 - Mastering Mindset :: Participant Placement + Program Launch
NA
February 3, 2022
February 17, 2022
March 3, 2022
April 14, 2022
April 28, 2022
May 12, 2022
May 26, 2022
Module 7 - The Art & Science of Storytelling :: The Key to Creating ‘Sticky’ Messages + Deeper Bonds
September 8, 2022
September 22, 2022
October 6, 2022
October 20, 2022
November 3, 2022
November 17, 2022
COHORT FACILITATORS
Meet your leaders + coaches
Christine Shimoda
Jane Southren
Kelly Margani
COHORT PARTICIPANTS
Senior Cohort
Junior Cohort
Name
Name
Jessica Boily
Alexandra Sadvari
Michael Finley
Jordan Epstein
Rachel McMillan
Marco Romeo
Erin Farrell
Josh Hanet
Tom Gertner
Patti Brooks
James Green
Kira Domratchev
Alex Zavaglia
Adam Bazak
Anna Cote
Emily Hayes
Heyla Vettyvel
Heather Fisher
Liz Kurz
Irina Samborski
Alycia Riley
Chris Hummel
Kavi Sivasothy
Josh Shoemaker
John Wilson
Latisha Cohen
PROGRAM LEGEND
Learning Session Links + Recordings
Content Catalysts
CoLab Links
Module Activators
Module Slack Channel
Module Completion Survey
Book 1:1 session
LSO Accreditation
MODULE DESCRIPTIONS
Module 0
Mastering Mindset :: Participant Placement + Program Launch
Do you think like an employee, or an owner? Do you know what sets them apart? Mindset.
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Knowing where you are, looking at where you aspire to be, and charting the path there is foundational to success - in business development or any other pursuit. And that is why we open the program by taking a look at the types of mindset that are instrumental in becoming a consistent and successful business originator, supporting the transition from thinking like an employee to thinking like a business owner: Service Mindset, Strategic Mindset and Owner Mindset.
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In this opening session, we will also give participants the opportunity to introduce themselves, share the aspirations and expectations they have for themselves, each other and the Program and explore some of the proprietary tools and processes that we’ll be using to support their learning over the course of our time together.
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And because we believe in the importance of measuring progress, we will invite participants to set some opening benchmarks and a couple of tangible goals that they want to work toward so that they can track their success and apply their learning to their individual pursuits.
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This is a fluid session with lots of up-front information and sharing, and we believe it sets everyone up to start Module One fully engaged!
Module 1
Building Loyal Relationships :: Key to Your Senses of Success + Fulfillment
Senior Cohort
Junior Cohort
No relationships are more foundational to success in business development than loyal relationships. But most people don’t understand what they are, or what it takes to develop and nurture them.
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In this Module we will look at the different types of relationships, with particular focus on those that are critical to business development success. We will also introduce tools and strategies that will support participants in creating - and maintaining - more of these critical relationships in their own networks.
Module 2
Enhancing Influence :: Key to Building a Practice You Love
Senior Cohort
Junior Cohort
Being influential is critical to building and sustaining a successful business. Cultivating and enhancing influence is a practice.
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In this Module we will introduce participants to the four pillars of influence and how to deploy them successfully. We will also examine some of the most effective tools of influence and share some tips on how to use them in furtherance of achieving business development goals.
Module 3
The Art and (Neuro)science of Relationship Building :: Your Brain + Connections
Senior Cohort
Junior Cohort
Nothing is more vital to the success of business development efforts than the building and nurturing of relationships. And the key to forming the bonds of relationship can be found in science.
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In this Module we will look at how the brain works - especially the subconscious parts - and how it helps or hinders the building of relationships. We will look at the importance of bringing awareness to subconscious thoughts and behaviours, how to override those that aren’t useful in the achievement of aspirations, and how to build stronger, more effective and satisfying relationships by putting this understanding to use in the context of professional relationships.
Module 4
Building a Powerful Network :: Demystifying Networking + Finding Your Superpower
Senior Cohort
Junior Cohort
Networking is one of the foundational activities that successful people in all professions engage in proficiently, and that is especially true of those who are providers of professional services. But as important as networking is, it might be one of the most misunderstood practices of all.
In this Module, we’ll discuss why the idea of ‘Networking’ can be so uncomfortable for many, and we will begin to reframe it as what it really is, or what it can be - a collaborative, engaging and fulfilling practice aimed at creating strong, genuine relationships that support the aspirations of everyone in the network, rather than a series of singular and targeted “events”.
We show participants ways in which networking can be done with ease, as a natural extension and application of their existing skills, focusing on the things that they enjoy doing, and with the people they like to engage with. Finally, we’ll help participants identify and begin to deploy their own Networking Superpower.
Module 5
It Takes a Village :: Leveraging Firm Assets For Success
Senior Cohort
Junior Cohort
Everyone can name those lawyers in their firm who have that special something - the ‘gift’ of being the strong relationship builders and business originators. But what is it that sets them apart? What do they do that others don’t?
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One of the most powerful things they do is avail themselves of their in-house Business Development team.
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Knowing how to leverage the BD professionals, tools and resources that are available inside a firm is the secret weapon of many of the most successful business developers.
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In a departure from the style of the rest of the Program, this session is designed to be an informal, facilitated conversation with members of your firm’s BD Team. Participants will have the opportunity to hear first-hand stories and best-practices that demonstrate how the most successful business originators in the firm capitalize on their support to accelerate the achievement of their goals.
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Our facilitators will tie the stories together with the key elements of the Modules, in real time, in order to help participants see how the theory and the personal practice, aided by the leveraging of support, come together to drive success.
Module 6
Personal Brand, Identity + Voice :: Tell the World Who You Are
Senior Cohort
Junior Cohort
Every brand has a look and feel and voice. We identify the brands we interact with and choose to buy things based on those qualities. And people are no different. As you apply intention to building your business, you need to be aware of who you are - and how others see you. You need to know and live your brand, consistently.
When people know who you are - and can describe you to others, and rely on you to be that person, in every interaction you have - they are more likely to want to be around you, to do business with you, and refer others to you.
Prior to beginning this Module, participants will be asked to complete a psychometric assessment, the results of which will give them a better understanding of who they are, in a professional context, and some visibility on the ways that others see them.
Inside the session, participants will be guided toward identifying their personal brand and how they can start to use it to intentionally evolve their professional identity and voice. In so doing, they will begin to equip themselves to effectively communicate the value they bring in a way that supports their professional aspirations.
Module 7
The Art & Science of Storytelling :: The Key to Creating ‘Sticky’ Messages + Deeper Bonds
Senior Cohort
Junior Cohort
Stories are the single most effective communication tool we have as humans. Those who truly master storytelling also tend to be masterful connectors, highly influential and highly persuasive.
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In this Module, we will explore the elements of an effective story and how storytelling can be used masterfully to; facilitate building loyalty in key relationships, highlight and make memorable our differentiating factors; and, influence the process of decision making in our current and potential client markets that results in us being engaged and referred more frequently and more consistently.
Module 8
The Habit Foundation :: Driving Client and Business Development
Senior Cohort
Junior Cohort
Habits are created when intention is applied to behaviours, either those that come naturally, done intuitively and accidentally, or those that we explicitly choose to undertake and nurture.
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In this Module we will look at the brain science behind human performance and the intentional development of high-performance habits. Participants will become aware of their natural behaviours and consider how to intentionally create or build on those habits - and create new ones - to increase their efficacy in cultivating the relationships that are critical to their success. And by learning to apply intention to habit creation, they’ll take steps toward achieving the client and business development goals they have set for themselves.
Module 9
High Impact Activities :: Maximize Your Investment of Time + Resources
Senior Cohort
Junior Cohort
There are thousands of opportunities to participate in activities connected to business development every single year. But what activities are most fruitful? Where is time best spent? And how do you know before you try them what activities net the greatest impact?
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In this Module, we will focus on tactics - what the most successful people do to solidify their success. We will identify the business development activities that are known to be leading indicators to work origination, and discuss how each participant can go about choosing the right audiences and activities for them, the key elements of a High Impact Activity and how to transform more of the activities they undertake into High Impact Activities.
Module 10
Strategic Planning :: The Roadmap to Success
Senior Cohort
Junior Cohort
Successful people plan for their success. They consciously put resources toward defining what success means to them, plan the activities that map directly to the elements of the success they have defined and follow the steps they have identified with laser-focus.
In this Module we’ll discuss why a strategic plan is literally a “map” to success in building the business that you want - one that participants can follow in their own practices - and we’ll demonstrate how they can get started on their own Strategic Plan.
Module X
Program Close + Cohort Launch
Throughout this program, we focus on what you need to know, to be who you need to be, in order to do the things you need to do to find success and fulfillment in your practice, with business development as the foundation. But the knowing, being and doing doesn’t end when the program does. It continues with you as a lifelong pursuit, fuelled, we hope, by what you’ve learned in your time with us.
In this session, we wrap up all that we’ve shared and celebrate all you've done and learned throughout the program. We consider it a ‘launch’, not an ending. And we look forward to sending you off to our Southren Academy alumni, where we’ll continue to support and celebrate you in all you do.