According to local entrepreneur Kat Cunningham, nature has ages-old answers for the business world.
Cunningham is launching a new monthly seminar that examines the work “eco-system.” Her main lesson: that companies are comprised of the people who work there, not the buildings and contracts, she said.
People are either in healthy “flow” or unhealthy “fear,” Cunningham said. For instance, sales executives who make “cold calls” often have unnecessary anxiety based out negative past experiences rather than energy for the moment, she said.
For the past four years, Cunningham has been talking nature with her personal advancement clients. Now, she’s calling the new side of her business Corporate Zoo Training.
Participants will share stories and discuss work issues at the monthly seminars. The first will take place Nov. 9 at the Handlery Hotel & Resort in Mission Valley.
So far, program topics include “Stay off the endangered species list,” which examines the individual effect of job change and company mergers. Another is “Lessons from Tigers on Prospecting,” about exploring a new business or job. Each session costs $20 in advance or $25 at the door.
So far, about 20 people have signed up for the first session, Cunningham said.
For now, attendance numbers won’t phase her, though. She laughed, putting her nature-influenced principles to work.
People are like animals, and they’ll “sniff the program” through experiences and word of mouth, she said.
