Good Luck in Nashville!
It’s been a blast to watch your videos and read your blogs thus far! I was there a year ago and felt the stress of waiting to hear back if I was in the Final Five. I remember the huge sense of relief and excitement I felt when Michael Berger sent me the email to say “you’re in!” The good news is that the best is yet to come. Buckle up for a crazy ride. Here are some tips from my own experience at CEO/Executive Team Network (CETNET) in 2017:
Celebrate making it to the Final Five: being a finalist is a huge accomplishment. Take time to celebrate your wins. The conference will be full of people congratulating you, buying you drinks, and cheering you on. Enjoy it!
Don’t obsess about winning, you’ve already won: as someone who was lucky enough to win this thing last year I can tell you that the CETNET Conference itself was the best part of the whole shebang. Obsessing on winning will distract your focus and make you nervous. You’ve already won. Being crowned the Next Top Credit Union Exec would just be a nice bonus.
Network, Network, Network: as someone who is interested in leading a credit union someday I was excited to network with CEOs and leaders from credit unions across the US. A year later I’ve built and maintained relationships with other leaders at the CETNET conference that still exist today.
Set aside time to connect with your fellow competitors: the most surprising part of the experience for me was the camaraderie amongst the five finalists. I had a blast hanging with the other finalists and getting to know them. There is folklore around the crazy things the five finalists have done over the years that you’ll hear about when you’re there—now go create your own.
Practice your presentation before you get to Tennessee: the greatest source of anxiety for all five of the finalists was our presentations. The lights are bright, the mic is on and the time flies by fast—don’t try to memorize your speech in Tennessee! The more confident you are with your presentation content and structure now, means the less anxiety you’ll experience there.
I’ll be proudly watching your presentations online and sending in my vote in a next week. I’m looking for someone to inspire me, so tell stories, speak from your heart and take risks. I believe in you and I’m excited to tell you that the best is yet to come!
Geoff Bullock
