Sunshine, seeds, and a generous spirit

My little garden has been neglected over the winter but recently my diary and the weather collided with a free Saturday afternoon and sunshine…well… not rain! I had a satisfying few hours pruning and clearing and planting and enjoying the spring bulbs – the last of the snowdrops and crocus, daffodil flowers emerging from their green foliage.

It struck me that my wee garden is the product of years of care and connections – bulbs planted with my toddlers, a dwarf hydrangea that was a gift from a friend, cuttings from my parent’s garden, and rocks from beautiful Gairloch beaches seeped in holiday memories.

As I reflect on this first month of business, I realise that The Community Consultancy is also the product of years of care and connections. I have been so encouraged by the enthusiasm and kind words that greeted my new venture, and the willingness to pass the word on! Not only my lovely husband (or chief cheerleader, as one of my friends said) sharing The Community Consultancy with his contacts, but comments and links leading to an old uni classmate offering a training gig, a friend of a friend getting in touch about development sessions with their Board, another friend suggesting my name for a longer piece of work.

This generosity of spirit is one of the core values of TCC. Years ago, I read Tim Sanders’ (of Yahoo fame) book, ‘Love is the Killer App’. I love his simple philosophy on business life: share your knowledge, network and compassion to multiply the value of everyone you interact with (http://timsanders.com/ ). I believe in sharing resources and information that could be useful to you, and sharing contact details of people or organisations who demonstrate good practice in the area you are interested in, or who may also be able to help your organisation flourish. And I am willing to say if I’m not the right person for you, and suggest who might be.

And so I look in my diary now and see the result of years of relationships and connections, and I am grateful for generous friends.