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Dear EO Melbourne,
A year that simultaneously feels as if it’s been the fastest yet longest 366 days.
A year that has pushed all of us into realms of discomfort and growth.
A year that will go down in history for all the right and wrong reasons.
There’s something comforting about starting a new year fresh, even if it’s only a clock’s hand tick away from the year before. The significance of being able to turn to a new page on a brand new year can bring a sense of relief and a spark of optimism.
It is halfway through the 2020-2021 term, and amidst all the challenges of lockdown and other restrictions, EO Melbourne has endeavoured to provide various avenues for its community of entrepreneurs, as well as their families, to grow in their journey.
Despite events taking place virtually, it didn’t stop the chapter from coming up with interesting, informational and enjoyable activities that are beneficial to its members. Here are some of the online events that have happened for the last six months.
Dear EO Melbourne,
Finally, we’ve reached the light at the end of the tunnel.
Businesses are opening up again. We’re able to socialise and connect in the flesh.
It feels like a huge weight has been lifted, doesn’t it?
It’s because humans are social creatures. We seek belonging and we seek understanding.
And it’s why we’ve all been pulled to join EO and be part of this community.
Dear EO Melbourne,
As we roll into the last quarter of 2020, these last few months can easily become a haze. In a blink of an eye, we’ll be welcoming a brand new year.
So how do we become more intentional about how we end the year? How do we muster up the motivation to make it truly memorable?
Here’s a start, ask yourself this question: “What are you most proud of this year?”
Jeffrey Cole, Director of the Center for the Digital Future in the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, recently held a webinar with EO Melbourne on The Coronavirus Disruption Project and shared the findings of this study, which provided insights that help better understand the people around us, such as our family, friends, staff members, clients and customers, who go through similar life experiences, anxieties and coping mechanisms.
Dear EO Melbourne,
How are you doing? Are you okay?
As a fellow Melburnian & Victorian, I know better to bring up yet another reminder of the unique situation we’re finding ourselves in.
What I do want to remind you about is that, as the leaders in our companies, the amount of responsibility and pressure we have on our shoulders is incredibly unique. We have to deal with making tough decisions on a daily basis. We have to constantly think about the future and how we can survive & thrive. We have to come up with a plan C, D, E and F.
Dear EO Melbourne,
Are you a hedgehog or a fox?
The fox, a cunning creature, is able to devise multiple complex strategies for sneak attacks on the hedgehog. The fox eagerly waits for the hedgehog to wander on its path each day to be able to pounce and say, “Ahah, I’ve got you!”
The hedgehog rolls its eyes and says, “Here we go again, will the fox ever learn?” and rolls into a ball with its sharp spikes flaring out. The fox, midway through pouncing, sees the hedgehogs defence and calls off the attack.
Each day, this game of fox and hedgehog continues, but despite every calculated attack, the hedgehog always wins.
Dear EO Melbourne,
Apocalypse!
If you tuned into our End-of-Year Gala celebration a month ago, you would have heard me start my welcome speech with this bizarre word. In all honesty, I knew I had a tough job on my hands to grab your attention as the celebration was held virtually for the first time in EO Melbourne history. I hoped it worked.
Dear EO Melbourne,
Reflecting on what I most want to share with everyone this month, an idea my mind turns back to is that of service. From the contribution I have witnessed Member-to-Member as we collectively lean on each other (“we are stronger together”), to being witness to our Board ideate, plan and execute on our 90-day Member Support Plan and thinking beyond, to watching our Chapter management team learn how to navigate the technologies of webinars and think outside-the-box, to Past Presidents and tenured Members appearing out of the woodwork to support, guide and lead, one word that encapsulates the entirety of the above is “service”.
Dear EO Melbourne,
EO is here for you. As we approach renewals, if a Member wants to stay in EO, EO will find a way to make that happen by combining 3 support packages: (1) Global; (2) Local; and (3) Scholarship Fund (to provide renewal relief for those severely impacted by COVID-19).
On Friday, 8 May, we will announce the Local Support Package and information on how to access the Scholarship Fund if your business has been impacted.
To all EO Melbourne Members,
At 9:00 PM this evening, EO Global will be releasing details of a global support package addressing the current challenging circumstances. We too, in the EO Melbourne Chapter, will be providing a local support package to sit alongside EO Global's support.
A single hand can easily break a lone stick, but if the same hand, or even both hands, gather many sticks into a bunch and then attempts to break them, the task becomes more difficult. Similarly, when we stand together, we become ever stronger, collectively smarter and better equipped to navigate life’s challenges. One thing I know with certainty is that we never need to navigate life’s challenges alone.
Dear EO Melbourne,
For all our Members, the last month has been difficult, unsettling, destabilising and heartbreaking. However, I am also cognizant that it is during times of crisis that great leaders – and feats of great leadership – emerge.
It is during times like these that people turn to us as leaders, and one message has been clear in my conversations with leaders whom I deeply respect and admire: Leadership requires us to make fast (and well-informed) decisions, leadership requires us to be present, leadership requires us to increase our pace of communication, and leadership requires us to accept that we make decisions knowing what we know at the time and with the resources that we have available to us.
Dear EO Melbourne Members,
For so many of us, the last few weeks have been incredibly difficult and trying, and we are grateful for the outpouring of support and solidarity that have shown from this powerful community. It has been nothing short of amazing.
During times of crisis, we have the opportunity to decide whether we are brought closer together or torn further apart. What I have witnessed, from the numerous phone calls, to Members reaching out personally to each other, and to Past President Carlo Santoro facilitating a well-attended emergency event this week to discuss the impacts of this pandemic, proves to me that for us, it is the former. It is in times like these that our humanity shines through and shows that we are all in this together.
Dear EO Melbourne,
As I reflected on what I would share with everyone this month, one thought that remained constant for me is that of challenge and hardship. We dedicate and spend so much of our lives to finding balance and building systems, processes, structures and relationships that make us feel safe and secure. But often, things happen outside of our control that quickly reminds us that perhaps there are too many unknowns that can destabilise us. Whether it be a personal or familial tragedy, such as the passing of someone we love or a global disaster like the recent Coronavirus/COVID-19 outbreak, perchance what we really seek is a feeling of safety. Whilst achieving it may be tenuous or temporary at best, we still have the innate desire to rebuild and strengthen each time a tragedy or disaster strikes.
Dear EO Melbourne,
With Christmas’ imminent arrival at our doorsteps and today being the last operating business day for many, I hope that each and every one of us get moments and space to slow down, reflect on the 2019 calendar year that has come to pass, and spend quality time with those we cherish and love.
Whether it be breaking bread over Christmas lunch, sharing treasured memories during Christmas eve, or opening/watching our loved ones open their Christmas gifts with anticipation and excitement on Christmas Day while we snack on leftovers from the night prior, the upcoming holiday season is an opportunity for us to slow down, hit the pause button, and be amongst those we hold near and dear to us.
Dear EO Melbourne,
Can you believe it’s almost Christmas, and that it is less than 4 weeks away? As I pause and reflect on the 2019 calendar year to date, I am amazed at the passage and progression of time. Christmas will soon be upon us, and as we turn our minds to spending quality time with our friends, family and loved ones, I hope that this year is one that has been deeply enriching, infinitely rewarding, and filled with learning and growth for yourself, your friendships, your family and the communities you serve.
