Stay-Focused Conducts 25th Program!

The fourth program of summer 2011 was unlike any previous program as it was our first program for Stay-Focused mentors. The group included: Ryan Chalmers, Gail Gaeng, Jill Moore, Ryan Neiswender, Brian Siemann, and Justin Strafuss. Unfortunately, Jackie Cimino was unable to join us.

Leading the Program

The group was led by: Roger Muller, Founder/President of Stay-Focused; Trisha Yurochko, Stay-Focused Board member and coach; and, Dr. JenFu Cheng, our medical doctor. During the week, we were also joined by Board members, Advisors, and guests: Bart and Julia Hedges, Paul Drake, John Brunner, John Brunner III, Bernie and Monica Boldt, Mark Nevins, John Hillen, Tony and Chris McIntyre, Jim Harmon, and David Case.

As always, we were very fortunate in having experienced diving instructors who volunteer their time guiding our dives. Special thanks to Tony Chisholm, Chris Brandson, Nick Lawton, and "Freddy" Frederick, among others. And, as always, we were very grateful for the support we received from our diving operations partner Red Sail Sports, Sunset Divers, and Ocean Frontiers!

Diving, Board Meeting, and Workshops

In addition to diving, the Mentor Program focused on team building and leadership development. Stay-Focused mentors represent the emerging leadership of the organization, hence it was appropriate for the group to participate in a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) workshop designed to inform the mentors of their type preferences (personality types), and how to use that information to work most effectively as a team. Roger conducted the workshop based on years of experience working with MBAs and executives.

Following a group dive and lunch mid-week, Trisha, JenFu, Ryan Chalmers, and Brian, joined Roger and Stay-Focused Board members, Advisors, and guests for a two-hour meeting in the Boardroom of GreenlightRE – hosted by CEO Bart Hedges. It was a substantive discussion about Stay-Focused's mission, strategy, and values. The group then adjourned for a lively reception at Abacus hosted by Bart and Julia Hedges.

On Sunday morning, before heading to the East End for lunch and an afternoon of diving sponsored by Ocean Frontiers, Mark Nevins led a very interesting discussion about Leadership, leveraging a pre-workshop reading assignment on Authentic Leadership and making use of a segment from the movie Ghandi. The group then headed off to the East End for lunch at Tukka (see photo below) and a two-tank dive with Ocean Frontiers - thank you Steve Broadbelt!

Overall, it was a very productive and fun week during which the mentors learned a lot about themselves and how Stay-Focused is evolving as an organization. It was a great start to what will be an annual event. The mentors did an excellent job representing Stay-Focused and engaging our Board members, Advisors, and guests in what will undoubtedly be an ongoing conversation.

Roger Muller
Founder/President
September 2011