Dear Clients & Friends,
Harding International & Associates Inc. opened its doors ten years ago. Exhilarated by my role in launching and directing the challenging initiative that enabled government officials to present the New South Africa to the world, I was inspired to open a consultancy that would utilize my legal and diplomatic background to successfully assist in the difficult task of fully marrying individual/team talent and expertise to greater organizational objectives/goals. A decade and several thousand consultations, seminars and speaking engagements later, I am strengthened in my vision that this may be accomplished to great advantage by accommodating people who want to be what they are rather than what others expect them to be.
Interestingly my original mission statement holds true to this day. I was not interested in growing a vast company with teams of people that needed to be managed, but rather in providing clients with a hands-on, customized and personal service that ensures residual value. This approach has attracted a diverse, yet like-minded core client base. New clients are as a result of referrals or when individuals move on to different organizations. I am deeply grateful for this, as selling is perhaps the most time consuming and challenging aspect of the job.
My own evolution mirrors that of the business. Sustaining the operation has been an exciting adventure that has fully brought to life resources that I did not know I had. Intrinsically I considered myself a creative person with little time for detail and process. This was especially so as prior employ had always provided an existing structure that allowed me to pursue what I considered to be the more important issues. Looking back, I have a distinct feeling of satisfaction at the administrative, technical and business acumen that I have developed without sacrificing spontaneity, originality or my strong sense of professional individuality. In client scenarios and in my own life, I am more and more conscious that we often have to pay prices for the choices we make. I believe making trade-offs and choices should be a normal part of the process of being true to who we really are. Encouraging this consciousness has become the key message of all my consulting and training initiatives.
Conflict Management, Strategic Communication, Leadership, Team-building & Presentation Skill Enhancement were the stalwart services of the early years. Career & Outplacement Counseling was added as a direct outflow from relationships built in client organizations. In 2002 our Corporate Intelligence Awareness Program evolved in direct response to corporate requirement to factor future uncertainty into planning, strategy and marketing initiatives. This is my favorite activity as it enables the contribution of every employee or team member in the competitive evolution of any organization.
My book Corporate Intelligence Awareness, Securing the Competitive Edge, published in November 2006 generated sufficient client interest and media attention to establish this program as a permanent service. In turn, delivery of the program has resulted in the increased demand for our Leadership, Negotiation, Strategic Communication, Relationship Building & Writing Modules, effectively bringing our service deployment full circle.
Words cannot express my gratitude to clients and friends for their support and encouragement over the last 10 years. I can honestly say that you have enabled me to reach a degree of fulfillment that I did not believe possible. I look forward to keeping in touch in the same spirit of collegiality in the years to come.
Warm regards,
Rodger
