It is hard to believe, but twenty years ago today I went down to the Department of Fair Trading and started Adapt Productivity, a business that was little more than an idea in my mind and a passion in my belly.
I remember the date vividly, as it was the 1st July, the first day of the business year. (You know how I like things to be orderly!) I remember the feeling of excitement as I walked home with my business registration certificate, and then the feeling of terror as I looked at my one-year son and realised that I had to make this work!
Adapt was born from my experience working in the productivity training industry, and my belief that we needed to move away from paper-based planning tools to embrace electronic tools like Microsoft Outlook, and the plethora of personal digital assistants (PDAs) that had become popular with executives in corporate Australia.
In fact, not a lot of people know that Adapt is actually an acronym for Advanced Desktop And PDA Training. My initial idea was to focus solely on the technology, but I soon realised that what people really needed was a practical mix of productivity strategies applied to the technology. The strategies I created evolved into our current core programs, Smart Work, Smart Teams and Smart Leaders.
So, twenty years later, many hundreds of thousands of participants later, and three books later, the Adapt team are still going strong, and are as passionate about productivity as ever. Massive thanks to my support team who have made Adapt the success that it is today. Tony Hall, who joined me nineteen years ago, has been a constant and loyal companion and supporter. Tony has been my wingman through good times and bad.
Matt Lumsdaine, who has been a part of the training team for going on eight years, has added a new dimension to our programs, and a beautiful balance to the team. And of course, our Business Manager, Chauntelle Rakebrandt, who makes everything run so smoothly and allows us to be our best in front of our participants. I resisted having any executive support for many years, but now could not do a quarter of what I do without her. We are a small but passionate team, all focused on creating cutting edge programs and delivering outstanding results. Thank you all for your dedication.
And lastly, thank you to our client companies for your support, year after year. Thank you to the Learning and Development teams that work with us as partners rather than suppliers. And thank you to all our past participants, who have not just embraced the Smart Working strategies, but have sung their praises to others, time and time again.
So, twenty years on, and still going strong. I can’t wait to see what the next twenty years brings!