Catherine DeVrye

Successfully managing change is vital to both individuals and organisations. Constant change has become the status qua and those who succeed in the future will not only understand and cope with the principles of change, but will have learned the importance of recognising and embracing these principles.

It is said that the only person who likes change is a wet baby. As we mature in a personal or organisational sense, resistance to change often increases; or worse still, there exists a false feeling of complacency about the good old days.

“I’ve been here 25 years and we don’t do it that way” or “we tried it that way once”.

If you’ve ever heard words to that effect, Catherine DeVrye can help acquaint your staff to the realities of a changing world and the benefits accrued by embracing such change and innovation for future success.

Of the top Fortune 500 companies at the turn of the century, only three remain. And less than 46 per cent of the Fortune 500 companies in 1982 are still in existence today. This clearly demonstrates that success today does not necessarily guarantee success tomorrow.

From first hand experience in IBM at a time the computer giant thought they were immune from a changing environment, Catherine combines the latest research with humour to challenge all organisations to analyse their own methods of operation in terms of the need for a paradigm shift. Her involvement in the establishment of the award-winning “Life! Be In It” campaign provides a practical example of a paradigm shift in attitudes towards sport and marketing.

In her pre-conference briefing, she will gain an understanding of the unique challenges within your operations.

Change is inevitable. Learning from change is optional. Catherine will help educate employees about the benefits of welcoming change before it overcomes them and their organisation.

Participants will leave this session with a renewed commitment to accepting change as a positive force in their work environment. They will feel empowered and more confident about being victors from change, rather than victims of change. 

Recipient of the 1993/94 Australian Executive Woman of the Year award and the author of the best selling book, Good Service Is Good Business, Catherine DeVrye makes leading edge management theory come to life through practical, everyday examples.

Presented in an entertaining and educational format, you’ll learn the 7 Simple Strategies for Success which you can immediately apply to your business:

Self esteem…. Service is not subservience. Turn “she’ll be right mate” into “Get it right mate”

Exceed expectations…Promise good and deliver great. Good service can increase market share

Recover… Each complaint represents 24 others who don’t tell you, so look at each one as an opportunity in disguise

Vision… It costs 5 times more to get a new customer than keep an existing one so do the right thing to have existing customers boomerang back

Improve… If your not getting better, you’re getting worse so continually focus on little improvements

Care…Customers don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care so make sure you’re “user friendly” and it’s easy for people to do business with you

Empower…Make everyone realise the important role they play on your customer team so they feel more responsible and response-able. Boost your bottom line without increasing cost.

Sometimes we can control and shape the changes in our environment, and sometimes we can not. However, we can always control our attitude towards change. Regardless of the circumstances, it is our attitude to change which decides whether an outcome will be positive or negative.

Catherine DeVrye has experienced the effects of a positive attitude to change in her own life. Born in Canada, she was abandoned by her mother at three months of age and raised by adoptive parents.

Their untimely death from cancer in 1973 left her alone, and so with $200 in her wallet, she arrived in Australia to start a new life.

Working first as a teacher, Catherine successfully carved a career in the predominantly male domains of sport, politics and international business. This success was recognised with the Australian Executive Woman of the Year award she received in 1993.

Yet, even though her life in Australia was filled with friends and the satisfaction of a blossoming career, there was still something missing. So, at age thirty-seven, she decided to search for her biological parents. In spite of the problems of geography and government bureaucracy, Catherine’s perseverance paid off when, on the eve of the closing ceremony of the 1988 Winter Olympics held in her home town of Calgary, Canada, she discovered who they were.

Similarly, her father had been looking for her since she was six months old. Catherine finally met the eight times Canadian Rodeo Champion as one of 12,000 spectators when he was inducted into the Rodeo Hall of Fame.

From an abandoned infancy to finding her biological parents; from an underprivileged primary school to a short stint at Harvard University; from a failed marriage to friends and financial success beyond her imagination as a child; Catherine will share in a
humorous and heartwarming way, her experiences of how every obstacle can be turned into an opportunity by choosing to adopt a positive attitude in the face of adversity.

Although we cannot always control change, we do always have a choice to see it as a negative or positive force in our business and personal lives.

Attendees will leave this session feeling better about themselves and their organisation. They will recognise the importance of focusing on the positive to produce personal and professional success and learn how anyone can turn obstacles into opportunities.