Meet WILD Wendy

Wendy Susan Richmond is a WILD Keynote Speaker, Celebrity Author and Business Trainer who inspires corporate audiences worldwide and is known as WILD Wendy because she is WILD for employees' success. She is a Human Resource Professional who trains leaders and employees on how to have WILD Success within their organizations through exemplary leadership, customer service, teamwork, managing change and success/motivation principles.

Here's my "Not Being All That I Could Be" Story:

 

Along with many other young people trying to find their way in the world, in my younger years I was quite rebellious. I didn't care about authority, organizations or corporate America. I did everything I could not to get a "real" job. Even into my thirties, I still had this mindset. The last straw came for me one day when I realized I was getting older, making very little money, and living in a 6 by 9 foot work-trailer with no running water or bathroom facilities.

 

I worked and lived under the radar. My income was limited and I found myself living in survival mode. Instead of thriving and growing, I just existed.

 

Now, don't get me wrong. I chose to live in that trailer. It didn't have running water. I had to walk next door to a building my brother owned to use the bathroom and to shower. The trailer didn't have electricity, so I had to run a long extension cord in through the window. I used a blow up bed to sleep on. I couldn't let anyone know I was living there so I put opaque black curtains up so I could put the lights on at night and watch television. I cooked dinner on a hot plate and washed my dishes in the sink of the building next door. "It wasn't so bad at the time because I didn't have to pay any rent," I used to say to myself. I didn't want to grow up and become responsible. It was easy to live day to day, working for minimum wage, even though I had a
college degree and the capability of doing much more.

 

At the point, I had to ask myself some serious questions. What the heck was I doing? Where was I going with my life? I had no goals, no future plans. I realized that I had to change. I began to read books on success. My first experience with self help materials was reading Anthony Robbins' Personal Power book and listening to his Personal Power tapes.

 

More importantly I got a job with Dale Carnegie Training. Carnegie's training program had a profound impact on me. This thirteen-week 3 ½ hours per night once a week course helped me develop my confidence, presentation skills, relationship skills and much more.

 

Eventually, I went on to acquire a position in the Human Resources department of a successful company. While there I heard similar questions and statements from the employees:

 

"I don't like what I am doing."

"I don't get along with my manager, what should I do?"

"I don't feel the company cares about me."

"I want to move up in the company, but I don't know how to do it."

"How do I get a raise?" and,

"I don't like my job, but I am afraid to leave, because I can't see myself working anywhere else."

 

I did what I could to help them. Some took my advice and moved up the corporate ladder; others did nothing and are still stuck in the same position. It is because of these events that I wrote the book, How to Create WILD Success within Your Organization.

 

The principles I live by today comprise (embrace) what I have come to call my "WILD" philosophy. When I say "WILD," I don't mean crazy. I mean wowing your company so they take notice and want to keep you in their employ. To do this, you must focus on four areas. Each area corresponds with each letter in the word WILD.

 

The "W" stands for Work Together Effectively. When a group of people have to work together for a common goal, most of the time it is just that, they work together. Often, they are not working together as effectively as possible. Here are five things that will help you and your team to work together effectively:

 

1. Everyone knows their job and does it.
2. Everyone is straight on a common goal of Team.
3. Everyone has a Team-first, Me-last attitude.
4. Everyone listens to teammates.
5. Everyone communicates with the common goal in mind.

 

The "I" stands for Independent Thinker. In today's business world, the ones who succeed know how to think for themselves and are not afraid to voice their opinions. They have ideas based on knowledge and experience and they share it in the appropriate ways. Even when working as a team is about the whole, you need people to bring their own knowledge and expertise to the table.

They need to be confident enough to express themselves in a way that inspires the group to want to listen. Being able to use that brain we were all born with is vital to WILD Success in Your Organization.

 

The "L" stands for Learn and Grow. Dale Carnegie, the author of "How to Win Friends and Influence People," used to say, "If you are not growing, you are dying." The way you continually grow is by continually learning. One thing I find holds most people back is their unwillingness to continually learn and ultimately grow. Whether they learn more about the industry they work in or how to better communication skills, each one is vital to showing your company that you want to be there and you are willing to do what it takes to stay.

 

The most successful people I know make a commitment to themselves to continually learn and then apply that learning to their current companies. This either sets them up to be promoted or gives them the confidence to move to other companies. Learning and growing is extremely important to be a WILD Success in Your Organization.

 

The "D" stands for Decide to be Decisive. What should I do? I don't know, so I'll do nothing. So many employees that I have met do this. They are paralyzed because they don't know what to do in a certain situation. Having this mentality won't get you very far within your organization. Some people think this as well, "What if I make the wrong decision, so I won't do anything and I'll let someone else make the decision." Becoming decisive is a decision. Being able to actively look at a situation and make a decision is a core trait of very successful people. Even when they don't have all the answers, they make a decision for better or worse. You must make a choice. Will you be decisive or not? Either way you have decided. One gets you to WILD Success in your organization and one does not.

 

You may be thinking that this really doesn't sound WILD. I can understand. The WILD is for wowing your organization. A popular way of wowing is thinking outside of the box. Throw the box out! Kick it to the side! Stomp on it! Crush it! The most successful people I know and have heard about do things that other successful people do. One of the major things that they do is mastering the basics of success. My book is filled with the basics and some things you may find a little different than what you have heard before. I hope that instead of just thinking outside the box, it inspires employees to get out of their comfort zones and get the WILD success they deserve.

 

WILD Wendy's Words that Create Employee Success:

 

"360 Degrees of Customer Service means treat EVERYONE you come in contact with as your most important customer."

 

"It's not about "How can I?" it's about "How can we?"

 

"Ask yourself these questions: Where do I fit in? How do I keep a good attitude? How do I make a difference?"

 

"I can learn something from everyone I meet."

 

"It's all about what you say and how you say it."

 

"Change is always a constant, then prepare for it."

"Goal Getters Get Things Done!"

 

"Food can make you or break you."

 

"Help more to earn more."

 

"It's not about just taking action. It's about taking actions that have already been proven successful."

 

"It's not about thinking out of the box. It's about crushing that box and kicking it to the curb!"