One + July 2011 - (Page 28)

Q&A w/Victoria Labalme What is your passion? My goal is to help people tap hidden talents to transform their businesses, their lives and the lives of others. What is the best advice you’ve ever received? Be kind. What was the last medium you saw that caused you to think or see things differently? Any ﬁlm image of the Japan quake. Complete this sentence: Speaking to an audience makes me feel___ Grateful. Happy. Alive. The Prism Effect BUSINESS CONSULTANT VICTORIA LABALME STARES INTO A PRISM. White light enters the glass façade and exits a rainbow of color in a befuddling science of refractive indices, wavelengths and dispersion. She likes to ﬂip the premise and imagine the rainbow entering and exiting as a single beam. So goes a business theory she calls The Prism Effect. According to Labalme, people must use every resource they have (their full spectrum) to establish themselves as unique (a single beam) and gain an edge on the competition. And in a macro-sense, businesses must recognize and utilize the entirety of their talent pools in order to differentiate themselves from their corporate rivals. Labalme herself is a spectrum of activity: a degree from Stanford University followed by two decades in show business including performances in scores of theaters and comedy clubs, television and commercial appearances, advanced training with legendary mime Marcel Marceau and more 28 What is your favorite meal? Chocolate cake. BY JESSIE STATES Where’s your favorite place to eat it? Sitting on the kitchen ﬂoor laughing with friends. What has been your greatest failure? Any time I didn’t trust myself. than 200 presentations of her one-woman shows—all of which she now leverages in her speaking and coaching engagements to help clients succeed. For her, business + creativity = success. Companies that tap into the creativity of their talent and recognize the genius in each employee produce extraordinary results. Labalme laments the paradoxical pressure of the corporate market that urges originality but also status quo. “People think that a variety of colors will create chaos, but when properly focused, they create clarity,” Labalme says. “There is a lot of pressure from outside sources to deﬁne ourselves as parents, as managers, as meeting professionals. But it’s critical that when we do this, we don’t cleave off part of who we are. To ﬁnd success, we must create identity through the integration of our many parts.” Live at WEC Victoria Labalme will participate in the Flash Point Idea Assembly during the 2011 World Education Congress, July 23-26 in Orlando. There, Labalme will discuss the tools delegates need to listen effectively, communicate with impact and tap into their unique talents to catapult performance and proﬁtability. JESSIE STATES is the senior editor, meeting industry, for MPI. one+ 07.11

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of One + July 2011

One + July 2011
Contents
Energy of Many
Impressions
Paradigm Shifts, Part II
Web Watch
Agenda
Thoughts+Leaders
Ask the Experts
Recognizing Community and Organizational Excellence
Overheard
Art of Travel
The Prism Effect
Top Spots
Connections
Irrelevant
Using New Tech for Old Purposes
So You Think You Can Dance
Don’t Use Tech You Don’t Understand
Are You In It to Win It?
Anything is Possible
Night of the Radishes
Well Played
When People Come Together, Magic Happens
Size Matters
Building a Better FAM
One Bar at a Time
MPI + CSR
Industry Insights
Your Community
Making a Difference
Until We Meet Again

One + July 2011