Described as unconventional, thought provoking and inspirational Alison Smith first started using metaphor as a means of solving problems in the mid 90s. At the time whilst working for a bank she managed to inspire business leaders to be interested in supplier management, a topic they were unenthusiastic about at best. She did this by equating supplier management to plant management in their gardens because, whilst they might not have recognised it, suppliers needed attention much like the plants needed feeding, weeding, watering and even time in the greenhouse (find out more here about those early beginnings).
Since then, alison has taken executives, their boards, teams of professionals and individuals out into nature to use its landscapes as metaphors for the situations they want a different perspective about, or even to uncover what was hidden from view.
The effectiveness of using the metaphor in our language to facilitate change led to Alison to writing Can’t see the wood for the trees – landscaping your life to get back on track with many of the examples shared involving her work with procurement and business teams.
More recently in her podcast Landscaping Your Life with Alison Smith you’re invited to join her as she shares insight from the landscapes she’s visiting – whether that’s when you can’t see the wood for the trees, are up a creek without a paddle or feel like you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place. One memorable episode involves her treading water off the coast of Scotland sharing insight as she tries to keep her head and selfie stick with iphone above water.
Alison’s unique, enthusiastic and quirky perspective allows her to help people in an unconventional way that they may not be used to, but which always gets results.
As a result of the recent success to easily and effortlessly shift mindset of both the paths and destinations
and what is normal poems Alison is very pleased and excited to be adding the following sessions to her training and speaking portfolio.
Each session can be delivered as a stand alone 18 to 45 minute keynote or be expanded to include training and development content with breakouts and more in-depth discussion (last updated July 2023).
Other popular sessions that have helped teams and individuals to demolish the blocks to moving forward and towards their success have included (follow the links to find out more):
To find out more about running any of these sessions for your organisation, or to discuss the development of a bespoke training session to meet the needs of your team do get in touch alison@alisonsmith.co +44(0)7770 538159.
If you're interested in coaching for yourself or a team member you'll find out a little more about the options available here.
