By Brian Young
Who doesn’t enjoy being in their comfort zone? They call it that for a reason. We know where things are, we understand the expectations, there aren’t any surprises. It is as described; comfortable. Stepping out of that zone is where the learning and the growing take place. Our friend Brian Formato knows that well. His LeaderSurf program takes puts successful executives, entrepreneurs and business leaders in truly unfamiliar waters for a one-of-a-kind experience.
“It’s an amazing week of leadership development, self-discovery, (and) learning to surf,” Formato told us.
What’s surfing have to do with business?
“Learning to surf is a humbling experience for super-smart and successful people,” Formato added. “Surfing is about embracing failure and rapidly learning from your mistakes.”
“After a few days of floundering and dealing with frustration, it is so rewarding to watch as a new surfer catches their first wave and feels that sense of accomplishment. This becomes a great model for trying new things at work. Leadership is about allowing yourself to be vulnerable in order to learn.”
And for Formato, LeaderSurf combines his three passions.
“People development, international traveling and surfing,” he said. “Playing to my own strengths, I saw that the three could be combined into a high impact leadership development program and that led to the birth of LeaderSurf.”
While the LeaderSurf program takes participants to Nicaragua, Formato told us he believes the Charlotte business community is a great target audience for the program. Moving forward, he said he plans to partner with businesses and other organizations looking for a unique approach to leadership development.
“As a new company and a new brand, we rely heavily upon word of mouth and relationships to build our business,” said Formato. “We want to create win-win situations.”
Formato and LeaderSurf are booking registrations now for February programs. We can think of much less engaging professional development programs than spending time in the water off the Nicaraguan coast! .
Sure, the surf sells it self, but LeaderSurf also counts on The Dunstan Group to provide branded and merchandise apparel like surf shirts, koozies, towels, journals, and more to spread the word about the program. Give us a call and let’s get your business riding the wave of brand recognition!