What is your internal soundtrack saying to you?

Delegates at this month's (January, 2017) Garden Centre Association (GCA) 51st annual conference will be asked what their internal soundtracks are saying to them and how this sits with what they want to achieve.

Asking the big questions will be speaker, facilitator, presenter and coach, Jon Wilks. He will also talk about engaging with others, creating achievements and aspirations during his presentation on Monday, January 23.

Jon explained: "I am looking forward to speaking at this prestigious event and I hope all the attendees will find what I have to say motivational. I will be giving them plenty to think about and asking them key questions about their own internal soundtracks and what they are saying to them, how this sits with what they want to achieve and what their beliefs, motivations and values are.

"I will also be speaking about engaging with others effectively and how the language we use boosts or drains energy within ourselves and the person who we're interacting with."

Jon spent his early career working in marketing, sales and business development. He enjoyed spells with Tarmac, Yule Catto, Waterford Wedgewood, Fiskars and Williams Medical Supplies before setting up Jon Wilkes Associates in 2007.

Jon added: "I will also be talking about TNT (tiny noticeable things) and the power of WOW and how we can turn up the gas in delivering high performance results and what we can do collectively and individually to achieve astonishing customer loyalty. This should be particularly interesting for delegates as they can put what they learn into practice in their own garden centres."

Since founding Jon Wilks Associates, Jon has worked with some high profile companies including Asda, Costa Coffee, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Cotswold Outdoor, Carnival Cruises, JCB, Eurostar, Greene King and Clarks Shoes.

He is a fully qualified Firo-B (Fundamental Interpersonal Relationship Observations - Behaviours) practitioner and uses a variety of methodologies to fulfil individual and team potential.

Iain Wylie, Chief Executive of the GCA, said: "Jon's primary areas of expertise are high performance leadership, enhancing organisational engagement, customer service excellence, goal setting and achievement and developing team-ship, all of which are essential skills needed when working in the garden centre industry, whatever level you may be at.

"We think attendees to the conference will find Jon's talk extremely inspiring and we hope they will be able to go away from it with plenty to think about and put into practice what they've learnt at their own places of work."

The GCA represents nearly 200 garden centres nationwide.

Through sharing information and its inspection programme the GCA helps members to achieve high standards in customer service, plant quality and reliability.

The GCA's annual conference will be held at St Andrews in Scotland between January 22 and 25, 2017. More than 300 delegates are expected to attend the event.

For other information, please call 01244 952170, visit www.gca.org.uk, log on to www.facebook.com/pages/GardenCentreAssociation or follow the organisation on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GC_Association.