Meet Simon Tooley of Michael Kors Canada
Tell us about yourself and your organization.
I am vice-president of Michael Kors Canada, and I am part of the team that started the Canadian head office here in Montreal, Quebec, four years ago. Based in New York City, Michael Kors is the leading American fashion designer for luxury accessories and sportswear. The head office here in Montreal has a staff of twenty, and we have a warehouse with a team of five, a sales office in Toronto with two people, retail stores in Montreal, Vancouver, and a new store to open in Toronto in April - which means we are nationwide and growing quickly!
I have a degree in Economics from McGill University, I have studied design in Paris at ESMOD, and I have worked in the fashion industry since I was sixteen years old, starting on the retail side and ending on the wholesale side. While I am involved in all aspects of the company, my focus is in marketing and operations within the Canadian company.
I have been with my life-partner, Yves, for almost ten years. We are both Master Graduates from Rapport Leadership International and are Eagle Quest Warriors as well. We go on team at least once a year and give back to the community, as we do to our family and friends, knowing that givers always gain!
How did you and your organization get introduced to Rapport Leadership International?
Jennifer Leavitt from Blu’s in Edmonton introduced us to Rapport in 2003. She sent Debra Margles through the program. Debra was president of Anne Klein in Canada at the time, and she is now president of Michael Kors Canada. She completed Leadership Breakthrough One in December of 2003, and I completed it in January of 2004. Debra and I saw the benefits of Rapport and began sending employees through the training, and we have continued now at Michael Kors with custom training courses once a year.
How many Rapport graduates does your organization have?
You could say we are all Rapport graduates as each employee has completed two custom courses for the company over the last two years. We also have four team members who have completed classes in Leadership Breakthrough One and Power Communication.
What can you tell us about your Rapport experience?
I did Leadership Breakthrough One in January of 2004, Leadership Breakthrough Two in May of that year, Power Communication in June with my partner, Yves, and Eagle Quest the following year in May. Now I continue my training with Leadership Performance Coaching through Rapport.
My experience started because I wanted to find the answers to life. What I found very quickly was that there are no answers and that the journey is what life is all about. Rapport opened my eyes to what my capabilities are and what my core values mean to me, and the Rapport experience has allowed me to see that I have what it takes to do whatever I want in my life!
How has Rapport influenced you personally?
A better question is how hasn’t Rapport influenced me!
Leadership Breakthrough One gave me a confidence in myself that I always knew I had but I was never able to reveal. It taught me that my enthusiasm for life is great and that I can share it with the world! Leadership Breakthrough Two taught me about teamwork both at the office and at home, and what teamwork really means. Power Communication taught me skills that I use everyday at the office to build the company I work for or in any interaction I have outside the office.
Eagle Quest lets me shine in all aspects of my life – business, personal and spiritual; it taught me that there is only one place to go, and that is forward. How I do it, and with whom, is my choice, and there is nothing to be afraid of…ever!
Leadership Performance Coaching keeps me on track and accountable to my goals and values.
How has Rapport affected your business?
Rapport has given us the tools to progress from being a good company to a great company. It has taught us what a team is and what power there is in a team. It taught us to face the challenges a company faces, together, knowing that we will find a solution and improve. We learned that the values that we give to our company come from within us and that if we live by them, not only will we grow as a company, but we will also be a real, giving part of our community.
What is the most surprising benefit you or your organization received from Rapport Training?
The most surprising benefit I received was the chance to pass the Rapport experience on. I did not realize how many people I would be able to touch by recommending the training. More often than not, what I hear after someone completes a course is, “Simon, what would I have done if you had not recommended Rapport to me!”
In our organization, Rapport offered us the ability to have everyone moving in the same direction and knowing what our priorities are. If we get off course, we have gained a common language used by everyone and between all levels to bring us back on course.
How do you keep Rapport alive in your organization?
The main way is offering our custom training once a year, just before Christmas. It is a gift to our employees, for although it benefits the company, the personal benefits are just as great.
We also use the language or examples that we learn in the courses when we have issues that we need to resolve. We share books or movies that relate to what we have learned; we give back to the community as a company or in groups within the company. We stay open to learning and to growth.
What class had the greatest impact on you and why?
Leadership Breakthrough One was the course that started me on my journey with Rapport, and it has taken me to so many other places. That first course and all that I learned has helped me reach out to so many others., I have found the courage to follow dreams I never thought I would realize, I see the benefits of building and improving the company I work for to be the best it will be. I learned to deal with issues in my personal life that previously had been easier to avoid than to face, and I learned that whatever happens in my life is because of choices that I make and what I do with them is up to me.
The Leadership Performance Coaching I do through Rapport is like an on-going class that allows me to maintain all that I have learned and work with someone who will hold me accountable to myself.
When you face a challenge in your organization, what tools from the training do you call on first?
It sounds simple, I stop and listen to what the issue is, and I do not react right away. I see that I have a choice of what I will do and that I have a team around me to help me with whatever the problem is. I have learned that the challenge is an opportunity for the company and for me to grow and be better at what we do. There are so many tools that we have received with Rapport that we can utilize. If the challenge seems greater, the team at Rapport is there to help as well.
