Following in the footsteps of greatness – Chris Croft
Have you ever had that experience of spending time with someone who you admire, whether it’s certain attributes, the values that they stand for or for what they’ve achieved in their lives? How did it make you feel?
Well, I’ve been fortunate to have had this experience through being part of a cohort of people that Chris Croft has trained to become freelance management trainers.
Having discovered Chris inadvertently during lockdown via one of his incredibly practical, insightful and fun LinkedIn Learning courses on-line (I found out later that he only lives 15 miles from me) I took the plunge to try and switch careers to become a freelance trainer myself by joining Chris’s Successful Trainers Programme.
A decision like this would usually feel like a huge gamble, and of course it was a gamble – attempting to switch careers in one’s late 40’s is never going to be plain sailing – but being taught by Chris has stacked the odds in my favour. Essentially, he taught me and the group everything he’s learnt over the 20 or so years that he’s been doing his thing and gave us the rocket fuel and the confidence to make a success of it.
Chris equipped me with the knowledge and tools to not only start my own business, manage the marketing and sales aspects, but critically, to deliver great training courses, be they face-to-face or virtual, to exactly the same high standards that has seen him become on of the world’s leading management trainers over the last couple of decades.
Chris Croft and me during our cost reduction chat on LinkedIn
I met with Chris recently (he’s even nicer and funnier in the flesh) and I reflected on what he’s achieved in his field and then became struck with self-doubt. Rather than being an inspiration to spur me on, the meeting saw me plummeting into existential crisis mode and I started worrying about how on earth could I possibly follow in his footsteps, especially as some of the subjects I teach overlap with Chris’s topics.
His Difficult People course has had over 1 million learners on LinkedIn Learning! ONE MILLION! His Negotiation course has recently achieved 500,000 learners, he’s sold 340,000 courses on Udemy. You can see why I felt a bit daunted!
But like Chris, I’m a believer in abundance mentality – there’s enough for everyone in this big world, particularly now that people are far more comfortable than ever before in virtual learning. So, the marketplace is potentially enormous.
I have plenty of unique courses that I will deliver (hopefully brilliantly) in my own style, and I’m sure I can bring something unique to my courses that Chris also teaches, after all, I have my own stories to tell and my own experiences to share.
And despite Chris’s ubiquity (at least in my world) there are plenty of people that haven’t even heard of him (sorry Chris, if you’re reading this!) so that gives me even more hope that there’s space for me.
I’m not Chris Croft, but I AM good and I’ve been taught by the best. If you think I can help your company with procurement training or personal effectiveness training, do get in touch!
The best days lie ahead
Martin
