20 Years of C3: From Chance to Strategy (with a Dash of Luck!) : Part 2

Welcome to our newsletter and thank you for following along on our story of the nearly 20-year journey of C3's growth and development! (If you missed part 1, you can catch up here: Part 1)

All right, so, it’s January 2006, and I have my CVR number (business registration) and my first client in hand. Success. Soon, I had a website and a cool business card, but—nope—the well-described business plan was nowhere to be found. I had no clue how to run a business because, well... I was NOT planning on running my own! The path for C3 wasn’t clear at all, but I took it one step at a time, following my heart and trusting my gut. 

In that first year, I landed some pretty big Danish companies as clients, and I couldn’t believe my luck! All I did was what I loved

Diving deep into my passion for Chinese culture, society, mindset, and behavior and training people to see the full picture and add nuance to their perceptions

I was having fun, filled up with drive and motivation, and it became clear that my work was making a difference. It was deeply meaningful. I quickly learned to analyze the questions my clients had about these (strange!) Chinese/Danish cultural dynamics. Somehow, I naturally knew how to fill in the gaps, connect the dots, and offer practical, hands-on advice that the engineers, specialists, managers, expat spouses, and more could relate to.  

My path with C3 felt like a fairytale
 
I’ve often had interesting discussions with others about the concept of ‘luck,’ and over the years, I’ve come to realize that timing, knowledge, and perseverance are all enhancers of luck. At a networking event, I sat next to a gentleman who introduced himself as Thorkild. During the meeting I realized that he was actually a China-experienced C-level director. He invited me for coffee at his office in the HQ north of Copenhagen —if I had the time, of course . I checked my calendar and, oh yes, I did have time . He suggested setting up an advisory board and already knew some people he wanted to invite.  
 
Before I knew it, we had our first strategy meeting. To be honest, I was starstruck and hit with imposter syndrome. But I learned how to develop a (rough) business plan, forecast a budget (reluctantly!), and be ambitious (this I liked). The C3 path became increasingly solid and clear, with road signs showing us the direction to go. 
 
Fast forward three years: the ‘me’ had transformed into an ‘us,’ and I finally had a colleague. At the same time, two clients asked if C3 would be interested in following them into new global markets where they were setting up new offices and plants . I confidently said ‘yes,’ knowing we would figure it out. This unexpected new direction was now on C3’s map and it was very exciting. After analyzing my intuitive cultural training approach, we laid the foundation for the C3 cultural training framework and began onboarding C3 trainers. (Check out our cool trainers here: Meet our Trainers) 
 
Now, we’re in 2012. By this time, we had designed ambitious growth plans for expanding C3 beyond Denmark, built a new website, professionalized several processes, onboarded numerous C3 trainers, and delivered tailored facilitation for an increasing number of clients across an increasing number of countries….Phew

The fairytale-like road I had walked on during the first years of working with C3 was exchanged by a high-speed expressway and suddenly I felt like I was stuck in the inner lane of one of Paris's massive roundabouts. If you’ve tried it, you know that feeling—it’s not comfortable
 
I got lost in the bright lights of attention and expectations to keep moving forward, faster, up and out. My body told me STOP . 
 
I realized I had to go back to my core beliefs:  

Follow my heart

Listen to my gut

And set aside the strategic thoughts for a while at least.  

From that point on, the core value guiding me and C3 became: 
 
We are happy in our work 

Lessons from my journey Say ‘yes’ and trust the process  Seek your luck  Enjoy the ‘now’ and make room for stillness and silence