Dear Carolyn
The summer is not over, but I can say it's already been quite full for Better Your Best! First was the Odlum Brown VanOpen, which, despite the rain, was a big success and some great lessons learned. Next was a wonderful gathering for Alberta business women for a morning of golf, good food, and great connection!
A Reminder From the Great Billie Jean
I was sitting in a boardroom at the US Open the first time I heard Billie Jean King say it live: "Nothing worth doing is easy. Pressure is a privilege." The latter part of that statement is the title of her famous book — and it's been echoing in my head ever since the Odlum Brown VanOpen tennis tournament.
The comeback of the Odlum Brown VanOpen was not easy. It rained, and it rained a lot. It put pressure on a new team that was truly unprecedented. It's going to be a while before I want to talk about weather forecasts and the absolute fastest process for drying a court.
While it's no secret the rain made things operationally very challenging, what emerged through it — like a rainbow — was just how special it is to work with a high-performing team. This team, 85% volunteers, was aligned around one purpose: a love of tennis — and one mission: to bring professional tennis back to Western Canada. That mission belonged to every behind-the-scenes contributor:
- The tournament organizer who never backed down from an unpredictable challenge
- Volunteer leads who took holiday time to participate
- Legacy volunteers who keep coming back
- Ball kids who stayed till 2 am loving the chance to stay up late
- Spectators who waited out the rain and asked, "What can we do to help dry the courts?"
- Sponsors who show up and fund because they understand that you can't be what you can't see
It takes a huge team to pull off something so special. Watching tennis is pretty fun — but collaborating with these contributors is what makes it a rich experience for everyone.
It wasn't just great event management that got us through the week. It was this great team and their special culture driven by a common purpose-a love of tennis.
At Better Your Best, we work with leaders who want to build organizations that perform at this level through both their highs and lows — places where people are engaged, accountable, and genuinely invested in a shared outcome. The Odlum Brown VanOpen reminded me why that work matters. When a team truly fires on all cylinders, you feel it. So does everyone who's part of it. And in the end, they find themselves saying: nothing worth doing is easy — and it's a privilege to do it together.
What was the last challenge your team faced that made you stronger in unexpected ways?
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