Change is occurring at a blistering pace, leaving many businesses unprepared. Wave after wave of technological breakthroughs have revolutionized entire industries overnight. Unprecedented financial gyrations have rocked the global economy. Competition in global markets is growing fiercer by the day. To stay ahead of the curve, leaders and organizations need exemplary skills, tools and perspectives to build an organization, culture and leadership team that encourages, recognizes and rewards high performance.

Strengthen your ability to effectively plan and execute products that successfully deliver organization goals and benefits. Learn to use best practice methods for turning good ideas into executable plans, even with complex and difficult issues. This session equips leaders and teams at all levels with a proven approach for planning and executing critical products and projects, based on concepts from Terry Schmidt's breakthrough book Strategic Project Management Made Simple: Practical Tools for Leaders and Teams (Wiley, 2009).

The bulk of our frustrations comes from our dealings with people. If we are to succeed in the organization, we must work effectively with subordinates, peers, superiors, and often with boards, owners, investors, bankers, clients, and many others. During this session we will examine the principles of human influence (principles we have all been using throughout our lives) and learn how to apply them to the task of managing people. Specific techniques and tools for applying these principles will be presented, along with a variety of examples.

This dynamic, highly-interactive program brings da Vinci's genius to life through fascinating biographical and historical information, setting the stage for an introduction to seven principles for thinking "a la Leonardo." Participants will learn how to cultivate creativity every day, balance analysis with imagination, sustain continuous learning, embrace ambiguity and uncertainty, apply "systems thinking" to problem solving, and nurture creativity and innovation in the workplace.

This program will provide participants with increased understanding of how to better utilize financial measures in making business decisions. The course will introduce valuation concepts that provide the basis for decision making in both financial and corporate environments. The course will be broken down into three parts with short lectures introducing each part followed by short cases that will be solved in small groups of participants that will apply the concepts covered in the lecture.

The marketplace is filled with "motivational myths" that are nothing more than dead ends on your road to success. They simply don't work. In this highly interactive program, you will learn what works and doesn't work in the field of personal achievement. You will learn time-tested, research-proven strategies that engage the full and willing cooperation of others; and you will leave the program with a set of simple, powerful, transformational skills that you can use immediately.

The objectives of this dynamic, interactive session are to help participants: (1) develop a clear picture of the Work-Life Balance they would like to achieve; (2) identify obstacles that stand in the way of achieving their desired balance; (3) develop a repertoire of action strategies and tools for overcoming current obstacles and any that may arise in the future; and (4) develop their own personal action plan which is concrete, practical and achievable.

Critical Thinking describes the mental process of determining what to believe and what to do about our beliefs. Strategic Thinking applies this process to the future of the organization. This "minds on" workshop enhances the ability of the participants to think strategically by taking them through the seven components of a comprehensive process and providing tools and techniques to accomplish each of the components while considering their organization's multiple futures.

In this era of doing more with less, it is crucial for managers and executives to better manage their time and themselves. This workshop will give you the skills needed to prioritize your activities and optimize your use of time, whether it be in meetings, phone conversations, or your daily activities. You will see how to eliminate procrastination, increase productivity and achieve results. You will also learn how those who are organized and efficient got to be that way, and you will come away with a road map for success in the office and at home.

Today's leaders are faced with a daunting challenge: maintaining performance and profitability while at the same time evolving their organizations to accommodate the new structures and technologies demanded by the networked economy. This highly interactive workshop will help leaders to assess their personal readiness - and that of their organization - to take advantage of the opportunities presented in today's unprecedented environment of change and innovation.

It's tempting to avoid difficult conversations at work. They feel uncomfortable; they seem risky. The issue is how to conduct these conversations with skill. In this program, you'll identify a specific, challenging conversation that you intend to have at work in the next 30 days; then you'll learn the skills to manage it effectively. Throughout the workshop, you'll apply new tools, tactics and techniques to your situation. The purpose of the workshop is to jumpstart your conversation.