Spring Seminar 2015 Speaker 10+ years Track

Position Yourself and Your Firm for Growth in 2015

Presented by facilitator Jennifer Huber for Dale Carnegie Training, the internationally recognized performance-based training company.

The #2 industry we are partnering with in the country is Engineering. Firms are transitioning to a more consultative vs. transactional environment and are challenging their engineers to wear a non-traditional sales hat. The interactive presentation will focus on how to look beyond short-term career challenges to see opportunities and maximize our potential with our attitude and behaviors. The session will provide specific and applicable concepts that enhance our ability to:

  • Focus on areas that maximize our attitude as women leader in engineering
  • Clarify four strategic questions that will best position ourselves in our careers
  • Follow a process to enhance relationships and build more credibility with our clients
  • Follow a consultative approach for determining business opportunities.

Jennifer Huber

Jennifer Huber is the Market Director of Dale Carnegie Training in the North Central States. Dale Carnegie Training is represented in all 50 of the United States and more than 90 nations worldwide. Currently Dale Carnegie MN is the #2 ranked franchise in the World.

In her role, Jennifer acts as the firm’s conduit for large project conversion and uncovering new business development and marketing opportunities. She manages new client partnerships specifically in manufacturing, engineering and professional service firms.

Jennifer began with Dale Carnegie Training as a senior consultant managing the downtown Chicago and downtown Minneapolis territories. In both markets, she won the National Sales Award as Rookie of the Year. Most recently, she has placed among the top 10 sales consultants and in the last two years consistently placed top 10 sales managers worldwide for Dale Carnegie Training. Jennifer & her husband welcomed their first baby boy this summer.

HowPlayandHumorhelp usInnovate

This talk will discuss connections between creativity, prolific idea generation,humor, andplay. Specifically,humorand creativity both involve making non-obvious connections between seemingly unrelated things. It was found that improvisational comedians produced more creative product ideas than professional product designers in controlled, time-limited idea generation challenges, and that engineers can generate significantly more ideas after improvisational training. Researchers have also found that a playful attitude is helpful in creative problem solving and ideation. It seems obvious to promoteplayfor children, but we tend to discourage it in adults. If we want to be creative leaders and engineers, we should encourageplayandhumorin both work and academia.

Barry Kudrowitz

Barry Kudrowitz is an assistant professor of product design in the College of Design at the University of Minnesota. He received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering at MIT, studyinghumor, creativity, and idea generation. Kudrowitz co-designed a Nerf toy, an elevator simulator for the International Spy Museum, and a ketchup dispensing robot that was featured on the Martha Stewart Show. Kudrowitz is the course instructor of Toy Product Design, a project-based class where he usesplayas a means of getting students excited about engineering and design.

Leading Change: Navigating the Human & Cultural Dynamics

When leading or implementing change initiatives, we tend to rely on project management tools and methods to help us optimize the process and systems aspects of the initiative. While good project management is absolutely necessary, it is not sufficient to ensure successful implementation AND adoption of the change. We also need to become effective change leaders who attend to and manage the people and culture aspects of the project. In this workshop we’ll explore the normal, natural human dynamics of change and discuss the leadership mindset, tool set and skill set needed to overcome resistance, generate commitment versus compliance, and optimize project momentum.

Kirk Froggatt

Kirk holds the Gemini Chair in Technology Management at the University of Minnesota’s Technological Leadership Institute. Prior to joining TLI, Kirk spent 27 years in senior talent management, leadership development and organization effectiveness roles at HP, Silicon Graphics, Yahoo!, Agilent Technologies and Ecolab. The common theme throughout Kirk’s career has been helping technical experts become more effective innovation leaders capable of building teams that translate technical ideas into customer solutions and business models to generate profitable growth.)

The Happy Hour Effect: 5 Strategies to Maximize Time, Leverage Goals & Minimize Stress

Session Description:

With so much on our plates personally and professionally, we are dealing with stress, prioritization and goal-setting challenges that impact productivity, health, relationships and the bottom line. The Happy Hour Effect message directly targets these challenges by sharing a fresh philosophy that inspires work/life happiness, professional leadership and super-charged success despite everything we have to juggle in today's workplace and at home.

Kristen will guide you through her proven Life Map exercise that creates actionable, fun and easy goals to maximize time and spin stress into success. You will focus on better prioritizing your work and life dynamics to boost leadership, financial growth, work/life happiness and relationships which leads to bottom-line growth at work, a more peaceful work environment and more happiness at home.

Kristen Brown

Kristen Brown helps individuals and organizations minimize stress, leverage goals and boost happiness which directly impacts personal and bottom line growth. She’s the founder and CEO of Happy Hour Effect, a two-time bestselling author, keynote speaker and work/life strategist. Prior to starting Happy Hour Effect, she spent 15 years leading teams and working with Fortune500s, start-ups and everything in between including Disney, Walmart, Hanes, Target and Coca-Cola.

Kristen was widowed in 2007 with a new baby during the economic collapse which prompted her shift into helping others spin stress into success despite the challenges we face every day.She holds a Master’s in Integral Theory (the art and science of multiple perspectives), a holistic coaching certification and has won several awards for business and writing.

She’s been seen on screen and stage over 200 times including Live with Kelly & Michael, HLN, Forbes, Inc., Women Presidents Organization, Cargill, Regis, Mayo, Boston Scientific, Regis and more. Her bestselling books include The Best Worst Thing, The Happy Hour Effect and a contributing chapter to Unlocking the Secrets of Successful Women. She recently signed a two-book publishing deal for her next two books forthcoming in 2015.

Kristen and her daughter live in Minneapolis.Visit HappyHourEffect.com to view Kristen’s expertise, testimonials, awards and media coverage. Connect on LinkedIn to see Kristen’s detailed resume.