Session Descriptions

Focus on What Really Matters: Five Challenges for the Next Five Years
Thomas A. Stewart, Chief Knowledge Officer, Booz & Company and Author of The Wealth of Knowledge: Intellectual Capital and the 21st Century Organization

Get the inside track on the universal challenges facing business today and what leaders and their organizations need to know to thrive.

In today’s world of 24-hour news, instant messaging, tweeting, etc., it is safe to say that businesspeople are faced with an information deluge. Add to the mix the enormous collection of business transformation theories from Six Sigma to Core Competencies, and it is enough to make any leader cringe. In this opening session, you will take a step back, cut through the clutter, and focus on key challenges your business will need to overcome to succeed in the coming years. You will not only hear what's driving these challenges, you will get a roadmap to manage these challenges effectively.

Thomas A. Stewart espouses a philosophy that managing well means addressing the issues that matter most. He is among the founding fathers in the field of intellectual capital and knowledge management and an influential thought leader on global management issues. In his position at Booz & Company, Tom oversees the firm’s Foresight Agenda–its view of the megatrends shaping and reshaping economies and businesses in the 21st Century. He draws on the incomparable experience of six years as the head of the world’s most prestigious journal of business thinking, Harvard Business Review, plus 13 years at Fortune and Business 2.0.

Tom has authored several books in this area, including Intellectual Capital: The New Wealth of Organizations and The Wealth of Knowledge: Intellectual Capital and the Twenty-First Century Organization..

Sponsored by

The Challenges and Strategic Implications of a "Best Places to Work" Recognition:  A CEO Perspective
Paul E. Purcell, Chairman, President and CEO, Robert W. Baird & Company
Frederick H. Waddell, Chairman and CEO, Northern Trust Corporation
Thomas J. Wilson, Chairman, President and CEO, The Allstate Corporation

A Best Places to Work recognition is often coveted among business leaders as a way to demonstrate to key stakeholders their dedication to employee satisfaction and commitment – two important factors in running a successful organization. But to receive this recognition, leaders from every level and in every department of the organization must be on board to develop the culture and instill the best people practices.

This program will feature CEOs from companies recently awarded a Best Places to Work recognition. You will hear the CEO perspective on the strategic implications for demonstrating high employee satisfaction. They will share how their companies overcame roadblocks met along the way. You will gain insight into the strategic role of HR in driving the business case to introduce the practices that leads to improved employee engagement, overall satisfaction and bottom line results.

Love 'Em or Lose 'Em: Engaging and Retaining Talent
Sharon Jordan Evans, Co-Author, Love 'em or Lose 'em: Getting Good People to Stay

Are you doing all you can to keep your best and brightest people? Hear new strategies based on years of research for
what it really takes to retain your talent.

Many organizations want to make their environments better places to work to retain top talent. The problem is that they don’t know how to go about it, they don't know where to start, or they focus on the wrong things. In this session you will hear the secret to securing and keeping the best talent for your organization. You will hear research findings from work with thousands of employees to help you develop a new mindset about the business leaders’ role in the retention dilemma.

Sharon Jordan-Evans is a pioneer in the field of employee retention and engagement. She co-authored The Wall Street Journal bestseller, Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em: Getting Good People to Stay, the world’s best-selling employee retention book, now in its fourth edition and translated into 20 languages. Her follow-up book, Love It, Don’t Leave It: 26 Ways to Get What You Want at Work also became a Wall Street Journal bestseller. Sharon’s work has been featured in Fast Company, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal. As a corporate coach and speaker, her clients include Fortune 500 organizations, such as American Express, Boeing, Disney, Lockheed Martin, M & M Mars, Monster, MTV, PBS, Sony, and Universal.

How to Talk So People Will Listen; How to Listen So People Will Talk
John Powers, Founder, Powers of Motivation Institute and Author of Odditude

The vast majority of us dislike speaking in public for one simple reason: No one has ever taught us how to do it well.

If you talk out loud – whether addressing a group of people, interviewing candidates, participating in committee meetings, or conversing with clients – you are a public speaker. In this entertaining closing session, you will learn tips to become a better communicator, to improve your ability to influence others ‘above’ and ‘below’ you and to lead change in your teams and organization. In addition, you will learn key principles to incorporate into your communications skills that encourage those around you to talk enthusiastically about what is important to them.

John Powers, founder of the Powers of Motivation Institute, has worked with over a thousand major corporations to help them succeed in a changing world. He earned his Ph.D. in Communications from Northwestern University and was a professor of Speech & Performing Arts at Northeastern Illinois University. John created and hosted a PBS series on how to be an effective public speaker, has hosted several interview specials for PBS, and has received two Emmy awards for his work in television. He has been a guest on hundreds of radio and television shows including Oprah and Today. John is the author of four best selling books, including the Junk Drawer, Corner Store, Front Porch Blues and Odditude. Prior to his speaking career, John wrote the book and produced the Broadway musical, Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?