Professional Development Workshops will take place on Thursday, March 17, 2016, starting at 9:30 a.m. All conference attendees are welcome and encouraged to attend the workshops after the closing session. Conference attendees will have the opportunity to sign-up for one of the workshops listed below during the registration process.

If you would like to participate in one of the Thursday workshops, but are unable to attend the entire conference, you may register for only a workshop (which includes access to the closing keynote session on Thursday morning) for a nominal fee. 

*All workshops are eligible for Continued Education Units (CEU's).

9:30 AM - 12:30 PM

DISCIPLINED LISTENING: FOR BUSINESS LEADERS (3 Hours)
Michael Reddington, CFI, Vice President, Executive Education, Wicklander-Zulawski & Associates, Inc.
Aster - Terrace Level East

Simply identifying a lie your counterpart told or an emotion your counterpart is feeling doesn’t create a strategic advantage. Strategic advantages are created when we employ a process that allows us to accurately determine what our counterparts are thinking and feeling in the context of the current situation, adapt our game plan based on this new knowledge, and enable our counterparts to save face and feel their interests are being satisfied while helping us achieve our goals. The Disciplined Listening Method integrates the core components of the world’s leading non-confrontational interview and interrogation techniques with current business communication best practices and research. This innovative approach empowers business leaders with enhanced evaluation, interpretation, negotiating, communication, and strategic planning skills to create advantages for business leaders in any interaction.

SCIENCE BASED LEADERSHIP: GETTING RESULTS AT WORK AND HOME (3 Hours)
Richard Kazbour, PhD, Director, Harkera
​Lisa Kazbour, PhD, Director, Harkera
Verbena - Terrace Level East

In this workshop, two of the world’s leading experts in Behavior Management Techniques will highlight the science behind human behavior and how to leverage it to get better results.
 

POWEREXCEL (3 Hours)
Bill Jelen, Host of MrExcel.com
Indigo - Terrace Level East

You use Excel 40 hours a week, but do you really know how to unleash the power of Excel? Learn cool secrets and tricks lurking on the Data menu and the ins and outs of Pivot Tables, discover how to create slick charts in a single button click and add thousands of subtotals in seconds. Don’t be tortured by bad data any longer! Participants will receive a copy of Power Excel with MrExcel which is comprised of 567 questions and solutions posed to him during his seminars.
 

9:30 AM - 1:30 PM

LOYALTY 101 (4 Hours)
James Kane, Author and Leading Researcher in the Science of Loyalty
Lantana - Terrace Level East

While the keynote presentation will identify the human behaviors that trigger loyalty, this workshop explains them in much greater depth and clarity. A “Loyalty 101” lesson that is essential to understanding the fundamental building blocks behind loyal relationships.  With a mix of discussions and interactive exercises guaranteed to produce several “aha” moments for every participant, attendees will learn what they need to know about forging stronger relationships and the steps required to make them truly loyal.

1:30 PM - 4:30 PM

ADVANCED DATA ANALYTICS  (3 Hours)
Bill Jelen, Host of MrExcel.com
Indigo - Terrace Level East

This workshop will go into more details about pivot tables. You’ll learn how to:

• Take poorly formatted data and convert it to data suitable for pivot tables.
• Use VLOOKUP to match two lists.
• Leverage new tools such as Power Pivot, Power View and Power Map.
• Use Pivot Tables for frequency distributions, true Top 10 reports and Pareto analyses.
• Find duplicates or a unique list of values.

Note: The two workshops complement each other. However, attendees can attend both sessions,only the morning, or only the afternoon without a problem. Attendees receive a copy of the book MrExcel XL - The 40 Greatest Excel Tips of All Time.

SUCCESSFULLY PLANNING AND MANAGING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE (3 Hours)
Chris DeVany, President, Pinnacle Performance Improvement Worldwide
Verbena - Terrace Level East

Change is inevitable and the food retail industry knows this all too well as it braces for the wider transformation of a retail landscape that is ripe for more mergers and acquisitions. But with change comes uncertainty, resistance and fear and many employees lack the broader knowledge of why new systems and structures are necessary. This presents a formidable challenge to executive management and human resource teams tasked with helping their organization lead and manage change. This case-study-based seminar will prepare leaders responsible for facilitating or implementing change initiatives and help turn change into a positive force!