Thursday, March 18, 2021

2021 Retreat Workshops Announced

The VA Council of CEOs Annual Retreat includes internationally-acclaimed keynote speakers and workshops tackling the challenges that are most on the minds of the CEO of today. With so many good presentations it may be hard to choose which to attend.

From climate change to emerging trends to trust funnels, here are your workshop options this year.

Weather and climate conditions in Virginia are changing. These changes may present new risks to a wide range of Virginia based businesses.  The presentation will examine climate changes occurring nationally and in Virginia while discussing the implications of these changes for the future, leading to a examples of specific risks a changing climate may engender, and will end with a discussion of how to evaluate and quantify a climate related risk in preparation for the development of mitigation strategies.

about Jan Dutton

Dr. Jan Dutton is the CEO of Prescient Weather Ltd and ClimBiz Ltd.  His career spans positions at Weather Ventures, Earth Networks, Storm Exchange, Schneider Electric, and DTN.  Dr. Dutton’s career objective is to enable business decision making based on weather and climate information.

Dr. Dutton was recently completed a six-year term as the member of the Penn State Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science Advisory Board.  He currently is a volunteer mentor for the American Meteorological Society Board on Private Sector Meteorology and a member of the Committee on Climate Services. 

He received a dual degree B.A. in Physics and Science and Technology Studies from Colby College in Waterville, ME in 1994.  He received a Ph.D. from the Penn State Department of Meteorology in 2000.  He also received an MBA from the Smeal College Business at Penn State in 2000.  His dissertation focused on the simulation of interannual climate variability using regional climate models.  Dr. Dutton is honored to strengthen existing and build new customer and partner relationships based on the unique leading-edge climate analysis and forecasting capabilities created by Prescient Weather Ltd.

Prescient Weather develops innovative climate and weather based solutions to enable critical decisions making. 

Primary products include:

• The World Climate Service – a seasonal and subseasonal forecast product designed primarily for the energy industry. “If you knew then, what we knew then.”
• CropProphet – a US grains market intelligence platform providing daily updated, quantitative estimates of the impact of crop season weather and forecasts on yield and production. “Quantifying the Impacts of Weather on Grain Crops”

The purpose of this presentation is to analyze the positive impacts an OKR framework has on an organization’s people and culture.

OKR (Objectives and Key Results) is a strategic goal-setting framework that empowers individuals at all levels of the organization to attain better business outcomes.

OKR is the quarterly process of setting top-level objectives and departments, teams, and individuals committing and aligning their own objectives to them.  In a series of dedicated workshops individuals are getting excited about their work, becoming aware of how they contribute to organizational strategy, and increasing cross-departmental collaboration.

When you leave this presentation, you will walk away with new tools to:

• Plan with more rigor around focusing on less
• Have a process to rationalize priorities and make collaborative decisions with teams on what is best for the company
• Reinforce critical tactics that contribute to your employees engagement
• Best practices to have more high impact team meetings that drive results
• Best practices to get more effective 1 on 1 meetings that drive results  

about Alex Bartholomaus

Alex Bartholomaus started People Stretch Solutions, a DC-based management consulting firm, in 2009 to help CEOs scale their organizations. Alex is a published author and professional speaker on the topics of OKR, Sales Effectiveness, Elite Business Performance and Emotional Intelligence.

Alex began his career at Billington Imports, a family business which he grew from $1MM to $37MM in revenue over a 15 year period before a successful exit in 2009. Billington was a category leader in South American wines and during his tenure Alex started the Big Tattoo Wines project, donating over $1million to hospice and breast cancer research charities.

This topic introduces participants to the concept of TRUST FUNNELS. They will understand how to create an environment where sale happens as a natural process of building a successful trust-based relationship. The audience will walk away with clear action items they can implement in their business right away.

Key Takeaways:

1. How to create an environment where a sale happens as a natural process of building a successful trust-based relationship
2. How to invite a potential lead to a conversation, rather than just marketing to an audience
3. How to create a well implemented TRUST building strategy in order to convert a lead into a client

about Dolores Hirschmann

Dolores Hirschmann, ACC, CPCC, is an internationally recognized strategist, coach, speaker, and founder of Masters in Clarity, a coaching practice that helps clients clarify their idea worth sharing and implement business growth systems.

She has over 20 years’ experience in helping clients realize their potential through clarifying their vision, message, and market. Dolores leads mastermind groups, workshops, and speaks internationally about effective communication and audience engagement. As a speaker coach and TEDx organizer, she brings the TED speaker model to all levels of communication in business. She has written two books, New Beginnings and 18 Minutes of Impact: Moving Your Audience to Action the TED Way, and her articles have been featured in publication such as Creativ Magazine and LinkedIn. She has been a guest on podcasts like The Unmistakable Creative and Women Worldwide. She is accredited through the Coaches Training Institute and the International Coach Federation and has a business degree from the Universidad de San Andres, Argentina.

Originally from Buenos Aires, Dolores speaks fluent Spanish, English, and French and lives in Dartmouth, MA with her husband and four children.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been more than just a global health crisis. It has also been a true catalyst for change: accelerating trends in business and technology but also re-awakening a long-simmering movement towards social justice. The effects are felt in our streets, online, and in corporate board rooms. This cultural phenomenon isn’t just being expressed here in America; it’s global.

John Martin will take you on a tour of the seven game-changing trends being accelerated by COVID-19 and The Social Justice Movement; including the future of strategic planning, remote work, talent acquisition and retention, government policy making, and more. Most importantly, John’s talk will point to actions that enlightened leaders are taking today to prepare for tomorrow. Audiences leave with a tangible process they can immediately activate within their own organization.

about John Martin

John W. Martin is a futurist, award-winning author, and the President and CEO of SIR, a market research consultancy headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. Founded in 1964, SIR helps corporations, government agencies, universities, nonprofits, and even entire communities understand what tomorrow will bring and what to do about it today.

SIR has orchestrated over 16,000 research studies and strategic initiatives designed to help clients identify and advance their unique brand positions, create new products and services, manage business challenges and opportunities, assess the overall effectiveness of marketing programs and initiatives, and formulate long-range strategic plans.

SIR has supported many of America’s leading companies and associations including GE, Johnson & Johnson, Lincoln Financial, Walmart, Google, AARP, the American Chemical Society, the Public Relations Society of America, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and hundreds of other Fortune 1,000 companies and national associations.

John is also the CEO and Managing Partner of SIR’s Institute for Tomorrow, a research-based think tank that identifies the trends impacting organizations, studies the people making those trends happen, and helps leaders determine how best to prepare for tomorrow. Tapping into over 50 years of SIR’s research and insights expertise, the Institute for Tomorrow has helped hundreds of organizations connect the dots and navigate the changes ahead.

At conferences all over the world, Institute for Tomorrow speakers have delivered eye-opening keynote presentations to organizations like Walmart, Google, Circle K, AARP, Lowes Home Improvement, Wells Fargo, and even the rocket scientists at NASA.

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