CONCURRENT EDUCATIONAL SESSIONS

Contracts:  Balancing the Legal Issues with the Business Considerations
Barbara Dunn, Esq., Howe & Hutton, Ltd.

Negotiating facility contracts these days is often a challenging proposition.  On the one hand, planners want to maximize the value to their organization while minimizing the potential liability.  Suppliers, on the other hand, need to maximize their revenue while still preserving the business relationship with the planner.  Join hospitality industry attorney Barbara Dunn of Howe & Hutton, Ltd. as she discusses key legal considerations for hotel contracts and identifies the various best practices for addressing them in the contract while keeping the relationship intact. 

Topics to be covered: 

• ·         Room rate protections

• ·         Room, food and beverage attrition fees

• ·         Cancellation fees

• ·         Force majeure provisions

• ·         Rigging and patch fees

• ·         Long term agreements

• ·         Convention centers

• ·         Indemnification

• ·         Facility renovations

• ·         Hotel mergers

• ·         Sale of properties

• ·         Other rights of cancellation without liability.

Coach or Hit the Showers - How Coaching Creates Winners
Dick Ensweiler, President & CEO, Texas Credit Union League

Coaching sessions, not to be confused with performance evaluations, are unjustly ignored at times.  the pressure put on the employee and the need for effective communication on the part of the supervisor both contribute to the desire for both parties to forfeit the game before it begins. Not after this session.  from setting appropriate goals to generating a future with potential, this session will show you the way. The benefits of comfortable communication between the supervisor and the employee are valuable, and this foundation assists both sides to meet their goals.  After this session, you will know why coaching is paramount to the success of you and your employees.

The Key to Successful Marketing - Newest Methods and Models

Chris Levy, Managing Partner, Encore Media Partners 

Are you getting as many attendees as you want?  Do you know how to best reach your audience?  Do you know what part of your attendee marketing campaign is giving you the best results – or the worst?  Meeting planners and trade show marketers have more marketing choices than ever before, but at the same time they face a complex, fast-changing marketplace that is more fragmented than ever before, presenting both opportunities and challenges simultaneously.  

Session Take-Aways:

Walk away with new ideas and information you can put to use immediately to increase results from your attendee marketing campaigns.

Can You Hear Me? 5 Specific Tips to Listen and Be Listened to!
Sue Hershkowitz, CSP, High Impact Presentations

It's odd that the most important part of communication success is keeping quiet and listening, isn't it?! Odd or not, it doesn't come easy. In fact, we hear only 25% of what someone is saying when we disagree with them (why listen when we can form our rebuttal to whatever they're saying, instead?!) and hear a whopping 50% of what people say when we agree with them. Change that and change your world. Learn how to listen "for" instead of against. This is not a program where you sit quietly and (try to) listen. You'll apply the practical and specific skills so that you leave with a new skill set to help you get better results every time you communicate with anyone.

The Enlightened CEO
Gordon Quick, Ph.D., Managing Principal, CEO Mentors

After a career of running companies, Gordon Quick is now consulting with business leaders to improve their performance.  Get an overview of the insights he shares with these senior executives. 

• If you want to improve your performance as the most senior executive in your company, where do you begin?
• How do you create an environment that gets the most out of all the employees on your team?
• What are some common ways that senior executives inadvertently sabotage their own success?
• As the leader of your organization, what exactly are your responsibilities?

So You're Now a Manager…But Are You A Leader?
Bill Nye, Bill Nye Training

Leadership skills are not the same as management skills.  But to get ahead in your career, leadership skills are essential.  It's not about how well you can get people to do what you want, but how successful you are in being able to carry them forward with your vision. A true leader sets direction and guides others to follow that direction.  Bill Nye's session will show you, no matter what your position in your organization; you can position yourself to be a leader. 

Attendees will take away: 

• How to identify the difference between leadership and management 

• Discover traits of a true leader.

Naked Negotiating: The Bare Bone Truth & Essentials for Effective Negotiating in Any Market
Deborah Gardner, CMP, President, Compete Better Now!

Effective negotiation means more than just getting what you want.  It means arriving at a solution that satisfies all parties and creates future opportunities.  The bargaining process has become more sophisticated which involves a range of complexities beyond a simple decision.  This new breakthrough business information and participatory program is full of tips and strategies that will help you close the negotiation process so everyone can get on with their lives.

As a result of this popular session, participants will realize the following outcomes:

• Know how to create and communicate as a collaborator rather than a competitor;

•  The Buckminster Fuller idea on getting to know who you are dealing with;

• Learn the critical art of negotiating to mastering this #1 business skill;

• Conquer the fear and seize new opportunities for stronger partnership relationships;

• Monitor your own performance through some entertaining and educational drills;

• Learn the secrets of the Champion's Edge to become the best negotiator in YOU! 

Working Smarter, Not Harder
Barry Isack, CPO, Arranging It All

The key to achieving increased efficiency and personal productivity is by developing good organizational skills. There is no hope of effectively managing your time without sound organizing systems in place. With a wealth of real-world expertise on becoming more productive, Barry will provide you with simple, practical and proven methods to get organized and stay organized! If you are overwhelmed with the clutter on your desk and in your life, this presentation will show you a better way to effectively manage your workload and boost your personal productivity.

Topics to be covered: 

• What is the "right way" to get organized?  

• What is clutter?

• The Art of Waste basketry™ - dealing with paper avalanche 

• The F.A.T. principle (File, Act, Toss)  

• The Three M's of Organization Success:  Mechanics, Management, Maintenance

Take Back Your Day:  Managing time, Voicemail and Email
Barry Isack, CPO, Arranging It All

Is time passing you by? Not enough hours in the day? Do you feel like you are working longer hours yet you never seem to complete half of the items on your "To Do" list? In this interactive presentation, Barry will empower you with the basic principles of time management and will share the tools to control your time instead of letting it control you. If you're tired of feeling like you will never get caught up and are desperately searching for that elusive "free time", then this session is for you.

Topics to be covered: 

• Time management basics

• Time management gems

• Managing voicemail

• Managing email

The Lawyer Is In:  Legal Issues That Keep You Up At Night
Barbara Dunn, Esq., Howe & Hutton, Ltd.

There is no doubt that the legal climate in the association industry has changed over the last few years.  The fear of operating in a “sue or be sued” society can be overwhelming.  Barbara Dunn will discuss a variety of hot legal issues along with your burning legal questions.

Topics to be discussed:

• Ethics

• Computer privacy

• Membership

• Insurance

Membership Building Relationships For a Lifetime
Linda Razzano, CMCA, Chapter Executive of DFW Community Associations Institute

How does your corporate culture impact your membership growth? Are you hiding behind electronic communications? Are your staff members truly ready to be member service-oriented when they pick up the phone? Find out how to turn every member of your association into a walking advertisement that will bring in new members, increase support and build a solid core of volunteers for the future.