Holiday Luncheon and Employee Learning Week Celebration

Join ASTD St. Louis for our Holiday Luncheon and celebration of Employee Learning Week  (ASTD annually recognizes the first week each December as employee learning week).  The program includes two excellent speakers with presentations to help you prepare for a successful 2013. In addition, we’ll be holding prize drawings throughout the meeting for submitting member learning ideas and best practices in celebration of Employee Learning Week 2012!

Managing Up: Why It Matters, and How To Do It Effectively

Beth Symes, Principal, The Paideia Group

For some people, the idea of Managing Up conjures images of “playing politics” or lacking sincerity when dealing with the boss.  Nothing could be further from the truth, and in fact, just the opposite is true. 

Managing your boss to create win-win outcomes is one of the greatest benefits of handling that relationship with awareness and intent.  How do you ensure you and your boss are on the same page?  That you are clear about the boss’s expectations?

That you communicate with your boss in a way that ensures they will actually listen to you?

Beth will offer insight and ideas about how to create a relationship that supports the boss’s needs, while also supporting your own.  Beth will create the opportunity for attendees to assess how well they are managing their boss, and offer ideas for what could be done to strengthen even a good relationship. 

Members will be able to apply what they learn immediately after this session and begin to intentionally build on their relationship with their boss.  Managing Up is something that can help poor relationships improve, and make good relationships even better.

Beth holds a Master’s Degree in Organization and Management Development from Fielding Graduate University, and a Master’s Degree in Human Resources from Washington University.  She is also an accredited executive coach and has worked with executives across a wide range of industries throughout the United States and Internationally.

“Strategy is a Team Sport”. 

Mario A. Bognanno, Managing Director, Balanced Strategy Group LLC

To execute strategy takes the entire organization and requires both Consensus and Commitment by the CEO and their Leadership Team. If “… strategy is an integrated set of choices that position a firm, in an industry, to earn superior returns over the long run (1)”, then strategy execution requires a clear set of organizational priorities, effective deployment of scarce resources, people and an organizational model to manage strategy execution.  For these reasons, organizational effectiveness is critical to strategic success.

Supporting this organizational intervention, the most critical success factor is and always has been “strong and committed leadership”.  The new Leader-Manager must provide a case for change, provide an inspiring vision, provide a means to change and link consequences to results.  Developing Leaders that…” acknowledge and address the challenges of change (3)”… is critical to the organizations success.  By engaging in the strategy execution process leaders learn to manage the multi functional and often uncertainty of deciding among equally viable options that strategy execution requires.

Strategy Execution as an organizational development 0intervention will be illustrated by reviewing three cases studies:  A) A Joint Venture bringing together two previous competitors; B) A 100 year old Financial Company moving from a mutual company to a publicly traded company; and, C) A Federal Government Agency that changed its operating philosophy from a allocator of federal grants to a strategic investor.

Mario A. Bognanno is the Managing Director of Balanced Strategy Group LLC, a consulting firm specializing in Strategy Execution Training, Consulting and Executive Coaching. For 20 years he has advised corporations and government agencies in strategy implementation and strategic change initiatives.  He has coached executives to execute strategy at the corporate, divisional, and SBU levels. He has worked for domestic and international companies, and public and not-for-profit organizations.  Mr. Bognanno is a consultant, professional trainer, and frequent speaker on the design and implementation of business strategy.  Prior to Balanced Strategy Group, Mr. Bognanno was Vice President Consulting with organizations founded by Drs. Kaplan and Norton’s co-authors of the Balanced Scorecard and Strategy Focused Organization. Education: MA  - University of Iowa; BA - Grinnell College.

Directions to Ces & Judy's

Notice: The chapter may take photographs or videos during this event and post them on the chapter website or elsewhere. By attending, I agree that ASTD St. Louis may use my name and image and/or comments made at this event in all forms and media for education, promotion, and any other lawful purposes.