Keynote 1: Intentional Leadership in the New World of Knowledge
Joe
Calloway
Tuesday, April 24, 2012 4:30 PM
It’s time to look at your business with new eyes and open them to new ideas that may come from unexpected sources. Don’t leave your organization’s success in the new world of knowledge to chance. In this dynamic session of straight talk and real-world insight, Joe lays out a plan for aligning people and strategy and outlines six principles for intentional leaders of the future.
About the Speaker
Joe Calloway is a partner at Engage Consulting Group and the author of several best-selling business books, including Becoming a Category of One (Wiley, 2009). As a consultant, Joe helps companies align people and strategy to drive results. He is also a nationally known speaker and a member of the International Speakers Hall of Fame.
Keynote 2: Play Like a Champion
Lou
Holtz
Wednesday, April 25, 2012 8:30 AM
After twenty-six seasons as a head coach, Lou Holtz is the only coach in NCAA history to lead six different programs to bowl games and four different programs to the top twenty, achieving his greatest success at Notre Dame. Through trial and error, victory and defeat, Lou learned that every success begins with a vision and a plan. Helping people understand what’s important, encouraging people to hold themselves accountable, and making leaders of followers, Lou will help you learn to assess your strengths, work as a team, and embrace values that can improve any organization.
About the Speaker
Lou Holtz is one of the most successful college football coaches of all time. During his extraordinary career, Lou transformed six losing football programs into winners. He regularly appears on ESPNEWS, ESPN’s College GameDay programs and SportsCenter, and as an on-site analyst for college football games. He has also authored three New York Times best-selling books, including Wins, Losses, and Lessons: An Autobiography.
Keynote 3: Mao's Last Dancer
Li
Cunxin
Wednesday, April 25, 2012 4:15 PM
Growing up in poverty-stricken rural China, Li Cunxin was selected by Madame Mao for the Beijing Dance Academy. After years of grueling training, he became one of the country’s most celebrated dancers, and was chosen to be one of China’s first cultural ambassadors to the United States. While dancing for the Houston Ballet, he defected, prompting a standoff at the Chinese Consulate, where he was detained. Li documented his extraordinary story in his memoir, Mao’s Last Dancer, which became an international bestseller and was adapted into the critically acclaimed movie of the same name. An inspiring speaker, Li shares his unique, touching life story.
About the Speaker
Li Cunxin was born into poverty in Mao’s communist China, where, as a young child, he was selected to train at Madame Mao's Beijing Dance Academy. While dancing for the Houston Ballet, he defected, igniting a media firestorm. He eventually moved to Australia and became one of the best dancers in the world.
Keynote 4: The World in 2030
Dr. Michio
Kaku
Thursday, April 26, 2012 8:30 AM
Take a thrilling journey through the next hundred years of technological revolution with Dr. Michio Kaku, today’s most widely recognized international figure in science, and see how science will shape our lives. Our future is subject to the future of technology, which is in turn dependent on our ever-growing understanding of physics. Join Dr. Kaku, best-selling author and host of the Science Channel's Sci Fi Science, as he explores how developments in technology, computers, and quantum physics will forever change how we live and learn.
About the Speaker
A theoretical physicist, Dr. Michio Kaku is the author of several textbooks and more than seventy articles. He is the Henry Semat Chair and professor of theoretical physics at the City College of New York, where he has taught for over twenty-five years. He has also been a visiting professor at Princeton University and New York University.
Keynote 5: Life Would Be Easy If It Wasn't for Other People
Connie
Podesta
Thursday, April 26, 2012 4:00 PM
Successful personal and professional growth hinges on your ability to learn as much as possible about yourself and others, including why people do what they do and say what they say, so that you can act, rather than react, to whatever life throws your way. Learn to stand out from the crowd so people will choose you to be their friend, colleague, leader, salesperson, partner, and employee. Connie’s funny, on-target, and intuitive presentation will reveal the secrets to dealing effectively with every type of personality (including the ones who drive you crazy) so you can enjoy new levels of success, happiness, and satisfaction, at work and at home!
About the Speaker
Connie Podesta holds a BA in communications and business and an MA in human relations and counseling. She has taught for more than thirty years, from the elementary to university levels, and is a Board Certified Professional Counselor, organizational therapist, and expert in the psychology of human behavior.
Keynote 6: Why Not Enjoy the Process?
Steve
Rizzo
Friday, April 27, 2012 11:30 AM
A healthy state of mind is essential to producing quality sales, quality customer service, quality teamwork, and quality communication. In this presentation, Steve will show you how to overcome the everyday pressures that can stifle productivity and creativity in the workplace, while enjoying the process. You will learn how to acquire the attitude you need to succeed, use the power of choice to your advantage, seek the brighter side of potentially negative situations, find the laughter between and during the tough times, and maintain emotional stability and eliminate stress.
About the Speaker
Steve Rizzo, once voted “Least Likely to Succeed,” has turned the tables, becoming a stand-up comedian and Showtime Comedy All Star who has shared the marquee with Drew Carey, Jerry Seinfeld, Eddie Murphy, Ellen DeGeneres, Dennis Miller, and many more. He is a successful, dynamic speaker and the author of Becoming a Humor Being (Full Circle, 2005).