Free Business Topics in Chicago

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Now the speaker will contact you in the next few days to coordinate details.

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  Innovating Earned PR in an Evolving Media Environment

  Jennifer Fortney, President, Cascade Communications

  While the media world continues to shift and change, companies of all sizes are still hungry for the valuable earned media mentions and features that bring an unparalleled credibility. So, what are they to do? Jennifer shares that today, PR is much more than just earned media. It's more than the newspaper story on a plaque on the wall. MORE >

  It's search, reviews, how you use a story to gain even more traction and create content campaigns around it and best utilize the psychology of marketing and story telling to boost sales and donations.

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  5 Must-Know Technology Tips for Business Leaders to Save Time and Money

  Daleele Alison, CEO, RooksDM

  As business leaders we have all heard the little voice in our head saying -- I know there is an easier way to do this. Sadly, we never explore it further, because we just don’t have enough time. Join us to learn must-know tips from Daleele Alison, founder and CEO of RooksDM, a technology consulting group. Daleele will share the secrets to success that he uses to help his clients every day. You will walk away knowing how to streamline processes to become more efficient... in-turn saving you time AND money.
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  The Exit Checklist: A 5-Step Personal Action Plan For a Happy (And Lucrative) Exit From Your Business

  Jason Pittman, President, ExitAdvisor

  For a successful exit, you need to be able to say a hearty “Yes!” to two important questions: 1. Is your business ready for you to exit? 2. Are you ready to exit? It’s an easy question to ask, but it can be difficult to answer. This is why we’ve created a five-step action plan to ensure you have a happy, lucrative exit from your business.
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  Is the Culture of Your Business by Choice or Chance? – Culture matters and leaving it to chance invites trouble.

  Mark James, Founder & President, Performance Advisors Group, Inc.

  A culture by chance is the welcome mat which invites variation into a business, hurting performance and results. On the other hand, a culture guided by choice helps prevent variation that hurt results. Get insights on how to make sure your organization’s culture enhances your value proposition and the customer experience instead of eroding them. Including a close look at the specific actions and behavior leaders must contribute to create the right culture. MORE >

  Attendee Takeaways
  -What defines company culture
  -Why culture matters
  -Which culture archetype describes your organization’s culture?
  -Key culture influencers
  -Actions to achieve culture by choice
  -Signs of an ideal culture

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  You Are a Visionary: How to Create True Mental Health in the Workplace

  Sarah Fay, Ph.D., MA, MFA, Award-winning Author and Mental Health Advocate, Northwestern University

  In this engaging talk, Sarah shares her own experience of mental illness and mental health recovery and relates it to how workplaces can create true mental health: by 1) understanding what mental illness is and isn't, 2) empowering employees in mental health recovery, and 3) eliminating stigma. MORE >

  Stigma and self-stigma against mental health conditions have been shown to increase stress and therefore exacerbate mental health conditions producing a negative and costly looping effect. We know that stress, suffering, and trauma take a toll on workers, employers, companies, and organizations. 85% of workers report the workplace negatively affects their mental health and well-being. Long-term stress increases the risk of mental health issues and mental illness. When a worker isn’t feeling mentally and emotionally well, their safety and the safety of others are at risk. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), depression alone costs employers $17 billion to $44 billion and causes an estimated 200 million lost workdays each year.

  Topic covered:
  - Mental health in the workplace
  - Stress and how it affects mental health and psychiatric conditions
  - Mental illness and psychiatric diagnoses
  - Stigma and self-stigma
  - Being a visionary

  www.sarahfay.org

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  Togetherness: Achieving Sales and Marketing Alignment

  Jeff Davis, Sales and Marketing Alignment Expert, The Sales and Marketing Alignment Summit

  Aberdeen Group estimates that companies with poor sales and marketing alignment experience an annual 4% revenue decline. In today's B2B business environment sales and marketing can no longer operate in silos. We must find a way to create "Togetherness" and use the collective knowledge of each team to win. MORE >

  The goal of this presentation is to achieve making CEOs and other customer-facing executives think differently about how sales and marketing should interact. With increased scrutiny for marketing to prove ROI on their activities and it becoming increasingly hard for B2B salespeople to even get in front of customers, the old way of doing business is no longer an option. This presentation focuses on using evidence-based research and empirical knowledge to propose real-world strategies that work.

  The key objectives of the presentation are to:

  * Establish an understanding of the detrimental effects that occur by not aligning sales and marketing
  * Explore the key reasons why this relationship continues to be a challenge for most organizations
  * Examine strategies and tactics to promote cohesiveness between these two functions that will lead to improvements in achieving revenue targets.

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  The Power of Storytelling to Your Organizations Culture, Growth and Innovation

  Jennifer Fortney, President, Cascade Communications

  The way you tell the story of your business or organization is all that matters to your customer. Today, customers want to be more engaged with the companies in which they do business and organizations' they support. The story is the reason they buy or donate. It is what they will share with friends and family when asked about where they purchased or what causes to do they support. MORE >

  The trick is that not everyone knows how to tell their story well across all platforms. This is where Jennifer comes in to walk you through finding your story and telling it appropriately and consistently for brand building.

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  10 Soft Skills Every Leader Needs

  Bette Lawrence-Water, Founder and Principal Consultant, Spectrum Strategic Solutions

  Having the technical skills and knowledge to successfully execute your job duties is only one part of being the best you can be in the workplace. In addition to these “hard” skills, we also need “soft” skills. Soft skills are those skills which allow us to effectively work with others. No matter what your position, organization, or industry, you work with people! Taking the time to build effective soft skills can contribute to a more efficient, more harmonious, and more productive workplace, as well as to your own overall job happiness and satisfaction. MORE >

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  Setting The Tone

  Joshua Reed, Founder, Tier One Consulting LLC

  Creating the right culture for your team to thrive in leads to uncharted territories of success. We will cover everything from tonality, providing feedback, and leading with a servant mentality to unlock your teams full potential. The happier your employees are, the better the results will be.

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  The Attraction Principle: How to Shift from Working to Get Clients to Attracting Them Effortlessly

  Tom Kelly, Business Coach, Potential In Motion

  If you are looking to dramatically increase your sales, make more money with less effort, and build a sales system that produces predictable results, then this presentation is for you! In this presentation, Master Certified Business Coach Tom Kelly covers the 5 shifts that you need to make in how you approach your business so that you can attract what you want, as opposed to chasing it. MORE >

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