Free Business Topics in Chicago

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  • Career Compass: Liberating Corporate Superheroes, No Cape Required

    Rosie Zilinskas, Founder & CEO, No Woman Left Behind

    Every organization has high-potential employees—corporate superheroes waiting for an opportunity to rise to leadership. Yet, many remain unnoticed and unengaged, leaving companies struggling with turnover and leadership gaps. In Career Compass – Liberating Corporate Superheroes, No Cape Required, Rosie Zilinskas introduces companies to the key strategies necessary to identify, engage, and develop their future leaders. MORE >

    In this keynote, Rosie will guide your team through the foundational principles that organizations can adopt to create a culture of growth, retention, and leadership development. Learn how to set clear career paths, nurture a growth mindset, and foster a structured environment where employees are empowered to step into leadership roles—without needing a cape.

    This is for:

    ~Corporate executives seeking to reduce turnover by creating clear pathways to leadership.
    ~HR and talent development teams looking for actionable strategies to foster employee engagement and career growth.
    ~Leaders aiming to build a sustainable leadership pipeline and retain high-potential employees.

    Learning Outcomes for Attendees:

    ~Understand the power of Custom Career Roadmaps: Learn how to provide employees with actionable career plans that align with company goals and secure long-term retention.
    ~Create a growth-driven culture: Discover how promoting a growth mindset can lead to higher employee engagement, innovation, and leadership readiness.
    ~Boost leadership pipeline development: Gain insights on building a strong leadership pipeline through tailored succession planning strategies.
    ~Address disengagement and turnover: Identify the warning signs of disengagement and explore effective ways to keep top talent motivated and invested in your organization.
    ~Inspire internal leadership: Understand the steps to cultivate internal leaders by providing clear growth opportunities and removing obstacles to advancement.

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  • The China Trade War: Trade, Tariffs and Supply Chain Considerations

    Lauren Pittelli, Principal, Baker Logistics Consulting Services Inc.

    Global Supply Chains have always had their intricacies, and with international trade and the global economy in flux it is vital to understand the complexities of trade relations. What's the status of the trade war? Will it end soon - and if not, what should we expect in the future ...and most importantly, what should U.S. companies be doing today to address these uncertainties? MORE >

    If you are currently doing business in China you should not miss this presentation and if you are not currently doing business in China you still should not miss this presentation - because you and your business are likely to be affected by what happens with trade between the U.S. and China.
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  • The Three Most Powerful Actions of Value-driven Leaders

    Susan Neustrom, Ed.D., Leadership Coach, Author, Speaker, Educator, Leading to Action

    Leadership is hard work because the need to be socially connected at all time is a necessity for leaders to influence, impact, and direct organizations, people, and change. Business challenges require fast, direct decisions, therefore, leaders are relentlessly communicating with multiple stakeholders through email, phone, and technology. Yet, the most powerful leaders understand the demands of being a leader and create a mental space to be alone with their thoughts emotions, and values. MORE >

    In this presentation, Dr. Susan Neustrom will demonstrate how solitude, silence, and reflection can actually enhance social interaction and increase authentic and ethical leadership behavior. She will provide strategies to create a personal sanctuary for leaders to renew, reevaluate, and reorient your moral compass for more effective, ethical decision making.
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  • Striking Balance – Living a Balanced Life in an Unbalanced World

    Tom Kelly, Business Coach, Potential In Motion

    If you are a currently working too many hours, can’t seem to find the time to do the things you want to do, and would like to live a balanced life you love, then this presentation is for you! In this presentation, Master Certified Business Coach Tom Kelly covers the shifts you need to make to live a balanced life including: what balance is, your beliefs around balance, how to know what you truly want, how to align your actions with your intentions, and some extreme time management tools. MORE >

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  • Six Sigma and Finance Intersections

    Diane Davidson, Finance Transformation Leader, Clever Fox, LLC

    As a practitioner with a Six Sigma Green Belt, I am seeing demand for Six Sigma principles being used in the Finance industry. Six Sigma is typically viewed as a tool only used for Supply Chain, Logistics or Operations. Finance organizations are using Six Sigma principles such as Value Stream Mapping and Kaizen Events to bring standardization and efficiencies to their business processes. MORE >

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  • Beyond the Bot: Leveraging AI for Nonprofit Impact

    Cathy Yen, Founder and CEO, The Nonprofit Planner Company

    AI is transforming industries across the globe and nonprofits are no exception. Learn how Cathy and her team integrated AI into a medium-sized nonprofit to build efficiencies while staying mission-focused. We'll cover issues of organizational culture, use cases, data privacy and policies, staff training, and success measurement.

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  • Small Business Ownership

    Jennifer Davis, President & Co-Founder, Davisware, Inc.

    Owning your own business can be a challenge. Jennifer, a working mother, shares the fascinating story of her startup with sweat equity and personal growth along the way. Her personal account of what works and what doesn’t, and how to balance it all, is perfect for those in business or with an entrepreneurial spirit. MORE >

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  • The Power of “Both/And” in an “Either/Or” World (Employer Focus)

    Anthony Bolden and Charles Cammack, Co-founders, BridgeWork LLC

    As a society we are in the midst of a workforce crisis that often posits that you can either prioritize your company's fiscal success or the development and subsequent happiness of your employees. At BridgeWork we believe that both can be true simultaneously. MORE >

    We believe that the key to a thriving organizational culture lies in the balanced development of its members. Through this interactive and thought provoking talk, Anthony and Charles will provide practical tools on how to maximize your employees experience through focusing on four areas of your organization: hiring, onboarding, professional development, and off-boarding.

    By the end of this talk, your group will understand that seemingly competing goals (the prioritization of company vs. employee) cannot only coexist when feeling the pressure to choose an either/or, but your organization will be better for it in the long run.

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  • Experiential Marketing

    Edwin Goitia, Founder and Visionary, I Am A Brand

    What do you do when your marketing tactics are not getting straight to the consumer? Edwin tells how you can bring your ideas, services or business straight to consumers and create something unforgettable. He’ll also discuss how experiential marketing has played a role in today’s economy and how anyone can utilize it today. MORE >

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  • Rearchitecting Work: POSSIBILITY PARTNERS UNLEASHING POTENTIAL

    Dianne M. Michels, HR Possibility Partner, Author, Rearchitecting Work Speaker, possibilitypartners.org

    A Blueprint for "Unlocking the Power of Human Resources to Unleash the Potential of Human Beings" . . . enabling organizations to set bold goals that can be achieved with more PREDICTABILITY, INNOVATION, and EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT! MORE >

    Learn about the key paradigm shifts that provide the foundation for the changes in conditions, relationships, cultural norms, and leadership approaches that can transform people's relationship to work from a burden to survive to a possibility to thrive . . . while producing results that meet or exceed revenue, profitability, and growth goals of the enterprise.

    You will be introduced to the 10 design principles that support the paradigm shifting changes in assumptions, beliefs, and behavioral practices that enable people to go beyond learning new skills to expanding their adaptability, flexibility, resiliency, and self-directedness in a world that is increasingly more volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous.

    The 10 design principles include:
    Ch. 1 Alignment between HR and the CEO
    Ch. 2 Unlocking the Power of HR to Unleash the Potential Within Your Workplace
    Ch. 3 The Power of Possibility - "There are no mistakes; only possibilities" Tina Fey
    Ch. 4 Leadership Beliefs and Behaviors that model mutual respect, trust, transparency . . .
    Ch. 5 Inspiring Ownership for Results vs. Holding People Accountable
    Ch. 6 Igniting Results: Expressing Our Value vs. Proving Our Worth
    Ch. 7 Participating, Contributing, Self-Expressing vs. Checking Off Our To Do Lists - "Only do what your heart tells you." Princess Diana
    Ch. 8 Celebrating Diversity as a Competitive Edge!
    Ch. 9 Recruiting: Creating Raving Fans - "Transforming often dreaded interview interrogations into life-affirming conversations.
    Ch. 10 Communications: Creating Psychological Safety so People can Speak Candidly With One Another Regardless of the Hierarchy -
    "Relationships determine the quality of our lives, and conversations determine the quality of our relationships."

    Can be presented virtually via ZOOM.

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