Free Business Topics in Chicago
It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3: Browse for a topic, Click the orange request button, Fill out the contact form.
Now the speaker will contact you in the next few days to coordinate details.
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What is the difference between a CFO and a Bookkeeper?
Barrett Willich, CFO, Bear & Kenmore LLC
Are you not getting the financial insights you feel you need to run your business efficiently? It could be because you are working with a bookkeeper, controller, or accountant, and not a CFO. A CFO looks at the business implications of financial decisions and makes recommendations on how to become more profitable. Bookkeepers, controllers, and accountants help keep the accounting correct, but rarely dig deeper into business implications. In this presentation, we will walk you through the key differences so you can determine who you need on your team. 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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The Carrot and Stick are Obsolete – How to Deploy the Right Employee Incentives in Today’s Business Environment
Mark James, Founder & President, Performance Advisors Group, Inc.
Are your incentive programs delivering desired results? Incentives work, but you must get them right to positively impact performance and avoid wasting time and money. MORE >
The traditional approach to improving workplace behavior was often characterized by a “lady-or-the-tiger” experience which ignored that employees are motivated in different ways and underestimated the importance of connecting personal meaning to what they do.This VIRTUAL OR IN PERSON presentation will reveal best practices any business can and should do to ensure employee incentive programs are working properly. Attendees will come away with knowledge and tips concerning:
• Why incentives are a tactic, not the strategy
• Commitment and support of leaders
• Choosing right incentive structure
• Audience selection
• Goal setting
• Communicating what, who, how, and why
• Avoiding element of chance
• Choosing the right recognition and rewards
• Keeping it fresh and appealing -
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 -
Business Improvement Einstein’s Way – How Einstein’s Three Rules of Work Can Help a Business Succeed
Mark James, Founder & President, Performance Advisors Group, Inc.
Albert Einstein once said, "We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them." Einstein believed you have to think about things differently and three rules, inspired by his work, provide us with the means do so. No one knows what will happen in the future. But, following these rules can get your business ready for whatever does. Attendees will come away with practical ways to use Einstein’s three rules of work to: MORE >
- Fix performance barriers
- Discover opportunities amidst difficulty
- Make two truths of human behavior your ally -
The Art of Impactful Leadership – 3 Secret Principles to Elite Performance
Dennis Mellen, Owner, Full Throttle Leadership
Be the visionary servant leader and inspire innovation and elite performance. Get your team feeling they "get to go to work" instead of "have to go to work"
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Stop Chasing Talent Away -The Ultimate K.P.I. to Be a Talent Magnet
Dennis Mellen, Owner, Full Throttle Leadership
Break free of the old leadership model and become a visionary servant leader. Inspire your team to perform at a level they never dreamed possible with the ultimate KPI (key performance indicator).
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Five Marketing Principles Every Business Must Get Right to Maximize Results
Mark James, Founder & President, Performance Advisors Group, Inc.
Have you ever heard someone say this about their marketing: “We tried that and it didn’t work?” or, "We are not seeing the marketing results we expected." They are probably missing one or more of these principals. And it is costing time and money. Attend this presentation to see how these five key principals will help you: MORE >
- Avoid the marketing “shiny key” syndrome
- Prevent the "winging it" trap
- Visualize marketing as a journey
- Make better informed marketing decisions
- Validate results
- Understand what customers really care about -
Increase Your Cash Flow Fast
Jean Kuhn, Business Strategist/Consultant, Bounce Solutions Jean Kuhn
Business owners, retail or service-based, all say the exact same thing. ‘We need more customers so we can earn more money.’ It’s tough out there for business owners in 2021. Jean Kuhn “has the backs” of business owners and delivers the hard facts, the truth and some laughs, on what it takes to become the leader in their industry and a “celebrity” in their business. MORE >
Jean shares her story of buying 2 bankrupt businesses and turning them around in 12 short months and adding $100,000 to their bottom lines. And she did it with NO customer list and NO marketing budget.Jean is the perfect speaker if attendees: Want more customers, Want to make more money, Want to more free time, Want to reduce employee turnover
Takeaways: You don't need a list or a big budget, Low cost/no cost marketing strategies, Tools to turn employees into lead
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Games Prospects and Buyers Play
Bryan McDonald, Partner/Owner, onPurpose Growth
Old ways don't open new doors. We hear two things consistently these days: everybody sells or everybody is in sales. Nobody wants be sold. The question we ask ourselves is how do these two things coexist? The traditional way of selling leaves your prospects wanting something different and you, wanting more prospects! In The Games Buyers & Prospects Play session, we will have a roundtable discussion that includes the underlying psychology driving your buyer's and prospect's behavior. MORE >
We will present how the elite sales professionals and entrepreneurs, across industries, change the rules of the game and thus change the behaviors to improve the outcomes of their sales efforts.If you struggle with:
✦Having prospects that you thought sounded positive but never respond to follow up
✦Prospects that meet with you regularly and never pay for your service aka free advice
✦If you have ever said “I wish I just have smarter clients”
✦Frankly, if you are just tired of doing the same old tactics that never feel right nor, get you where you want to be, The Games Buyers & Prospects Play may just open the door to new possibilities for you.Join us and we will discuss a way to change your results!
You will walk away with:
✦Understanding the commonly accepted selling steps
✦Learn about what is driving your prospects/buyers reactions
✦Discover the inherent conflict between the 2 above, that stops/slows down your sales
✦Be introduced to some key concepts that break the old model