Early Bird Special Reminder!

Before more of July passes by, I just wanted to post a friendly reminder that the “Early Bird Special” for the Fall 2016 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable is set to expire on Friday, July 29.

If you sign up between now and 7/29/16, the price will be $ 275.00 for the two days and $ 175.00 for a single day. Here is the link to the registration form:

http://www.chartyourpath.com/pdf/2016-From-Vision-To-Action-Exec-Roundtable-Regist.pdf

Please write “early bird special” on it when you send it to me by mail or fax (# 319 - 643 - 2185).

After 7/29/16, the registration price will be $ 295.00 for the two days and $ 195.00 for a single day.

Here is the agenda for your review:

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

- 8:30 am - Arrival & Visiting Time

- 9:00 am - 10:15 am - How do leaders transform day to day operations?

- 10:15 am - 10:30 am - Break

- 10:30 am - 12:00 pm - How do leaders know if they have the “right people on the right seats of the bus”?

- 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm - Lunch & Networking 

- 1:30 pm - 2:45 pm - How do leaders create an understanding of a problem and buy-in for the solution?

- 2:45 pm - 3:00 pm - Break

- 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm - How do leaders create a team during times of high turnover?

- 4:30 pm - Adjourn

Thursday, September 22, 2016

- 9:00 am - 10:15 am - How do leaders cope with prolonged uncertainty and having too much to do?

- 10:30 am - 12:00 pm - Integration and Application

- 12:00 pm - Adjourn 

Location: Coralville Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Coralville, Iowa.

Hope you can come!

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

2016 Fall Roundtable - Early Bird Special!

With all the July Fourth celebrations in the history books, now is the time for us to turn our attention to the Fall 2016 Roundtable! 

On September 21 - 22, 2016, we will gather at the Coralville Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Coralville, Iowa for the Fall 2016 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable. Here is the agenda for your review:

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

- 8:30 am - Arrival & Visiting Time

- 9:00 am - 10:15 am - How do leaders transform day to day operations?

- 10:15 am - 10:30 am - Break

- 10:30 am - 12:00 pm - How do leaders know if they have the “right people on the right seats of the bus”?

- 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm - Lunch & Networking 

- 1:30 pm - 2:45 pm - How do leaders create an understanding of a problem and buy-in for the solution?

- 2:45 pm - 3:00 pm - Break

- 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm - How do leaders create a team during times of high turnover?

- 4:30 pm - Adjourn

Thursday, September 23, 2016

- 9:00 am - 10:15 am - How do leaders cope with prolonged uncertainty and having too much to do?

- 10:30 am - 12:00 pm - Integration and Application

- 12:00 pm - Adjourn

Starting today through Friday, July 29, I am offering an “early bird” registration price for the Fall 2016 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable.

If you sign up during this time period, and submit payment before 7/29/16, the price will be $ 275.00 for the two days and $ 175.00 for a single day. Here is the link to the registration form:

http://www.chartyourpath.com/pdf/2016-From-Vision-To-Action-Exec-Roundtable-Regist.pdf

 Please write “early bird special” on it when you send it to me by mail or fax (# 319 - 643 - 2185).

After 7/29/16, the registration price will be $ 295.00 for the two days and $ 195.00 for a single day.

I hope you will reserve September 21 - 22 on your calendar, and e-mail me today about whether or not you and your team are coming. Then, in the Fall when the first leaves are just starting to turn, all we will need to do is meet at the Fall 2016 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable.

Thinking ahead and looking forward to seeing you in September!

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

The Pressure to Get It Right

Go, go, go!

Hurry, hurry, hurry!

Leaders, left, right and center, are racing hither and yon to make things happen.  

Overwhelmed by an extreme sense of urgency, they are desperate to hit their numbers and meet expectations.

Quarter by quarter they are pressed to get it right.

The result?  A high level of burnout. A growing depth of cynicism. 

Occasionally, these individuals do achieve their goals but at a cost that is way too high.

However, successful leaders think differently. Successful companies work differently.

During the Fall 2012 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable, we will be examining how successful leaders think, how successful companies work, how successful managers help people achieve their goals, and how successful people manage life.

For more Information, please click on the following link: http://www.chartyourpath.com/VTA-Exec-Roundtable.html

I hope you can join us. It is going to be a dynamic and enlightening Roundtable.

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

Fall 2012 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable

William Taylor, cofounder of Fast Company magazine and author of Practically Radical: Not-so-crazy ways to transform your company, shake up your industry, and challenge yourself (William Morrow, 2011), wrote that there are five truths of corporate transformation. They are as follows:

1. Most organizations in most fields suffer from a kind of tunnel vision, which makes it hard to envision a more positive future.

2. Most leaders see things the same way everyone else sees them because they look for ideas in the same places everyone else looks for them.

3. In troubled organizations rich with tradition and success, history can be a curse - and a blessing. The challenge is to break from the past without disavowing it.

4. The job of the change agent is not just to surface high-minded ideas. It is to summon a sense of urgency inside and outside the organization, and to turn that urgency into action.

5. In a business environment that never stops changing, change agents can never stop learning.

When I read the above, I keep thinking of some Iowa wisdom I learned many years ago: “If you keep doing what you are currently doing, then you will keep getting what you currently got.”  And right now, quite a few organizations are suffering from a diversity of strategic and operational challenges. 

Yet, in the midst of these difficulties, I have been blessed with many opportunities to visit with successful leaders and successful companies. These people are transforming themselves and their organization. They have positive qualitative and quantitative outcomes taking place on a regular basis.

This past spring and multiple times this summer I have been visiting with these leaders as well as reflecting on past visits with other leaders of this caliber. My goal has been to distill what I have learned from them and make these lessons learned the focus of the Fall 2012 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable. I am excited and very energized by this level of work and look forward to sharing it with all of you.

Here are the details about the Fall Roundtable for your review:

Thursday: September 20, 2012

- 8:30 am - Registration

- 9:00 am - 10:15 am - How Successful Leaders Think

- 10:15 am - 10:30 am - Break

- 10:30 am - 12:00 pm - How Successful Companies Work

- 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm - Lunch, Networking & A Walk Around the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site or the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library

Our lunch will be catered by Reid’s Beans, a wonderful West Branch coffee shop and restaurant. Here is a link to reviews on Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/reids-beans-west-branch for those who are interested.

- 1:30 pm - 2:45 pm - How Successful Managers Help People Achieve Their Goals

- 2:45 pm - 3:00 pm - Break

- 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm -How Successful People Manage Challenging People

- 4:30 pm - Adjourn

- 4:30 pm - Optional Wine Tasting For Those Who Are Interested

- 5:00 pm - 7:30 pm - Open House at Geery and Jane’s

Friday: September 21, 2012

- 9:00 am - 10:15 am - How Successful People Manage Life

- 10:15 am - 10:30 am - Break 

- 10:30 am - 12:00 pm - Integration and Application

- 12:00 pm - Adjourn

Location: Brick Arch Winery in (http://www.brickarchwinery.com/) in West Branch, Iowa

Overnight Accommodations: Coralville Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, (http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/cidic-coralville-marriott-hotel-and-conference-center/) in Coralville, Iowa, or any other hotels in the Iowa City or Coralville area. 

Here is the link to the registration form: http://www.chartyourpath.com/pdf/2012-From-Vision-To-Action-Exec-Roundtable-Regist.pdf 

I agree with William Taylor when he wrote, “In a business environment that never stops changing, change agents can never stop learning.”  I look forward to sharing and learning together with you at the Fall Roundtable.

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

2012 Fall Roundtable - Early Bird Special!

Now that July has arrived, it is time for us to turn our sights on the 2012 Fall Roundtable! 

On September 20 - 21, 2012, we will gather at the Brick Arch Winery in (http://www.brickarchwinery.com/) in West Branch, Iowa for the Fall 2012 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable. Overnight accommodations, for those who need them, can be found at the Coralville Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, (http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/cidic-coralville-marriott-hotel-and-conference-center/) in Coralville, Iowa.

Here is the agenda for your review:

Thursday: September 20, 2012

- 8:30 am - Registration

- 9:00 am - 10:15 am - How Successful Leaders Think

- 10:15 am - 10:30 am - Break

- 10:30 am - 12:00 pm - How Successful Companies Work

- 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm - Lunch, Networking & A Walk Around the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site or the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library

- 1:30 pm - 2:45 pm - How Successful Managers Help People Achieve Their Goals

- 2:45 pm - 3:00 pm - Break

- 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm - How Successful People Manage Challenging People

- 4:30 pm - Adjourn

- 4:30 pm - Optional Wine Tasting For Those Who Are Interested

- 5:00 pm - 7:30 pm - Open House at Geery and Jane’s

Friday: September 21, 2012

- 9:00 am - 10:15 am - How Successful People Manage Life

- 10:15 am - 10:30 am - Break 

- 10:30 am - 12:00 pm - Integration and Application

- 12:00 pm - Adjourn

Starting today through Tuesday, July 31, I am offering an “early bird” registration price for the Fall 2012 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable.

If you sign up during this time period, and submit payment before 7/31/12, the price will be $ 275.00 for the two days and $ 175.00 for a single day. Here is the link to the registration form: http://www.chartyourpath.com/pdf/2012-From-Vision-To-Action-Exec-Roundtable-Regist.pdf. Please write “early bird special” on it when you send it to me.

After 7/31/11, the registration price will be $ 295.00 for the two days and $ 195.00 for a single day.

I hope you will reserve September 20 - 21 on your calendar, and e-mail me today about whether or not you and your team are coming. Then, in September when the leaves are just turning color and the cooler autumn weather has returned to the heartland all we need to do is meet at the Fall 2012 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable in West Branch.

Thinking ahead and looking forward to seeing you in September.

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

Fall 2012 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable Report

Right now, there is a global economic crisis, a prolonged recession, a sluggish recovery, and a Congress that loves to debate everything to the last minute before making any real decisions. And we as leaders find ourselves navigating through this previously unknown and prolonged period of strategic uncertainty with more and more people, customers, suppliers and companies struggling. Former Intel CEO Andy Grove calls times like this a “strategic inflection point,” namely a period when significant change in the competitive environment requires a company to make major adaptations to new circumstances, or risk extinction, i.e. change or die.

On Thursday and Friday of last week, those who gathered for the Fall 2011 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable explored in-depth the challenges and choices of this current environment. While some executives are focusing on control, compliance and compensation, those who came to the Fall Roundtable explored the important areas of strategy, talent and execution. In particular, we examined how to align culture and strategy, improve middle management effectiveness, develop role clarity, teach new behaviors, and pursue personal excellence.

As always, the depth of sharing during the Fall Roundtable was impressive and the amount of attention, reflection, and generation of creative thinking was superb. It was an honor to host the event and to witness the collective commitment to realistic progress, purpose-based clarity, and practical choices and solutions to today’s challenges.

Given what happened last week, my hope today is that all of you can make it to the Spring 2012 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable on April 12-13, 2012 at the Courtyard by Marriott, in Des Moines, Iowa. I know it will be exception. If you want to reserve space for you and your team, please e-mail me today. Until then, good learning to all!

Geery Howe, M.A.Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer inLeadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational ChangeMorning Star Associates319 - 643 - 2257

A Time for Learning, Reflection and Networking

Task, task, task.

Do, do, do.

Meeting, meeting, meeting.

More coffee, a bathroom break, and a quick check of e-mail.

Then, back to task, task, task, and do, do, do.

No time to review or reflect.

If this is the normal rhythm of your day, then the Fall 2011 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable is the perfect place for you. Here you will find a highly committed group of executives who come to learn, network and explore better questions, new ideas and unique perspectives at a deeper and more holistic level. With uninterrupted time and space, they have found this event to be valuable, yielding new insights to their current and emerging challenges.

Here is the agenda for your review:

Thursday: September 22, 2011

- 8:30 am - Registration

- 9:00 am - 10:15 am - Aligning Culture and Strategy

- 10:15 am - 10:30 am - Break

- 10:30 am - 12:00 pm - Improving Middle Management Effectiveness

- 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm - Lunch and Networking

- 1:30 pm - 2:45 pm - Developing Role Clarity

- 2:45 pm - 3:00 pm - Break

- 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm -Teaching New Behaviors

- 4:30 pm -Adjourn

Friday: September 23, 2011

- 9:00 am - 10:15 am - Pursuing Personal Excellence

- 10:15 am - 10:45 am - Break and Hotel Check-out

- 10:45 am - 12:00 pm - Integration and Application

- 12:00 pm - Adjourn

Recommended but not required reading: Collins, James C., and Jerry I. Porras. Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies, HarperBusiness, 1994.

Here is a link to the registration form: http://www.chartyourpath.com/pdf/2011-From-Vision-To-Action-Exec-Roundtable-Regist.pdf

When our lives are driven by tasks, meetings and more to do than can ever get done, we are in danger of loosing ourself and the focus on what is most important in our lives and our work. This fall break the cycle and create time for learning, reflection and networking.

There is still time to sign-up for the Fall 2011 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable. I know you will find it helpful in the short and long term growth of yourself as a leader and for your organization.

I look forward to your participation.

Geery Howe, M.A.Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer inLeadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational ChangeMorning Star Associates319 - 643 - 2257

The Next Wave of Change

Thousands of years ago, people would carve important words into stone. Then, they would put them in places where people could see them and be reminded of their importance. Right now, I would like to carve the following words into the lintel above the door of quite a few companies:

“ Few corporations are able to participate in the next wave of change, because they are blinded by the business at hand.” - Edson De Castro, CEO of Data General, 1978.

Day after day this summer, I am witnessing countless organizations that talk strategy but do not have a strategic plan. They also talk big picture but mostly focus on minutiae. They talk change but constantly reenforce status quo. In short, one could say that they are being “blinded by the business at hand.”

One solution to this problem is to break out of the daily consumption of operational details, get away from the office, and come to a From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable. Here you will find a group of dedicated people seeking to improve and transform their organizations. You also will discover individuals who want to discuss, explore and reflect on the next waves of change and consider how this will impact their work as a leader and their organization. In short, through in-depth learning and candid peer-to-peer discussions, you will learn new ideas, perspectives and solutions.

The next From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable takes place on September 22 - 23, 2011 at the Coralville Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, Coralville, Iowa.

Here is the agenda for your review:

Thursday: September 22, 2011

- 8:30 am - Registration

- 9:00 am - 10:15 am - Aligning Culture and Strategy

- 10:15 am - 10:30 am - Break

- 10:30 am - 12:00 pm - Improving Middle Management Effectiveness

- 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm - Lunch and Networking

- 1:30 pm - 2:45 pm - Developing Role Clarity

- 2:45 pm - 3:00 pm - Break

- 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm -Teaching New Behaviors

- 4:30 pm -Adjourn

Friday: September 23, 2011

- 9:00 am - 10:15 am - Pursuing Personal Excellence

- 10:15 am - 10:45 am - Break and Hotel Check-out

- 10:45 am - 12:00 pm - Integration and Application

- 12:00 pm - Adjourn

Recommended reading: Collins, James C., and Jerry I. Porras. Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies, HarperBusiness, 1994.

Here is a link to the registration form: http://www.chartyourpath.com/pdf/2011-From-Vision-To-Action-Exec-Roundtable-Regist.pdf

For those of you who are seeking new solutions, now is the time to sign-up.

I look forward to seeing you at the Fall 2011 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable.

Geery Howe, M.A.Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer inLeadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational ChangeMorning Star Associates319 - 643 - 2257

2011 Fall Roundtable - Early Bird Special!

Now that the July 4th weekend has passed, it is time for us to turn our sights on the 2011 Fall Roundtable!

On September 22 - 23, 2011, we will gather at the Coralville Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Coralville, Iowa for the Fall 2011 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable.

Here is the agenda for your review:

Thursday: September 22, 2011

- 8:30 am - Registration

- 9:00 am - 10:15 am - Aligning Culture and Strategy

- 10:15 am - 10:30 am - Break

- 10:30 am - 12:00 pm - Improving Middle Management Effectiveness

- 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm - Lunch and Networking

- 1:30 pm - 2:45 pm - Developing Role Clarity

- 2:45 pm - 3:00 pm - Break

- 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm -Teaching New Behaviors

- 4:30 pm -Adjourn

Friday: September 23, 2011

- 9:00 am - 10:15 am - Pursuing Personal Excellence

- 10:15 am - 10:45 am - Break and Hotel Check-out

- 10:45 am - 12:00 pm - Integration and Application

- 12:00 pm - Adjourn

Recommended reading: Collins, James C., and Jerry I. Porras. Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies, HarperBusiness, 1994.

Starting today through Friday, July 29, I am offering an “early bird” registration price for the Fall 2011 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable.

If you sign up during this time period, and submit payment before 7/29/11, the price will be $ 275.00 for the two days and $ 175.00 for a single day. Here is the link to the registration form: http://www.chartyourpath.com/pdf/2011-From-Vision-To-Action-Exec-Roundtable-Regist.pdf. Please write “early bird special” on it when you send it to me.

After 7/29/11, the registration price will be $ 295.00 for the two days and $ 195.00 for a single day.

I hope you will reserve September 22-23 on your calendar, and e-mail me today about whether or not you and your team are coming. Then, in September when the fall colors and cooler weather have returned to the heartland all we need to do is meet at the Fall 2011 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable in Coralville.

Thinking ahead and looking forward to seeing you in September.

Geery Howe, M.A.Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer inLeadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational ChangeMorning Star Associates319 - 643 - 2257