How about a class on leadership using the movie Hoosiers with Gene Hackman – we can do that.

 

Can you hear me now?™
A fun and interactive approach to presentation skills

Lessons from the Silver Screen™
Using movie clips and television shows to teach practical business skills

Speaking the Language of ROI™
How to sell an idea and influence others

Managing your Personal Brand – the key to influence and getting things done
“What is the first thing people think of when they hear or see your name?”

Super Business Casual – meeting in your underwear™
Conducting effective virtual meetings

 

Can you hear me now?™

A fun and interactive approach to presentation skills

Your palms are sweaty.  You are shaking.  The hyperventilating begins.  Are we describing a trip to the dentist?  Actually, how about something that almost everyone in business is asked to do constantly – give a presentation! 

Using a fun and energizing approach that is effective for groups of almost any size, teams learn and practice presentation techniques that can be immediately applied on the job.  Following learning these key skills, teams compete to see who can deliver the most effective and creative presentation using what they have just been taught.  Who determines the winning team?  The participants do!

Also, the facilitator and staff constantly work with the small team to address specific questions and provide coaching.  To tie it all together, teams work on real life business scenarios that have been identified prior to the session.

 

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Lessons from the Silver Screen™

Using movie clips and television shows to teach practical business skills

Lessons from the Silver Screen is a fun and innovative approach to teach individuals practical business skills they can apply immediately on the job.  Using popular movie clips and television shows that illustrate various aspects of ways to improve an employee’s effectiveness and productivity, Lessons from the Silver Screen is designed to replace the traditional boring training video with a fun and more memorable approach – well known movies and TV programs.

The sessions are all:

1. No more than two hours
2. Customized to meet the needs of a particular organization
3. Very interactive
4. Fun and entertaining

Examples of possible movie clips include:

1. Hoosiers with Gene Hackman  - Leadership
2. Seinfeld – Conflict Management
3. Big with Tom Hanks – Innovation
4. Tommy Boy with Chris Farley – Sales and influence

Note: The Innovation Company will obtain copyright releases before showing the videos.

 

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Speaking the Language of ROI™

How to sell an idea and influence others

The Language of ROI (Return on Investment) is the key to selling an idea within an organization.  Many individuals become frustrated when his or her idea is not considered or acted upon, especially when the person who chooses not to pursue a new idea is the person’s boss or a member of senior management.  The problem is often not the idea but rather the fact that the person is not speaking the right language – the language of ROI. 
 
When a person speaks the Language of ROI the ability to obtain the resources and support to implement the idea greatly increases.    For example, if two people present ideas to their bosses and one idea has the benefit of making people happy and the other has the benefit of increasing sales by 15% within 3 months for a one time investment of $3500, odds are the second request will get more traction.

 The Innovation Company conducts a 2 to 4 hour workshop in which participants learn specific tools techniques, and approaches that will enable them to present and ‘sell’ ideas more effectively within an organization.  The workshop uses cases studies created specifically for the client to help individuals immediately apply what they have learned to a real life situation with the instructor from The Innovation Company acting as the client or business manager which whom the participants must work with to have ideas approved and resources committed. 

The workshop uses the concept that the boss and senior management are ‘loan officers at a bank’ and the person with the idea is ‘applying for a line of credit.’  If the person with the idea can show high return on investment while anticipating and mitigating risk, the higher the probability that the ‘loan’ (the idea) will be approved.

 

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Managing your Personal Brand – the key to influence and getting things done

“What is the first thing people think of when they hear or see your name?”

This workshop is designed to help individuals build a ‘Personal Brand’ and learn how to leverage this brand to increase his or her influence in an organization and to increase their overall effectiveness with respect to projects, leadership, and overall career management.

Through a series of discussions, exercises, and case studies, the participant will create a draft of their own personal brand and the plan to manage this brand following this session. 

In addition, a case study relating to the implementation of an information systems project is also included which ground the first half of the workshop in concrete, real life application.  Within the case study there are also lessons and discussion points around risk management, The Language of ROI™, stakeholder analysis, and communication planning.

At the end of this workshop each participant will have a greater appreciation for how influence and how they are perceived in the ‘marketplace’ greatly impact their career and their ability to accomplish their organizational and personal goals.

 

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Super Business Casual – meeting in your underwear™

Conducting effective virtual meetings

If your in person meetings are not very productive, imagine how they will be using the Internet or even via the telephone.  Here is a comparison we like to make – not being good at facilitating in person meetings is like being a bad driver.  Not being good at facilitating virtual meetings is like being a bad driver in a snow storm – the situation only gets worse.

This workshop is designed to give participants the skills and techniques they need to conduct effective virtual meetings.  By learning how to use a ‘virtual meeting table,’ add energy to the discussion, and do much more than simply push PowerPoint slides across an audience’s computer screen, individuals will be able to increase productivity and truly tap into the power of new meeting technologies.

This workshop can be conducted online so feel free to participate in your underwear.

 

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