This section of the training catalog deals with the personal set of skills that even successful managers might need assistance on from time to time. The courses deal with the individual, and assist them in improving their personal leadership and management skills.
How do you create and deliver an effective presentation? This seminar will cover the basics of the process of designing and delivering a top quality business presentation using Microsoft’s PowerPoint software. Through a series of simple, easy-to-follow techniques, this seminar will show you what to do and more importantly what not to do in delivering a powerful business presentation to any group, of any size, for any purpose. You will get guidelines, tips and techniques that will help you create more efficient and more entertaining business presentations. Don’t miss this one if you have to present information to an audience as part of your work! Topics will include:
• Guidelines for selecting and using presentation techniques
• The three essential elements of a presentation
• Tailoring the presentation to your audience
• How to involve the audience
• Making Microsoft PowerPoint work for you
“Excelling” With Charts and Graphs
Excelling with Charts and Graphs
(Half Day)
Have you ever wished that you could create some of the stunning charts and graphs that you have seen in presentations that you have attended? Have you ever wondered what someone was thinking when they showed you a set of charts or graphs? Then this is the short course for you. We have all struggled at one time or another to decide what information to put into a chart or graph and which type of chart or graph to use in order to provide our audience with as complete a picture of the information as possible. In this course you will have the opportunity to work with charts and graphs in a “Hands-On” environment. You will learn:
• How to choose and use the charts and graphs that will work for you and your audience
• How to prepare different types of charts and graphs
• Hands-on recommendations on lettering size, color, and more
• Techniques for producing dramatic visual effects using animation, scanned images, sound, video, and links to websites
Writing for Business
(Half Day)
The most important skill in the successful operation of any business is effective written communication. How often do we take note when someone commits an error in communication such as misspelling a word or improperly formatting a letter or memo? This training session helps businesses to understand the importance of good (and therefore effective) written communication in their business activities. Using examples drawn from real work settings, this seminar will give you tools with which to create correspondence that “gets the job done” quickly and effectively. Topics in this seminar include the following:
• Writing with clarity
• Common mistakes in business communication
• Proper formatting of letters and memos
• Consequences of poor communication
Effective Communication at Work (McGraw-Hill Professional Education Series)
(Full Day)
Cell phones, e-mail, and pagers have made connecting with others in the workplace easier than ever. But real communication—saying what you mean and using your words to produce results—remains as challenging as ever. From handling minor disagreements between co-workers to giving crucial make-or-break presentations, managers who gain the most respect and achieve the greatest success are consistently the best, most effective communicators. This communication seminar will provide you with hands-on, no-nonsense techniques and strategies for improving your ability to communicate—and manage conflicts—in today’s relentless and demanding business environment. Coverage will include:
• Proven methods to raise employee morale—and productivity—through everyday conversation and interaction
• Guidelines and ground rules for conducting participative, results-driven meetings and presentations
• The 5 fundamental factors of e-communications—how to use e-mail, voice mail, and others—and which method to use for specific situations
• And more
Leaders and Leading (McGraw-Hill Professional Education Series)
(Full Day)
"What makes a great leader?" Thousands of workers in both North America and Europe were asked that one simple question. Their top responses were compiled into this course. The ability to lead is far more than just a natural gift. Study after study shows that leadership is a concrete and learnable skill, one that can be acquired and honed by studying and applying specific proficiencies, attitudes, and habits. In this seminar, you will be provided with competencies and guidelines identified time and again as essential for becoming an effective and extraordinary leader, including:
• Focus on results
• Cultivate interpersonal skills
• Lead organizational change
• Learn from mistakes
• Develop your people
• Be open to new ideas
• Build strengths
• Fix fatal flaws
• Be accountable
• And more
How to be a Great Coach (McGraw-Hill Professional Education Series)
(Half Day)
Today’s worker is empowered and intelligent, and you can no longer expect overbearing, high-pressure management tactics to improve performance. Managers in today’s workplace are finding that they must work as partners with their employees and provide them with the tools that they need in order to be successful. This seminar provides you with guidelines, best practices and state-of-the-art approaches for working with, instead of against, your employees, and in the process boosting their motivation, performance and productivity. In this course you will learn how to:
• Be fair
• Ask good questions
• Welcome complaints
• Admit your mistakes
• Encourage innovation and creativity in your workers
• Provide constructive feedback
• And more
Managing in Times of Change (McGraw-Hill Professional Education Series)
(Half Day)
While change is essential to your organization’s survival, it can also breed instability, stress, and even anger in your workforce. This seminar shows you how to help managers and employees understand the benefits of change and accept and perform within their new environment and responsibilities. You will learn lessons detailing strategies to:
• Communicate and personify the benefits of change
• Isolate and clarify areas of impact
• Measure and acknowledge progress
• Get team members involved
• Empathize without always agreeing
• And more
Stress! – Managing Time and Stress
(Half Day)
“I’m so stressed out!” How many times have you heard other people say this? Have you said it yourself? What does it mean? Can we live without stress? Can we learn to cope with it through the use of time management? If you have ever been overcome by stress or seen other people’s work affected, this is the seminar that you need to attend. We will even test your current stress levels. The course will cover:
• What is stress?
• What leads to work-related stress?
• The Stress Curve
• Consequences of high levels of stress
• Coping strategies
• Time Management
• Role Management
• Controlling Time-Wasters
• And more
Resume Writing and Interviewing Skills
(Half Day)
One of the ugly truths in business is that downsizing happens. When the difficult decision comes to let people go, how often do you find yourself wishing you could do something for them? Helping employees beef-up their resumes and interviewing skills not only helps those employees who are moving on, but it boosts your image as a company that cares. Find out what’s important and what’s not. Do resumes pass “The McDonald’s Test”? What questions do people tend to find difficult? This seminar is also great for managers and human resources specialists who want to find the best candidates in a potential flood of resumes.
Is New Venturing Right For You?
(Half Day)
Entrepreneurship came calling and found you at home! Now you have the new venture fever. You’re ready for your new firm to set the business world alight! Or are you? The sobering facts about the high failure rates of new ventures are enough to give anyone pause. Get the information you need to make a better decision. Topics covered will include:
• The Facts about Business Births and Business Deaths
• A Visionary, or Overconfident?
• Go It Alone or Form a Team
• Know All Aspects of Your Business
• The Dynamics of Business Births
• The Dynamics of Business Deaths
• The Local Policy Environment
Financing a Start-up Business – Where Does the Money Come From?
(Half Day)
This half day session covers the various stages of a business and the funding opportunities available to the business at each of those stages. This session will cover the do’s and don’ts of financing, what’s important to know about financing options, what the advantages and disadvantages of each type of funds are, and how to communicate your message. This session includes:
• What types of funding are available at each stage of your business
• How each form of financing potentially affects your business
• Strategies in getting your business financed
• An overview of the business plan
Finding an Angel Investor in a Day
(Full Day)
Joe Bell, the author of the best-selling “Finding an Angel Investor in a Day; Get it done right, get it done fast!”™, and former COO of a 75-member Angel Investor network offers to guide you through the process of making your venture attractive to private investors, how to find those investors, and how to close the deal. Businesses need capital to thrive or grow whether it is $25,000, or a few million, the Finding an Angel Investor in a Day process could well work for you! Coverage will include:
• What an Angel will do for you
• How to find an Angel Investor
• Make yourself a good catch
• The pitch
• Valuation
• The term sheet
• Due diligence
• After the deal
Build a Better Business Plan
(Full Day)
Every business needs a plan. However, if you have never written a business plan before, it can be a daunting thing to take on without help. Did you know that who you are writing your plan for is a big consideration in how the plan is written? This seminar is designed to help you understand the basics of a business plan so that you can write the document that you need to define your concept, evaluate the competition, determine risks, and estimate costs. Specific topics covered will include:
• Business plan sections and what goes in them
• How to do a basic environmental analysis for your industry
• Financial statements for your business plan
• Writing the plan for your specific target audience
• And more