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NC State Executive Education announces FastTrack Series | 16 short professional development courses

NC State Executive Education, based in the NC State University Poole College of Management, announces its FastTrack Series schedule for August through December 2016.

This series of 16 stand-alone short courses is designed for individuals seeking to develop analytical, leadership and innovation skills. Topics include pitching your ideas more effectively, managing multi-generational teams and virtual teams, finance, innovation, risk management, delegation, accountability and strategy.

The NC State Executive Education FastTrack sessions are held from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., on either Wednesdays or Fridays at the James B. Hunt Jr. Library on NC State’s Centennial Campus or at the RTP Foundation in Research Triangle Park. Participants will learn from the presenter and each other through simulations and sharing diverse perspectives. Enrollment is open to the public. Details about the topics, presenters and registration follow.

August 26 – Value Propositions and Elevator Pitches

Learn how to sell your ideas more effectively to internal and external clients. Participants will learn how to use tools for building a business model, communicating this effectively with senior leaders/funders and improve their success rate with research-based techniques of persuasion.

Presenter is Jeff Pollack, assistant professor of entrepreneurship at the NC State Poole College of Management. View registration, cost and other details.

September 16 – Finance for Non-Financial Managers

Regardless of job function or industry, effective mangers need a big picture understanding of how organizational decisions impact financial performance. In this half-day workshop, participants will work in teams to run a business in a competitive environment.

Presenter is Cecil Bozarth, professor of operations and supply chain management in the Department of Business Management at the NC State Poole College of Management. View registration, cost and other details.

September 23 – Design Thinking: Experience Innovation

Innovation is as essential as it is difficult. Organizational cultures capable of “inventing the future” are rare, but the discipline of design provides people with tools and techniques to think differently, see new opportunities, and create impactful, innovative solutions.

Presenter is Leigh Shamblin, director of the McLauchlan Leadership Series in the NC State Jenkins MBA program. View registration, cost and other details.

September 26 – Managing Across Five Generations

For the first time in modern history, five generations are working side-by-side. Members of these five generations bring diverse skills and expectations into the workplace. Are you ready to manage teams with vast differences in work patterns and expectations, communication styles, and levels of digital literacy? This FastTrack session will help you understand how members of each generation prefer to work and how to leverage generational diversity to improve the work environment and job performance.

Presenter is Dr. Bradley Kirkman, Gen. (Retired) H. Hugh Shelton Distinguished Professor of Leadership and head of the NC State Poole College Department of Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship.  View registration, cost and other details.

September 30 – Delegation and Empowerment

Are you feeling overwhelmed? Are you managing today’s goals and expected to find tomorrow’s growth? This session will provide techniques and activities to improve your confidence in empowering others without letting go of your control over quality and effectiveness.

Presenter is Roger Mayer, professor in the Department of Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the NC State Poole College of Management. View registration, cost and other details.

October 5 – Eliminating Accountability Killers

Do you struggle with holding people in your organization accountable for their actions? If so, you’re not alone. In this FastTrack session you will learn how to remove “accountability killers” from your systems and encourage employees to accept accountability across the organization.

Presenter is Scott Brown, founder of Stone House Management Consulting, LLC. View registration, cost and other details.

October 21 – Strategy Matters at Any Level

Strategy is about the future – how to create and capture value for customers in the years to come. Rooted in today, but informed by the trends, forces, and opportunities of tomorrow. This FastTrack session is designed for working professionals at all levels.

Presenter is Greg Hopper, adjunct associate professor in the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University and strategist-in-residence at HQ Raleigh. View registration, cost and other details.

October 28 – Leading Global Virtual Teams

Working with peers in different global regions is often part of today’s work environment. This requires an enhanced understanding of communication using various media, as well as how to ‘listen’ for aspects of cultural diversity critical to effective team engagement.

Presenter is Brad Kirkman, Gen. (Retired) H. Hugh Shelton Distinguished Professor of Leadership and head of the Department of Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the NC State Poole College of Management. View registration, cost and other details.

November 2 – Influencing Without Authority

Few of us have positional power to drive action, but rather rely on skills in building relationships and motivating others without having direct authority. This session will provide insights on how to enhance your skills to influence work effectively across organizational boundaries.

Presenter is Beth Ritter, human resources lecturer in the NC State Poole College of Management and former senior vice president of Burt’s Bees. View registration, cost and other details.

November 9 – Critical Thinking: Moving from Hindsight to Foresight

How we think has a significant impact on our ability to analyze, innovate and lead in organizations. This hands-on workshop provides a structured approach to enhancing your thinking. You’ll also learn how to recognize the most common language barriers that hinder a complete and reasoned understanding of an issue or problem.

Presenter is Eileen Taylor, associate professor in the NC State Poole College Department of Accounting. View registration, cost and other details.

November 16 – Supply Chain Immersion

From raw materials to the final customer, a company’s supply chain represents the unifying stream of activity with relevant implications for nearly every division and position. In an immersive survey of the supply chain, participants will learn about key principles and best practices within from strategic sourcing through manufacturing and on to transportation, customs brokerage and retail distribution.

Presenter is Dana Magliola, director of the Supply Chain Resource Cooperative at the NC State University Poole College of Management. View Registration, cost and other details.

November 18 – Leading Matrix Teams

Is your organization designed as a matrix, with projects and functional units, business management and technical experts, local and global leadership? This session provides participants enhanced communication, conflict resolution and influencing skills to work effectively across the matrix.

Presenter is Dan McGurrin, director of NC State Executive Education based in the NC State Poole College of Management. View registration, cost and other details.

November 30 – Taming Toxic Leadership

Toxic leadership involves the negative consequences that result from the interplay of destructive leaders, susceptible followers, and conducive environments. In this FastTrack session we will explore recent abuses of authority through this model and give you tools to better identify and manage potentially toxic situations.

Presenter is Paul Mulvey, associate professor in the NC State Poole College Department of Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. View registration, cost and other details.

December 2 – Managing Change Effectively

A year of experience in one-half day. Roll up your sleeves and tackle a realistic change project. You and your team will lead a change initiative from analysis through to planning and implementation, all within an engaging, low-risk simulation experience.

Presenter is Brad Kirkman, Gen. (Retired) H. Hugh Shelton Distinguished Professor of Leadership and head of the Department of Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the NC State Poole College of Management. View registration, cost and other details.

December 7 – Strategic Risk Management for Functional Managers

Leading any business unit, from sales to accounting, involves managing risk in an increasingly uncertain environment. In this FastTrack workshop, learn how to identify and proactively manage the risks your business unit faces in order to increase the likelihood of strategic success.

Presenter is Mark Beasley, Deloitte Professor of Enterprise Risk Management and director of the Enterprise Risk Management Initiative at the NC State University Poole College of Management. View registration, cost and other details.

December 9 – Exploring Cradle-to-Cradle Innovation for the Business Manager

This course introduces managers to the concepts of cradle-to-cradle, eco-efficiency, life cycle assessment, reverse logistics and other techniques to show how sustainability measures can be considered in the innovation/new product process. As green-design is becoming a requirement of more and more products, this course provides insights on where to begin.

Presenter is Rosanna Garcia, NC State Chancellor’s Faculty Excellence Program cluster hire in Innovation + Design and associate professor in the NC State Poole College of Management. View registration, cost and other details.

NC State Executive Education LLC, based in the NC State Poole College of Management offers open enrollment and custom programs specializing in client challenges related to innovation, leadership, product management, manufacturing and operations, risk management, supply chain management and sustainability. Presenters’ emphasis on action-learning methods and applied projects delivers a positive ROI to individual participants and client organizations.