Leadership Breakfast of Maryland

Doors Open at 7:00 AM

Session: 7:30 AM to 8:45 AM.

Feel free to stay and discuss the session until 9:30 AM.

If you have any difficulties registering, please just send an email to: jacklgates@leadershipbreakfast.org and indicate your plans (attend or not), and your name and organization as you wish it to be shown on your name badge at the meeting.

January 5, 2018

Business Innovation Sabotage:

Steps That Can Prevent It

People can overcome bad habits that prevent them from achieving their goals… habits that make them feel comfortable and safe in what they’re doing, but which sabotage their efforts to change when better ideas are right there in front of them.

It may be easy to identify bad personal habits that cause problems in behaviors like eating, lifestyle, and self-image. Unfortunately, we often hold onto what we already know as the only safe and comfortable standard. As business leaders, this can mean being blocked from clearly evaluating new ideas as they are developed. Like having a mantra of “we do things because we have been doing it this way for years!”

This session is about how our response to new ideas can change - whether the source is our own ideas or the ideas of others.

One Definition of a Good Business Leader

A good business leader has an open stance and belief that every idea coming to him or her is worthy of consideration. This kind of leader listens with an unbiased mind, recognizing that there may be value to discover and that there may be a seed of innovation that may come about as a result. This is a learned response.

Defining the Problem

The inability to look at change and appropriately respond to new ideas is the death knell to business and innovation.

Virtually all of us know of an idea being rejected before its completely heard or considered.

In this session we will explore the reason behind this tendency and a positive alternative.

To highlight this tendency and illustrate the alternative, we will look at two examples - a CEO from the book, Immunity to Change (Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey, Harvard Business Review Press) and a case study from my work.

With these as a backdrop, we will examine two paths that define a moment of truth and choice between the being open to new ideas path and the sabotage path - illustrating the difference of the paths with examples. As a result, with a better understanding of the chosen path, we can visualize how to change to get a different outcome.

The interactive activity for this session will be to explore known situations where an idea was presented but did not receive adequate attention or consideration (or an idea which was given active attention and consideration AND was a success). In groups of 4, the participants will determine the critical elements which derailed the idea (or created a success), and several groups will report their findings as time permits.

Defining the Solution

In conclusion, I will describe 5 Secrets to Stop The Sabotaging and Silencing – which offers clarity to what is possible when we open our mind beyond anything that doesn’t perfectly match the established mental picture.

Take-Aways From This Session:

Participants will take-away some new ideas and additional clarity, such as:

• Beneficial results can be available when a leader listens openly to new ideas

• Willingness to really listen and consider new ideas fosters business innovation

  • Creating a path for sharing new ideas creates an environment of participation and sense of value for employees and followers.

About Our Facilitator:

Kay Loughrey is a speaker with a universal message. She has been featured in major media including the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Men’s Fitness Magazine, Newsday, and television and radio stations.

As a public health professional and dietitian-nutritionist, she was a frequent speaker on health promotion and disease prevention at conferences and professional meetings during 28 years of public service that included the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

As a business owner and health and weight loss coach since 2011, she now addresses inner and outer health and habit issues with private clients.

Contact Information:

Kay Loughrey, MPH, MSM, RDN, LDN

Sweet Life Wellness

Phone: 301-5869-1787 (option 3)

Email: Kay@sweetlifewellness.com

Website: www.SweetLifeWellness.com

If you have any difficulties registering, please just send an email to: jacklgates@leadershipbreakfast.org and indicate your plans (attend or not), and your name and organization as you wish it to be shown on your name badge at the meeting.

Venue

The Conference Center at the Offices of Shulman, Rogers, Gandal, Pordy, and Ecker, P.A.

12505 Park Potomac Avenue

6th Floor

Potomac, MD 20854

(I270 & Montrose Road)

Map & Directions

Our Gracious Host/Sponsor: Shulman Rogers, Gandal, Pordy & Ecker, P.A.

Resolutionary Thinking

Focusing on solutions. Thinking creatively and tenaciously about outcomes. About what’s in your best interests. Getting matters resolved, so you can get on with what matters to you. That’s resolutionary thinking. And that’s made Shulman, Rogers, Gandal, Pordy & Ecker, P.A., one of the largest, most respected law firms in the Washington Metropolitan Area.

In 1972, Shulman Rogers was founded on a commitment to client service. Today, the firm’s roster of highly skilled attorneys and other dedicated staff members are all guided by that same commitment. A client-first approach. A smart, efficient practice. A relentless focus on problem-solving. And an underlying compassion—for our clients and our community. It all adds up to resolutionary thinking. The kind of thinking you can count on from the people of Shulman Rogers.