John U Bacon

Writer, Public Speaker, College Instructor

Let Them Lead

Based on Bacon’s experience leading the Ann Arbor Huron hockey team from the school’s worst to best in three years (despite being the worst player in school history – and he can prove that!), all captured in his book, Let Them Lead: Unexpected Lessons in Leadership from America’s Worst High School Hockey Team. This is a fun presentation, and surprisingly moving, full of practical lessons that leaders of all kinds can use the next day, and deeper philosophies they can employ for the rest of their careers to motivate their teams to work harder, work together, and take responsibility for their own success.

Dr. Richard Tedeschi

Professor of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Posttraumatic Growth: A Transformative Personal and System Response to Trauma

Dr. Tedeschi and his colleague, Lawrence Calhoun, defined the concept of posttraumatic growth (PTG) in their research at UNC Charlotte, showing how traumatic events can be catalysts for positive change. In this presentation, Dr. Tedeschi will describe how individuals and groups can respond to trauma in transformative ways. He will discuss the various versions of PTG and the process by which it occurs. Participants will be introduced to ways they can facilitate this process in those they encounter in their personal lives and organizations.

Huda Essa

Founder, Culture Links

Growing Forward with CommUNITY Building

This meaningful and timely learning opportunity is designed to sharpen your ever-important professional skills of empathy and productive communications. Leave with an increased capacity to utilize diversity as an invaluable asset that benefits you, your organization, and all others.

Amy Emberling

Managing Partner, Zingerman's Bakehouse

Embracing Crisis

Managing periods of significant change and uncertainty can be both terrifying and empowering. Amy Emberling, Managing Partner of Zingerman’s Bakehouse, will reflect on leading through crisis—staying true to your organization’s guiding principles and mission while finding ways to develop flexibility and tolerance for uncertainty. Using examples from the last two years at Zingerman's Bakery she will share everyday approaches that helped them engage energetically and enthusiastically with an existential crisis. How do we get our colleagues, and ourselves, to embrace the opportunities presented by crisis?

Ari Weinzweig

Founding Partner and CEO, Zingerman's

The Resilience of a Healthy Organizational Ecosystem

While the world focuses on big headlines and dramatic confrontations, servant leaders continue on, quietly but meaningfully, tending to their organization’s culture. In this talk, Zingerman’s co-founder Ari Weinzweig shares his multi-year inquiry into how the idea of looking at organizations as ecosystems elevates organizational effectiveness, enhances leadership, and enriches quality of life. Like the garden’s rich soil helps plants to grow, an organization’s rich culture will allow its people to grow and flourish within it.

“The aim is to create systems that are ecologically-sound and economically viable, which provide for their own needs, do not exploit or pollute, and are therefore sustainable in the long term.” - Bill Mollison

When we do it well, wonderful things will happen.