Saturday Roundtables
Saturday, May 22, 10–11:45 a.m.

Building the Talent Within: Growing Effective Leaders
Mark W. McClennan, APR, vice president, Schwartz Communications
Bryan Scanlon, president, Schwartz Communications

Agency principals face a choice as their firms grow: bring in outside talent or develop it from within. Benefits and drawbacks accompany each option. By building talent from within, agencies can reinforce their culture, strengthen career-track opportunities, and help reduce attrition. However, with this focus, agencies must vigilantly guard against creating a closed institutional mindset or too narrow skill sets. Bryan Scanlon and Mark McClennan will share the best practices Schwartz Communications has used to successfully develop and grow more than 40 current vice presidents and supervisors.

                                                                                                                     
Managing Your Brand in the Era of Web 2.0
Karen Albritton, president, Capstrat

A customer slams your company on YouTube. A new product needs a Cadillac launch on a Chevy budget. A former employee pleads guilty to federal charges, then blogs about it. In this session, Karen Albritton will discuss the challenges and opportunities of managing high visibility clients in the online space. Also, Albritton will provide guidelines on managing your clients' brands and your own reputation.


Retaining Your Best
Kelly Womer, APR, ABC, vice president, Linhart Public Relations

The economy and job market are eventually going to turn around. While voluntary turnover hasn’t been much of an issue in the past year, some experts say companies may face a “resume tsunami” of defections just as they rebuild their workforce and take advantage of the economic recovery. Now is the time to retain, reward and recognize your high performance employees. Learn how to maintain your work force and continue to build your bottom line.


Do You Need an Attitude Adjustment? (Hint: Effective Leaders Do)
Alan Cohen, MBA, CPC, president, Acts of Balance Executive Coaching

Attitude is how to separate an effective leader from a mediocre one. Alan Cohen will introduce you to “Energy Leadership,” a unique form of leadership that focuses on attitude — the very thing that impacts our ability to lead, run successful businesses, and create strong results. “Energy Leadership” is unlike other assessment tools, which focus more on personality preference (a quality that generally can not be changed). The good news: attitude and the core thoughts that drive it can be shifted to enable agency heads to lead more effectively.


Systems for Success: Building a Winning Corporate Culture and Brand
Tom Gable, APR, Fellow PRSA, CEO, Gable PR

In order to stand out from the competition, an agency must get creative, develop a unique culture, and promote innovation. This interactive workshop will go through the steps necessary to build a results-based culture, engage staff more actively and grow a long-term brand image.


The Second Six Months: Strategies for the Rest of the Year
George Rosenberg, principal, The Rosenberg Group Inc.

As we look to the third and fourth quarter of 2010, several questions arise: what key strategies should firms consider incorporating into their toolkits to increase revenue and maximize profit? What are some time-honored techniques that most agencies neglect today? And, how can agency owners and senior management adapt these techniques to their firms? In this interactive session, George Rosenberg will share specific recommendations based on his agency experience and consulting work for firms across the country.


The Seven Deadly Sins of Succession Planning
John Szold, CEO, Planning For Succession

You’ve done everything to create a successful agency, from an impressive client roster to an excellent team managing accounts. However, have you identified the person best suited to take the CEO reins when the time comes? Effective succession planning ensures a continuity of leadership. It supports future growth through the retention, increases motivation, and creates a seamless transition from one management team to the next. Drawing on recent case studies, John Szold outlines what he calls, “The Seven Deadly Sins of Succession Planning.” Come discuss a host of development strategies that could enhance your future leaders' success.


What’s a Community Manager?
Amber Naslund, director of community, Radian6 Technologies Inc.

The job titles of community manager and social media manager are still relatively new. What is the scope of this position and how does this function support your PR or marketing team? Amber Naslund will explain these developing roles and answer your questions about how PR teams achieve organizational objectives alongside social media managers.

*Image Credit: Asheville Convention & Visitors Bureau