Start

End

7:00 am

8:00 am

Registration and Continental Breakfast

8:00 am

8:10 am

Conference Welcome

8:10 am

9:30 am

Keynote Address

Nancy Bennett, GM Corporation

9:30 am

9:50 am

Break and Vendor Showcase

9:55 am

11:30 am

TB#1

Project Management Risk Experience

Risk management is often studied but sometimes hard to practically apply. This session will remind us of the basic tenants of managing risks as well as give us an opportunity to set risk strategies and see them materialize using a board game.

The group will be divided into teams and each team will be given the same set of risks. The probability of occurrence and impact on project Cost, Schedule and Quality will be given for each of 10 risks. Teams will select their risks response strategy for each risk, then roll the dice to see if the risk occurred.

The outcomes of the impact on project Cost, Schedule and Quality will be calculated and the team that plans the best strategy will have the lowest total impact to their project.

Furman faculty will conduct this seminar.

SS #1

Get out of Email Jail

Consider the following statistics*:

• Less than one in five people begins the day with a plan

• The deluge of spam has skyrocketed to 10 billion e-mails a day

• Only 37% of those who make a task list prioritize their tasks

• Less than half of professionals feel satisfied with their work

This session teaches you how to apply effectiveness principles while using Outlook as your planning and scheduling tool. You will learn how to stop "living in your inbox" and start prioritizing tasks, messages, and appointments according to what is most important.

• Stay focused every day with a reliable planning system utilizing Microsoft Outlook

• Apply a planning process that gets better business results based on execution and priorities

• Reduce stress by recognizing and eliminating low-priority activities and distractions

• Learn effectiveness tips on how to plan and stay focused on your highest priorities.

• Best practices to help you manage the onslaught of information you receive daily

• Step-by-step instructions on using the top Microsoft Outlook features to increase your professional capabilities

This training is a must for anyone who uses Outlook as their email program!

* Sources: Harris Interactive Survey, Dec 2003, and Tech News World Special Report, Jun 2004

 A Franklin-Covey Consultant will conduct this seminar.

11:30 am

1:00 pm

Lunch, Networking

& Vendor Showcase

1:00 pm

2:30 pm

TB #2

Project “Factory” Experience

We study and implement good practice to help manage our projects, but there is another dimension of project management organizations often overlook. The number of projects in work at any one time can drastically affect the efficiency of all of them. In this session we will discuss principles and then the group will divide into teams, each running a “Project Factory.” Buy using project cards, a stopwatch and a metronome, we will see the affect of putting too many projects into the pipeline, what happens to project cycle times, what happens when we change project priorities while projects are in process and how we can better manage this part of our business.

 Furman faculty will conduct this seminar.

SS #2

Write for Results

Many professionals spend up to three hours each day attempting to express ideas and communicate important information in writing. Unfortunately, too much business writing today suffers from poor structure and muddy language.

To make certain your ideas are clearly communicated—creating your own personal competitive advantage attend this FranklinCovey session based on the Writing Advantage seminar.

What You Learn

• A four-step process to create writing that cuts through the clutter

• How to write faster with more clarity

• Skills for revising and fine-tuning every kind of document.

• Get the results you want and need from your communications.

A Franklin-Covey Consultant will conduct this seminar.

2:30 pm

2:50 pm

Break &

Vendor Showcase

2:50 pm

4:15 pm

TB #3

 A Proactive Approach to a Reactive Environment

Time Matrix and Q2 Management

Time management is a core competency of Project Management.  In this session, a consultant from Franklin Covey will provide insight into improving time management skills and addressing several proactive approaches to deal with reactive environments.

An online pretest is available for this session and would be extremely helpful to participants to complete before the Professional Development Day. It only takes 5 minutes. Go to: www.fcprofiles.com/focus   

  A Franklin-Covey Consultant will conduct this seminar.

SS #3

People Skills for Project Managers

Project managers often need to lead their project team through a variety if experiences. There are several skills that are basic to providing successful leadership. In this session we will look at the some of the key leadership issues and skills needed: establishing and focusing on mission and goals, aligning personal objectives with project objectives, communicating 360 degrees with your project team, assessing stakeholder commitment and team performance, dealing with conflict, and making good decisions.

Furman faculty will conduct this seminar.

4:15 am

4:30 pm

Closing Session – Door Prize Drawings

Technical Education Track:    Soft Skills Education Track.