March 26, 2009 Dinner Meeting (2 PDUs) March 26, 2009

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March 2009 Dinner Meeting (2 PDUs)

Thursday, March 26, 2009 from 5:15 PM - 9:00 PM (PT)

Topics:
Thinking Skills for Improvement and Innovation and
Collaboration Skills - Resolving Conflict/Resolving Options
by John Canfield

Agenda:5:15 pm 5:45 pmNew Member Orientation5:45 pm - 6:15 pm Networking6:15 pm - 7:00 pm Dinner7:00 pm - 8:30 pm Thinking Skills for Improvement & Innovation8:30 pm - 9:00 pm Collaboration Skills - Resolving Conflict/Resolving Options9:00Prize Raffle/Meeting adjourned

OverviewThis presentation presents a curriculum of structured methodologies that dramatically improve a project leaders ability to plan, solve problems, be more creative and innovative, and lead more effectively. We will also focus on one skill set, Collaboration Skills.

Part 1 - 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM - Thinking Skills for Improvement & Innovation
We can consider that intelligence and thinking are different. Intelligence is our innate capability, what we're born with. Thinking, on the other hand, is how we learn to use our intelligence, and as such, is a skill. As a skill, like bowling, golfing, cooking, etc., it can be actively improved. In one comparison, intelligence is the race car and it's finite mechanical capabilities, and thinking is the driver who can learn more and more about how to maximize the utility of the car.

Business performance improvement is built on a healthy sequence of good decisions supported by the decision makers' organizations.

Good decisions come from good thinking, the ability to solicit, consider, compare, and select good ideas.

By improving our thinking we improve our alternatives, behaviors, and decisions, contributing to improved organizational performance.

Improved Company Performance
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Improved Decisions, Behaviors
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Improved Insights and Ideas
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Improved Thinking

A very helpful question is "If I really want to improve a given situation, what's the best way to think about it?"

The Thinking Skills Curriculum includes carefully selected techniques that guide thinking and help teams make better decisions that more team members support. This is the opposite of group think. These techniques help each participant both improve and present their own ideas and their teams to make better decisions that more of the participants support.

Part 2 - 8:30 PM to 9:00 PM - Collaboration Skills - Resolving Conflict/Resolving Options
Collaboration Skills - Resolving Conflict/Resolving Options:
The vast majority of improvement team work, and business in general, is conducted through a series of meetings with a wide variety of team members, personalities, and opinions. These meetings can include two people or many people. All too often these meetings are either slowed or derailed by what many call conflict.

Sometimes conflict is disabling, preventing future progress. Sometimes conflict is laughable upon discovering a misunderstanding.

Conflict is in large part the emotional reaction we experience when we think a particular way. If we think of conflict as something to be avoided, we will behave that way working hard to establish and maintain what is often called "artificial harmony".

Learning to think about and treat conflict as merely the discovery of a different point of view helps teams move past unnecessary personal and political noise and focus on the opportunity of having many options to choose from.

This presentation will help you develop approaches, skills, and confidence that allow you to move past unproductive conflict and work more effectively taking full advantage of productive conflict.

About the Speaker
John Canfield is an experienced business executive and coach who has been trained to facilitate a wide variety of planning, problem solving, creativity, and project leadership processes. John has many years of experience working and consulting in a wide variety of organizations around the world. Prior to 1990 John was a Senior Engineering Manager for Intel Corporation and later Director of Corporate Quality and Design Research for Herman Miller.

To learn more about John please visit:

Web:www.johncanfield.com
MiBiz Article Series: www.mibiz.com/goodthinking.asp
Videos:www.youtube.com/CanfieldGoodThinking

John will be leading a full day Collaboration Skills - Resolving Conflict/Resolving Options seminar on Friday, March 27 from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM at the Odyssey Restaurant in Granada Hills.

This will be a very hands-on series of exercises to help you develop the skills and confidence necessary to lead collaboration in all of your projects at work and home. Consider attending with one of your intact work teams - it's powerful to learn these techniques as a group.

Organized by Los Padres Chapter, Project Management Institute
The Los Padres Chapter of the Project Management Institute serves San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura Counties, and the 913xx zip code areas of Western Los Angeles County. The Chapter offers a variety of programs across this geographic area designed to support our members and promote the Project Management profession.

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Ticket Info:  

• PMI-LP Member Dinner Fee Early Registration (End Date 3/24/2009 at 12:00 pm), $25.00
• Non-Member Dinner Fee Early Registration (End Date 3/24/2009 at 12:00 pm), $30.00
• Meeting Only, $10.00
• PMI-LP Member Dinner Fee Registration, $30.00
• Regular Non-Member Dinner Fee Registration, $35.00

Official Website: http://pmi-lospadres-2009-03-26-upcoming.eventbrite.com