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IDDBA Leadership Certificate Program

Get Your IDDBA Leadership Certificate from the Wisconsin School of Business Center for Professional and Executive Development at the University of Wisconsin – Madison

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uw school of business center for professional & executive development

The Pandemic crisis continues to disrupt entire industries across the globe, but more importantly, it has created winners and losers in all facets of business. Perhaps none has been more dramatic than the overnight changes and ongoing agility required in the retail, restaurant, food service, and related sectors.

Leading an organization was already a challenge, but capitalizing on new opportunities, managing all facets of risk, and pivoting quickly to profitable business models is more essential than ever. To take on the challenge and harvest the possibilities, today’s leader needs to move beyond management to a keen understanding of high performing leadership behaviors, their own strengths and areas for growth, and the business context where their own organization can meet the passions of the customer.

Join a cross section of industry peers who also want to develop elite leadership skills in an exciting, engaging, and interactive journey with top ranked faculty, industry experts, and peers who will help you explore:
  • Proven, researched leadership behaviors that create personal and organizational success.
  • What today’s customers want and expect from a business that feeds their passions for food, health, and sustainability.
  • Your organization’s business model so you can pivot towards success.
  • Your awareness of organization context and culture, which allows you to respond more thoughtfully to rapid changes in business circumstances.
  • Deep consumer insight using trend analysis and the latest social media methods.
  • Methods to analyze performance impact and efficiencies in product sales and inventory.
  • Best practices of product placement and atmospherics in stores.
  • The why and the how of Leading Inclusively in today’s diverse employment and consumer marketplace.
  • Why it is essential for leaders to understand good management.
  • What employees need from managers.
  • Leading for change in your organization and your industry.
 

This program will be delivered in an in-person format over the course of three days in beautiful Madison, Wisconsin. Set on the lakefront campus of the University of Wisconsin, you will engage with dynamic and highly interactive instructors, several of who were formerly industry practitioners and are now highly skilled instructors. You will participate in lecturettes, active discussion, small breakout teams, case studies, and individual reflection to make sure you are deeply immersed and can integrate what you learn into your work environment and culture. The program will wrap up with a guided retail tour.

This agenda may be refined to meet participant needs based on final participant registration.

Testimonials

2023 Agenda

Wednesday, September 26 – 8:30 am to 4 pm

Tim Buhl headshot image
Retail Operations and Performance
Tim Buhl, Adjunct Faculty in the Grainger Center for Supply Chain Management and a former Logistics Director and CFO provides practical strategies gained from his corporate roles for measuring and improving efficiency in supply and pricing. This session covers:
  • Purchasing Excellence – How to gain improvement in indirect spending (including capital-expenditure projects) as well as sourcing strategies, such as supplier and partnership selections.
  • End-to-End Supply Chain – Demand planning and inventory management in order to manage multichannel order-fulfillment costs while ensuring profitability. This session will focus on the new realities of sourcing and supply chain in a disrupted COVID and post COVID terrain.
  • Promotion and Pricing Management – Identifying and driving value in the eyes of the customer. Understanding the strategic pricing process.
  • Key Performance Indicators – Creating metrics that represent and complement your business objectives while allowing for appropriate monitoring and improvement opportunity identification.

Thursday, September 27 – 8:30 am to 4 pm

Artell Smith headshot image
A Strong Management Foundation – Managing People, Teams and Key Processes
A strong management foundation is critical for leadership success. This session from author and instructor Artell Smith will ensure participants have the critical skills and tools they need for themselves and managers who report to them for leading direct reports and teams to high engagement, satisfaction, resilience, and performance. This session requires up to 90 minutes of pre-reading. As a result of this session, you will gain insights and tools into understanding:
  • What does strong management this look like and why is it essential for leaders to understand?
  • What do Employees Need? What are the six conversations that matter so you maximize performance and retain high performing employees?
  • How to successfully align your team to your organization's larger business goals, provide guidance to your team on how to make and implement decisions together, and build trusting relationships both within the team and with external stakeholders.
  • A set of simple yet powerful tools to manage your team to top performance.
  • An easy-to-use framework for assessing team effectiveness through the use of Human Synergistics International’s Group Styles Inventory.
  • How to balance requirements in order to manage individuals on the team as well as the needs of the entire team.
  • How to increase your emotional intelligence to create stronger and more satisfying employee relationships that help deal with uncertainty and change.

Friday, September 28 – 8:30 am to half-day

Artell Smith headshot image
Your Keys to Executive Leadership
Whether you are currently an executive or aspire to that role, this session will give you the knowledge, frameworks and tools you need to know to be an effective executive, now or in the future. Key focus areas include:
  • Purposeful Leadership – Creating a deliberative approach that maximizes your strengths and passions while achieving organizational goals.
  • Aligning the Organization – utilizing strategy, culture, process, resources, and other key drivers of performance effectively.
  • The Leaders Role in Driving Change – Your role and the method for leading sustainable change.
  • The Ideal Change Sponsor – What do change agents and the front-line need from you?
  • How to over-predict for change to ensure success!
  • Development Action Planning – Creating accountability and a plan for your management and change opportunities.

60-day Post Program Support and Follow-up

To help ensure you can apply what you learned in the program, faculty member Artell Smith will facilitate a 90-minute online discussion regarding the goals and application activities you developed during the online sessions. In this session, you will share your progress and obstacles and get input, feedback, and additional ideas on how to increase yours and your organization’s effectiveness.

As a result of your complete attendance in the program, you will receive a Professional Certificate in Retail Leadership from the Center for Professional and Executive Development, an affiliate of the Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Details*

  • Program open March 1, 2023.
  • Dates: September 26-28 2023.
  • Tuition for Members: $2,995 per person.
  • Tuition for Non-Members: $3,995 per person.
  • Class size is limited to 30 participants.
  • Tuition includes session materials and retail tour.
  • Sessions will be on the UW-Madison campus at the Fluno Center.
  • Participants will receive information on recommend hotels and area restaurants including options at the Fluno Center for meals and lodging.

For more details, contact education@iddba.org.

*REFUND/CANCELLATION POLICY: If the program is cancelled for any reason, there will be full refunds. If the program is not cancelled, but an attendee chooses not to attend, there will be a refund minus a $49 admin fee IF another person is able to register for the seat. If the seat is not filled, it will be a forfeiture of the full tuition amount. Note: A paid tuition is allowed to be transferred to a colleague within the same company with the company's approval.

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