Farrar's Faucet: A psychologist’s candid, productive and often humorous take on principled business behavior and better business outcomes.

Showing posts with label ProfessionalSpeaking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ProfessionalSpeaking. Show all posts

David to speak at Carlson School of Management


I'm on a panel to speak at the Carlson School of Management next week on "Selling, Marketing and Management Tools In The New Global Market." If you're local and you can come along I'll be glad to look out for you and introduce you around.

 It should be a good evening. They have a great panel of speakers which I'm pleased to have been invited to join. I'm looking forward to hearing what they have to say!


You can find details of the event below and: here.






SMEI Minnesota Presents

The New Global Market

Selling, marketing and management challenges in the new global market
Carlson School of Mgmt 3M Auditorium, Minneapolis
Thursday, April 22, 2010 (4:30 PM - 6:30 PM)

Moderated by Dileep Rao, Ph.D., Carlson School of Management. Three-time Outstanding MBA Teacher of the Year; International entrepreneur and book author, Bootstrap to Billions.

Amit Gupta
Chairman, Amsum & Ash, Inc

• Co-founder and chairman of TAB India, a Jaipur-based quarrier, processor and marketer of granite, marble, slate and sandstone sold around the world.

Brett Schockley
Vice President of Emerging Products & Technology, Avaya

• Co-founder of Spanlink Communications
• Leads Avaya’s global professional services team for Contact Center and Unified Communications
• MBA, Carlson School of Management

James Thomas
Vice President of International Sales, Mate Precision Tooling in Anoka

• New sales channels in Mexico, Eastern Europe and Brazil
• Former President of Colder Products International
• MBA Thunderbird-Garvin School of International Management

Dr. David Farrar
International Business Consultant

• Former head of human resources in Southeast Asia and global effectiveness manager at Cargill.
• Speaker and consulting roles in Australia, Belgium, Germany, Malaysia, South Africa, Singapore, Switzerland, UK and U.S.

This event is FREE


Advance registration is required. If you prefer to register by phone please call 800-999-1414 ext 202.

And you can go to our new Facebook Business Page if you would like to let me know you're coming.

I'll look forward to seeing you!


David presents to the Sales and Marketing Executives International

If you are interested in doing business overseas you should come along to this presentation on February 25th. I will be talking about "The Differences That Make A Difference" when it comes to doing business in another culture. I'll cover one attitude, one rule and three tools that will make your overseas experience a lot easier, and you will get to network with a great group of experienced sales and marketing professionals.

Registration details are below:

(Note: This event has now passed. If you attended and you would like a copy of the slides you can access them by clicking here.)






SMEI Minnesota Presents

The Differences that Make A Difference: Cultural Issues In
International Sales & Marketing
Fort Snelling Officer’s Club, Highway 5 and Post Rd, St. Paul
Thursday, February 25, 2010 (7:30 AM - 9:30 AM)


Dr. David Farrar will explore the issues and pitfalls that confront American sales and marketing executives when going international. His experience in global business, with a special emphasis on Asian business, will provide cultural awareness and powerful insights.

Attend this presentation for a pragmatic and humorous session on how to go international and survive in radically different cultures.

Dr. David Farrar, Former Head of Human Resources in SE Asia and Global Organization Effectiveness Manager, Cargill

David studied at the Royal Military College of Australia, (MUR), University of Melbourne, and Northwestern University, (Kellogg Business School). He has degrees in economics and psychology, completed his graduate work with honors, and was accredited as a psychologist in the Commonwealth of Australia.

His speaking and consulting roles have taken him around the world including Australia, Belgium, Germany, Malaysia, South Africa, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

He has also been an adjunct and visiting professor at various universities, where he taught classes in Ethics, Leadership and Conflict Management for MBA and other graduate programs. David is the President and CEO of FGRassociates, LLC.

You are receiving this communication as a valued member or subscriber. If you no longer wish to receive email notices about upcoming events, please reply with "unsubscribe SMEI Minnesota" in the subject line. SMEI Minnesota is a chapter of Sales & Marketing Executives International, Inc., the worldwide professional association for sales & marketing. More information at http://www.smeiminnesota.org






Some of my most popular presentations and workshops

In the past few years I have done dozens of presentations and workshops for clients in addition to my regular consulting work. It's important to be both informative and entertaining. I find people learn better when they get involved in something interesting that they haven't seen before, so all my materials involve a lot of interaction, novelty and humor.

Here's a sample of some of the most popular...


...and if you would like to see some of the client feedback click here.


What Matters Most…
It is not about being task focused or people focused. It is about being both task focused and people focused … and having the integrity to do both all the time.

Fight or Flight? What About The Other Five F’s?
An entertaining look at what people really do when confronted with change, (and how best to deal with them.)

If The World Is Flat, What’s With All The Spikes?
People are bombarded daily with messages and technologies that go unnoticed. What makes a few so successful?

Complex Sales In A Sound-Bite Market.
Who can you trust in a world gone mad? Cutting through the hype to make the complex sale.

What Really Makes A Senior Executive?
Insights from coaching and providing feedback for over 200 VPs, CEOs and other “interesting” people.

Reviewing The Non-Financials Makes Good Business Sense.
Many mergers and acquisitions provide little improvement in performance or value. A cultural due diligence improves the chances of success.

Finding The Right Direction Shouldn’t Be Hard.
Getting strategy right is not as complicated as consultants make it out to be. It certainly shouldn’t be as complicated as they want you to believe.

Five Questions For Your Executive Coach.
A good coach is probably the best thing you can do for your professional development.

Competent, Reliable, OPEN and Principled



My speaking agent recently brought to me an opportunity to do a presentation for a well known manufacturer and installer of communications and IT solutions. It should have been a great chance to work with a leader in IT, and an industry I know and like from doing many other presentations and consulting projects. Unfortunately I had to tell her I wouldn’t work with this organization.

Some time ago I sat with the regional manager of the company to discuss a market research project he was starting up. He wanted to find out what his biggest clients were saying about his business, and he wanted to invite their local general managers in for a series of informal “focus groups”. I had been called in to discuss with him how to connect with the clients and get them engaged in the project.

Things were going well until we started to discuss the records we would keep. Our plan was to take notes, anonymize the feedback, and present it to the client in a grouped report with the major themes highlighted and recommendations for action. The client wanted the verbatim feedback. We pointed out that taping and transcribing would be time consuming, and besides, people often aren’t as candid when they know they are being recorded.

To our astonishment the regional manager said we didn’t have to tell them they were being recorded!

I think he had watched one too many episodes of “Law and Order” or something similar. He thought he could set up a room with a two-way mirror, watch and record the proceedings, and use the material as feedback for his staff…

I’ve written before on trust, and how important it is to maintaining any relationship. There are four key elements to trust. People who are trustworthy are:

  • Capable: Can do what they say
  • Reliable: Will do what they say
  • Open: Will say what they do
  • Principled: Will do what they should

When it comes to trust, like a crop, you reap what you sow.

Unfortunately, when it came to being trustworthy this regional manager badly failed the third criteria. He wasn’t open…he wouldn’t say what he was going to do. The most generous interpretation of what happens when people don’t say what they do is that they run the risk of being misunderstood, which doesn’t build trust. The least generous view of people who are closed, guarded or subtly misleading is that they won’t say what they do because you wouldn’t approve. Certainly there are times when we are less than open because we are preserving a confidentiality, or being sensitive to over communicating what others are not interested in. Generally though, it’s better to err on the side of being overly open rather than overly closed.

In this case I wouldn’t be a part of what I considered to be lying to those clients who came in to participate in the focus group. Sure, if we were being technical we could have set things up so that the clients would never know they were being recorded, and provided we never promised we weren’t going to record them…nevertheless, this sort of thing leaves a very bad impression with me. People should say what they do.

In my ethics classes with graduate students I often express this a different way: What would you be proud to see widely reported in the papers or on the internet? What would you be ashamed to see reported? I don’t think the regional manager would be proud to see his actions widely reported. I don’t think it would build a sense of community with his customers.

Life is too short to spend with people you’re not proud to spend time with. I’m glad I’m not pursuing this particular speaking opportunity.

Rotary District 5950 Mid-Term Conference

It really is a great pleasure to be involved with Rotary. Speaking at the mid-term conference was especially rewarding because I got to hear some of the wonderful work being done by Rotarians here and overseas.

As I promised at the conclusion of the presentation I prepared for you a copy of the materials and overheads, (minus the jokes!) You can download them by clicking here.

We also produced a short video for you with some highlights from the presentation:







The presentation focused on how to build business in difficult times. The key takeaway was about how to make connections that turn warm opportunities to hot prospects. We discussed the importance of trust, developing social intelligence and acting with integrity.

I would like to thank you for all the kind comments and feedback. I would be pleased to respond to questions or comments. As you know our business is helping organizations improve their bottom line and develop their principled leaders. If you would like to explore how I can help your business or share some best practices please get in touch. I am also very happy to support Rotary by presenting at any of your programs when my schedule permits.

Sincerely,

David

Click here to email me with any questions or thoughts, or click on the link below to leave a comment.

Some of our recent feedback

"David and I joined Moore's Australasia businesses at the same time and were part of a business turnaround team charged with transforming the financial and cultural fortunes of a "challenged" collection of companies. 
 
David was a delight to work with, always positive and creative in the most difficult of situations. He is a strong, disciplined and focussed leader who has the great ability to keep the team motivated on getting the job done with a minimum of fuss and drama. A real professional and one of life's genuinely "good guys" :-)" 
Martyn Dadds, SVP Managing Director, continental Europe, RR Donnelley

Top qualities: Great Results, Personable, Creative
“David is a leadership consultant who gets results. I hired David to help with integrating a new leader to our senior team. He listened deeply, provided a customized and relevant program based on our needs, and the outcome was significant. I highly recommend David as a consultant who can add value, while making what he does enjoyable. He is a pleasure to work with, and someone who can bring strategic value to any organization." Kay Whitmore, Vice President, Human Resources at Acadia Insurance Company


Top qualities: Great Results, Personable, High Integrity
“David provided training for my HR team at our recent conference held in Minneapolis. It was certainly a pleasure to work with David from the planning to the day long conference. He helped everyone of us see the big picture of team work within our company, take ownership of making our own individual brand, and did it all with customized material about our company!! David's material was second to none & was concrete, entertaining, usable, and engaging from beginning to end!!” Robyn Salonek, Benefits Analyst at Cardinal Glass Industries, Inc., VP of Programs at Twin Cities Human Resource Association

"David Farrar was so wonderful to work with. We planned several seminars together and David always was approachable and pleasant. He has a rare ability to work successfully with all levels of management and employees. He is very well schooled in his areas of expertise. If I were planning to do a management seminar or workshop, David would definitely be at the top of my list of people to work with." Julie Nekola, former IT Communications Specialist and IT Training Manager, Cargill, currently Owner, Holly & Ivy Christmas Shop LLC

"I found your presentation "spot on." Your platform skills, sense of humor, content and ease working the audience was impressive. Those kudos come from someone who has seen many presenters over 20 years in business." Duane Roemmich, Consultant, Mercuri International, USA Inc.

David has my highest recommendation. He is an active contributor and his work demonstrates skill, knowledge and passion.” Charlotte Woods, Senior Human Resource Business Partner (Div VP HR) at Invensys

Thank you very much for your support during my interviews. The feedback that you gave me ... in early summer was particularly helpful. The STAR framework is indelibly burned on to my brain.” Tom Conn, Account Manager, Network Instruments
 
“David is extremely capable, interpersonally. He can communicate at all levels of business, and to a broad and diverse audience. His proficiency in organizational structure, alignment, alternatives, and effectiveness is second to none. In addition to using these skills to best effect, he is able to demonstrate and teach the value of these skills, to others.” Alistair Jacques , VP Corporate I/T Services , Cargill and now SVP and CIO Ovations at UnitedHealth Group
“David and I were brought together to present a program for the American Meat Institute several years ago. I learned a great deal in working with David as he shared his vast knowledge in the area of Emotional Intelligence and how it related to the development of employees. I am proud to say, that with David's input, the program was a smashing success and we were invited back later to do another session. I can recommend David for every type and level of management development.” Leo Bartlett , Owner , The Bartlett Group, Inc

Top qualities: Personable , Expert , Creative.” Ron Leonhardt, Vice President, Global Human Resources at Smiths Medical

“What a pleasure it has been to know and work with David. Our first encounter was at the Twin Cities Chapter of ASTD when he presented on Emotional Intelligence. His presentation was very well received and rated one of the best. Since then, David joined the Marketing Committee for ASTD-TCC and ultimately stepped into the role of director. His enthusiasm, willingness to dive in and help as well as his creativity all have a positive impact. Most important is David's ability to lead. He builds such strong relationships that everyone he works with wants to do an excellent job in support of his vision.” Bob Cummins
, Director - Marketing , ASTD-TCC and Director of Learning and Development at Land O Lakes.

“Your insights and teaching style were of especially high quality. Thank you for showing our clients the tremendous value of paying close attention to interpersonal dynamics and cultural nuances when doing business outside the US.” Steve Riedel, International Trade Representative, Department of Employment and Economic Development Minnesota Trade Office


"I am a satisfied customer and would like to personally thank David Farrar for his excellent service. I received commuincation, support and advice that exceeded all my expectations. I would not think twice in contacting or recommending you in the future. Thank you for all your help" Joanne Hurst, Cargill, Financial Reporting European Regional Coordinator



“I can’t let another day go by without letting you know how pleased I was with your presentation. Everyone enjoyed it immensely. People were still talking about it the next day…Again, thanks a million and let me know if there is anything or recommendations I can offer. You really made me and the MTA look good.” Moses Dennis, Communications Manager, Minnesota Telecom Alliance

“I just wanted to thank you again for speaking at our Customer Council Event last week. We heard numerous positive comments from our attendees. Your presentation was a "breath of fresh air" and the perfect way to kick off our Monday afternoon.” Christina Sandok, Marketing Programs Manager, SPS Commerce


“I would like to recommend a speaker to you who I had the pleasure of hearing a few weeks ago. Bear in mind that I have sat through hundreds of speakers over the years, this guy was absolutely fantastic!” Carrie Rice, Regulatory Affairs Administrator, HICKORYTECH


“I have known David for a number of years through our connection with the Council of Independent Management Consultants. David's STAR method of evaluating behavior is one of the most insightful approaches I’ve ever come across. Working in security, the insider threat is the most concerning because of the scale of damage that can be done. His insights have helped me identify potential problems and minimize exposures.” Michael Janes, Owner, Cyber Guard Dog


“Thanks so much for once again facilitating the board of directors' retreat. You have a way of putting everyone at ease and helping people to draw conclusions and create action plans. The board reacted with a positive enthusiasm that will carry them forward to do the tough job ahead. It's always a pleasure to work with you!” Dianne T. Hennes, Ed.D., Principal and Co-Founder, HBH Associates


“I worked with David on two projects. David's knowledge and dedication to the job are among his best qualities. Where David's skills really shine are his presentations and his insightfulness into the human equation of people to people skills. David in our first consultation completely changed the way I do business.” Neal McMahon, President, Gippy’s Internet Solutions


“I've worked with David for 5 years as a colleague but for different organizations. He performs quality work to a high standard in the areas of senior management coaching, complex problem solving involving multiple stakeholders, and project management. David projects a professional and engaging demeanor and is a skilled facilitator.” Ben Redshaw, Human Resources Director, Europe, Travelers


“David, [you did an] outstanding job at the MN HRP Association meeting on Emotional Intelligence (EI) training. Not only did you provide helpful information, the materials added to the tool box of busy executives. It was engaging, and spiced with dashes of humor and wonderful interactive features.” Barbara Milon, Executive Director, Phyllis Wheatley Community Center


“Thanks very much for the assessment results you sent me. I appreciate very much the service you do in spite of the distance between our work place.” Ed Martinez, San Miguel Foods and Beverage International Ltd., Philippines


“David is a well networked professional who is always willing to lend a helping hand. David provided me with many resources when I was planning a professional development event for HRP-MN and his professionalism and knowledge were greatly appreciated!”
Brent Reichow, Business Development Manager / Recruitment Strategy Consultant, Rada Advertising, Inc

“I highly recommend David. His approach to helping set a planning strategy for a Board of Directors I'm on has been very insightful.” Jason Inskeep, President, Adoska, Inc


“I really enjoyed the learning from that session. The information was presented in a very pleasant, user friendly format. I was very surprised that the follow-up on your presentation was so thorough and personalized. What an excellent service you provide.” Maxine Pegors, Former President, Human Resources Professionals of Minnesota


“I wanted to thank you for this evening. You made [our] event a success. It was great to see the support through attendance. You did a great job with the time constraint and I would guess everyone walked away with something.” Mary Christensen, Principal, Experienced Resources, LLC


“His assessment was spot on with me and helped me a lot.” Donna Ploof, Snr Account Executive, RHR Information Services, Inc


"
You did an outstanding job of presenting the material in an easy to understand way and keeping us engaged the entire time. Hats off to you." Deborah Rogers, Rogers Choice Strategies

“Thanks for sharing these tools, David.” Jamie Anding, OD Manager, Motorola Inc


What makes these testimonials special? Trust
I am deeply appreciative of the positive feedback these people have provided. I always emphasize with clients that trust is the essential ingredient in any relationship. These people have been good enough to give me their trust with their business: Trust that I am capable; Trust that I am reliable; Trust that I am open in everything I do, and Trust that I will do whatever I can in a principled way to satisfy their business needs.

Sincerely,
David
Download a version to print or share here.