Mini MBA

March 8, June 21, Oct. 11, 2024

This session delves inside the numbers to examine the key performance indicators and measurement tools critical to profitability. We provide deep analysis for financial reporting, accounting, profit/loss statements, balance sheets, cash flow, and capital investments. Attendees will receive new insights into budgeting, ROI decision processes, and capital allocation exercises. The main emphasis will be on understanding the conceptual nature of these subjects and how they can be utilized to inform enterprise decision-making and strategic development.

Session Topics

• Financial Strategies & Best Practices
• Accounting and Reporting Overview
• Financial Statements Review
• Capital Investments Insight
• Profitability and Net Profit Ratio Reporting

Session Leader: James Barnes, CPA, CGMA

James "Jimmy" Barnes is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Accountancy at Clemson University. He has worked at Clemson for over ten years where he has served as the Business Officer for the Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business and Behavioral Science and the Financial Planning and Analysis Officer for Academic Affairs. In his current role he teaches courses in data analytics, emerging technology in accounting, and accounting ethics. He also works with admissions for Clemson's Master of Professional Accountancy Program. Prior to coming to Clemson, he served as the Controller for Erskine College for six years. Jimmy worked in public accounting for six years with Deloitte and Touche and McKinley, Cooper & Co. in Greenville, SC. During this time he served various manufacturing, insurance, governmental and nonprofit clients.

Jimmy holds an undergraduate degree in accounting from Winthrop University and a master's in Accountancy from The University of Georgia. He is a licensed certified public accountant in the State of South Carolina and holds the chartered global management accountant designation by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Nov. 3, 2023, March 22, July 19, Oct. 25, 2024

This is where it all starts. Having a solid business strategy is a must for any successful business—but it should also be doable and practical. Strategies that remain theoretical do no good, no matter how great they sound. Every strategy must include an action plan to determine the business scope, competitive position, and performance goals. Attendees will discover firsthand the process for devising holistic, ROI-focused strategies, as well as the proper frameworks and tools for activation and analysis. You will gain critical knowledge about dynamic competitive rivalry, corporate strategy issues, and business plan implementation and evaluation.

Session Topics

• Business Scope & Goals
• Deployment & Implementation Tools
• Internal Strategic Alignment
• Competitive Positioning
• Long-term Corporate Strategy

Session Leader: Steve Whigham

Executive Director, Global Strategies
SINA: Strategy in Action

Steve is a business and marketing strategist who has worked his entire career with noted companies/brands such as Michelin, BFGoodrich Tires, Verizon Wireless, Ski Nautique, NAPA Auto Parts, The Toro Company, BMW Manufacturing, Johnson & Johnson's Ethicon Division, CloudFactory, Brinker International (Chili's, Macaroni Grill, On The Border), European Endoscopic Training Centre, Pfizer, Milliken & Company, Volvo Construction Equipment, Porsche Cars North America, Averitt Express, Gerber Children's Products, BlueBird Bus Company, Greenville Hospital System, MyMedChoices, Tire Centers Inc., USAutoForce, Northland International University, and World News Group among many others. Steve has worked with businesses on four continents and over thirty countries.

March 15, June 28, Oct. 18, 2024

In business, as in life, you have to find effective ways to navigate challenging relationships. The goal of this session is to help you maximize your success in dealing with those individuals who, for whatever reasons, you find challenging. This interactive session provides you with opportunities to practice a variety of approaches to preventing, surviving, and overcoming interpersonal conflicts.

Session Topics

• Understanding your role in establishing and maintaining healthy relationships
• Communicating expectations for employee performance behavior
• Maintaining mutually beneficial relationships with peers and superiors
• Applying appropriate tools and techniques to achieve consistently positive interactions
• Identifying action steps when performance problems persist

Session Leader: Erick Herlong, ACC
Consultant, McKinnon Leadership Group

For over 27 years, Erick Herlong has worked in corporate settings, leading diverse teams and organizations. Over that time, his greatest passion has been developing and coaching people. For the last ten years, along with his corporate career, Herlong has trained in and taught yoga, mindfulness and meditation. The benefits he has experienced from this training have fundamentally shifted how he shows up as a leader in corporate work.

Herlong uses professional and teaching experience and coaching frameworks and assessments to help leaders clarify their current state and then partners with them in a thought-provoking process that inspires them to maximize their potential.

Herlong's role as a coach is to encourage self-discovery in a way that empowers the leader to harness their passions and strengths, to increase their leadership effectiveness and to expand what they hold possible for their life and career.

Feb. 9, May 24, Sept. 20, 2024

Data is everywhere today. Thanks to technological and storage advances, endless data can be gathered and stored at unprecedented rates. With data becoming more important than ever to the success of businesses, the question most companies try to answer is, "How do we become more data-driven?" This interactive session will cover the three most important components of creating value from data: data visualization and storytelling, information management and analytics, and decision tools and practical analytics applications.

Session Topics

• Understanding the psychology of data visualization
• Simplifying the complexity of large data sets
• Creating visual narratives and storytelling
• Applying best practices in data visualization
• Transforming siloed data into certified data sources
• Utilizing data joins and blends to create innovative uses of data
• Managing and governing data at the enterprise level
• Creating value from data
• Building decision tools and analytics applications that enable data-driven decision-making

Session Leader: Michael Mino

Michael is a serial entrepreneur who has founded and grown a number of technology-based start-ups. His most recent re-startup, PropertyBoss Solutions, was sold to a private equity firm in 2016. His electrical engineering and finance MBA education help him navigate that exciting intersection of building ventures by solving problems with technology. He started his career developing factory automation for large businesses including Kodak, Xerox, and Black and Decker. Boards he has served on include Clemson's Rutland Institute for Ethics, Institute for Global Road Safety and Security (IGRSS), ORMEC Systems Corp, and InnoVision Awards. While scouting for the next adventure, he facilitates courses in entrepreneurship and technology innovation in the Clemson MBA and CUICAR programs and mentors start-ups in the region.

Jan. 19, May 10, Aug. 30, 2024

As our business community becomes more international, we are more likely to interact with diverse cultures. This presents a challenge for our organizations. Acquiring a skilled way of communicating effectively with partners, suppliers and customers from various cultures is essential for success. This session prepares participants to understand the factors driving miscommunication and what it takes to ensure common understanding. The learning experience is enhanced through illustrated situations, light activities and case studies.

Session Topics

• The process of communication
• Cultural framework and how it impacts our behavior
• Mitigate the negative influences of language, culture and distance
• Make and keep commitments with people from different cultures
• Tips and ideas that will help you interact successfully in multicultural settings

Session Leader: Karen Dudley-Culbreath

Human Resource Executive

Karen Dudley-Culbreath is a Human Resource Executive with over 20 years of experience. Her passion is providing HR solutions to organizations by consulting on people strategies to exceed business goals. She excels in partnering on HR Optimization, LEAN Improvements, Succession Planning, Workplace Investigations and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion solutions. Karen has enjoyed working for a start-up, transforming and mature companies in various industries including hospitality, retail, government and non-profits. Most recently she worked in a corporate position at Walmart, Global Business Services division, as a senior H.R. operations manager.

Karen holds a Master of Business Administration from Thomas More University in Crestview Hills, KY. She attended Miami University (Oxford, OH) and the University of Cincinnati for her undergraduate years. She is SHRM certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SHRM-SCP). As well, she holds a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. Karen is an active member of many prominent organizations including the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), Greenville Society of Human Resource Management (GSHRM) and Greenville Commerce Club where she serves as the chairperson for the Diversity in Commerce committee.

Karen enjoys spending time with her family, traveling and reading. She is married and has a daughter and two grandsons. Karen has a passion for developing professionals. She can often be found coaching and presenting on an array of topics in her spare time.

Jan. 12, May 3, Aug. 23, 2024

Successful leaders are never stagnant or content—they continue to evolve, develop and sharpen their leadership skills in order to stay relevant and maximize their influence. After all, business success depends on strong leaders with clear, long-term vision. It is critical to growth and improved ROI, both today and in the future. In this session, we will enable you to customize your own leadership philosophy to help define your critical role as a leader. As pre-work, you will complete a self-assessment type indicator. You will gain the necessary skills for recruitment, development, negotiations, evaluations, coaching, and more.

Session Topics

• Operations & Organizational Management
• Applied Ethics & Leadership Development
• Self-Assessment Type Indicator (MBTI or HBDI)
• Persuasion & Negotiations
• Human Resources
• Employee Evaluations

Session Leader: Gail DePriest

Director of Executive Leadership Development and Corporate Relations
Clemson MBA

Gail DePriest is currently a Senior Lecturer and Director of Executive Education and Corporate Relations for the Clemson MBA. As an SVP and Corporate Director for a global talent management consulting firm, she has advised Fortune 500 companies and top-ranked business schools. She has an entrepreneurial background and teaches Innovation & Creativity in the MBAe program and Leadership & Ethics. Some of her consulting clients have included Michelin North America, BMW and United Community Bank. She was awarded the Ralph Elliott Award, Dean's Interdisciplinary Teaching Award and Principal Lecturer Status.

Feb. 23, June 14, Oct. 4, 2024

Simply hiring a diverse workforce is not enough. Research shows that inclusive workplaces are six times more likely to be innovative and twice as likely to meet or surpass financial goals. In other words, organizations need both a diverse workforce and an inclusive workplace to leverage the benefits of diversity and inclusion.

Over the years, the management of diversity and inclusion has evolved from a focus on compliance to a focus on contemporary frameworks for understanding differences. This shift has led to organizations experiencing better performance in terms of ability to innovate, responsiveness to changing customer needs and adaptability to evolving markets.

During this session, participants will review best practices that demonstrate how strategic diversity and inclusion initiatives provide organizations with a competitive advantage. More importantly, participants will leave with practical strategies that can help foster inclusion and equity at their organizations.

Session Topics:

• Countering Unconscious Bias
• Improving Team Engagement
• Fostering a Culture of Open Communication
• Building a Case for D&I – Measuring Impact

Session Leader: Karen Dudley-Culbreath

Human Resource Executive

Karen Dudley-Culbreath is a Human Resource Executive with over 20 years of experience. Her passion is providing HR solutions to organizations by consulting on people strategies to exceed business goals. She excels in partnering on HR Optimization, LEAN Improvements, Succession Planning, Workplace Investigations and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion solutions. Karen has enjoyed working for a start-up, transforming and mature companies in various industries including hospitality, retail, government and non-profits. Most recently she worked in a corporate position at Walmart, Global Business Services division, as a senior H.R. operations manager.

Karen holds a Master of Business Administration from Thomas More University in Crestview Hills, KY. She attended Miami University (Oxford, OH) and the University of Cincinnati for her undergraduate years. She is SHRM certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SHRM-SCP). As well, she holds a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. Karen is an active member of many prominent organizations including the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), Greenville Society of Human Resource Management (GSHRM) and Greenville Commerce Club where she serves as the chairperson for the Diversity in Commerce committee.

Karen enjoys spending time with her family, traveling and reading. She is married and has a daughter and two grandsons. Karen has a passion for developing professionals. She can often be found coaching and presenting on an array of topics in her spare time.

Nov. 10, 2023, April 5, July 26, Nov. 8, 2024

The world is changing faster than ever before; from evolutions in customer preference to shifts in business models, it is hard to keep up and maintain relevance. How do you stay competitive, how do you maximize your opportunities and how do you grow your business? In this session, we will dive into where the world is going, what factors are driving the change and how to take a mindful approach toward business evolution. We'll look at how changing customer expectations around trust, loyalty, and transparency are becoming increasingly important. As well as discussing real-world examples of how small, medium and large businesses are reinventing themselves and how you can leverage those insights in your organization and career.

Session Topics

• Impact of technological changes
• Evolution of expectations
• Designing tests and experiments before making large investments
• Understanding the attention economy
• Leveraging small data and big data
• Developing an "always learning plan" for you and your teams

Session Leader: Robbie Fitzwater

Marketing Leader, Strategist and Teacher

Robbie is a transformational marketing leader with a passion for empowering those around him to be the best version of themselves. As an early pioneer in the digital marketing space, he has led organizations and brands through various digital transformations. He currently runs MKTG Rhythm where he helps businesses grow by evolving their marketing strategy and teaches in the Clemson MBA program. See more about Robbie here.

Dec. 8, 2023, April 19, Aug. 16, Dec. 6, 2024

Over the recent past in organizations of all shapes and sizes, the old adage of, "We will deal with that once things slow down" has become a bankrupt statement. The environment of constant change in which our businesses and their leadership must exist and succeed today is not only here to stay, the pace of change is accelerating and will continue to do so. Today, in many ways, the commercial world rewards mental and physical agility almost as much as it rewards experience. In fact, the experience can quickly erode into a liability if we hold onto principles and processes that are no longer relevant.

Leaders today have to find new and innovative ways of informing and impressing upon our colleagues the need to be acutely aware of and quickly adapt to emerging and evolving cultural, economic, and commercial changes, challenges, and opportunities. "Storytelling" of true, real-life experiences is proving to be a powerful, impactful way to illustrate new realities that run counter to conventional thought and current approaches. Stories, told in an authentic, but compelling manner, are proving to be a highly effective means of educating our personnel to paradigm shifts in the business landscape and getting them to quickly accept and adopt new perspectives. Ultimately, the expectation and acceptance of the concept that "significant" change now occurs on a regular basis fuels an innovative culture that thrives on transformation and can weather the storms of chaos when necessary.

Learning Objectives

1. Learn how to lead your organization from the historical perspective of "Change is inevitable" to "Live for Change".
2. Learn the process of "Sensemaking/Sensegiving" that enables leaders to challenge conventional wisdom using real-life examples and evocative terms. Help colleagues and subordinates get their head around new, emerging market realities and come to a point of intellectual and emotional acceptance and understanding.
3. In an environment where the pace of change creates great ambiguity (and sometimes fear) relative to company direction and strategy and "What's next?" learn to be proactive in seeking and securing examples of individuals and situations that vividly illustrate the paradox between historical approaches and the need for evolutionary (or in some case, revolutionary), innovative ideas and solutions.
4. Learn how to become a better "storyteller" that holds your audience at rapt attention, not because you are overly charismatic, but because the content enlightens, energizes, and equips your constituents to accept and understand new or emerging realities and conceptualize innovative ways to capitalize upon the resulting opportunities.
5. Learn how to recognize emerging authentic leaders in your organization...not by position, but by their performance. Gauge which leaders have the potential to be "raconteurs," i.e. "skilled storytellers".

Session Topics

• Leading from a Historical Perspective
• Making Sense of the Realities in Leadership
• Proactive Innovation in Leadership
• Creating Innovation and Opportunities through Storytelling
• Recognizing Emerging Leaders in your Organization

Session Leader: Toby Stansell

Managing Director, Cherry Bekaert Technology Solutions Group

With more than 35 years of experience, Toby possesses a broad base of knowledge and expertise working with manufacturing and distribution sector clients in the arenas of order management, supply-chain planning/execution, ERP implementations, and lean materials management. His strong business technology expertise, combined with his executive management experience, helps clients capitalize upon transformative opportunities to increase the productivity of people and processes.

Feb. 16, June 7, Sept. 27, 2024

Developing the right strategy or plan is only half the battle. Success depends on effective and efficient implementation and execution. Realizing a plan's requirements, scope, and risks will enable real-time problem-solving, as well as critical response adaptation to ensure the project's ultimate success. You will not only learn how to shepherd a project to success but also how to better understand change management, resolve conflict, and devise ongoing strategies that determine success.

Session Topics

• Project Planning and Execution
• Team and Executive Buy-In's
• Process Implementation and Control
• Successful Project Completion and Exit

Session Leader: Kathy "Kat" Snizaski

Owner/Trainer
ibT (interactive business Training), Greenville, SC

Kat has over 20 years of experience dedicated to providing employees with state-of-the-art professional development training and the knowledge to create a path for greater success. During this time, she spent 8 years in Clemson University's IT department, working as the Staff and Faculty's professional development coordinator. Kat wants to help you to become better thinkers, show better performance and get better results.

Jan. 26, May 17, Sept. 6, 2024

Storytelling has always been central to human experience. Storytelling is how we explain and make sense of the world. Today, media-savvy audiences tune out advertising messages while searching for a more immersive and connected experience.

The way businesses and professionals need to communicate is changing rapidly. They must adapt to new technologies, platforms, and social channels to reach, engage, and influence qualified prospects and influence existing customers. This session identifies social media platforms and advanced digital strategies in key social media spaces and what impact storytelling and content marketing can have on your business. Briefcase studies illustrate how other companies have used new media and social spaces for brilliant successes, as well as resounding failures.

"I have been in printing and marketing my entire life and I am still blown away at the value of information that was presented today. Looking forward to bringing this value back to my team and my organization! THANK YOU Bobby!" - Jamie C.

"Great content, great discussion, not just power point presentation; very helpful information with regards to personal-focused marketing and analytics tools!" - David I.

Session Topics

• Digital Media and Social Media Tools
• Advanced Marketing Techniques
• Customer Service and Message Management
• Brand Management
• Content Marketing
• Advanced Digital Storytelling

Session Leader: Bobby Rettew, M.A.

Storyteller & Digital Strategist
Social Health Institute

Bobby is an Emmy award-winning, multimedia producer with a background in corporate marketing communications, public relations, social media, new media, television news, and visual storytelling. His journalistic experience in broadcast has transformed his approach as a digital storyteller, in which he has helped organizations identify compelling, effective messages. Bobby is an Adjunct Instructor at Clemson University where he teaches both MBA and MBAe Classes. Bobby holds a B.S. in Mathematics and an M.A. in Professional Communications from Clemson University.

Dec. 1, 2023, April 12, Aug. 9, Nov. 15, 2024

Successful innovation results in the development and successful commercialization of a new product, service or business model as measured by the unique, intrinsic value it generates, the willingness of consumers to buy it and the sustainable business growth it creates for the organization. Successful innovation also demands embracing change as a core value. Successful cultures create a home for innovation and manage it through a specific creative thinking process. They think big, start small and scale fast. This session examines the strategy and processes needed to navigate change and lead to successful innovation.

Session Topics

• Creating a Culture that Fosters Innovation
• Development and Commercialization of Ideas
• Processes for Success

Session Leader: Michael Mino

Michael is a serial entrepreneur who has founded and grown a number of technology-based start-ups. His most recent re-startup, PropertyBoss Solutions, was sold to a private equity firm in 2016. His electrical engineering and finance MBA education help him navigate that exciting intersection of building ventures by solving problems with technology. He started his career developing factory automation for large businesses including Kodak, Xerox, and Black and Decker. Boards he has served on include Clemson's Rutland Institute for Ethics, Institute for Global Road Safety and Security (IGRSS), ORMEC Systems Corp, and InnoVision Awards. While scouting for the next adventure, he facilitates courses in entrepreneurship and technology innovation in the Clemson MBA and CUICAR programs and mentors start-ups in the region.