For the second year, the Olin School of Business will conduct a conference that exposes area professionals to usable management concepts derived from Olin faculty research.
The conference, “Thought Leadership at Olin: Innovative Ideas Applied to Business,” will take place from 8 a.m.-noon Thursday, Oct. 26, at the Charles F. Knight Executive Education Center.
“Executives get a glimpse through the backdoor of the research center — which gives them cutting-edge practices and insights,” said Ken Bardach, associate dean and the Charles and Joanne Knight Distinguished Director of Executive Programs.
He said the conference is designed for individuals in positions that enable them to apply breakthrough research in their jobs, such as executives, senior and mid-level managers and human-resource directors.
Participants in last year’s conference said it was extremely beneficial.
“There were several presentations on timely issues applicable to my industry,” said Lori Lewis, Ph.D, director of organizational development for Enterprise Bank & Trust. “What I enjoyed most were the ones that compelled me to think ahead about how to grow and develop leaders to meet future challenges.”
David Butler, E.M.B.A. ’03, said last year’s conference was thought-provoking, engaging and affordable. He also enjoyed the networking aspects.
“The conference provided a great opportunity to hear about innovative work and meet alumni, faculty and members of the St. Louis business community,” said Butler, president of Heartland Innovation LLC.
This year’s program will feature a plenary session, “Innovation for Profitable Growth,” delivered by Jackson Nickerson, Ph.D., professor of organization and strategy, and Todd Zenger, Ph.D., the Robert and Barbara Frick Professor of Business Strategy.
The session will introduce a new framework for managing the innovating-for-growth process, including guidelines for selecting which opportunities to pursue, organizing people to innovate and capturing value from the innovations.
The conference will offer six breakout sessions in two time slots. Topics include trust and mistrust in organizations, managing global supply chain risks and innovation strategy.
For more information, contact 935-6608.