USI/DDI CERTIFICATE IN LEADER EXCELLENCE                                                                       
Leaders/Managers/Supervisors are operating in an ever-changing environment and regularly face new challenges. To be successful on both a personal and an organizational level, they need new skills and competencies to meet these challenges. DDI, the world leader in leadership development, utilizes a competency-based, integrated approach that helps organizations achieve their business objectives and desired results. Through leadership assessment and development, organizations can improve bench strength and grow their own leaders by identifying and developing high-potential employees. The USI Certificate in Leader Excellence utilizes DDI’s proven approach in key subject areas along with expert DDI certified facilitators to equip leaders at all levels with the day-to-day interpersonal skills for leading individuals or groups as well as the broader skills needed to create and maintain a high-performance workplace.

To earn the USI Certificate in Leader Excellence leaders will take a series of four core courses and two additional elective courses. Core courses include: Essentials of Leadership, Coaching for Improvement and Success, and Resolving Conflict.  Elective topics include: Leading Change, Effective Problem Analysis and Decision Making, Leading High Performance Teams, Developing Others, and USI’s Award Winning Management Diagnostic Center.

USING YOUR IPHONE AND IPAD                                                                                               
iPhone, iPad, iConfused… iGoingCrazy! In this practical, hands-on class you will gain valuable ipad/iphone tips and instructions for making the most of your device, apps, and accessories. Learn to transform your idevice into a tool with a purpose. Bring your device(s), activated and usable. Have your itunes password available.

Instructor: Dana M. Nelson, OutCloud, social strategist
Dates & Times:
NO. BUS583A: Tuesday, May 14, 6–9 p.m.
NO. BUS583B: Thursday, August 1, 1–4 p.m.
Location: Innovation Pointe, First Floor Class Room, 318 Main Street, downtown EvansvilleRegistration Fee: $51

DiSC® DIMENSIONS OF BEHAVIOR
PERSONAL PROFILE SYSTEM                                                                                NO. BUS531
The Personal Profile System presents a plan to help employees understand themselves and others in specific environments. Participants learn about the differences and value of others and the environment they require for maximum  productivity, improved communication and teamwork in the organization. The instrument enables participants to identify their personal behavioral profile; capitalize on their behavioral strengths; increase appreciation of different profiles; anticipate and minimize potential conflicts with others; improve communication and understanding between the different personality styles; and develop action plans for improving communication and work relationships by flexing to work with different styles.

Instructor: Charmaine McDowell, director, Corporate Partnerships, USI Division of Outreach and Engagement
Date & Time: Wednesday, June 5, 8 a.m.–Noon
Location: USI, University Center East, Room 2206
Registration Fee: $275—includes materials and refreshments

DEVELOPING OTHERS                                                                                            NO. BUS526
This course provides leaders, coaches, and mentors with a practical process and the skills necessary to develop talent.  It focuses on the leader’s role before, during, and after the development plan.
Instructor:  Tammy Barnett, T.R. Barnett & Associates, Inc., DDI certified trainer
Date & Time: Tuesday, May 28, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Registration fee: $325-includes materials, refreshments, and lunch

MAKING BUSINESS CONNECTIONS WITH LINKEDIN                                          NO. BUS576
Many people who are signed up for LinkedIn don’t feel it really ‘works’ for them, or they don’t acquire desired sales or incoming leads directly from it. Learn how to get more sales and leads from LinkedIn, as well as hands-on training to get the most out of LinkedIn. Don’t miss this incredible opportunity to learn how to use this increasingly popular tool to your advantage and get more out of your efforts.

Instructor: Dana M. Nelson, OutCloud, social strategist
Date & Time: Tuesday, June 18, 1–4 p.m.
Location: USI, University Center East, Room 2229
Registration Fee: $58

DDI SERVICE EXCELLENCE                                                                                     NO. BUS532
As the first link between your company and your customers or prospects, customer service representatives are pivotal members of your workforce. By providing good service, they keep customers satisfied and coming back. On the other hand, poorly handled encounters can leave customers dissatisfied at best or, worse, heading straight to a competitor. During this course, you will learn the essential skills needed for providing the best service to internal and external customers.

Instructor: Delana Schutte-Smith, DSS Solutions, DDI certified trainer
Date & Time: Tuesday, June 25, 8 a.m.–Noon
Location: USI, University Center East, Room 2205
Registration Fee: $275—includes materials and refreshments

COMMON-SENSE LEADERSHIP                                                                                NO. BUS530
At its core, effective leadership is simple. Using the book, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become More Successful by Marshall Goldsmith, this class will focus on the seven common-sense behaviors of successful leaders as well as review the 20 annoying habits that leaders must stop doing. Although these concepts are common sense, the difference lies in whether leaders know this information or actually practice the concepts. This class will help participants learn how to apply these leadership concepts into their work lives. Join us for the teaching of this book’s concepts and a cup of your favorite Starbucks beverage.

Instructor: Pam Goedde
Date & Time: Tuesday, July 30, 1–4 p.m.
Location: USI, University Center East, Traditions Lounge
Registration Fee: $99—includes Starbucks beverage of choice, book not included

ALL THE WRITE STUFF: BUSINESS WRITING FOR RESULTS                              NO. BUS533
Business grammar isn’t a set of rules meant to slow you down or stifle your creativity. Instead, it’s a useful set of guidelines to help you communicate more effectively while enhancing your professional image. Participants will learn and apply tools and techniques to produce business communications that achieve positive results and enhance the professional image of the writer and the company. Tips and “cheat sheets” for spotting and correcting grammar and spelling errors are provided to participants.

Instructor: Tammy Barnett, T.R. Barnett & Associates, Inc., DDI certified trainer
Date & Time: Thursday, August 29, 1–4 p.m.
Location: USI, University Center East, Room 2205
Registration Fee: $175—includes materials and refreshments

LEVEL I - SIMPLEX: SOLVING COMPLEX PROBLEMS                                                                

This highly practical workshop “stands out from the pack” for its proven ability to revolutionize the way people think. Participants learn the process, skills, and tools of applied creativity by utilizing them to address real work-related problems submitted by the class. They will leave with the ability to use Simplex creative problem solving methodology that utilizes creative and analytical thinking in an atmosphere of collaboration, learning, and possibilities. This innovation methodology is used by Microsoft and other leading organizations. Simplex: Solving Complex Problems focuses on building individual and team participation skills in using the creative problem solving process. It provides a structured, step-by-step process that participants find easy to follow conceptually. It is simple, experiential and inclusive. The outcomes of this workshop include: proficiency in applying the creative thinking skills of diverging, converging, and deferral of judgment; understanding and skill in executing the innovation process; awareness and understanding of different problem solving styles via the Basadur CPS profile; and how these styles impact teamwork, understanding of the meeting roles, and how to continuously improve meetings. For more information, call 812/492-4394.

LEVEL II - SIMPLEX: LEADING OTHERS TO SOLVE COMPLEX PROBLEMS                                

Leading Others to Solve Complex Problems is the facilitation skills workshop. It focuses on building an understanding of the facilitator as process leader by building proficiency and flexibility in leading the process, providing hands-on practice facilitating actual problems solving teams, traditional meetings, and one-on-one conversations. Participants gain an understanding of effective team structures, models of team development, and how to facilitate and support ongoing teams. This workshop is two days in length.

Notes: Level I – Simplex: Solving Complex Problems is a prerequisite for this course. The Solving Complex Problems and Leading Others to Solve Complex Problems workshops can be combined into a very productive 4-day session. Many participants who want to gain facilitation skills have indicated they find this four-day format especially effective. For more information call 812/492-4394.

COMING FALL 2013

IDEA EXCHANGE BUSINESS BOOK CLUB                                                            NO. BUS560

The USI Outreach and Engagement and the USI College of Business are getting ready for round two of the IdeaXchange Business Book Club!  The first round included 13 participants.  Over the course of a year, club members read and discussed 12 leading business books during monthly sessions.  The sessions were organized and facilitated to emphasize engagement among group members as they discussed ideas, debated, and shared experiences.

Feedback from first round participants:

“It is a lot of good reading that helps enhance productivity and performance.  It is also interesting to learn all these different viewpoints on sometimes similar topics.  You can learn from others’ experiences in a very quick fashion compared to only drawing from your own experiences”. – Stephanie

 “This club has exceeded my expectations.  These books have given me new insights into old discussions around creative thinking, problem solving, and how different people look at the world.  I think any time you can broaden your horizons makes you a better person, a better employee, and a better manager”. – Karen

The second round of the IdeaXchange Business Book Club will feature different books on entrepreneurship, innovation, small business, and startup advice.   

Entrepreneurs get inspired through personal observation, developing ideas from needs they see in the world around them.  Entrepreneurs have a practical outlook, seeking opportunities that add value, as opposed to opportunities that just seem "cool."  Patience is a virtue in some cases.  But for an entrepreneur, so is impatience. 

The Club will help expedite personal development, provide diversity of thought and awareness of opportunities all around us.  For more information, contact USI Outreach and Engagement at 812/464-1989 or 8000/467-8600.