In today’s fast-paced world, trust is the cornerstone of successful leadership, the fuel for high-octane teams, and the key to lasting customer loyalty. Without trust, leaders lose influence, teams lose top performers, and organizations lose their reputation. With trust, you unlock a multiplier effect that drives measurable improvements on culture, productivity, and profitability.

In this highly acclaimed and transformative keynote, David Horsager, the world’s preeminent authority on trust, reveals the 8 Pillar Framework™ that has helped top-performing leaders and organizations become the most trusted by consumers, employers, investors, and the public.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Simple and actionable strategies to build, maintain, and repair trust.
• Shift your understanding of trust and its role in every business and personal relationship—and see why a lack of trust is your biggest expense.
• Gain Clarity with the powerful How? How? How? method.

(Also offered Monday at 1:30pm)

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

The skills required to manage mental illness are distinct from those needed to cultivate well-being. This session introduces five research-backed skills designed to help individuals proactively enhance their well-being and prevent mental stress and illness.

While Employee Assistance Programs address existing workplace challenges, few resources focus on individuals who may not have specific issues but wish to actively boost their well-being and, in turn, their performance.

The five skills covered in this session are practical, actionable, and easy to teach others. By leveraging participants’ mental, emotional, and behavioral strengths, these techniques empower individuals to harness their own resources, enabling them to feel better, function more effectively, and elevate their overall well-being.

Participants will learn:

• Reframe resourcefulness: Discover a fresh perspective on personal resourcefulness and how to unlock its potential.
• Understand the science of well-being: Gain foundational insights into the research and principles behind well-being.
• Master five essential skills: Learn practical techniques to proactively enhance and sustain well-being.
• Build key capabilities: Develop strategies to foster optimism, leverage strengths, and effectively manage emotions for greater resilience and success.

(Also offered Monday at 1:30pm)

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

AI technologies, ranging from predictive tools to advanced models like ChatGPT, are expected to have a substantial impact on workforce requirements in the years ahead. This session provides a concise overview of these technologies, with a focus on their effects on the nature of work. It includes a discussion on how these technologies are advancing, which barriers are likely to be overcome in the near future, and which challenges will likely persist as they become integrated into workplaces.

(Also offered Monday at 1:30pm)

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Pre-Class Assignment – Reading

The old saying that change is the only constant seems truer than ever.  How can we help our organizations not only survive, but thrive in moments when volatility and uncertainty threaten to derail even the best-laid strategic plans?  In this session, we will learn practical strategies for building resilience, drawn from timeless social science insights about human behavior, and applied to current, real-world business challenges. We will explore resilience at three levels: 1) Building individual resilience in the self and others to weather challenging moments; 2) Building team resilience to keep people motivated and engaged to solve complex challenges; 3) Building organizational resilience to maintain the adaptability and innovative habits needed to stay ahead of the curve. Through a combination of evidence-based frameworks, engaging group activities and dialogue, this session will help participants at any level of the organization build and maintain grit and agility.

(Also offered Tuesday at 3:30pm)

CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Public policy always impacts economies and financial markets. Such impacts are particularly pronounced now, as we have a new Trump administration promising major policy changes. The uncertainty surrounding international trade, fiscal, geopolitical, and monetary policy*** is contributing to heightened market volatility.

Federal budgetary policy, termed fiscal policy is an increasingly crucial force. The pandemic cost the US 22 million jobs in March and April 2020. An expansionary fiscal policy, starting with the $2.3 trillion CARES act, helped lift the economy, but at the cost of a $3.1 trillion federal deficit in 2020 (all the deficits will be measure according to the federal fiscal year, which ends September 30). Trillions of fiscal spending beyond the normal budget led to a further fiscal deficit of $2.8 trillion in 2021.  The federal deficit for 2022 was halved, but still massive at $1.4 trillion dollars. This smaller or improved US government deficit had a short life, as it jumped back to $1.7 trillion in 2023. Note that the fiscal deficit had never hit even $1 trillion until the Great Recession caused by the global financial crisis of 2008.

Of major importance, the increased interest rates engineered by the Federal Reserve in 2022-23, applied to the massive federal debt – which has leapt above $36 trillion, boosts the Government’s interest spending and thus pumps up deficit spending.

Fiscal deficits imply government borrowing, achieved by issuing more Treasury Securities. Thus, deficits add to a booming Federal Debt — it has jumped nearly $13 trillion from $23.5 trillion in March 2020!  If the deficits do occur as forecast by most economists over the next decade, will the US government debt become so large that people and institutions, US and non-US, will not want to hold our treasury securities debt? If so, bond prices would decline, market interest rates would rise, and the sustainability of the debt will become a crucial issue. Until recently, historically low interest rates have kept the US debt burden in check. However, as portrayed above, the increases in interest rates in 2022-23 engineered by the Federal Reserve, only partly reversed by recent interest rate cuts, boost interest payments on the federal debt and thus exacerbate the US fiscal deficit. Current forecasts show that the federal fiscal deficit, which was $1.8 trillion in 2024, could rise somewhat steadily to roughly $3 trillion in 2035. Deficits add to debt, which therefore could reach an astronomical $60 trillion in 2035. The federal debt must be serviced by interest payments, so the threat of a vicious spiral of deficits and debt could loom.

Further, government deficits can exacerbate trade deficits. Overspending by the government can lead to overspending by the nation, including on imports. This seems to be the case in the US in recent years, and probably during recent decades.  Massive US trade deficits inspired President Trump to turn toward protectionist trade policy in 2018. Trump’s past trade policies risked trade wars, especially with China, and added uncertainty to the financial outlook.  President Biden’s trade policies mainly continued Trump’s policies. The new Trump administration campaigned on the theme of a trade policy that would impose tariffs on many nations and massive ones on China. Trump’s goal is to reduce the nearly trillion-dollar US trade deficits and to reshore manufacturing production to the US. We will analyze the impact on business and markets stemming from new US trade policies.

Policies that could lead to more restrictive or protectionist trade policies are subsumed under the term “deglobalization.” The pandemic exposed the problem of globalized supply chains, aiming to achieve maximum efficiency under free trade. Now, nations and firms are focusing more on the resiliency of supply chains, to avoid dependency on foreign suppliers. Further, the US (and some other major economies) face many geopolitical risks and international “hot spots” of potential conflict. Thus, policy regarding national security will be crucial. Impacts are likely to be felt during 2025 and beyond in the economy, in business opportunities, in financial markets, and in the Trump approach to foreign policy.

The overarching goal of this elective is to engage SII participants to explore relevant US policies now and in the future.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the evolution of fiscal policy in the U.S. Fiscal policy is a key determinant of the performance of the US economy and financial markets. Participants will develop and/or update their skills analyzing the theory and practice of fiscal policy. Real-world data and trends will enhance learning.
• Know about the path of US federal spending and fiscal deficits during the current and recent administrations. Discuss possible future scenarios.
• International trade policy turned protectionist during the Trump administration.  We will analyze how trade policy may evolve now, in the face of pressures for deglobalization.
• In our global and volatile world, key nations’ foreign policies, such as those dealing with national security and potential geopolitical conflict, take on added importance. Thus, analyzing the impacts of various government policies is our ultimate objective.

CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Central banks have come to be regarded as the “only game in town” for economic policy-making, something that the Covid-19 pandemic, the inflation of 2021-2023, and the banking crisis of 2023 made more prominent. But what are these curious institutions, where did they come from, and where are they going? This session analyzes these and related issues by providing a brief history of central banking and focusing on the ways that central banks today and in the future will dominate the landscape for banking and finance the world over. The focus will be on the Bank of England, the U.S. Federal Reserve System, and the People’s Bank of China and on any relevant topic that students wish to engage, from inflation to financial regulation, banking crises to bank capital, presidential politics and central banks in war and peace. Special attention paid to changes in central banking in the new administration.

(Also offered Monday at 1:30pm)

Accountability can evoke discomfort, whether giving or receiving it. Yet in today’s fast-paced environment, accountability is essential for any team striving to meet goals, perform at high levels, and operate cohesively. A culture of accountability builds trust, transparency, and a results-oriented mindset. In this session, participants will explore the keys to cultivating accountability within their teams and learn actionable methods to reinforce it.

Learning Objectives:

• Establish Trust as a Foundation: Understand how trust creates the conditions for accountability.
• Set Clear Expectations: Discover the importance of clarity in defining roles, goals, and standards for performance.
• Identify Accountability Barriers: Learn to recognize and address common obstacles that hinder accountability.
• Create Psychological Safety: Develop a supportive environment where team members feel secure taking ownership of their responsibilities.
• Strengthen Feedback Skills: Master techniques for delivering feedback that promotes continuous improvement and progress.

(Also offered Tuesday at 3:30pm)

In the VUCA world change is a constant.  The COVID pandemic was a stark reminder how important are leaders who know how to lead change and not just manage a change process.  In the session, we will identify key change leadership roles and opportunities as well as how to overcome the obstacles. Using examples, discussion and video clips we also explore how employees experience change, and how leaders can guide them through the change process while providing growth opportunities.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify key leadership roles for creating effective change.
• Introduce and use a framework to help guide you through the process of organizational change.
• Have an effective plan to overcome the challenges of changing people’s behaviors.

CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

The record of the changing communications policies of the Federal Reserve (Fed) shows that the arrow of progress does not always arc upward.  This session reviews how the central bank has spoken with the public over the years, from barely at all in the 1980s and early 1990s, when decisions were signaled through the details of open market operations, to the current 24-by-7 barrage of official statements, press conferences, speeches, and forecasts.  Some of this complexity arises because the Fed speaks to different audiences with differing degrees of expertise.  Some follows because Fed officials signal their policy intent to each other through public statements, allowing the public to eavesdrop.  Over the years, the Fed’s communications choices have influenced internal deliberations, not always for the better.  The lessons from this experience point to a few general principles for effective and responsible communications by the central bank and for more effective listening by market participants.  This also helps to predict how the Fed will respond to potential challenges to its independence from the new administration.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the history of the communications policies of the Federal Reserve over the past fifty years.
• Appreciate the forces shaping Federal Reserve policies, including its need to reach multiple audiences given its legislative mandate and the interaction between market expectations and policy intent.
• Arrive at the fundamental principles guiding good communication by a central bank and effective listening for market participants.
• Predict the Fed’s response if challenges arise from the new administration to its independence.

(Previously titled Communication Style)

(Also offered Monday at 1:30pm)

Do you prefer to communicate directly, emphasize facts over feelings?  Are you more animated in your delivery?  Do you take your listener’s feelings into account?  Do you like to think first and then speak?  Whatever your preference, what impact does your communication style have on others in the workplace whether one-on-one or in group meetings?  How can you make the most of assets and downplay the liabilities of your communication style?  After completing the HRDQ What’s My Communication Style questionnaire in class, you will be able to identify your dominant communication style, see your style in action through a role play, and reflect on how you can make the most of assets and downplay liabilities.  By the end of the session, you will have a greater appreciation of the impact of communication style on interpersonal relationships and results.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand key dimensions of communication style.
• Identify individual preferences.
• Practice making the most of assets and downplaying liabilities.

CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

The power of the SHEconomy continues to gain momentum. In 2024, Taylor Swift concluded her Eras tour earning a record of $2 billion, the highest-grossing music tour of all time. Lisa Su, the CEO of Advanced Micro Devices, who grew AMD’s share price by 50x since taking leadership was the first woman named Time’s 2024 CEO of the Year. Claudia Sheinbaum made history after winning a landslide victory to become Mexico’s first female president. It’s pretty evident that womenomics – the increasing impact and contribution of women to the global economy continues to thrive. Women currently make up 50% of the world population and women’s income globally is expected to reach $29.3 trillion annually by 2026. Women are increasingly primary earners and stand to inherit $30T in the course of the next few decades due to the great wealth transfer that is underway. Women will earn more, inherit more and thus need to invest more. This future is not so distant and it is increasingly female. Join us to explore women and investing, where we will examine investment strategy and asset allocation and the advisor perspective.

Check your mobile app for location.

Intimate lunch session with Peter Conti-Brown.

(35 person capacity; Limit of 1 lunch per Year 3 participant)

Intimate lunch session with John Spence.

(35 person capacity; Limit of 1 lunch per Year 3 participant)

(Also offered Monday at 10:30am)

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

The skills required to manage mental illness are distinct from those needed to cultivate well-being. This session introduces five research-backed skills designed to help individuals proactively enhance their well-being and prevent mental stress and illness.

While Employee Assistance Programs address existing workplace challenges, few resources focus on individuals who may not have specific issues but wish to actively boost their well-being and, in turn, their performance.

The five skills covered in this session are practical, actionable, and easy to teach others. By leveraging participants’ mental, emotional, and behavioral strengths, these techniques empower individuals to harness their own resources, enabling them to feel better, function more effectively, and elevate their overall well-being.

Participants will learn:

• Reframe resourcefulness: Discover a fresh perspective on personal resourcefulness and how to unlock its potential.
• Understand the science of well-being: Gain foundational insights into the research and principles behind well-being.
• Master five essential skills: Learn practical techniques to proactively enhance and sustain well-being.
• Build key capabilities: Develop strategies to foster optimism, leverage strengths, and effectively manage emotions for greater resilience and success.

(Also offered Monday at 10:30am)

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

AI technologies, ranging from predictive tools to advanced models like ChatGPT, are expected to have a substantial impact on workforce requirements in the years ahead. This session provides a concise overview of these technologies, with a focus on their effects on the nature of work. It includes a discussion on how these technologies are advancing, which barriers are likely to be overcome in the near future, and which challenges will likely persist as they become integrated into workplaces.

(Also offered Monday at 10:30am)

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Pre-Class Assignment – Reading

The old saying that change is the only constant seems truer than ever.  How can we help our organizations not only survive, but thrive in moments when volatility and uncertainty threaten to derail even the best-laid strategic plans?  In this session, we will learn practical strategies for building resilience, drawn from timeless social science insights about human behavior, and applied to current, real-world business challenges. We will explore resilience at three levels: 1) Building individual resilience in the self and others to weather challenging moments; 2) Building team resilience to keep people motivated and engaged to solve complex challenges; 3) Building organizational resilience to maintain the adaptability and innovative habits needed to stay ahead of the curve. Through a combination of evidence-based frameworks, engaging group activities and dialogue, this session will help participants at any level of the organization build and maintain grit and agility.

(Also offered Monday at 10:30am)

Accountability can evoke discomfort, whether giving or receiving it. Yet in today’s fast-paced environment, accountability is essential for any team striving to meet goals, perform at high levels, and operate cohesively. A culture of accountability builds trust, transparency, and a results-oriented mindset. In this session, participants will explore the keys to cultivating accountability within their teams and learn actionable methods to reinforce it.

Learning Objectives:

• Establish Trust as a Foundation: Understand how trust creates the conditions for accountability.
• Set Clear Expectations: Discover the importance of clarity in defining roles, goals, and standards for performance.
• Identify Accountability Barriers: Learn to recognize and address common obstacles that hinder accountability.
• Create Psychological Safety: Develop a supportive environment where team members feel secure taking ownership of their responsibilities.
• Strengthen Feedback Skills: Master techniques for delivering feedback that promotes continuous improvement and progress.

(Also offered Tuesday at 10:30am)

This workshop will discuss the science of resilience and well-being and teach actionable skills to navigate adversity and thrive in challenging environments.

Learning Objectives:

• Resilience is the capacity to navigate adversity and to grow through the struggles we face.
• The benefits of optimism in important domains of life, including relationships, health, and performance.
• Six optimism strategies to increase resilience and build an optimistic mindset.

During this interactive session, attendees will discuss ways to apply the strategies in their professional as well as their personal lives.

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Pre-Class Assignment – Assessment

How do you build trust, make decisions, and disagree with a colleague or boss from a different culture? Do you come from a country that avoids confrontation in team settings, or one in which open debate is a positive attribute of collective work? Do you believe the best leader is one who facilitates among equals, or one who follows set hierarchical lines? What explains why junior pilots from one country stay silent when the captain veers off course but might speak up if from another? In this session, we will map the world’s cultures along eight dimensions to show how ingrained ideas about hierarchy and trust determine behavior in work settings. Participants will also take a personality assessment to identify their own cultural orientation and how to translate this awareness into building productive relationships across diverse, multicultural, and global teams in the virtual and in-person settings.

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Explore how Generative AI—powered by large language models (LLMs)—is poised to reshape the financial services sector. This session examines how advanced AI-driven models are reimagining client engagement, risk management, operational efficiency, and financial services innovation. Gain practical insights into prompt engineering and automation opportunities, all within a framework of responsible innovation. Participants will discover best practices for incorporating Generative AI into their strategic roadmaps, gaining the frameworks necessary to drive competitive differentiation and sustainable growth in a dynamic marketplace.

Key Highlights of the Session:

1. Foundations of Generative AI – Understand the core concepts, including large language models and the AI lifecycle in finance.
2. Prompt Engineering 101 — Simple methods to train AI models for more accurate, relevant outputs.
3. Industry Use Cases – Dive into case studies that illustrate how Generative AI accelerates automation, streamlines operations, and enhances customer experience in banking, asset management, and capital markets.
4. Risks & Responsible AI – Evaluate ethical, regulatory, and reputational considerations, focusing on governance, explainability, and the mitigation of “AI hallucinations.”
5. Strategic Leadership & Innovation – Explore frameworks to lead AI-driven transformation, foster an innovation mindset, and build strategic resilience in an ever-evolving financial landscape.

CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

With a new administration taking office, the Fed continuing its rate cutting path, and the market continuing to trend higher, we focus on what that means for the economy and investments moving through the rest of 2025. In this session, we will examine the sources of volatility, sources of stability, the impact to the macro economy and across markets from equities, fixed income, currencies to commodities. In addition, we will also discuss the power of AI, legislative policy, and cover potential risks. To help navigate this environment, we will highlight implementation solutions and ways for investors to pivot during such inflection points.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the current state of the macro economy and the markets
• Recognize trends that may continue to fuel the recovery going forward
• Explore actionable investment themes

(Also offered Thursday at 10:30am)

The two challenges senior leaders cite, across industries, that are amplified in the time of a global pandemic are a high level of uncertainty and the need to balance short term and long-term needs and objectives.  Leaders in financial services face similar concerns, particularly as the global pandemic has accelerated the need for a clear digital strategy. This session interactively discusses these challenges in the context of making strategic decisions effectively.  Specifically, participants are provided five best practices that are important in “normal” conditions but are absolutely critical in a VUCA environment.  Current anecdotes supplement empirical research.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize the most important best practices in a very dynamic environment
• Understand the importance of establishing making a decision by developing concrete strategic decision rights
• Identify key future trends and uncertainties for the organization in order to build agility in achieving positive results

This session focuses on three cases in which the presenter led collaborative efforts to build the visions needed to energize and guide needed change in three very different and highly complex organizations.  General Rapp was the commander (CEO/President) of each organization – all of whom knew he would only be with them for a finite period of time and thus they could hold their breath and outwait him.  The first was a 5200-strong Corps of Engineers division that controlled all waterways, flood control, hydropower, environmental restoration, and regulation from St. Louis north and west to the Puget Sound (14 US states.)  The second was the 17500-strong organization he led in Afghanistan where the U.S. needed to rapidly change the mindset from surge to drawdown and put all logistics and transportation infrastructure in place to meet the President’s guidance.  The third was the 1100-strong US Army War College where he needed to change the culture of an academic institution.  Most corporate and public entity visions he has seen are palliatives that say little and drive less.  General Rapp found that, if well-constructed, attuned to the work force, and informing a strategic plan, a vision can be extremely powerful in creating organizational change.  Discussing those cases and the resulting lessons are the focus of the session.

Learning Objectives:

• Review three visioning case studies for common themes in creating organizational change.
• Discuss methods for changing organizational visions and culture.

(Previously titled Communication Style)

(Also offered Monday at 10:30am)

Do you prefer to communicate directly, emphasize facts over feelings?  Are you more animated in your delivery?  Do you take your listener’s feelings into account?  Do you like to think first and then speak?  Whatever your preference, what impact does your communication style have on others in the workplace whether one-on-one or in group meetings?  How can you make the most of assets and downplay the liabilities of your communication style?  After completing the HRDQ What’s My Communication Style questionnaire in class, you will be able to identify your dominant communication style, see your style in action through a role play, and reflect on how you can make the most of assets and downplay liabilities.  By the end of the session, you will have a greater appreciation of the impact of communication style on interpersonal relationships and results.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand key dimensions of communication style.
• Identify individual preferences.
• Practice making the most of assets and downplaying liabilities.

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

The idea that innovation comes only from startups and entrepreneurs is a myth.  Employee innovators, also known as Intrapreneurs, are responsible for 70% of the most transformative innovations of the past three decades.

In our accelerated world of technology and disruption, the benefits of turning employees into Intrapreneurs are well documented. Companies that treat their people as Intrapreneurs have innovation infused into their DNA. Transformation becomes a toned muscle and capability that can be exercised repeatedly as needed. Best-selling author and globally ranked innovation expert Kaihan Krippendorff’s research shows companies with active Intrapreneur networks are 3X more likely to be in the top quintile of financial performance and enjoy a 2.5X advantage in their ability to recruit and retain top talent.

The IN-OVATE framework provides a specific and practical approach to turn your employees into Intrapreneurs, and build capacity for enterprise-wide transformation and smart innovation.

IN-OVATE Framework Summary – Turn Employees into Intrapreneurs

• Intent – Can you activate employees to have the intent to innovate?
• Need – Do you understand what the market needs, what the organization needs, and your organization’s strategy?
• Options – Are you able to create lots of interesting options, ie., do you have the creative capacity to generate ideas for innovation?
• Value Blockers – Are you able to overcome value blockers if the new idea conflicts with your current business model?
• Act – Can you take action and experiment or prototype your ideas?
• Team – Can you assemble a cross-functional team that has the right attributes needed to ramp up the innovation quickly?
• Environment – Can you manage environmental factors (leadership, culture, structure, and talent)?

In this inspiring, timely, and high-impact session, Kaihan shows how organizations can unlock the power of Intrapreneurship, and how you, the individual Intrapreneur, can navigate barriers, overcome resistance, and take the initiative to drive transformation across your organization.

The Audience will leave with:

• A framework to identify and overcome the seven blockers of innovation
• The six characteristics, mindsets, and habits of successful Intrapreneurs
• Appreciation and understanding of the human side of innovation and how to spread Intrapreneurship across the organization
• Inspiring and memorable stories to fuel their Intrapreneurial journey

(Previously titled Coaching for Growth)

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Pre-Class Assignment – Brief Exercise

In today’s fast-paced and dynamic workplace, effective leaders build on coaching as a critical tool for driving meaningful growth and enhancing team performance. This practical, engaging and interactive session will equip you with essential coaching skills and strategies to become an impactful leader by enhancing engagement, accountability, continuous performance improvement, innovativeness, and agility within your organization.

Through a dynamic hands-on exercise, grounded in real-world scenarios, you will practice a proven coaching model to develop adaptive techniques to maximize results across various organizational situations. Beyond learning how to effectively coach others, you will also gain the ability to create and leverage coaching opportunities for your own professional growth and development. Acquiring both capabilities, coaching and being coached, will enable you to immediately enhance performance as well as seize organizational opportunities to significantly enhance impact and meaningful change.

Learning objectives:

• Discover the power of coaching: Learn when and how to use coaching for maximum impact.
• Master essential coaching skills: From setting clear objectives to tailoring your approach.
• Hands-on practice: Role-play complex organizational challenges and receiving constructive feedback.
• Foster a coaching culture: Learn strategies to create a coaching culture that drives continuous growth and innovation.
• Dual role proficiency: Enhance your ability to benefit from coaching opportunities, both as a coach and a coachee.

This session will involve an experiential case where participants will play the role of a board facing an unexpected and shocking ethical crisis.  The case is episodic, allowing participants to make decisions as they obtain new information.  The case will provide participants an opportunity to grapple with important contemporary issues including, i) how to balance stakeholder and shareholder interests, ii) how leaders balance considerations of transparency and control when faced with damaging internal information, iii) how to structure an internal corporate investigation, and iv) how to determine whether an ethical lapse is an individual versus organizational issue.   A former federal prosecutor will join Professor McDonnell in debriefing the case to shed additional light on its legal and investigative components.

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Discover how AI reshapes the landscape of banking and financial markets, with a focus on practical application and strategic implementation. This session unravels the complexities of AI, from its foundational principles to its real-world implications. Engage in vibrant case studies and discussions, dissecting AI’s ethical, regulatory, and risk factors. Equip yourself with the knowledge to harness AI effectively within your organization, navigating its evolving challenges and opportunities.

Learning Objectives:

• Introduction to AI — trends, tools, and the AI lifecycle
• AI in Financial Services – use cases and applications
• Risks & Responsible AI – ethics, governance, and hallucinations
• Overcoming Challenges in AI Adoption
• Strategic Leadership in an AI-Era

Pre-Class Assignment – Brief Exercise

This session presents a novel approach to thinking about contemporary leadership challenges.  The early years of the American Revolution present a spectacularly rich tapestry of leadership challenges and issues that inform today’s leaders.  By anchoring the leadership lessons in historical vignettes, re-examining several myths, and connecting leader challenges to today, the session helps make learning leadership “sticky,” memorable, and useful to modern leaders and managers.  As Mark Twain is attributed to have written, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.”   Participants in this session will be expected to participate in the discussions about pulling the contemporary leadership lessons from these historical decisions and events.  The presenter is a retired Army major general who was president of the US Army War College, a recent resident lecturer at Harvard Kennedy School, and now a leadership consultant with numerous S&P 500 companies.  His book, Accomplishing the Impossible (2021), explores the leadership lessons of the Early American Revolution.

Learning Objectives:

• Analyze historical case studies for contemporary leadership lessons.
• Make connections to challenges in today’s business environment.

(Also offered Thursday at 1:30pm)

CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

This session discusses the current fiscal situation in the US and other major economies, the prospects for a fiscal default and the implications for future taxes and spending programs. It should help participants understand prospective fiscal challenges, likely policy moves and advise clients on asset allocation to hedge major fiscal risks.

(Also offered Wednesday at 8:30am)

CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

In 2025, finance professionals face a time of uncertainty on economic, financial, and geopolitical fronts. This uncertainty follows the past 27 years of frequent bouts of volatility in both economies and asset markets worldwide. We witnessed the hype of the dot.com bubble and its subsequent bursting, leading to a global recession. Central banks, including the Federal Reserve, lowered interest rates and the global economy and asset markets rebounded strongly. However, along came the debt-fueled global real estate bubble. The bursting of that speculative bubble caused a worldwide stock market crash, global financial crisis, and “Great Recession.” Investors who did not panic gained from a strong recovery in global asset markets starting in March 2009. Many real and financial assets both in the US and abroad reached record-high prices in February 2020. The high valuations led many to fear significant market risks, for example from a possible global economic slowdown or a trade war with China stemming from President’s Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods.

The risk that was not anticipated was public health. The COVID pandemic led to a sudden drop in the stock market, which declined by 34% from its February 2020 peak to its trough in March 2020. The economy moved from its record-long (nearly 11 consecutive years) economic growth phase to a short but severe economic depression; a net of over 22 million US jobs were lost in March and especially in April 2020.   Massive government intervention, with unprecedented expansionary fiscal and monetary policy, restored economic growth. The massive monetary and liquidity expansion by the FED, and its creation of near-zero interest rates, fueled a rapid V-shaped rebound of the stock market. Stock market and real estate prices have continued to climb to successive new highs into 2025.  Economic growth surged in 2020 and has been sustained for nearly five years and counting.  The new game in town, cryptocurrencies, has also seized the imagination of investors worldwide.

For many advanced economies, steady growth in jobs has brought unemployment rates quite low. The surprising strength of the US economy caused a level of job openings that was unprecedented and unanticipated. The tightness in the job market led to larger wage increases and combining that with global supply-chain problems led to a rise in US inflation.  Russia’s unwarranted invasion of Ukraine reduced global supplies of energy and food, accelerating inflation worldwide. This put pressure on many Central Banks to rein in their expansionary monetary policies, leading major economies to the precipice of recession. We heard a term from the late 1970s, “stagflation.” This has been a reality or current risk for some major economies. The US hoped for a “soft landing “ and as of now the FED seems to have succeeded. We will examine the current situation, while also analyzing longer-term past trends in the US and global economies and financial markets, all with an eye to understanding possible future trends and scenarios.

Underlying longer-term economic and financial forecasts are major demographic trends. In general, birth rates have declined significantly worldwide, plunging steeply in some nations in Europe and East Asia. Even birth rates in the US are down since the Great Recession began in 2008, with fertility rates now below the level needed to “replace” the US population absent immigration.  In the recent past, global demographic trends highlighted a contrast between low birth rates and consequent aging in advanced economies, versus high birth rates and youthful populations in emerging markets. Future global labor force growth was forecast to come from emerging or poorer economies.  Now, even many emerging markets have declining birth rates.  Clearly, analyzing demographic trends is crucial for investing strategy.

This session will separate fact from fiction while analyzing the implications of global forecasts and linkages for investors. The extra uncertainty regarding the increasingly tense global geopolitics and the new economic and financial policies of the Trump administration multiply other uncertain and crucial items. These items include the U.S. and global economies, inflation, Russia/Ukraine and commodity prices, interest rates, exchange rates, job markets, monetary and fiscal policy, and the sustainability of massively increasing government debt worldwide. The likely volatility in markets points toward the need for a truly global diversification strategy. This session will feature a strategic look at the economic, financial, and demographic trends that are likely to evolve in the major economies of the future.

Learning Objectives:

• Help financial professionals analyze the US and global economic outlook and longer-term economic trends in this time of great uncertainty in multiple dimensions.
• Increase participants’ understanding of global and US financial linkages to the volatile economic and policy environment we have and will experience.
• Portray and contrast global and U.S. demographic trends, analyzing their investment implications. We will explore forecasts of the demographic trends of the major   economies such as China, the US, the EU, Africa, and India.
• The ultimate objective of this SII session is to help participants form global investing strategies based on the three preceding objectives.

(Also offered Thursday at 10:30am)

Pre-Class Assignment – Reading

High performance requires effective execution and, for many organizations, change management. Unfortunately, major change efforts have a dismal track record. In multiple studies, highlighting the experiences of hundreds of companies initiating large-scale changes, the overwhelming results are poor. For example:

• John Kotter’s seminal research in the field of change management half a century ago revealed that only 30% of change programs succeed.
• A 2008 global IBM study of major change initiatives found that only 41% fully met their objectives, while 44% missed their budget, time, or quality goals, and 15% were seen as total failures.
• In 2013, a report that aggregated over 6,000 senior executive surveys revealed that 70% of change efforts fail to achieve their target impact.

As the Harvard Business Review’s editor articulated so well in discussing why so many transformation efforts fail:

“…no business survives over the long term if it can’t reinvent itself. But human nature being what it is, fundamental change is often resisted mightily by the people it most affects: those in the trenches of the business. Thus, leading change is both absolutely essential and incredibly difficult” (Kotter 2007).

Learning Objectives:

• Understand a 3-step process for driving execution
• Improve your capacity to lead change.

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

In a world of escalated uncertainty, how do we plan and execute a growth mindset? This session combines established fundamentals and forward-looking frameworks to help managers deliver innovative growth under conditions of high-uncertainty. Participants will be engaged in discussions and presented with examples & tools to aid with the translation from classroom to operations. Key takeaways: Participants will be able to discern between revenue & value; risk & uncertainty; and necessary versus alpha-seeking innovation plays.

CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

The 21st century has and will continue to see a revolution in the way we think about money. In this session, financial historian and legal scholar Peter Conti-Brown will provide an overview of what money is, where it comes from, and where it is going. He will focus on revolutions to the payment system, including central bank digital currency, fintech innovations, and crypto currency; what new regulatory approaches to fintech will mean; and what entrepreneurial options you should watch in 2025 and beyond.

(Also offered Tuesday at 3:30pm)

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Pending

Pre-Class Assignment – Survey

The SII Leadership Mastery 101 is specially created for leaders who have already embarked on their leadership adventures over the last 8-10 years. They are already masters-in-making in how they constantly learn-unlearn-relearn & revitalize their toolkit. You as a leader are the real teacher in the workplace. You role-model values in action that affect your leadership repute and your followership. Questions the session dives into are Trust in age of complexity & AI, accountability with power, empathy and resilience with their dark sides. You are invited to create your own personal leadership map or leverage the one provided in the session to sustain your meteoric rise without burnout.

There will be a Leadership Mastery 201 session offered for Years 2 & 3 so you can build upon the learnings from this session.

(Also offered Thursday at 1:30pm)

“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players”, wrote Shakespeare.  Leaders often step onto stage – to present an idea, influence a decision, ask for more resources, or inspire others to action – and these experiences require practice, poise, presence, and purpose.  This session aims to understand what separates a good from a great speaking engagement and offers tangible skills to strengthen your public presence.  These skills are not only useful for large presentations with dozens or hundreds in the audience but also for smaller gatherings, client meetings, team huddles, and other crucial business interactions where public speaking can be a difference maker.  Not only will this session focus on outward-facing skills but will also help connect a leader’s public presence with their own authentic self.  While some might argue that strong public speakers possess this skill innately, this workshop will prove otherwise as we demystify the building blocks of public speaking and train ourselves to strengthen our own engagement with audiences.  By learning to be more “present,” participants will understand how to be more motivational as a leader, more convincing as a negotiator and more open and honest as a team member.  This workshop develops and utilizes a practical toolkit for leaders to continue working on their public speaking and their ability to communicate their vision and their story long after the workshop has ended.

Learning Objectives:

• To strengthen one’s own public speaking and ability to engage, motivate and inspire others.
• To develop and use an authentic presentation style.
• To recognize and overcome individual habits when connecting and engaging with audiences.

(Previously titled: Is “Globalization” Over for Now?)

CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Pre-Class Assignment – Videos with Multiple Choice Questions

In this course Professor Tiffany will review the origins of the current global economy and how recent events have called into question the sustainability of free and open markets that were a key driver of the historically prosperous post-WWII international political economy.

The presentation will be preceded by a required short video that participants view prior to arriving in Philadelphia. The video will provide background content so that the “live” session can focus exclusively on current issues and allow sufficient time for participant discussion. To facilitate this, all attendees will be required to respond to multiple-choice questions about the video content; the (anonymous) group response will be presented in March.

The US elections of 2016 and 2020 created a potentially profound shift in recent American economic policy, both domestic and global– and the election of 2024 does not appear to have altered this trajectory. In the international arena President Trump has staked out positions radically different from those of the post-World War II “Bretton Woods System” engineered by the US and its allies. This latter political-economic regime guided much of the world as “Globalization” took hold and many Emerging Nations—especially China—prospered in what was termed the “Neoliberal Order.” Indeed, many observers believe that Globalization was perhaps the primary reason for the economic and political problems that have plagued the US over the past decades- and they blame the “elites” of corporate America and Wall Street as the foremost culprits in this drama.

As such, one critical result of Trump’s nationalistic “America First” agenda has been deep uncertainty about the future prospects of international trade policies, which played a significant role in the overall growth of global prosperity for the past 75 years- including in the financial services sector. The Biden Administration, it should be noted, did little to alter this path—especially with regard to US-China economic and political relations.

Indeed, it is this latter issue which is driving so much of the long-term considerations about America’s economic future. The video will provide details concerning these events and, hopefully, stimulate your thoughts prior to the “live” sessions at Wharton.

March class: The class will provide a forum in which all participants will be encouraged to offer their own perspective on key issues regarding “Globalization” and its prospects going forward. The session will begin with (a) Professor Tiffany’s explication of five key take-aways from his video commentary, (b) a review of aggregated participant responses from the mandatory multiple-choice questions, (c) brief sharing by participants of ideas and insights, and (d) an open-mic discussion about what actions might be taken next on these important issues.

Learning Objectives:

• To inform participants of the broader economic and political global trends of the recent past and how these may affect the direction of the American economy in the 21st Century going forward.
• To attempt to put the current political situation of a second Trump Presidency into a framework that can provide insight into potential economic shifts in the evolving world economy and the financial services industry specifically.
• To stimulate participant thinking about how the changing global political-economic environment will affect economic progress in the United States in the coming decades as a resurgent China makes its bid for global leadership.
• To provoke a thoughtful discussion regarding the aims and goals of rival nations and alliances and how they might affect the ability of the US to achieve its own economic and political objectives in the coming years.

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Many of us in the financial services industry have been working in a Hybrid Model, with managers and team members working in different physical locations, domestically or globally, for many years. With the onset of the Pandemic, remote working became the new normal for virtually all firms and stayed that way for well over a year. After the Pandemic was curtailed, firms asked staff to return to the office, but in many cases, in a Hybrid Model. While the flexibility of the Hybrid Model provides many benefits for workers and their families, it does present challenges for leaders and managers. In this session, we will identify those challenges along with established best practices that we can all learn from to mitigate these challenges and optimize the benefits of the Hybrid Model.

The session will specifically address:

1. What is the latest research on the preferences of individuals vs. employers?
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of remote vs. in-person work and how these vary by category of role and task and how can we use this data to decide what work to mostly perform on days when all team members are in the office and what work is better performed remotely?
3. What does research tell us about how to achieve better employee wellbeing and individual and team performance outcomes within a Hybrid Model?
4. How can you improve your effectiveness as a leader and your subordinates’ effectiveness as managers, given the complexities of new ways of working within a Hybrid Model?
5. What are the range of approaches, data, and tools that leading organizations are taking to measure performance and wellbeing and continually improve ways of working within a Hybrid Model?

The session will be informed by McKinsey’s proprietary research (including on employer/employee preferences which will next be published in Q1 2025) and experience serving clients in the financial services industry and other sectors, with relevant learnings.

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Pre-Class Assignment – Reading

This session will best serve those who are thinking about and/or leading organizational change, especially large-scale organizational change.

Most organizational change efforts fail to accomplish set objectives.  This session sets out to increase the odds of success for LEADERS of organizational change by addressing two factors that contribute to that failure.  First, change leaders fail to adjust to being in and to leading in a ‘permanent white water’ world, a world in which change is, paradoxically, a constant.  Leaders of organizational change need to recognize and adjust to being in and to leading in such a world. The ‘do’s and don’ts’ from Greg Shea and Robert Gunther’s Financial Times book, Your Job Survival Guide, provide the guidance needed to effectively lead change.  Second, change leaders fail to think in terms of the work systems that inherently reinforce or discourage desired changed behaviors. A summary presentation of the approach presented in Shea and Solomon’s Wharton School Press Leading Successful Change provides insight for leaders of organizational change, that differs from standard, and regularly unsuccessful guidance.

(Deep Dive from MicroInequities Year 1 session)

MicroInequities: Maximizing the Impact – PART 2 takes participants from awareness to active application of the program’s concepts and skills. Participants answer the question, “Now what do I do?” Focus is on actionable solutions to actively lead in the workplace—actions that result in measurable behavior change.

This interactive session builds upon the core content of Session 1 (Year 1) and extends the learning to a higher level of direct application. Participants are asked to analyze various case studies and scenarios typically experienced in the workplace.

Some examples include instructing managers to incorporate micromessaging in the ways they do coaching, provide feedback, and write performance appraisals. PART 2 also covers the ways in which the concepts are applied in team meetings and goal setting. Managing Proximity Bias in the Hybrid workplace is also examined.

In addition, a new concept: Value Protocols, is introduced. Just as companies function under a process of Operating Principals that lay out their corporate values, so too must leaders and colleagues learn to create and communicate their own set of workplace values and personal operating principles within a structure of personal value protocols.

Participants learn in-depth application of the Action Tools and how to apply them in daily workplace interactions.

For meaningful practical progress, participants are also asked to bring workplace experiences and examples of how MicroInequities are typically experienced within the company’s specific business culture. They are guided through hands-on practice to manage it. Participants master the essential three pillars of micro-messages: Awareness, Skill and Application.

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Pre-Class Assignment – Survey

This interactive session will equip business leaders with the skills and insights to create optimally inclusive work environments.  The session will explore the scientific basis of the power of respect as a catalyst for various desirable business outcomes, including collaboration, innovation, inclusion, and employee retention. Using the R-E-S-P-E-C-T Ethos, participants will learn actionable strategies to foster a culture of respect at the enterprise, team, and individual levels. By prioritizing respect and understanding its critical role in healthy organizations, participants will see that they can drive positive outcomes with a surprisingly lightweight approach that all employees can embrace.

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

• Understand the role of inclusive leadership in driving business success and innovation.
• Understand the RESPECT Ethos model and its behavior components.
• Apply the RESPECT Ethos model to enhance trust and foster workplace collaboration.
• Implement actions to create inclusive organizational cultures for all employees.

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

In the final required ethics session, Professor Conti-Brown builds on previous discussions of ethics and culture to discuss how to operationalize these principles. Conti-Brown introduces the concept of easy, medium, and hard questions. Easy ethical questions are those that essentially belong to the domain of criminal law and can be corrected by compliance systems. Medium questions are those where most people agree on the same ends, but disagree on the appropriate means. And hard questions are those where people in good faith disagree on what constitutes ethical behavior, means and ends alike. After developing this framework, Conti-Brown guides participants through its application to several examples in several aspects of the financial services industry, including questions about diversity, pay incentives for executives, and whether and how firms should engage in public policy.

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Pre-Class Assignment – Reading and Brief Exercise

The AI Factor Workshop is a comprehensive session designed to empower business leaders with the tools and frameworks needed to identify and implement impactful AI strategies tailored to their organization’s needs. This interactive workshop focuses on providing actionable insights into AI integration, data readiness, and prioritization for maximum organizational impact.

Session Format:
This workshop combines lecture-based learning with dynamic classroom discussions and hands-on activities. Participants will engage with real-world case studies, group exercises, and practical demonstrations of AI tools. Live mentoring from Asha Saxena will provide attendees with personalized guidance on applying the concepts to their specific contexts.

Content Covered:

• The Power Quadrants Framework: A strategic tool for evaluating and prioritizing AI opportunities.
• Data Readiness: How to assess and prepare your organization’s data for AI-driven decision-making.
• AI Use Cases: Identifying high-impact AI applications across industries.
• Hands-On Practice: Exploring and utilizing cutting-edge AI tools to address business challenges.
• Leadership in AI: Fostering innovation and collaboration between technology and business teams.

Learning Objectives:

• Develop a clear understanding of how to align AI initiatives with organizational goals and prioritize them for maximum ROI.
• Gain the skills to assess data readiness and implement best practices for ensuring high-quality, compliant data to drive AI strategies.
• Build confidence in leveraging leading AI tools through hands-on practice and practical application in a business context.

This workshop is designed for leaders and decision-makers seeking actionable, strategic insights to elevate their organizations through AI. Participants will leave with a practical roadmap and the confidence to integrate AI into their business operations.

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Corporate leaders must increasingly navigate contentious social and political issues. This session aims to equip participants with tools to understand when and how to take a public stance on a contested issue.  Through an interactive lecture, we will use recent real-world case studies to derive key takeaways supported by cutting-edge empirical research and field experiments.  Participants will leave the lecture with a clearer understanding of the factors to consider in anticipating likely effects of a stance on the loyalties of various stakeholders, ranging from shareholders to consumers and regulators.  We will also define the features of a well-constructed stance, including considerations around how it is timed, who it is taken with, who speaks for the company, and what makes it compelling.

(Also offered Monday at 1:30pm)

This workshop will discuss the science of resilience and well-being and teach actionable skills to navigate adversity and thrive in challenging environments.

Learning objectives:

• Resilience is the capacity to navigate adversity and to grow through the struggles we face.
• The benefits of optimism in important domains of life, including relationships, health, and performance.
• Six optimism strategies to increase resilience and build an optimistic mindset.

During this interactive session, attendees will discuss ways to apply the strategies in their professional as well as their personal lives.

(Also offered Thursday at 10:30am)

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Pre-Class Assignment – Survey

The SII Leadership Mastery 201 is for seasoned leaders who have been honing their leadership legacy by being leaders of leaders. They are respected for their competence, credibility and care. The session sharpens the focus on wicked systemic dilemmas of disruptive leadership, collective trust, and navigating with trust with critical stakeholders. This world is the perfect stage to mature the ascending levels of transformative leadership with a nuanced investigation into trust and power, post-disruptive growth, dark side of meteoric success, and closing with a lifelong leadership mastery plan developed in the session.

This session will include active participant Q&A.

CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Economies and markets globally are impacted by the policy actions of Central Banks, especially the U.S. Federal Reserve System (FED). Perhaps this has never been more true than in the recent years of major volatility. The U.S. and global economies were growing steadily, and financial markets were at or near record highs in February 2020, then along came the global COVID pandemic. Global unemployment skyrocketed. Stock markets plunged. Certain industries, such as airlines and restaurants, would have collapsed without government subsidies.

Many Central Banks set maximum targets for inflation. The Fed and some other Central Banks set this maximum target at 2%. There is no theoretical reason why 2% was chosen; indeed, some leading economists are calling for a higher target such as 3%.  After COVID appeared, worldwide inflation jumped well above 2%, as it was boosted by expansionary monetary policies that aimed to help economies recover from the pandemic’s steep blow. Worldwide inflation was exacerbated by the supply chain problems stemming from the COVID restrictions by China and other major exporters, and the unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Central Banks have a predominant influence on interest rates, which have major impacts on economies and financial markets. After the pandemic led to record unemployment in April 2020 the FED slashed interest rates to near zero. The FED along with Central Banks in Europe, Canada, and Japan launched massive Quantitative Easing (QE).  QE is a strong and steady ballooning of the FED’s balance sheet, as it buys Treasury Securities and mortgage-backed securities from banks. To pay for these securities (asset) purchases, the FED increased banks’ deposits at the FED (which are the FED’s liabilities). Banks’s deposits at the FED are called their reserves, and with more reserves banks could expand the supply of credit. Essentially, by purchasing bonds and creating bank reserves the FED expanded the money supply, a process called the money multiplier. The goal was to spur economic recovery. This was successful.

The problem was that the massive expansion of credit and near-zero interest rates led to investors rushing into stocks, real estate, and cryptocurrencies (this portfolio shift was colloquially termed “there is no alternative” or TINA). Seeing other people gain wealth, others jumped in (termed “fear of missing out” or FOMO) and the US has had asset price inflation.

Consumer price inflation rose to a very high level in early 2022,  exacerbated by the Russian invasion that increased global prices of energy and food. The FED has a DUAL MANDATE  to maximize employment subject to keeping inflation low and steady. The FED monitors key variables related both to the job market and to inflation.  We will analyze different gauges on the Federal Reserve’s “job market dashboard” and its “inflation dashboard.” This will include examining, for example, underemployment and job openings.

Our analysis of the “job market dashboard” and the “inflation dashboard” will highlight metrics which are crucial for the FED’s decisions about interest rates. These decisions have a strong influence on financial markets. We will discuss the recent path and forecasts for inflation and unemployment, given the FED’s dual mandate and its targets.

By pursuing a loose monetary policy (through QE)  The FED succeeded in maximizing employment. However, inflation skyrocketed far above its 2% target. Thus, in Spring 2022 the FED started a continuing series of interest rate increases. The FED did this more aggressively than other Central Banks. This meant that interest rates in the US exceeded those in other advanced economies. The US had a “positive interest-rate differential,” which means higher yields. Capital flowed into the US to gain these higher yields. To receive the higher yields on assets denominated in US dollars, foreign individuals and institutions had to sell their currencies in exchange for $US. These transactions appreciated the dollar’s foreign exchange value. A positive aspect of this is that it made US imports cheaper, which pressured US inflation downwards. A negative impact is that a more expensive dollar makes it harder for US production to compete with imports and makes US exports more costly to potential foreign buyers. Thus, the actions of the Federal Reserve to fight inflation likely increased the already massive US trade deficit.

Starting in Fall 2024 the FED started reducing interest rates, but at a modest pace. Thus, the $US is still strong, meaning costly in much of the world. The Fed’s possible actions on interest rates throughout 2025-26 will impact financial markets worldwide. Thus, we will discuss possible scenarios.

This session will engage participants in analyzing the current state and prospects for monetary policy. This will enable participants to explore the future of economies and financial markets.

Learning Objectives:

• Financial professionals need to understand the dynamics of the economy and financial markets. It is crucial to understand the impact of monetary policy on financial markets and economies, especially on the job market and inflation. This session aims to heighten such knowledge.
• The performance of the US job market, including monthly job changes and the unemployment rate, has been the subject of intense study since the global financial crash of 2008-09.  The concern regarding underemployment spiked due to the 22 million jobs lost when the US locked down in March and April 2020. Job gains have been extremely strong since then, which drove unemployment to historic lows and led to record job openings. These job openings caused accelerating wage increases, which helped underpin high inflation. The Federal Reserve and European Central Banks rapidly increased interest rates to bring inflation down. This has led to the fear of a recession., but so far the US seems to be an the desired “soft landing.”
• Markets and economies globally are impacted by the policies of Central Banks such as the FED. The FED has an “inflation dashboard” of metrics useful for determining monetary policy, especially setting interest rates. An objective is to analyze inflation, job market,  and monetary policy linkages and their implications for asset markets. We will engage on topics of crucial current and future interest to investors, to consumers, to firms and their employees, and to policymakers.

(Also offered Thursday at 10:30am)

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Pre-Class Assignment – Questionnaire

The ability to negotiate productively is a critical part of both business and personal success. In this interactive session we will identify what your negotiation style is and the pros and cons of using it in certain situations.  In addition, we will conduct a mock negotiation that is both fun and challenging.  The mock negotiation will highlight several key concepts in negotiation, assist you in thinking about negotiation strategically, and help you improve the outcomes of your future negotiations.

This session will extend through lunch and end at 1pm.  Lunch will be provided to session participants.

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Pending

Our brains are wired to respond to stories. Research shows that stories are up to 22 times more memorable than facts and figures alone. The art and science of storytelling is a critical skill for any leader who aspires to connect, influence and inspire.

This interactive workshop will help you tap into the power of your own personal stories to forge deeper connections with your teams and motivate action.

Learning Objectives:

• Unlock your story vault: Learn how to identify and access the rich library of stories within your own experience for impactful leadership communication.
• Craft compelling narratives: Master the core elements of effective storytelling, add emotion and concrete details to bring your message to life.
• Land your message: Learn how to use the Decker Cornerstones to effectively convey your point of view, desired actions, and benefits to your audience in a meaningful and memorable way.

(Also offered Tuesday at 3:30pm)

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

No matter how impressive an analysis is, or how high-quality your data are, it is unlikely to compel change unless stakeholders for your work understand what you have done. Some of the stakeholders may not understand all the details of the analytics but they do want evidence of the analysis. This is where stories based on data and analytics become more convincing than those based on anecdotes or personal experience. In this session, participants will explore how analytics can be translated into a narrative story.  Participants will learn how to take results of a rigorous analysis and develop stories that are effective tools for conveying insights.

Check your mobile app for location.

Intimate lunch session with Paul Tiffany.

(35 person capacity; Limit of 1 lunch per Year 3 participant)

Please note participants will be on their feet for most of the session.

In this experiential session, participants explore behaviors that improve collaborative relationships. The session introduces practical, applicable skills for increasing the ability to effectively communicate with others — to hear and be heard.  The session is ‘serious play’ – fun exercises with powerful results.

Learning Objectives:

• Explore tools to enhance one’s ability to be fully present, focused and energized while working with others.
• Practice effective listening skills.
• Practice releasing inner scripts and agendas and, instead, build upon others’ ideas.
• Explore the concept of ‘true collaboration’ in equal partnership toward reaching a goal.
• Explore the concept ‘Perception Overrides Intention’
• Explore non-verbal communication (body language)
• Practice skills in Emotional Congruency (matching content with delivery), in order to enhance authenticity and build trust
• Explore the benefits of ‘tolerance for the unknown’
• Practice the skill of recovering smoothly from mistakes
• Increase ability to collaboratively innovate.
• Increase confidence in spontaneous behavior.
• Increase effectiveness in workplace collaboration by recognizing one’s strengths and challenges.
• Explore the benefits of ‘transparency’ and ‘curiosity’ to connect and build trust with others.

Throughout the session, participants experience a variety of activities, including exercises based in improvisational theater training.  No one is singled out — all exercises are performed in large or small groups.  The facilitator creates a comfortable atmosphere in which all participants are supported and encouraged.  Every exercise is debriefed to maximize its application to the participants’ unique needs.  The result is positive transformation of the participants’ communication skill-set.

(Also offered Wednesday at 1:30am)

Too often, we move through life without pausing to reflect on what truly matters—our values, purpose, and goals. Many people spend time on activities that don’t align with their vision for a balanced and fulfilling life. As the saying goes, “To lead others successfully, you must first be able to lead yourself.” This workshop is dedicated to creating a personal strategy that aligns with your core values, cultivates purpose, and defines success on your terms.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify Core Values: Clarify the values that guide your life decisions and goals.
• Define Your Purpose: Discover your purpose and how it serves as a foundation for fulfillment and direction.
• Set a Vision of Success: Develop a personal definition of success that aligns with your priorities and aspirations.
• Prioritize Well-Being: Explore techniques to manage stress and create habits that support balance and joy.
• Create a Personal Action Plan: Build an actionable roadmap for personal growth and meaningful accomplishments in both life and work.

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

The session will focus on how leaders can build high flying teams that enable them to implement their strategies successfully, with special attention to the challenges of managing teams that are dispersed, diverse, digital, and dynamic. We will introduce a tool for analyzing your own teams, the Team Effectiveness Pyramid, and work through how to use this tool to diagnose your teams and figure out how and where to intervene to make them stronger.

(Also offered Thursday at 1:30pm)

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Pre-Class Assignment – Assessment

This workshop will help strengthen your influence and persuasion skills.  Everybody needs these skills to build momentum for important initiatives, achieve organizational alignment, and implement strategies. Through a series of interactive discussions and role-plays, you will answer four key questions in this workshop: What are the steps that led to buy-in?  What is your communication style and how do you use to engage stakeholders?  How do you make your ideas simple and compelling? How do you generate lasting commitment? The workshop content is drawn from the book The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas (Portfolio/Penguin), co-authored by G. Richard Shell and Mario Moussa. This class will require pre-work to be completed prior to the participants’ arrival.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn about the different channels of influence and how to use them effectively.
• Optimize each message so that it resonates stakeholders’ style and interests.
• Assess your progress on real problems you bring to the workshop and position yourself to see immediate results.
• Map the political landscape of your organization to see where the landmines are buried and where your allies can help you.
• Experience enhanced self-awareness, including emotional intelligence.
• Enhance the ability to assemble winning coalitions.

Class participants will receive a copy of The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas.  Sponsored by Raymond James.

(Also offered Wednesday at 2:00pm)

In an era of unprecedented uncertainty, a leader’s ability to think strategically and act with agility have emerged as critical skills in navigating change and accelerating their organization’s performance.  In this session we will identify the organizational factors that drive or drag performance, and reinforced by compelling examples, explore what it means to be a strategic leader in conditions of high uncertainty.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the drive and drag factors that affect your organization’s performance, and of the various elements that make up strategic thinking and leadership.
• Create an awareness of your individual strengths and weaknesses as a strategic leader.
• Suggest avenues for better decision making, more agile strategies and plans, and an improved ability to navigate uncertainty.

CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Pre-Class Assignment – Reading and Short Podcast Episode

This presentation explores the methods advisors can use to build income from stocks and bonds and explains how asset allocation, return expectations, liability driven strategies, and pooling longevity risk impact the expected amount of income a retiree can create from investments. The presentation will include a discussion about establishing an appropriate time horizon for higher-income clients and the newest research on retiree spending patterns. I will discuss the pros and cons of various financial products including customized bond ladders, annuities, and tontine-like innovations.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize how investment volatility affects retirement income stability
• Understand how various bond strategies impact affects income streams
• Evaluating the impact of longevity risk on spending
• Recognize the benefits of various products designed to enhance retirement income

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Recognizing the increasing importance of latent sources of non-market risk stemming from social and political uncertainty, firms are facing increased calls to consider the interests of stakeholders, in addition to shareholders, when making strategic decisions.  This class will guide participants through a hands-on, episodic case that explores a company’s decision to re-incorporate abroad for tax savings.  The case illustrates the complexity and importance of analyzing and understanding the non-market (social, legal, and political) risks attendant to strategic decisions.  Participants will learn frameworks for assessing non-market risk, balancing the interests of shareholders with those of key stakeholders, and the critical role of governance frameworks for allocating power between shareholders and stakeholders.

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

The future of digital business and consumer interaction is being built on blockchain – obtain the knowledge to engage with it meaningfully. In this course, we dive deep into the world of digital assets, blockchain technology, and the emerging Web3 ecosystem. The course starts with an introduction of blockchain technology, digital assets, and Web3. Then learn how this technology is transforming traditional finance with increased transparency, accessibility, and efficiency. We’ll also unpack real-world implementation challenges and customer experiences. The course concludes with an examination of the convergence of Web3 technologies and generative AI systems. Join us on this comprehensive exploration of the transformative potential of decentralized networks.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the main components of blockchain technology
• Discover which use cases are gaining momentum for mainstream adoption
• Learn from real-world implementations

(Also offered Monday at 10:30am)

CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Public policy always impacts economies and financial markets. Such impacts are particularly pronounced now, as we have a new Trump administration promising major policy changes. The uncertainty surrounding international trade, fiscal, geopolitical, and monetary policy*** is contributing to heightened market volatility.

Federal budgetary policy, termed fiscal policy is an increasingly crucial force. The pandemic cost the US 22 million jobs in March and April 2020. An expansionary fiscal policy, starting with the $2.3 trillion CARES act, helped lift the economy, but at the cost of a $3.1 trillion federal deficit in 2020 (all the deficits will be measure according to the federal fiscal year, which ends September 30). Trillions of fiscal spending beyond the normal budget led to a further fiscal deficit of $2.8 trillion in 2021.  The federal deficit for 2022 was halved, but still massive at $1.4 trillion dollars. This smaller or improved US government deficit had a short life, as it jumped back to $1.7 trillion in 2023. Note that the fiscal deficit had never hit even $1 trillion until the Great Recession caused by the global financial crisis of 2008.

Of major importance, the increased interest rates engineered by the Federal Reserve in 2022-23, applied to the massive federal debt – which has leapt above $36 trillion, boosts the Government’s interest spending and thus pumps up deficit spending.

Fiscal deficits imply government borrowing, achieved by issuing more Treasury Securities. Thus, deficits add to a booming Federal Debt — it has jumped nearly $13 trillion from $23.5 trillion in March 2020!  If the deficits do occur as forecast by most economists over the next decade, will the US government debt become so large that people and institutions, US and non-US, will not want to hold our treasury securities debt? If so, bond prices would decline, market interest rates would rise, and the sustainability of the debt will become a crucial issue. Until recently, historically low interest rates have kept the US debt burden in check. However, as portrayed above, the increases in interest rates in 2022-23 engineered by the Federal Reserve, only partly reversed by recent interest rate cuts, boost interest payments on the federal debt and thus exacerbate the US fiscal deficit. Current forecasts show that the federal fiscal deficit, which was $1.8 trillion in 2024, could rise somewhat steadily to roughly $3 trillion in 2035. Deficits add to debt, which therefore could reach an astronomical $60 trillion in 2035. The federal debt must be serviced by interest payments, so the threat of a vicious spiral of deficits and debt could loom.

Further, government deficits can exacerbate trade deficits. Overspending by the government can lead to overspending by the nation, including on imports. This seems to be the case in the US in recent years, and probably during recent decades.  Massive US trade deficits inspired President Trump to turn toward protectionist trade policy in 2018. Trump’s past trade policies risked trade wars, especially with China, and added uncertainty to the financial outlook.  President Biden’s trade policies mainly continued Trump’s policies. The new Trump administration campaigned on the theme of a trade policy that would impose tariffs on many nations and massive ones on China. Trump’s goal is to reduce the nearly trillion-dollar US trade deficits and to reshore manufacturing production to the US. We will analyze the impact on business and markets stemming from new US trade policies.

Policies that could lead to more restrictive or protectionist trade policies are subsumed under the term “deglobalization.” The pandemic exposed the problem of globalized supply chains, aiming to achieve maximum efficiency under free trade. Now, nations and firms are focusing more on the resiliency of supply chains, to avoid dependency on foreign suppliers. Further, the US (and some other major economies) face many geopolitical risks and international “hot spots” of potential conflict. Thus, policy regarding national security will be crucial. Impacts are likely to be felt during 2025 and beyond in the economy, in business opportunities, in financial markets, and in the Trump approach to foreign policy.

The overarching goal of this elective is to engage SII participants to explore relevant US policies now and in the future.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the evolution of fiscal policy in the U.S. Fiscal policy is a key determinant of the performance of the US economy and financial markets. Participants will develop and/or update their skills analyzing the theory and practice of fiscal policy. Real-world data and trends will enhance learning.
• Know about the path of US federal spending and fiscal deficits during the current and recent administrations. Discuss possible future scenarios.
• International trade policy turned protectionist during the Trump administration.  We will analyze how trade policy may evolve now, in the face of pressures for deglobalization.
• In our global and volatile world, key nations’ foreign policies, such as those dealing with national security and potential geopolitical conflict, take on added importance. Thus, analyzing the impacts of various government policies is our ultimate objective.

CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Pre-Class Assignment – Reading

The purpose of this course module is to introduce to participants how waxing and waning of central bank balance sheets, viz., quantitative easing (QE) and quantitative tightening (QT), operate via bank balance sheets and corporate bond markets, and how these interactions can result in financial fragility.

The module will help understand:

• The exact mechanisms underlying the QE/QT and bank/bond-market interactions.
• Transmission of shocks such as COVID-19 outbreak of March 2020 and the Silicon Valley Banking stress of 2023, as a result of these interactions.
• The pre-shock development of vulnerabilities or “initial conditions,” such as uninsured deposits at banks and the rise of prospective fallen angels in corporate bond markets, to illustrate the financial stability consequences.

Session Format:

The delivery of these material will be based on class lectures (slide decks to be circulated) plus active Q&A with participants.

(Also offered Thursday at 3:30pm)

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Technology is transforming the securities and financial management industries at an unprecedented pace, reshaping the way professionals work, make decisions, and serve clients. This workshop provides a real-time, up-to-the-minute look at the rapid advances in AI, big data, and computing power that are redefining finance. Participants will gain insights into how these technologies are impacting their roles and learn strategies for adapting in this evolving landscape.

Learning Objectives:

• Examine Technological Advancements: Understand how computing power and AI are revolutionizing financial services.
• Explore Big Data in Finance: Learn how big data analytics is reshaping risk assessment, investment strategies, and customer engagement.
• Understand AI’s Role in Decision-Making: Analyze how AI is transforming decision-making, from algorithmic trading to customer interactions.
• Evaluate Compliance and Security Implications: Discover how new technologies affect regulatory compliance and security requirements in finance.
• Prepare for Future Disruptions: Discuss strategies to proactively adapt to rapid technological changes impacting the financial industry.

Pre-Class Assignment – Reading

Why do some individuals gain support for their ideas in meetings, while others seemingly languish?  At the core of any organization’s performance are the decisions that leaders make…those financial, strategic, human resource, marketing and leadership decisions that underlie an organization’s performance. Understanding how to improve decision-making is a truly fundamental leadership requirement. In this session, we will explore typical decision “traps”–those biases in large part determined by how the human brain operates. Drawing on recent research, this session will expose participants to decision biases through short exercises and offer ways to alleviate them.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand how we are all susceptible to “irrational” decisions in certain situations
• Ways to spot such biases within one’s own organization or team
• Frameworks to counteract decision biases.

(Also offered Monday at 3:30pm)

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Pending

Pre-Class Assignment – Survey

The SII Leadership Mastery 101 is specially created for leaders who have already embarked on their leadership adventures over the last 8-10 years. They are already masters-in-making in how they constantly learn-unlearn-relearn & revitalize their toolkit. You as a leader are the real teacher in the workplace. You role-model values in action that affect your leadership repute and your followership. Questions the session dives into are Trust in age of complexity & AI, accountability with power, empathy and resilience with their dark sides. You are invited to create your own personal leadership map or leverage the one provided in the session to sustain your meteoric rise without burnout.

There will be a Leadership Mastery 201 session offered for Years 2 & 3 so you can build upon the learnings from this session.

(Also offered Monday at 10:30am)

In the VUCA world change is a constant.  The COVID pandemic was a stark reminder how important are leaders who know how to lead change and not just manage a change process.  In the session, we will identify key change leadership roles and opportunities as well as how to overcome the obstacles. Using examples, discussion and video clips we also explore how employees experience change, and how leaders can guide them through the change process while providing growth opportunities.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify key leadership roles for creating effective change.
• Introduce and use a framework to help guide you through the process of organizational change.
• Have an effective plan to overcome the challenges of changing people’s behaviors.

(Also offered Tuesday at 10:30am)

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

No matter how impressive an analysis is, or how high-quality your data are, it is unlikely to compel change unless stakeholders for your work understand what you have done. Some of the stakeholders may not understand all the details of the analytics but they do want evidence of the analysis. This is where stories based on data and analytics become more convincing than those based on anecdotes or personal experience. In this session, participants will explore how analytics can be translated into a narrative story.  Participants will learn how to take results of a rigorous analysis and develop stories that are effective tools for conveying insights.

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Pre-Class Assignment – Assessment

You can’t lead without followers, but getting them requires more than your charisma, talent, and authority. Followers are also driven by their own powerful psychological motivations which are often ignored in business settings. In this session, participants will learn about the power of transference, or the emotional glue that binds leaders and their followers. Transference comes in many guises and is also subtle in its workings. Learning to identify transference in professional settings will bring you one step closer to building better relationships and achieving goals. As a result of participating in this session, you will also have an opportunity to take a personality assessment which provides clues about your own behavior patterns and how this might impact opportunities given to you in the workplace. The personality assessment is part of session pre-work.

Going beyond a narrow focus on product or service innovation, this session will highlight the importance of thinking through the overall system of activities that a company uses to create, deliver, and capture value; i.e., its business model. After defining the business model concept and discussing its component parts, we will discuss how innovative models can function as a source of advantage that is hard for competitors to understand and imitate. The session will also introduce tools that leaders can use to map their organization’s current business model and think-through opportunities to innovate in ways that can unlock value without (necessarily) altering the firm’s core product or service mix. We will then discuss key questions that leaders should ask as they consider if and when to pursue various innovation opportunities. Throughout, the conversation will anchor on examples of firms that built their competitive position around innovative new business models, and others that updated existing their models to thrive in the face of competition and uncertainty.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand what a business model is, and how it can be used as a unique source of advantage
• Identify what types of innovation approaches require different types of business model approaches

(Also offered Wednesday at 3:30pm)

Pre-Class Assignment – Exercise

The reality is that nobody likes conflict very much.  Of course, there are those who thrive on conflict, but most managers would prefer to avoid it.  And too often they do just that—to the detriment of those involved.

This session will teach participants how to manage conflict.  They will learn a specific conflict resolution model and the skills that make it work.  And they will practice each step to ensure that they understand how to apply the skills.  They will also learn how to apply these skills in virtual or remote conversations.

Participants will learn how to acknowledge concerns and issues with empathy and understanding.  They will explore how to get the other person speaking to understand what the real issues are.  And they will be introduced to the art of reframing in order to problem solve effectively and resolve the issues.

Avoiding conflict is not what leaders do.  They resolve it as quickly as possible and this session will introduce participants to the skills, models and techniques to do this effectively.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn a specific conflict resolution model.
• Understand that our tendency is to be aggressive or defensive when conflict arises and how to avoid falling into these traps.
• Investigate the skills required to resolve conflict like acknowledging, reframing, addressing and seeking elaboration.
• Realize that conflict resolution requires give and take on both sides and that winning is not the overall objective.
• Explore now to apply these skills remotely.

(Also offered Wednesday at 3:30pm)

Research from Google’s best-performing teams showed that among many levers that contribute to the health of a team, the most important factor is the presence of “psychological safety”. Based on generational research and our own anecdotal experience, we have come to see that younger staff don’t view psychological safety as a nice-to-have, but rather as a requirement for their true engagement.

Drawing upon data from Google, MIT and the research of Amy Edmoundson at Harvard Business School, we will explore what psychological safety means, why it’s so important, and what you, as leaders can do to create the conditions for it on your teams.

Though we may believe we are creating the conditions for collaboration to occur, we may inadvertently undermine psychological safety – often fueled by our own emotional immaturity. So, in addition to exploring what you can do to create psychological safety, we will also discuss the barriers within you that may get in the way. What is most required is that we practice “growing up at work”.

What’s at stake is a more collaborative team environment, as well as greater engagement and aliveness for all.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand critical elements that contribute to a collaborative team environment—with a specific focus upon psychological safety
• Draw upon neuroscience to understand the factors that can contribute to, and threaten, team members’ ability to contribute fully
• Identify where you, as a leader, are doing things well, and how you could do even more to create psychological safety for team members
• Explore the barriers inside of you that keep you from promoting psychological safety and better understand what it means for you – and others – to “grow up at work”

(Also offered Monday at 3:30pm)

CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

In 2025, finance professionals face a time of uncertainty on economic, financial, and geopolitical fronts. This uncertainty follows the past 27 years of frequent bouts of volatility in both economies and asset markets worldwide. We witnessed the hype of the dot.com bubble and its subsequent bursting, leading to a global recession. Central banks, including the Federal Reserve, lowered interest rates and the global economy and asset markets rebounded strongly. However, along came the debt-fueled global real estate bubble. The bursting of that speculative bubble caused a worldwide stock market crash, global financial crisis, and “Great Recession.” Investors who did not panic gained from a strong recovery in global asset markets starting in March 2009. Many real and financial assets both in the US and abroad reached record-high prices in February 2020. The high valuations led many to fear significant market risks, for example from a possible global economic slowdown or a trade war with China stemming from President’s Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods.

The risk that was not anticipated was public health. The COVID pandemic led to a sudden drop in the stock market, which declined by 34% from its February 2020 peak to its trough in March 2020. The economy moved from its record-long (nearly 11 consecutive years) economic growth phase to a short but severe economic depression; a net of over 22 million US jobs were lost in March and especially in April 2020.   Massive government intervention, with unprecedented expansionary fiscal and monetary policy, restored economic growth. The massive monetary and liquidity expansion by the FED, and its creation of near-zero interest rates, fueled a rapid V-shaped rebound of the stock market. Stock market and real estate prices have continued to climb to successive new highs into 2025.  Economic growth surged in 2020 and has been sustained for nearly five years and counting.  The new game in town, cryptocurrencies, has also seized the imagination of investors worldwide.

For many advanced economies, steady growth in jobs has brought unemployment rates quite low. The surprising strength of the US economy caused a level of job openings that was unprecedented and unanticipated. The tightness in the job market led to larger wage increases and combining that with global supply-chain problems led to a rise in US inflation.  Russia’s unwarranted invasion of Ukraine reduced global supplies of energy and food, accelerating inflation worldwide. This put pressure on many Central Banks to rein in their expansionary monetary policies, leading major economies to the precipice of recession. We heard a term from the late 1970s, “stagflation.” This has been a reality or current risk for some major economies. The US hoped for a “soft landing “ and as of now the FED seems to have succeeded. We will examine the current situation, while also analyzing longer-term past trends in the US and global economies and financial markets, all with an eye to understanding possible future trends and scenarios.

Underlying longer-term economic and financial forecasts are major demographic trends. In general, birth rates have declined significantly worldwide, plunging steeply in some nations in Europe and East Asia. Even birth rates in the US are down since the Great Recession began in 2008, with fertility rates now below the level needed to “replace” the US population absent immigration.  In the recent past, global  demographic trends highlighted a contrast between low birth rates and consequent aging in advanced economies, versus high birth rates and youthful populations in emerging markets. Future global labor force growth was forecast to come from emerging or poorer economies.  Now, even many emerging markets have declining birth rates.  Clearly, analyzing demographic trends is crucial for investing strategy.

This session will separate fact from fiction while analyzing the implications of global forecasts and linkages for investors. The extra uncertainty regarding the increasingly tense global geopolitics and the new economic and financial policies of the Trump administration multiply other uncertain and crucial items. These items include the U.S. and global economies, inflation, Russia/Ukraine and commodity prices, interest rates, exchange rates, job markets, monetary and fiscal policy, and the sustainability of massively increasing government debt worldwide. The likely volatility in markets points toward the need for a truly global diversification strategy. This session will feature a strategic look at the economic, financial, and demographic trends that are likely to evolve in the major economies of the future.

Learning Objectives:

• Help financial professionals analyze the US and global economic outlook and longer-term economic trends in this time of great uncertainty in multiple dimensions.
• Increase participants’ understanding of global and US financial linkages to the volatile economic and policy environment we have and will experience.
• Portray and contrast global and U.S. demographic trends, analyzing their investment implications. We will explore forecasts of the demographic trends of the major   economies such as China, the US, the EU, Africa, and India.
• The ultimate objective of this SII session is to help participants form global investing strategies based on the three preceding objectives.

(Previously titled Ecosystem Innovation)

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Pre-Class Assignment – Reading

In many industries today, but especially in finance, organizations operate in ecosystems made up of powerful and highly interconnected stakeholders. Companies that figure out how to manage this complexity will enjoy a powerful competitive advantage in finding and selecting innovations. Participants will be introduced to a tool-based ideation process that helps them think through ways of innovating their companies’ product or service offerings. The methodology allows managers to identify innovation growth opportunities and select insightfully among them, thus ensuring that the company is responsive not only to the pressing needs of the direct customers, but also to the needs and concerns of the other stakeholders in its ecosystem.

Learning Objectives:

• A solid conceptual understanding of ecosystem-driven innovation.
• A tool to map the needs of an organization’s ecosystem players and to strategically create ecosystem-driven advantage.
• Direct experience leveraging the tools to explore new innovation opportunities.

(Also offered Wednesday at 3:30pm) 

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Pre-Class Assignment – Reading

Creating a good business case is necessary to help leaders make good decisions on allocating resources.  A good business plan is also a blueprint for success.  This module will explain the key elements of a business case and discuss how to evaluate and measure business impact.  Four key elements such as the market and business opportunity, link to competitive advantage, communicating a business / economic / operating model, and ability to implement will be discussed.  A case exercise will be used to give practice on developing executive summaries of ideas to be funded. We will also explore the concept of risk to understand and communicate the uncertainties of a business case.  This will be a practical session focused on the qualitative elements that can be used to better inform and evaluate the business cases you submit and review.

Pre-Class Assignment – Reading

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

As Steve Lohr writes in an article on Microsoft, “One of the evolutionary laws of business is that success breeds failure; the tactics and habits of earlier triumphs so often leave companies–even the biggest, most profitable and most admired companies–unable to adapt.”  Clearly, sustained competitive advantage, Michael Porter’s definition of “strategy”, is difficult to attain, especially in these increasingly uncertain times.  In this highly interactive seminar, Mr. Austin will outline key frameworks for identifying innovative, new avenues for growth.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the difference between “inside-out” vs. “outside-in” thinking and what it means to be “customer-centric”.
• Identify obstacles to strategic growth and approaches for overcoming.

CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Navigate the intricacies of the fixed income marketplace in this in-depth session designed for attendee’s looking for an introduction to the world of bonds. Starting with foundational concepts like bond pricing and characteristics, we will explore the structure of bond issuance, key players, and types of bonds, including mortgage-backed securities and TIPS. We will also examine current market conditions, including the yield curve and Federal Reserve policy, and discuss emerging trends shaping the future of fixed income. Whether you are new to bonds or just looking to understand more, this presentation offers a thorough overview of today’s fixed income marketplace.

Learning Objectives:

• Fundamental Bond Concepts from Pricing to Risk
• Discover Different Types and Uses for Debt in the Markets
• Explore the Current Trends in the Fixed Income Marketplace

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Quantum computers have moved from science fiction to science fact in just the last few years, and they are close to creating a “cryptographically relevant quantum computer” that can defeat the current PKI encryption standards that defend the global financial ecosystem.   A race is underway now to define new standards of encryption that will withstand a quantum assault, and further have products built, systems upgraded, and new ‘crypto agility’ capabilities propagated throughout entire enterprises.  Learn what steps financial companies are taking now, to both prepare for the near future, and defend against the latest “steal now, decrypt later” attacks underway today.  This class will provide an overview of the risks and rewards of quantum computing, and lay out the eight step process that financial companies are starting today to ensure they are defended against what the Financial Times called ‘Encryptogeddon.’

(Previously titled – Your Leadership Question: A Catalyst for Impactful Leadership)

Great leaders do more than provide solutions – they inspire collective action, harnessing the full potential of their teams and organizations. This hands-on session will equip you with the transformative practice of identifying and leveraging two unique sets of critical questions to enhance your leadership capabilities.

In this session, you will identify your key “Leadership Question” – a significant and motivating principle that will help you align teams, focus efforts and overcome the pitfalls of scattered priorities and constant busyness. Additionally, you will master the art of asking others “The Right Questions” to crystallize priorities, enhance your influence, reduce resistance, and drive meaningful outcomes. Mastering both these forms of questions will foster high-performance, agile, and thriving workplaces.

Through interactive exercises, real-life examples, and video clips, you will develop these crucial leadership tools. With your overarching guiding Leadership Question, you will develop the proficiency to create questions that match the needs, interests and abilities of different stakeholders. These skills will enable you to immediately be more effective in guiding, leading, and managing organizational objectives while translating your leadership vision into tangible and meaningful organizational outcomes.

Learning objectives:

• Discover your Leadership Question: Crystalize your vision and guiding priorities to lead with clarity and purpose.
• Master the Art of Asking “The Right Questions”: Identify the key questions to focus on priorities and reduce resistance.
• Identify Strategic Questions: Build on questions to enhance empowerment, execution, agility, and continuous improvement

(Also offered Thursday at 10:30am) 

Participants will be on their feet for part of this session.

Participants will learn how to build an adaptive, innovative team culture through learning a cutting-edge technique called the “After Action Review.” The After Action Review (AAR) is used by many organizations, including the United Nations, Microsoft, Harley Davidson, Navy Seals, to enhance commitment, focus on continuous improvement and sharing best practices across teams and organizations. Leaders can leverage the AAR to implement and reinforce change efforts, improve process execution, shape culture and influence employees to learn from past performance. Participants will learn how to conduct an effective After Action Review and will participate in the “Crossing the River” exercise—an engaging, fun and practical application of adaptive leadership in a challenging environment.

Learning Objectives:

• Bring new insights and approaches to your team strategy development, innovation and execution
• Utilize the After Action Review Process to create the optimal balance of learning and performance on your teams
• Better understand your own and others’ leadership styles, and how to be a more adaptive leader
• Develop a collaborative, open, candid, innovative team learning environment
• Help your team respond more positively and creatively to external challenges

This session will extend through lunch and end at 1pm.  Lunch will be provided to session participants.

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

This session is exclusively offered to Year 3 participants only.

Professor Conti-Brown shares this session in each of his classes in the MBA curriculum at Wharton. The advice is about professional goals, work-life balance, how we should form opinions given our lack of any meaningful expertise on most contested questions, and how to engage people who see the world differently from us without resorting to assumptions about their integrity and intellect. Participants conclude this intimate conversation by sharing advice they also wish they could give to their younger selves (and younger colleagues).

(Also offered Wednesday at 3:30pm)

This session is an introduction to real world application of the emerging field of “decision science” which lies at the confluence of behavioral economics and neuroscience and deals with better understanding the limits of rationality of human leaders as decision makers.  The focus is on understanding common biases and heuristics that “rationality” of decisions, the impact that personal power has on these decision processes, and how to structure organizations and processes to minimize the negative impacts of them.  Using both short practical exercises to highlight the limits of human rationality within all of us and real-world examples of bounded rationality from his military experiences, Bill Rapp explores how best to work with and overcome these very human realities to be able to make the best decisions.  The presenter is a retired Army major general and recent resident faculty at Harvard Kennedy School, who has over three decades of decision-making experience and observations of top-level leaders.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand limits to human rationality in decision making.
• Learn individual and organizational techniques to improve quality of decision making.
• Apply these concepts in the world of complex organizational leadership.

(Also offered Wednesday at 3:30pm)

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Everybody tells you that you need to network to get ahead in life and business. They also tell you that you need to be more innovative and creative. But you typically get no advice or, worst, bad advice on how to do both of these things effectively. This session will help you realize how you can be wise about building and maintaining professional social networks to help you discover and develop novel ideas. It is meant to offer a foundation for getting the most out of the relationships you develop throughout your career.

This session explores a strengths-based approach to leadership, both at work and beyond. Leveraging tools grounded in decades of research, hundreds of peer-reviewed studies, and insights from millions of surveys, this session addresses key questions like: Who do I need to be? and What does it mean to lead from a position of strength?

While focusing solely on weaknesses or areas for improvement can yield some progress, combining this with an emphasis on what’s working well—our strengths—unlocks far greater potential. This session dives deep into the language of strengths, equipping participants with practical insights and techniques to identify, understand, and apply their strengths effectively for enhanced impact.

Participants will learn:

• The fundamentals of a strengths-based approach and how it can enhance personal and professional effectiveness.
• Key distinctions between various strengths-based frameworks, enabling a deeper understanding of their unique benefits.
• The role of strengths in well-being, including how they contribute to feeling better and functioning more effectively.
• How to identify and interpret their personal strengths, including obtaining a rank ordering and practical insights into leveraging them.

Effective leaders recognize they must carefully manage both the external and internal environment.  They inspire, provide clarity of purpose, seek diversity of thought and contrary views, and build a culture of trust.  Leaders also develop a keen awareness of external forces and turn threats into opportunities by building an organizational capability of adaptability.  In short, leaders build a PERCEPTIVE organization that is poised to achieve and maintain sustainable positive results.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the importance of building a perceptive organization to meet today’s business challenges
• Articulate specific leadership behaviors that can create an appropriate vigilant culture
• Better prepare for an uncertain future by building agility into their strategy

(Previously titled Playing to Your Strengths)

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Pre-Class Assignment – Assessment

Your reputation precedes you.  How do others see you at work?  Are you perceived as cool, calm, and collected?  Emotionally expressive?  Competitive?  A team player?  Sociable?  Independent?  A people person?  Task-focused?  Conscientious?   Willing to take a risk? Imaginative? Practical? Do you seem to prefer formal education or hands-on learning?  How do these perceptions about you play out when you face an issue, problem, or adversity at work?  What consequences do they have for better or worse? Complete the Hogan Personality Inventory as pre-work, and this session will give you the opportunity to see yourself as others see you, reflect on your strengths, and consider how to make the most of strengths and downplay liabilities.

Learning Objectives:

• See yourself as others see you.
• Reflect on the assets of your personality and recognize the liabilities.
• Learn how to make the most of strengths so that weaknesses pale by comparison.

Check your mobile app for location.

Intimate lunch session with Jim Austin.

(35 person capacity; Limit of 1 lunch per Year 3 participant)

Intimate lunch session with Yael Sivi.

(35 person capacity; Limit of 1 lunch per Year 3 participant)

CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

In this session, participants will explore one of the most dominant factors of the global financial system: anti-money laundering. This curious set of practices and institutions explains most ways that money travels through the world. Criminals attempt to use money from illegal activities in ways that are otherwise legal; governments go to great lengths to forbid that use. The result is that everyone – banks and businesses, consumers and entrepreneurs, politicians and citizens, immigrants and tourists, official institutions and a local food truck – is caught in a complex web of legal, historical, financial, and political factors that defines our modern financial system.

This session will explain why the current AML system relies on deputizing banks and other financial institutions to prevent money laundering rather than the common-law system of leaving every individual to manage their own lawfulness.

CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Explore the complexities of the fixed income marketplace in this session designed for professionals and enthusiasts interested in the mechanics driving today’s bond markets. From the foundational characteristics of bonds to the evolving structures of asset-backed securities, private credit, and ESG-focused products, this discussion covers a broad fixed income landscape. Gain insights into issuance dynamics, the role of rating agencies, and the interplay between primary and secondary markets. We will review today’s fixed income conditions, including the yield curve, Federal Reserve expectations, and the impact of macroeconomic factors. Whether you are an investor, educator, or financial professional, this presentation promises a rich exploration of a market crucial to global finance.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the Foundations of the Fixed Income Marketplace
• Analyze Advanced Fixed Income Products and Trends
• Evaluate Current Market Conditions and Macro Influences

(Also offered Thursday at 3:30pm)

CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

This session will explain why the Federal Reserve’s response to the Covid Pandemic has caused so much inflation and why they must look at money and market prices to determine monetary policy.  We will also examine the valuation of the market and the forecast for interest rates.

Learning Objectives:

• Effect of monetary Expansion on Inflation
• Behavior of Real Interest Rates
• Understanding historical returns on asset classes
• Determine Valuations and P-E ratios and future returns

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

This course introduces a novel approach to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI), grounded in a unique human-centric, analytical methodology. Starting with clear and simple definitions, the course shows how to measure workplace experiences rather than identity traits, avoiding the controversy and polarization that plague traditional approaches to DEI. Through a combination of computer simulations, real-world case studies and sample data, students will understand how low levels of inclusion leads to invisible financial losses and less diversity, and how measuring inclusion can guide organizations to superior financial results, without costly guesswork or the risk of backlash.

Learning objectives

• How to define Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in simple, non-controversial ways
• How to measure inclusion in any organization
• How to link DEI to financial KPIs
• How to debunk common arguments that lead to polarized views about DEI

Course format

This 90-minute course is organized as a workshop, with prepared lecture materials complemented by an interactive activity to show how inclusion is actually measured, as well as time for Q&A and discussion.

Class participants will receive a copy of Paolo’s book, Measuring Inclusion: Higher profits and happier people, without guesswork or backlash.

CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

In a world that calls out for repair, companies are increasingly called upon to engage in initiatives that deliver meaningful social impact. This session builds on a growing body of academic research that shows how firms can leverage these initiatives as a source of strategic advantage. After detailing the varied pathways that social initiatives can work through to benefit the firm—particularly among a younger generation of stakeholders who seek to integrate impact throughout their personal and professional lives—we will discuss sets of tools that leaders can use to more fully understand their company’s impacts and press the advantages that they create. The session will also touch on the unique challenges that firms face due to the growing polarization of many social issues, and how to navigate this potentially fraught landscape.

Learning Objectives:

• Gain knowledge about pathways through which socially responsible practices affect financial performance
• Understand the difference between ESG investing and Impact Investing, as well as key trends in the latter
• Understand how the outcomes of social responsibility vary for polarizing and uncertain issues

(Also offered Tuesday at 1:30pm)

Too often, we move through life without pausing to reflect on what truly matters—our values, purpose, and goals. Many people spend time on activities that don’t align with their vision for a balanced and fulfilling life. As the saying goes, “To lead others successfully, you must first be able to lead yourself.” This workshop is dedicated to creating a personal strategy that aligns with your core values, cultivates purpose, and defines success on your terms.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify Core Values: Clarify the values that guide your life decisions and goals.
• Define Your Purpose: Discover your purpose and how it serves as a foundation for fulfillment and direction.
• Set a Vision of Success: Develop a personal definition of success that aligns with your priorities and aspirations.
• Prioritize Well-Being: Explore techniques to manage stress and create habits that support balance and joy.
• Create a Personal Action Plan: Build an actionable roadmap for personal growth and meaningful accomplishments in both life and work.

(Also offered Tuesday at 2:00pm)

In an era of unprecedented uncertainty, a leader’s ability to think strategically and act with agility have emerged as critical skills in navigating change and accelerating their organization’s performance.  In this session we will identify the organizational factors that drive or drag performance, and reinforced by compelling examples, explore what it means to be a strategic leader in conditions of high uncertainty.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the drive and drag factors that affect your organization’s performance, and of the various elements that make up strategic thinking and leadership.
• Create an awareness of your individual strengths and weaknesses as a strategic leader.
• Suggest avenues for better decision making, more agile strategies and plans, and an improved ability to navigate uncertainty.

(Also offered Wednesday at 10:30am)

This session is an introduction to real world application of the emerging field of “decision science” which lies at the confluence of behavioral economics and neuroscience and deals with better understanding the limits of rationality of human leaders as decision makers.  The focus is on understanding common biases and heuristics that “rationality” of decisions, the impact that personal power has on these decision processes, and how to structure organizations and processes to minimize the negative impacts of them.  Using both short practical exercises to highlight the limits of human rationality within all of us and real-world examples of bounded rationality from his military experiences, Bill Rapp explores how best to work with and overcome these very human realities to be able to make the best decisions.  The presenter is a retired Army major general and recent resident faculty at Harvard Kennedy School, who has over three decades of decision-making experience and observations of top-level leaders.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand limits to human rationality in decision making.
• Learn individual and organizational techniques to improve quality of decision making.
• Apply these concepts in the world of complex organizational leadership.

(Also offered Wednesday at 8:30am)

Pre-Class Assignment – Exercise

The reality is that nobody likes conflict very much.  Of course, there are those who thrive on conflict, but most managers would prefer to avoid it.  And too often they do just that—to the detriment of those involved.

This session will teach participants how to manage conflict.  They will learn a specific conflict resolution model and the skills that make it work.  And they will practice each step to ensure that they understand how to apply the skills.  They will also learn how to apply these skills in virtual or remote conversations.

Participants will learn how to acknowledge concerns and issues with empathy and understanding.  They will explore how to get the other person speaking to understand what the real issues are.  And they will be introduced to the art of reframing in order to problem solve effectively and resolve the issues.

Avoiding conflict is not what leaders do.  They resolve it as quickly as possible and this session will introduce participants to the skills, models and techniques to do this effectively.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn a specific conflict resolution model.
• Understand that our tendency is to be aggressive or defensive when conflict arises and how to avoid falling into these traps.
• Investigate the skills required to resolve conflict like acknowledging, reframing, addressing and seeking elaboration.
• Realize that conflict resolution requires give and take on both sides and that winning is not the overall objective.
• Explore now to apply these skills remotely.

Courage is a powerful key leadership characteristic, irrespective of one’s formal role.  It requires engagement and acting in support of purpose, in the face of concern, worry or fear.  In organizations we want to be courageous, to do what we believe is right and have positive impact, while still acting in pursuit of achieving the organization’s vision. Courage means navigating without a pre-existing roadmap and is an ability that can be learned. Knowing why and when courageous actions are important promotes being proactive.

In this session, initial steps are formulated to help create a clearer sense of personal priorities regarding where and how one would like to take courageous organizational action(s). Through organizational examples and short exercises, participants identify when to act more courageously and how to do so including questioning the status quo, taking risks, supporting others, stepping into the unknown, and managing uncertainty.

Learning Objectives:

• Identifying courage in an organizational context
• Translating the concept of courage to organizational action
• Recognizing multiple ways one can be courageous in organizational settings

(Also offered on Thursday at 8:30am)

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Pending

In a world where small actions can lead to significant transformation, “Creating Change Through Moments That Matter” empowers participants to harness pivotal experiences, in and out of the workplace, to inspire and drive meaningful change.

By recognizing the power of everyday interactions and decisions, participants will learn to create an environment that nurtures growth and innovation while leaning into and embracing the opportunities that change presents.

This class will combine lecture with high-energy participant collaboration, encouraging active involvement and dynamic exchanges of ideas. Participants should be prepared for a learning environment that values diverse perspectives and fosters creativity.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify Pivotal Moments: Recognize and articulate key moments in personal and professional settings that have the potential to drive change.
• Analyze Impact:  Evaluate the influence of specific experiences on personal growth and organizational dynamics.
• Develop Strategies for Change: Create actionable plans that leverage moments that matter to facilitate meaningful change in various settings.
• Enhance Empathetic Communication:  Cultivate skills for empathetic listening and communication to better connect with others and foster collaboration.
• Engage in Reflective Practice: Implement reflective exercises that encourage self-awareness and understanding of one’s role in creating change.
• Measure Outcomes: Learn methods to assess the effectiveness of change initiatives and make adjustments for continuous improvement.

Embark on this transformative journey and discover how to become a catalyst for change in your organization!

(Also offered Wednesday at 8:30am)

Research from Google’s best-performing teams showed that among many levers that contribute to the health of a team, the most important factor is the presence of “psychological safety”. Based on generational research and our own anecdotal experience, we have come to see that younger staff don’t view psychological safety as a nice-to-have, but rather as a requirement for their true engagement.

Drawing upon data from Google, MIT and the research of Amy Edmoundson at Harvard Business School, we will explore what psychological safety means, why it’s so important, and what you, as leaders can do to create the conditions for it on your teams.

Though we may believe we are creating the conditions for collaboration to occur, we may inadvertently undermine psychological safety – often fueled by our own emotional immaturity. So, in addition to exploring what you can do to create psychological safety, we will also discuss the barriers within you that may get in the way. What is most required is that we practice “growing up at work”.

What’s at stake is a more collaborative team environment, as well as greater engagement and aliveness for all.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand critical elements that contribute to a collaborative team environment—with a specific focus upon psychological safety
• Draw upon neuroscience to understand the factors that can contribute to, and threaten, team members’ ability to contribute fully
• Identify where you, as a leader, are doing things well, and how you could do even more to create psychological safety for team members
• Explore the barriers inside of you that keep you from promoting psychological safety and better understand what it means for you – and others – to “grow up at work”

(Also offered Wednesday at 10:30am)

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Everybody tells you that you need to network to get ahead in life and business. They also tell you that you need to be more innovative and creative. But you typically get no advice or, worst, bad advice on how to do both of these things effectively. This session will help you realize how you can be wise about building and maintaining professional social networks to help you discover and develop novel ideas. It is meant to offer a foundation for getting the most out of the relationships you develop throughout your career.

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

While technology is always changing, there are three key areas to focus on that will have a major impact on you, your company, your industry, and your country over the rest of your career.  Learn what they are, why they matter, their latest advances, and what decisions you can make now that will be the difference between success and failure going forward. Whole new ways to compute, communicate, and decision are coming, and with them will be great risks and great opportunity.  Get informed, involved, and advanced with the security aspects of Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Computing, and 5G communications in this fast-paced class.

CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Impact and ESG investing has skyrocketed in popularity with investors worldwide. But many people don’t realize how wide-ranging these disciplines have become.  Twenty years ago it was stock or occasionally other portfolios which screened companies in or out based on their social investing characteristics. Today, ESG and social-impact oriented strategies include new products and asset classes, influencing corporate governance through shareholder activism, Corporate Social Responsibility, Donor-Advised Funds, and bold for-profit approaches to helping the poor in the developing world.

This session provides an overview of the most important ESG and impact-investing concepts and styles and a look at whether investment return need be sacrificed for social benefit.  It offers a high-level view of the products and strategies now permeating not only institutional, but retail investing as well.

(Also offered Thursday at 1:30pm)

Leaders inspire, build capacity in others, lead change, and motivate employees to do more than they thought possible. This session typically includes a short exercise where we watch film clips to identify inspirational leadership behaviors. Each team presents an inspiring vision and employs inspirational behaviors to respond to the crisis. Participants will discuss how visionary leaders inspire people to connect to the organization’s purpose, and understand where their particular contributions fit into the vision and how they belong to something larger than themselves.

After this session, you should be able to:

• Discuss the impact of ambiguity and uncertainty on individual psychology and performance
• Recognize the components and leader behaviors associated with inspirational leadership (that is, leadership that promotes a personal connection, builds confidence, demonstrates a caring attitude, and includes great expectations)
• Employ these behaviors in a video case and learn how to construct and effectively communicate a vision for followers.

(Previously titled – Leading through Challenging Times)

Pre-Class Assignment – Video Documentary

Over 100 years ago, 28 adventurers were stranded for nearly two years in Antarctica.  Incredibly, they all survived.  Their story and that of their leader, Ernest Shackleton, evidence many of the now recognized best practices for leading through challenging times.  This session explores the story of Shackleton’s expedition, mining it for illustrations of best practices for today’s leaders trying to lead through current challenging times.

This session is highly participative and potentially very free flowing.  The richness of the case and the breadth of its implications for leading through challenging times argues for focusing on the material that session participants deem most appropriate.  Hence, the session relies extensively on participant questions.  Pre-work will markedly increase participant ability to focus questions on case-based areas of most interest and, likely, of most use to them.

This session complements the session on Leading Through Crisis to Organizational Renewal.

CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Ideal for: Participants seeking to deepen their understanding of private markets, including:

• The fundamentals of key private market segments (Private Equity, Venture Capital, Private Credit, Real Estate, Infrastructure).
• The risk and return characteristics of private investments compared to public markets.
• Insights into current trends and the future outlook of private investments.

This engaging and informative session provides participants with a comprehensive introduction to the world of private markets. Tailored for professionals from diverse backgrounds, it demystifies key concepts in private equity, venture capital, private credit, and other alternative investments. Attendees will explore the unique risk-return characteristics of private markets, their increasing significance in the global financial landscape, and how they compare to traditional public market investments.

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

With the rapid growth of AI adoption, organizations need to comprehend and navigate an array of novel risks and legal compliance obligations. The session will introduce frameworks to identify and address the legal, regulatory, and ethical concerns related to AI technologies. Distinct attention will be given to differentiating issues pertinent to supervised machine learning and Generative AI. Recent legislative and regulatory developments in the US and globally will be discussed. The session will delve into critical issues such as correctness, transparency, fairness, and data acquisition (privacy and copyright). Finally, practical guidance will be offered to help organizations implement responsible AI practices, aiming to equip leaders with the knowledge and tools needed to responsibly integrate AI into their business strategies.

(Also offered on Wednesday at 3:30pm)

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Pending

In a world where small actions can lead to significant transformation, “Creating Change Through Moments That Matter” empowers participants to harness pivotal experiences, in and out of the workplace, to inspire and drive meaningful change.

By recognizing the power of everyday interactions and decisions, participants will learn to create an environment that nurtures growth and innovation while leaning into and embracing the opportunities that change presents.

This class will combine lecture with high-energy participant collaboration, encouraging active involvement and dynamic exchanges of ideas. Participants should be prepared for a learning environment that values diverse perspectives and fosters creativity.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify Pivotal Moments: Recognize and articulate key moments in personal and professional settings that have the potential to drive change.
• Analyze Impact:  Evaluate the influence of specific experiences on personal growth and organizational dynamics.
• Develop Strategies for Change: Create actionable plans that leverage moments that matter to facilitate meaningful change in various settings.
• Enhance Empathetic Communication:  Cultivate skills for empathetic listening and communication to better connect with others and foster collaboration.
• Engage in Reflective Practice: Implement reflective exercises that encourage self-awareness and understanding of one’s role in creating change.
• Measure Outcomes: Learn methods to assess the effectiveness of change initiatives and make adjustments for continuous improvement.

Embark on this transformative journey and discover how to become a catalyst for change in your organization!

(Previously titled Building Better Retirement Systems in the Wake of the Global Pandemic)

CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

The pandemic has accentuated stresses on global aging, requiring policymakers and retirees to become newly aware of the need for better risk management tools to handle longevity and aging. I will evaluate how retirement systems have fared in the wake of the pandemic, and examine insurance and financial market products that may render retirement systems more resilient for the world’s aging population.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify key elements of retirement system in the US and globally
• Evaluate challenges facing retirement systems in the future
• Discuss proposals to enhance retirement security

(Previously titled – The Why and How of Great Teams)

**Important Note – there is content overlap between this session and Andy’s other sessions.  By design, the 3 sessions share the same tools, but each class will feature a unique perspective on how to use Andy’s framework for different examples.  We suggest choosing only one of Andy’s sessions unless you are okay with the overlapping content.**

Below is the focus for each session:

• Crucibles – leadership development, specifically around humility
• The Most Important Thing – personal well-being and relationships
• The Ecology of Great Teams (formerly titled The Why and How of Great Teams) – psychological safety and team dynamics

Do you wish your team performed at a higher level and was more enjoyable to work on? In this eye-opening and practical session, you’ll learn:

• The enlightening difference between building a team like an engineer (“parts to optimize”) versus an ecologist (“relationships to balance”)
• Why great teams aren’t built on KPIs, OKRs, and other metrics (those are lagging indicators). Great teams are built on a shared feeling of deep connection and a willingness to get real.
• As a team ecologist, how can you cultivate this shared feeling? We’ll look at the importance of Soil (psychological safety), Sun (encouragement), Rain (empathy), and Fire (adversity) in developing deeper levels of connectedness, morale, and performance.

An engineering mindset has great advantages, but if you manage people (not machines) and you care about team performance, this class will give you a framework and toolkit to help improve team dynamics and drive lasting change.

All attendees will receive a free membership to a special online site so you can continue applying what you learned after the session ends.

We are conditioned to believe that midlife is the stuff of jokes, silly birthday cards, and tropes about being “over the hill”. But by lamenting or mocking what it means to age, we fail to see that midlife can be an opportunity to truly grow up, more deeply understand ourselves, and create a life that has meaning.

Inspired by Jungian psychoanalyst James Hollis, AirBnB’s “modern elder” executive Chip Conley, William Bridges’ work on transitions, and Bob Kegan’s adult development theory, this experiential workshop aims to reframe midlife not as a calamity, but a gift. The shifts we experience – personally and professionally – can come to us initially as challenges and losses. With introspection and an understanding for life’s deeper terrain, we can transform our orientation toward midlife to make meaningful and intentional choices for our life ahead.

Learning Objectives:

• Compare notes in a confidential, supportive space about the losses and gains we have experienced in midlife, personally and professionally
• Understand how psychologists and others understand midlife as a sacred portal composed of stages and to appreciate what’s needed from us throughout the journey
• Start a “midlife edit” to thoughtfully let go of the emotional baggage, mindsets, and obligations that no longer serve us, and to create space for new personal and professional opportunities to emerge

In the #MeToo era, companies face increased pressure to ensure that employees are afforded equal employment opportunities and rewards.  In this course, we will discuss cutting edge empirical work exploring how bias manifests in the modern workplace, as well as what strategies and programs have proven most effective in countering it.

CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Pre-Class Assignment – Reading

This session will investigate why healthcare spending always goes up, what are the drivers, and what can be done about it.

Learning Objectives:

• Distinguish the supply and demand side drivers of healthcare spending
• Distinguish the price and volume drivers of healthcare spending
• Investigate whether US healthcare costs rise faster than the rest of the world
• Discuss what realistically can be done to control spending (without the political rhetoric)

(Also offered Thursday at 1:30pm)

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

This session will be interactive.

Did you ever wonder how the firm you work for makes money?  Have you listened to your Chief Financial Officer talk about the quarterly earnings, and walk away scratching your head?  This introductory session developed for those without a financial background takes a simplified look at where the money comes from and where it goes to determine the profit (loss) announced in that last quarterly report.  Focusing on financial services firms, we will look at the businesses of our industry and how they drive the core operating activities.  In layman’s terms we will break down the income streams and expenses taking the jargon out of financial reporting.  If you would like a simple explanation of “ratios” like EBITDA, EPS, ROI, RWC and buzz words like Tier 1 Capital, deferred tax assets and non-counterparty risk, then this is the session for you.

Following this session, you will be able to:

• Better understand your firm’s financial statements and the jargon around your firm’s quarterly announcements
• Know the drivers behind the business of financial services
• Have a good feel for the types of risk in our industry and how they impact your firm.

This way, the next time your firm reports earnings, you will be able to understand the rhetoric, the balance sheet, and the income statement, making you a better-informed employee.

CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

This session will cover the fundamentals of Exchange Traded Funds and the parties and stakeholders that comprise the structure of these funds and how they operate including index providers, ETF managers, Authorized Participants (AP’s) and market makers.  In will cover reference the history and industrial organization of the industry including size, numbers and characteristics of today’s ETF’s as well as their diversity.  The session will discuss the advantages and disadvantages and pros and cons of ETFS and how they compare to other investment vehicles such as mutual funds.  Finally, a number of “hot button issues” will be presented including active ETF’s, levered ETF’s, and flash crashes.

CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Pre-Class Assignment – Reading

Why do so many good managers do bad M&A deals? While the potential for value-creation is quite significant in M&A, too many deals fall short of both internal and external expectations. In an interactive, discussion-based format, we will consider the common pathologies of decision-making in the M&A process. These range from flawed acquisition objectives, insufficient due diligence, the role of ego and hubris in bidding and negotiation, and expectations versus reality in post-merger integration. Emphasis will be placed on the idea that M&A is a holistic process that encompasses both strategic and financial considerations and that spans the entire period from deal initiation all the way through to implementation.

CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Ideal for: Participants who would like to get familiar with the private equity industry, learn the anatomy of a deal, industry trends, and understand the sources of value creation and the drivers of return of private equity funds.

Private equity is an asset class that has the potential to generate sustainable long-term returns for its investors. Although it is a relatively new asset class with some unique characteristics that may not be familiar to investors, it has become a key component of many investors’ portfolios. In this entry-level elective session, we will cover how a private equity fund operates and governs its portfolio companies. We will talk about the changing trends in the private equity industry. We will also discuss whether and how a private equity fund creates value in a changing macroeconomic landscape.

CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

In this course we will examine sustainability and ESG, two of the most significant current trends in financial services.  The class will explore what ESG and sustainability are and the opportunities and risks they pose for financial services firms.  The discussion will include commercial, regulatory and policy risks and opportunities. We will also cover the impact of the 2024 election on ESG and sustainability, as well as changing consumer and investor preferences.  With billions of assets pouring into this space, financial service professionals need to understand both the meaning and implications for them and their firms.

(Also offered Thursday at 1:30pm)

CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

The worst thing an investor can do is allow their emotions to become their portfolio’s worst enemy. Since fear is frequently a greater motivator than greed, how can an investor extract their emotions from the equation and continue to be appropriately allocated? Investing is a journey. By being forewarned of potential hazards ahead, through an understanding of stock market seasonality, cycles, and recovery characteristics, even the more cautious investor can leverage history to help calm their nerves and stay the course.

Learning Objectives:

• Cycles And Seasonality: See how the S&P 500 typically performs during all 16 quarters of the presidential cycle, as well as examine typical returns on a semi-annual and monthly basis.
• Market Indicators: The market’s action early in the year frequently hints at the full-year performance. Learn about five market indicators that have functioned as divining rods for future price action.
• Investment Strategies: There is an old saying that “prices lead fundamentals.” You will be introduced to sector rotation strategies that leverage price momentum, correlation, and seasonality.

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Pre-Class Assignment – Reading

American society is transforming. It’s aging. And with aging, we accumulate more and more wealth. In time, we need that wealth for our well-being, pleasure, and legacy. With aging, we’re also more likely to experience cognitive impairments. Persons with cognitive impairment need care, but there are fewer and fewer people available to care for them, especially the free labor of close by family. Persons with cognitive impairment are at heightened risk to make errors in financial management or be victims of financial fraud or abuse. Together, these facts distill a powerful brew of challenges for older adults, their families, medicine and the banking and financial services industries. This course will overview the common causes of cognitive complaints and cognitive impairment and the latest initiatives to improve the diagnosis and care of these disorders, and to address fraud and abuse. Particular attention will be paid to issues at the intersections of cognitive health and wealth. These include understanding what are the causes of cognitive problems, and how they impact of financial capacity. A smart firm will strive to practice “whealthcare” (learn more at www.whealthcare.org). The lecturer will examine how a firm might achieve this through staff training, effective communication with clients and their families (especially in light of FINRA rule 4512), and deploying novel technologies to monitor and detect changes in financial capacity, and as well, fraud and abuse. The class will have a look into the future of the monitored – and, for some people, treated – brain. Attendees will leave inspired to make changes in the ways they conduct business so that they can better serve the health and wealth of the older clients and their families.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand what are the meanings of common terms: dementia (its stages), Alzheimer’s disease, cognitive impairment (including mild cognitive impairment) and caregivers.
• Recognize how financial capacity is among the earliest signs of cognitive impairments and the opportunities to design and conduct your business so that it serves the health and wealth of an aging America.
• Identify the opportunities to serve persons identified as “living at risk” of dementia.

(Also offered Thursday at 1:30pm)

CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

With limited other resources, clients are turning to their financial professionals for advice on Social Security. Advisors who can provide education and guidance on Social Security as part of the retirement planning process are more likely than their peers to retain retiring clients, grow share of wallet and gain referrals.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the fundamental rules
• Recognize the options and benefits available
• Incorporate the collection decision into retirement plans
• Understand the issues related to Social Security solvency

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Pre-Class Assignment – Reading

This session will help you determine if your organization is maximizing the potential benefits of its global footprint. While it’s common for firms to expand—often rapidly—into foreign markets, designing and executing a global strategy to profit as much as possible from those markets is hard. Are you in the right foreign markets for the right reasons? Is your global profit-making strategy the right one? How do you navigate cultural differences and coordinate global activities through cross-national teams? You’ll walk away from this session with the tools to answer these questions, bringing to your team a simple but powerful framework to develop a profitable global strategy. 

This session will extend through lunch and end at 1pm.  Lunch will be provided to session participants.

(Also offered Wednesday at 10:30am)

Participants will be on their feet for part of this session.

Participants will learn how to build an adaptive, innovative team culture through learning a cutting-edge technique called the “After Action Review.” The After Action Review (AAR) is used by many organizations, including the United Nations, Microsoft, Harley Davidson, Navy Seals, to enhance commitment, focus on continuous improvement and sharing best practices across teams and organizations. Leaders can leverage the AAR to implement and reinforce change efforts, improve process execution, shape culture and influence employees to learn from past performance. Participants will learn how to conduct an effective After Action Review and will participate in the “Crossing the River” exercise—an engaging, fun and practical application of adaptive leadership in a challenging environment.

Learning Objectives

• Bring new insights and approaches to your team strategy development, innovation and execution
• Utilize the After Action Review Process to create the optimal balance of learning and performance on your teams
• Better understand your own and others’ leadership styles, and how to be a more adaptive leader
• Develop a collaborative, open, candid, innovative team learning environment
• Help your team respond more positively and creatively to external challenges

This session will extend through lunch and end at 1pm.  Lunch will be provided to session participants.

(Also offered Thursday at 3:30pm)

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Thriving at work, high life satisfaction, happiness and resilience all require the same capacity:  the capacity to navigate difficult moments well. Our conversation considers research from the fields of Positive Psychology and Appreciative Inquiry, fields which examine who we are at our best as individuals, teams and organizations. We’ll explore tools and perspectives that enable us to handle inner conflict, difficult conversations and moments of extraordinary stress wisely. These are tools that bring mindful awareness to any one moment and change that moment into one of opportunity; opportunity in which we not only address the stressor directly, but leverage that very conflict to become more authentic, more rooted in our strengths and values, more clear about the road ahead and more of our better selves. In other words, better leaders. Attendees will leave with experience practicing mindful pausing, identifying one’s ideal self, and leveraging positive change in themselves and others in the most challenging moments.

Learning Objectives:

• Define the benefits of the Positive Psychology/Appreciative Inquiry approach to stress
• Understand the research and practice behind the Ideal Selves Model
• Apply mindful pausing to leverage resilience and clarity under stress
• Examine the contagion effect to teams of becoming more one’s best self

(Also offered Thursday at 3:30pm)

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

This session is exclusively offered to Year 3 Participants only.

Important Note – This session will have a virtual meeting component.  Roch Parayre will deliver some of the content virtually on Monday, February 10th from 12pm – 1pm ET.  The session will be recorded.

Ideal for: Decision makers or others who develop or implement strategic decisions.

In today’s economic climate, most organizations compete in red oceans, stained by the blood of competition. We fight for market share, try to maintain prices, and execute more efficiently than others.  Blue Ocean Strategy suggests an alternative. It urges us to explore how we can make our value offering so distinctive that we find the blue waters of new, uncontested market space… and make the competition irrelevant. It offers a systematic approach to creating that new market space.  In this workshop, we will introduce the Blue Ocean methodology, and teams will work to map a creative, visual exploration of new market opportunities against current industry realities.  Tools covered will include the Pioneer-Migrator-Settler Map, The Strategy Canvas, The Buyer Experience Cycle, and The Six Paths for Exploring new market space.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the Blue Ocean Strategy framework, and the core tools associated with it.
• Develop a deeper customer-centric view of the industry and its offerings.
• Identify obstacles to strategic innovation.

(Also offered Thursday at 1:30pm)

Pre-Class Assignment – Brief Exercise

Perhaps the most important responsibility for any manager is to help their people grow and reach their potential.  Coaching direct reports on a regular basis is a condition of employment at many companies for any manager.

Yet our research concludes that managers rarely coach their people, particularly in the rapid moving financial services industry.  What makes this even more troubling is that most people crave feedback from their managers—even if it is negative.

In a virtual environment this becomes even more challenging.

This session will introduce a specific coaching model and the skills required to make it work.  Participants will learn how to plan, conduct and follow-up coaching sessions.  They will learn how to collect data, how to position these sessions, how to provide balanced feedback, how to manage the inevitable push back and how to gain commitment.  And the session will consistently refer to conducting these sessions remotely.

Managers often say they don’t coach their people because they aren’t comfortable in this role.  Too often they coach the way they parent or how they were coached in sports, dance or the arts.  This session will explain how to be an effective coach in business situations, and the practice exercises will demonstrate how it is all applicable and manageable.

Learning Objectives:

• Become familiar with a specific coaching model to apply to any coaching session.
• Learn the specific skills associated with coaching like providing feedback, managing resistance, and gaining commitment.
• Explore how to offer individuals specific ways and means to improve their performance.
• Determine how to deal with the challenges of coaching people in virtual conversations.
• Investigate how to prepare and follow-up coaching sessions to ensure that behavior change actually happens.

Why do certain products, services, and ideas catch on, and how can we use these insights to make our own stuff more successful?  This session will reveal the secret science behind word-of-mouth and social transmission. Discover how six simple principles drive all sorts of things to become popular. If you’ve ever wondered why certain information gets shared, brands get more word of mouth, or ideas take off, this session explains why, and shows how to leverage these concepts to make your own products and ideas catch on.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn how to leverage presented concepts to generate more word of mouth and referrals.
• Learn actionable techniques for helping information spread—for designing messages, ideas, and information that people will share.

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Pre-Class Assignment – Brief Exercise

Effective leadership requires more than skills—it demands a mindset of curiosity to foster growth, innovation, and resilience. In this session, participants will explore how activating curiosity enhances self-awareness, regulates emotions, and turns uncertainty into opportunities. This course offers practical strategies to empower teams and create an adaptable, impactful leadership style.

Learning Objectives:

• Activate Curiosity for Growth: Enhance self-awareness and develop a growth-focused leadership mindset.
• Regulate Emotions with Curiosity: Use curiosity to manage emotions and improve decision-making.
• Navigate Uncertainty: Transform ambiguity into opportunities for innovation.
• Empower Your Team: Foster trust, collaboration, and creativity through curiosity-driven leadership.

This session will extend through lunch and end at 1pm.  Lunch will be provided to session participants.

(Revised session from Images of Leadership; may contain some overlap)

(Also offered Thursday at 1:30pm)

What is your leadership style?  Do you prefer to lead by example?  Do you like to make decisions and then direct traffic?  Do you think followers come first then leaders?  Do you like to ask “What do you think?” or say “Try this” or “Come follow me?” Whether you prefer to direct or to empower others – to “push” or “pull” others along, your leadership style has consequences on your organization’s climate and productivity. With the aid of video clips as well as group and individual exercises, you will have the chance to identify various leadership styles, consider the pros and cons of each style, and reflect on your own preferences.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify various leadership styles
• Explore the pros and cons of each style
• Reflect on your preferred style

(Also offered Monday at 3:30pm)

Pre-Class Assignment – Reading

High performance requires effective execution and, for many organizations, change management. Unfortunately, major change efforts have a dismal track record. In multiple studies, highlighting the experiences of hundreds of companies initiating large-scale changes, the overwhelming results are poor. For example:

• John Kotter’s seminal research in the field of change management half a century ago revealed that only 30% of change programs succeed.
• A 2008 global IBM study of major change initiatives found that only 41% fully met their objectives, while 44% missed their budget, time, or quality goals, and 15% were seen as total failures.
• In 2013, a report that aggregated over 6,000 senior executive surveys revealed that 70% of change efforts fail to achieve their target impact.

As the Harvard Business Review’s editor articulated so well in discussing why so many transformation efforts fail:

“…no business survives over the long term if it can’t reinvent itself. But human nature being what it is, fundamental change is often resisted mightily by the people it most affects: those in the trenches of the business. Thus, leading change is both absolutely essential and incredibly difficult” (Kotter 2007).

Learning Objectives:

• Understand a 3-step process for driving execution.
• Improve your capacity to lead change.

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Inclusion and Diversity (I&D) has been a critical priority for organizations for many years, and open dialogue about what has worked and what has not, has accelerated over the last several years. The Financial Services industry has undertaken many initiatives in this space, beyond public rhetoric and conversations on the topic. There continues to be opportunities for the Financial Services industry to drive collective improvement of the financial health and wellbeing of all Americans with a keen eye on underserved communities and robust diversity within the industry.

Research provides us with many insights into how we have and can sustain progress as well as the scope of the opportunity. We must stay focused on how they drive sustainable long term business success and value in our firms.

Participants leave the session with a better appreciation for why I&D matters from multiple perspectives, actions which can help narrow the wealth gap in diverse communities and business opportunities created, as well as approaches to create a more diverse workforce in the Financial Services industry and overall benefit to all of America.

Learning Objectives:

• Why inclusion and diversity are an organizational culture, its values, and ethical issue.
• Reframing I&D as a business case for wealth creation and economic growth.
• Earning trust in diverse and underserved communities across America
• Industry collective impact…sharing best practices.
• Strategies to recruit and retain the workforce of the future that will be diverse.

(Also offered Thursday at 1:30pm)

Pre-Class Assignment – Assessment

The Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI™) is a 120-question diagnostic survey, the answers to which indicate an individual’s thinking style preferences. Our minds have preferred modes of operating that impact how we see the world, how we interpret what we see, and how we communicate with others who are also operating from their own preferred modes of thinking and speaking. Thinking preferences influence communication, decision-making, problem solving, and management styles. By understanding their thinking style preferences, participants will gain a new perspective of themselves and the people with whom they interact each day. In this HBDI session, a series of interactive exercises is used to get participants comfortable with the model, conversant about each of the 4 styles, and aware of the dangers of over-simplifying the process. This session offers a wide range of exercises and will choose a combination of exercises specific to each group’s needs. Participants will also explore when thinking styles are problematic. Through development of self-inventory, participants will learn about their own hot buttons and the hot buttons of others and develop strategies for addressing these situations in a constructive manner. During the session we also address the effects of individual and team HBDI data on some main leadership issues of our time, like enhancing our agility and creative thinking in times of fast pace change and ambiguity. This course will require a 120-question survey to be completed prior to the participants’ arrival.

Learning Objectives:

• Realize increased self-awareness by identifying their preferred thinking styles and the thinking styles of others.
• Recognize when their thinking styles are problematic and how to put corrective strategies in place to get back on course.

(Also offered Tuesday at 10:30am)

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Pre-Class Assignment – Survey

The SII Leadership Mastery 201 is for seasoned leaders who have been honing their leadership legacy by being leaders of leaders. They are respected for their competence, credibility and care. The session sharpens the focus on wicked systemic dilemmas of disruptive leadership, collective trust, and navigating with trust with critical stakeholders. This world is the perfect stage to mature the ascending levels of transformative leadership with a nuanced investigation into trust and power, post-disruptive growth, dark side of meteoric success, and closing with a lifelong leadership mastery plan developed in the session.

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Our thoughts profoundly shape our behavior. By using intentional frameworks to organize our thinking, we can influence our actions in positive, sustainable ways.

This session introduces research-backed mental frameworks designed to foster resilience, enhance mental health, and counter stress. Participants will learn three key frameworks that not only support thriving through adversity but also boost engagement and productivity at work. The hands-on module provides practical skills that can be applied immediately, with in-class exercises and user-friendly tools to integrate into everyday life. This session is a steppingstone toward lasting behavioral change and personal growth.

Participants will learn to:

• Utilize practical tools to maintain clarity of thought and focus during challenging situations.
• Cultivate a resilient mindset to navigate adversity with confidence and foster personal growth.
• Adopt strategies for optimism, enabling a positive and proactive approach to overcoming difficulties.

The module would be particularly useful for anyone who is having difficulty bouncing back from adversity, facing stress, or has a hard time coping with work demands. The workshop is geared to develop skills that are not traditionally taught in business curriculum, however, are necessary in business and personal life.

CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

This session will provide a mid-level treatment of ETF’s.  After a review of ETF’s, the industry and its recent growth, the session will review recent development. Covered will be a discussion of Active ETF’s, factor-based ETF’s, Index-Mining and back testing, ETF’s and the availability of Alpha, ETF cost of ownership and trading, and the effects of ETF growth on markets.  The session will conclude with a view of the future in the industry.

Pre-Class Assignment – Reading

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

This session will simulate a real securities arbitration. Participants will watch a condensed proceeding based on common investor disputes, with experienced trial attorneys playing the roles of Claimant’s and Respondents’ counsel. A discussion of case, and of best practices to prevent litigation and client disputes, will follow. Participants will receive a one-page background fact document prior to attending this session.

Learning Objectives:

• Evaluate the pros and cons of this method of dispute resolution and understand how arbitration differs from court litigation.
• See, up close and personal, the arbitration process from opening statements to conclusion.
• Learn what issues create problems for investors, financial firms, investment professionals and supervisory/compliance/risk and support personnel.
• Learn how to avoid problems that lead to arbitration and keep records to assist in defending claims.

(Also offered Tuesday at 10:30am)

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Pre-Class Assignment – Questionnaire

The ability to negotiate productively is a critical part of both business and personal success. In this interactive session we will identify what your negotiation style is and the pros and cons of using it in certain situations.  In addition, we will conduct a mock negotiation that is both fun and challenging.  The mock negotiation will highlight several key concepts in negotiation, assist you in thinking about negotiation strategically, and help you improve the outcomes of your future negotiations.

This session will extend through lunch and end at 1pm.  Lunch will be provided to session participants.

CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Pre-Class Assignment – Reading

Post-merger integration is one of the most challenging parts of the M&A process, but it is also one that has the greatest potential to unlock value for the companies that are involved in M&A deals. We will consider three best practices in post-merger integration: how to plan for post-merger integration; how to divide and balance the workload of post-merger integration, especially vis-à-vis other deal workstreams; and finally, how to link post-merger integration strategies to the deal thesis and value drivers. The insights developed on these three topics should enable participants to take the greatest advantage of the value-creation opportunities inherent in M&A while avoiding many of its common pitfalls of post-merger integration.

CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Ideal For: Participants interested in PE structures or considering fund investment or partnership. It offers a clear understanding of PE-LBO strategies, equipping attendees with valuable context for future collaboration or investment decisions. By the end, executives will have foundational knowledge of PE fund mechanics, enabling more informed conversations and strategic assessments in this complex industry.

In this session, we’ll dive into the inner workings of private equity (PE) structures, with an emphasis on Leveraged Buyout (LBO) firms. We’ll cover PE fund structures, the GP-LP relationship, and key contractual features that influence incentives and fund governance. Attendees will gain insights into fee structures, such as management and carried interest, and how these impact fund strategies and decision-making. We’ll also examine deal mechanics, fund lifecycles, and the nuances of PE fund formation, including emerging trends and strategic considerations.

(Also offered Monday at 1:30pm)

The two challenges senior leaders cite, across industries, that are amplified in the time of a global pandemic are a high level of uncertainty and the need to balance short term and long-term needs and objectives.  Leaders in financial services face similar concerns, particularly as the global pandemic has accelerated the need for a clear digital strategy. This session interactively discusses these challenges in the context of making strategic decisions effectively.  Specifically, participants are provided five best practices that are important in “normal” conditions but are absolutely critical in a VUCA environment.  Current anecdotes supplement empirical research.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize the most important best practices in a very dynamic environment
• Understand the importance of establishing making a decision by developing concrete strategic decision rights
• Identify key future trends and uncertainties for the organization in order to build agility in achieving positive results

(Previously titled Your Leadership Map)

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Leaders and organizations thrive when guided by a clear understanding of their “Why,” “How,” and “What” – their purpose, approach, and key objectives. However, the challenge often lies in aligning these elements to achieve outstanding outcomes for all stakeholders. Many leaders struggle with the monumental task of balancing aspirations, values, and diverse goals while driving toward meaningful impact and productive results.

This thought-provoking session tackles the core leadership priority of determining when to say “no,” without compromising critical objectives and values. We introduce a structured approach enabling leaders to gain the necessary clarity to navigate between priorities, avoid distractions, and overcome the trap of unfocused “busyness” that blocks substantive achievements.

Through interactive exercises, real-world examples, and small group collaboration, participants explore a systematic method for identifying and relinquishing lower priorities.  This approach will enhance leaders’ ability to realize key goals and overcome cognitive biases that hinder effective prioritization decisions for themselves and their teams. Creating their leadership map is an invigorating and empowering approach to take timely and meaningful actions that drive productive organizational outcomes.

Learning Objectives:

• Align your Purpose and Execution: Integrate your “Why,” “How,” and “What” for maximum leadership impact.
• Develop a Leadership Roadmap: Achieve goals; maintain core values; and address stakeholder needs especially amidst competing demands).
• Eliminate Unfocused Busyness: Learn when and how to say “no” to maintain clarity and focus.
• Overcome flawed assumptions: Recognize and correct beliefs and biases that hinder effective prioritization.

Check your mobile app for location.

Intimate lunch session with Roch Parayre.

(35 person capacity; Limit of 1 lunch per Year 3 participant)

Business as usual no longer exists. As U.S. General Eric Shinseki once said, “If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance even less.” Constant disruption, happening faster than ever, creates significant stress and uncertainty. To thrive in this high-pressure environment, individuals and organizations must strengthen their AQ, or Adaptability Quotient.

From a business perspective, AQ reflects an organization’s ability to adjust course in response to unexpected shifts in the marketplace. On a personal level, AQ measures your capacity to respond effectively to change, quickly adapt, and turn setbacks into growth.

Learning Objectives:

• Boost Your Adaptability: Strengthen resilience, curiosity, and flexible thinking for a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) world.
• Apply Realistic Optimism: Approach challenges with a growth mindset that sees setbacks as learning opportunities.
• Develop Rapid Skill Acquisition: Learn techniques to acquire skills quickly and stay agile in the face of change.
• Unlearn and Innovate: Discover the importance of unlearning outdated habits and embracing innovative approaches.
• Enhance Personal Resilience: Build the emotional and mental resilience needed to stay effective under pressure.

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Everyone has something they want to change. Advisors want to change the client’s minds and leaders want to change organizations. Employees want to change their boss’ minds, Startups want to change industries, and non-profits want to change the world. But change is hard. We push and push, but often nothing happens. Could there be a better way? The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone’s Mind introduces a revolutionary approach to change. Successful change isn’t about pushing harder or exerting more energy. It’s about removing barriers. Overcoming resistance by reducing friction and lowering the hurdles to action.  Discover the five hidden factors that impede change, and how by mitigating them, you can change anything.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn why pushing doesn’t work, and what does
• Learn the five key barriers that stymie change, and how to mitigate them

(Also offered Thursday at 10:30am)

Pre-Class Assignment – Brief Exercise

Perhaps the most important responsibility for any manager is to help their people grow and reach their potential.  Coaching direct reports on a regular basis is a condition of employment at many companies for any manager.

Yet our research concludes that managers rarely coach their people, particularly in the rapid moving financial services industry.  What makes this even more troubling is that most people crave feedback from their managers—even if it is negative.

In a virtual environment this becomes even more challenging.

This session will introduce a specific coaching model and the skills required to make it work.  Participants will learn how to plan, conduct and follow-up coaching sessions.  They will learn how to collect data, how to position these sessions, how to provide balanced feedback, how to manage the inevitable push back and how to gain commitment.  And the session will consistently refer to conducting these sessions remotely.

Managers often say they don’t coach their people because they aren’t comfortable in this role.  Too often they coach the way they parent or how they were coached in sports, dance or the arts.  This session will explain how to be an effective coach in business situations, and the practice exercises will demonstrate how it is all applicable and manageable.

Learning Objectives:

• Become familiar with a specific coaching model to apply to any coaching session.
• Learn the specific skills associated with coaching like providing feedback, managing resistance, and gaining commitment.
• Explore how to offer individuals specific ways and means to improve their performance.
• Determine how to deal with the challenges of coaching people in virtual conversations.
• Investigate how to prepare and follow-up coaching sessions to ensure that behavior change actually happens.

(Also offered Monday at 3:30pm)

CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

This session discusses the current fiscal situation in the US and other major economies, the prospects for a fiscal default and the implications for future taxes and spending programs. It should help participants understand prospective fiscal challenges, likely policy moves and advise clients on asset allocation to hedge major fiscal risks.

(Revised session from Images of Leadership; may contain some overlap)

(Also offered Thursday at 10:30am)

What is your leadership style?  Do you prefer to lead by example?  Do you like to make decisions and then direct traffic?  Do you think followers come first then leaders?  Do you like to ask “What do you think?” or say “Try this” or “Come follow me?” Whether you prefer to direct or to empower others – to “push” or “pull” others along, your leadership style has consequences on your organization’s climate and productivity. With the aid of video clips as well as group and individual exercises, you will have the chance to identify various leadership styles, consider the pros and cons of each style, and reflect on your own preferences.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify various leadership styles
• Explore the pros and cons of each style
• Reflect on your preferred style

 (Also offered Thursday at 8:30am)

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

This session will be interactive.

Did you ever wonder how the firm you work for makes money?  Have you listened to your Chief Financial Officer talk about the quarterly earnings, and walk away scratching your head?  This introductory session developed for those without a financial background takes a simplified look at where the money comes from and where it goes to determine the profit (loss) announced in that last quarterly report.  Focusing on financial services firms, we will look at the businesses of our industry and how they drive the core operating activities.  In layman’s terms we will break down the income streams and expenses taking the jargon out of financial reporting.  If you would like a simple explanation of “ratios” like EBITDA, EPS, ROI, RWC and buzz words like Tier 1 Capital, deferred tax assets and non-counterparty risk, then this is the session for you.

Following this session, you will be able to:

• Better understand your firm’s financial statements and the jargon around your firm’s quarterly announcements
• Know the drivers behind the business of financial services
• Have a good feel for the types of risk in our industry and how they impact your firm.

This way, the next time your firm reports earnings, you will be able to understand the rhetoric, the balance sheet, and the income statement, making you a better-informed employee.

(Also offered Monday at 3:30pm)

“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players”, wrote Shakespeare.  Leaders often step onto stage – to present an idea, influence a decision, ask for more resources, or inspire others to action – and these experiences require practice, poise, presence, and purpose.  This session aims to understand what separates a good from a great speaking engagement and offers tangible skills to strengthen your public presence.  These skills are not only useful for large presentations with dozens or hundreds in the audience but also for smaller gatherings, client meetings, team huddles, and other crucial business interactions where public speaking can be a difference maker.  Not only will this session focus on outward-facing skills but will also help connect a leader’s public presence with their own authentic self.  While some might argue that strong public speakers possess this skill innately, this workshop will prove otherwise as we demystify the building blocks of public speaking and train ourselves to strengthen our own engagement with audiences.  By learning to be more “present,” participants will understand how to be more motivational as a leader, more convincing as a negotiator and more open and honest as a team member.  This workshop develops and utilizes a practical toolkit for leaders to continue working on their public speaking and their ability to communicate their vision and their story long after the workshop has ended.

Learning Objectives:

• To strengthen one’s own public speaking and ability to engage, motivate and inspire others.
• To develop and use an authentic presentation style.
• To recognize and overcome individual habits when connecting and engaging with audiences.

(Also offered Thursday at 10:30am)

Pre-Class Assignment – Assessment

The Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI™) is a 120-question diagnostic survey, the answers to which indicate an individual’s thinking style preferences. Our minds have preferred modes of operating that impact how we see the world, how we interpret what we see, and how we communicate with others who are also operating from their own preferred modes of thinking and speaking. Thinking preferences influence communication, decision-making, problem solving, and management styles. By understanding their thinking style preferences, participants will gain a new perspective of themselves and the people with whom they interact each day. In this HBDI session, a series of interactive exercises is used to get participants comfortable with the model, conversant about each of the 4 styles, and aware of the dangers of over-simplifying the process. This session offers a wide range of exercises and will choose a combination of exercises specific to each group’s needs. Participants will also explore when thinking styles are problematic. Through development of self-inventory, participants will learn about their own hot buttons and the hot buttons of others and develop strategies for addressing these situations in a constructive manner. During the session we also address the effects of individual and team HBDI data on some main leadership issues of our time, like enhancing our agility and creative thinking in times of fast pace change and ambiguity. This course will require a 120-question survey to be completed prior to the participants’ arrival.

Learning Objectives:

• Realize increased self-awareness by identifying their preferred thinking styles and the thinking styles of others.
• Recognize when their thinking styles are problematic and how to put corrective strategies in place to get back on course.

(Also offered Wednesday at 3:30pm)

Leaders inspire, build capacity in others, lead change, and motivate employees to do more than they thought possible. This session typically includes a short exercise where we watch film clips to identify inspirational leadership behaviors. Each team presents an inspiring vision and employs inspirational behaviors to respond to the crisis. Participants will discuss how visionary leaders inspire people to connect to the organization’s purpose, and understand where their particular contributions fit into the vision and how they belong to something larger than themselves.

After this session, you should be able to:

• Discuss the impact of ambiguity and uncertainty on individual psychology and performance
• Recognize the components and leader behaviors associated with inspirational leadership (that is, leadership that promotes a personal connection, builds confidence, demonstrates a caring attitude, and includes great expectations)
• Employ these behaviors in a video case and learn how to construct and effectively communicate a vision for followers.

Pre-Class Assignment – Reading

Most leaders are good at focusing on short-term requirements such as next quarter’s results or current competitor moves. The problem is that in times of change and uncertainty, short-term initiatives leave entities vulnerable to missing or underplaying dramatic market changes or emergent new competitors. Based on the work by Paul Schoemaker and George Day, as detailed in their recent book, See Sooner, Act Faster: How Vigilant Leaders Thrive in an Era of Digital Turbulence, this seminar will outline how vigilant leaders enable their organizations to:

• Monitor diverse inputs
• Combine disparate inputs into longer-term, more robust strategic choices
• Explore what it means to be a “vigilant leader”
• Outline the components to a broad monitoring system, taking precautions against unexpected events
• Learn ways to translate such foresight into longer-term, strategic choices

Pre-Class Assignment – Reading

On 9/11/01, a monumental tragedy ripped through the FDNY, one of the world’s most renowned fire departments. Leadership challenges abounded that day and deep into the future. The ongoing day to day challenges presented by serving so massive and complex a city as New York continued even as did the challenge of addressing first how to recover, then how to rebuild and finally how to renew over the coming months and, truly, years: Should the FDNY seek to restore what had been or should it build something different?  Wharton faculty and leadership senior fellow Greg Shea and retired FDNY captain and 9/11 first responder Paul Brown draw on over 60 hours of interviews with retired FDNY leadership and FDNY 9/11 first responders.  They offer learnings about moving through crisis and ‘carrying on’ to organizational renewal.  The session will concentrate on participant questions and explore decisions, mindsets, and approaches taken by the FDNY, especially in those areas that participants see as most relevant to them in our post pandemic times.

The session is highly participative and potentially very free flowing. Participant questions will determine the focus of the session.  The wealth of material and hard-won learnings captured in the research means that the session can move in any number of directions, again, depending upon participant questions.  Reading several brief articles in advance will facilitate participants drilling down into those aspects of this story of potentially most consequence to them.

This session complements the session on Leading Through Challenging Times.

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

**Important Note – there is content overlap between this session and Andy’s other sessions.  By design, the 3 sessions share the same tools, but each class will feature a unique perspective on how to use Andy’s framework for different examples.  We suggest choosing only one of Andy’s sessions unless you are okay with the overlapping content.**

Below is the focus for each session:

• Crucibles – leadership development, specifically around humility
• The Most Important Thing – personal well-being and relationships
• The Ecology of Great Teams (formerly titled The Why and How of Great Teams) – psychological safety and team dynamics

What is the most important thing for living a happier life — even in financial services? One of SII’s most popular sessions, in this enlightening exploration of human well-being, you’ll learn:

• What matters most for happiness according to the world’s longest study, and why it isn’t simply money, achievements, relationships, or even love
• What matters most for strong team and family dynamics, also according to data
• Why “re-thinking” is more effective than focusing on emotional or behavioral change
• A simple 7-step re-thinking tool that helps you “flip a switch” and increase well-being with your family and your team, with no stigma, jargon, or “touchy-feeliness”

All attendees receive a free membership to a special online site to continue applying what you learned after the session ends.

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Workplace interactions can either fuel extraordinary engagement and vitality, enabling people and organizations to thrive, or have the opposite effect. This workshop delves into what differentiates the two.

Even brief interactions at work carry qualities that, when understood, can amplify their positive impact. These insights are critical for performing at our best. As social beings, we rely on connections, and much of organizational work occurs through informal networks shaped by these relationships.

While communication is a key way we connect, how we communicate matters—it can either strengthen bonds or create division. This workshop helps participants distinguish between mere communication and meaningful connection, emphasizing how to achieve results through the latter.

Grounded in research from psychology and management on positive emotions, relationships, and workplace connections, participants will learn to build and harness high-quality connections that benefit individuals and organizations alike.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the Power of Connection: Explore the meaning and significance of connecting with others and its impact on personal and organizational success.
• Discover Research-Based Insights: Gain awareness of key research-backed criteria for fostering high-quality connections at work.
• Master Engaging Conversation Techniques: Learn practical strategies to make conversations more engaging and conducive to building strong connections.
• Recognize and Create Value: Identify how we generate value for one another in the workplace and leverage this understanding to strengthen relationships.

(Also offered Thursday at 8:30am)

CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

The worst thing an investor can do is allow their emotions to become their portfolio’s worst enemy. Since fear is frequently a greater motivator than greed, how can an investor extract their emotions from the equation and continue to be appropriately allocated? Investing is a journey. By being forewarned of potential hazards ahead, through an understanding of stock market seasonality, cycles, and recovery characteristics, even the more cautious investor can leverage history to help calm their nerves and stay the course.

Learning Objectives:

• Cycles And Seasonality: See how the S&P 500 typically performs during all 16 quarters of the presidential cycle, as well as examine typical returns on a semi-annual and monthly basis.
• Market Indicators: The market’s action early in the year frequently hints at the full-year performance. Learn about five market indicators that have functioned as divining rods for future price action.
• Investment Strategies: There is an old saying that “prices lead fundamentals.” You will be introduced to sector rotation strategies that leverage price momentum, correlation, and seasonality.

(Also offered Thursday at 8:30am)

CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

With limited other resources, clients are turning to their financial professionals for advice on Social Security. Advisors who can provide education and guidance on Social Security as part of the retirement planning process are more likely than their peers to retain retiring clients, grow share of wallet and gain referrals.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the fundamental rules
• Recognize the options and benefits available
• Incorporate the collection decision into retirement plans
• Understand the issues related to Social Security solvency

Emotional Intelligence (EI) is a critical component for effective leadership and a significant contributor to excelling in the workplace. The good news is, regardless of one’s starting point, we can improve EI skills and abilities by thinking intelligently about emotions and using emotions to better think intelligently. To this end, using exercises and clips, participants engage in learning, practicing, and improving each of the EI components, with the goal of better understanding how to improve reading, engaging and leading oneself and others for the long term.

Learning Objectives:

• Understanding and increasing Emotional Intelligence
• Using Emotional Intelligence to enhance organizational interactions and engagement by better understand others as well as our own cognitions and actions

(Also offered Tuesday at 1:30pm)

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Pre-Class Assignment – Assessment

This workshop will help strengthen your influence and persuasion skills.  Everybody needs these skills to build momentum for important initiatives, achieve organizational alignment, and implement strategies. Through a series of interactive discussions and role-plays, you will answer four key questions in this workshop: What are the steps that led to buy-in?  What is your communication style and how do you use to engage stakeholders?  How do you make your ideas simple and compelling? How do you generate lasting commitment? The workshop content is drawn from the book The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas (Portfolio/Penguin), co-authored by G. Richard Shell and Mario Moussa. This class will require pre-work to be completed prior to the participants’ arrival.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn about the different channels of influence and how to use them effectively.
• Optimize each message so that it resonates stakeholders’ style and interests.
• Assess your progress on real problems you bring to the workshop and position yourself to see immediate results.
• Map the political landscape of your organization to see where the landmines are buried and where your allies can help you.
• Experience enhanced self-awareness, including emotional intelligence.
• Enhance the ability to assemble winning coalitions.

Class participants will receive a copy of The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas.  Sponsored by Raymond James.

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Pre-Class Assignment – Reading

Design thinking is a customer / user-centric approach used for solving business challenges by working in collaborative, diverse teams and employing an accelerated rapid prototyping / test and learn sprint format.  This approach can be used to solve for both customer engagement and operational challenges. In fact, the design thinking approach and mindset can be targeted towards nearly all business challenges. The best way to learn about adopting design thinking is to “just do it”. This extended and interactive participation session will actively demonstrate the application of design thinking to solve for a challenge statement which will have been previously identified by SII participants. Participants will work together in small teams facilitated by Elixirr’s design thinking experts to design, rapidly prototype and peer test a solution.

Learning Objectives:

• Understanding of the key principles and concepts of design thinking, as well as how it can be used within the enterprise to design, develop, and launch new propositions to market and / or to drive operational efficiencies and better user experiences in-house
• First-hand experience of how to apply the design thinking approach to challenges within Financial Services (which participants can adopt immediately after)
• Insight into how to solve for a specific and relevant challenge statement (which will be identified by SII members) – this includes challenge statement development, researching key trends / pain points / opportunities, using outside-in thinking of “what good looks like” to inspire the solution design process, rapid prototyping sprints, customer testing, iterative design, and pitching a solution

(Also offered Thursday at 10:30am)

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Thriving at work, high life satisfaction, happiness and resilience all require the same capacity: the capacity to navigate difficult moments well. Our conversation considers research from the fields of Positive Psychology and Appreciative Inquiry, fields which examine who we are at our best as individuals, teams and organizations. We’ll explore tools and perspectives that enable us to handle inner conflict, difficult conversations and moments of extraordinary stress wisely. These are tools that bring mindful awareness to any one moment and change that moment into one of opportunity; opportunity in which we not only address the stressor directly, but leverage that very conflict to become more authentic, more rooted in our strengths and values, more clear about the road ahead and more of our better selves. In other words, better leaders. Attendees will leave with experience practicing mindful pausing, identifying one’s ideal self, and leveraging positive change in themselves and others in the most challenging moments.

Learning Objectives:

• Define the benefits of the Positive Psychology/Appreciative Inquiry approach to stress
• Understand the research and practice behind the Ideal Selves Model
• Apply mindful pausing to leverage resilience and clarity under stress
• Examine the contagion effect to teams of becoming more one’s best self

(Also offered Thursday at 10:30am)

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

This session is exclusively offered to Year 3 Participants only.

Important Note – This session will have a virtual meeting component.  Roch Parayre will deliver some of the content virtually on Wednesday, February 12th from 12pm – 1pm ET. The session will be recorded.

Ideal for: Decision makers or others who develop or implement strategic decisions.

In today’s economic climate, most organizations compete in red oceans, stained by the blood of competition. We fight for market share, try to maintain prices, and execute more efficiently than others.  Blue Ocean Strategy suggests an alternative. It urges us to explore how we can make our value offering so distinctive that we find the blue waters of new, uncontested market space… and make the competition irrelevant. It offers a systematic approach to creating that new market space.  In this workshop, we will introduce the Blue Ocean methodology, and teams will work to map a creative, visual exploration of new market opportunities against current industry realities.  Tools covered will include the Pioneer-Migrator-Settler Map, The Strategy Canvas, The Buyer Experience Cycle, and The Six Paths for Exploring new market space.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the Blue Ocean Strategy framework, and the core tools associated with it.
• Develop a deeper customer-centric view of the industry and its offerings.
• Identify obstacles to strategic innovation.

**Important Note – there is content overlap between this session and Andy’s other sessions.  By design, the 3 sessions share the same tools, but each class will feature a unique perspective on how to use Andy’s framework for different examples.  We suggest choosing only one of Andy’s sessions unless you are okay with the overlapping content.**

Below is the focus for each session:

• Crucibles – leadership development, specifically around humility
• The Most Important Thing – personal well-being and relationships
• The Ecology of Great Teams (formerly titled The Why and How of Great Teams) – psychological safety and team dynamics

Crucibles are adverse experiences that make or break us as leaders, and as human beings. This program illuminates the transformational power of crucibles, and gives participants a framework and toolkit to navigate them better, both at work and at home.

Learning Objectives:

• The two most important qualities for leadership effectiveness based on global data
• How crucibles work, and why adversity alone isn’t enough to help us grow
• The “5 rings” of adversity in our lives as leaders
• 7 steps that help you leverage the power of adversity without stigma or “touchy-feeliness”

All attendees will receive a free membership to a special online site so you can continue applying what you learned after the session ends.

Pre-Class Assignment – Brief Video

As organizations become more complex and global, many senior leaders struggle to “think globally but act locally”. At the heart of this challenge is the need to understand the enterprise system, and cascade that understanding throughout the organization. This session explores the barriers to “enterprise thinking” and breaking down organizational silos. The participants are then given various concepts and tools to promote a stronger enterprise mindset, including those that address clarity, alignment, culture and accountability.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify elements that contribute to the “silo” mentality
• Utilize tools to promote clarity and accountability
• Understand behaviors that lead to a learning culture

(Also offered Tuesday at 3:30pm)

CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

Technology is transforming the securities and financial management industries at an unprecedented pace, reshaping the way professionals work, make decisions, and serve clients. This workshop provides a real-time, up-to-the-minute look at the rapid advances in AI, big data, and computing power that are redefining finance. Participants will gain insights into how these technologies are impacting their roles and learn strategies for adapting in this evolving landscape.

Learning Objectives:

• Examine Technological Advancements: Understand how computing power and AI are revolutionizing financial services.
• Explore Big Data in Finance: Learn how big data analytics is reshaping risk assessment, investment strategies, and customer engagement.
• Understand AI’s Role in Decision-Making: Analyze how AI is transforming decision-making, from algorithmic trading to customer interactions.
• Evaluate Compliance and Security Implications: Discover how new technologies affect regulatory compliance and security requirements in finance.
• Prepare for Future Disruptions: Discuss strategies to proactively adapt to rapid technological changes impacting the financial industry.

(Also offered Wednesday at 1:30pm)

CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, and RMA℠ Eligible

This session will explain why the Federal Reserve’s response to the Covid Pandemic has caused so much inflation and why they must look at money and market prices to determine monetary policy.  We will also examine the valuation of the market and the forecast for interest rates.

Learning Objectives:

• Effect of monetary Expansion on Inflation
• Behavior of Real Interest Rates
• Understanding historical returns on asset classes
• Determine Valuations and P-E ratios and future returns

Sponsored by Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.

Join fellow participants for a night of networking and fun at the Franklin Institute. Buses will only be provided from/to the SII hotel properties.

During the reception participants will have access to three exhibits. Learn about each below!

Your Brain

Think about how you think when you explore Your Brain. What is the brain? How does it work? Fire a model neuron to see how brain cells use chemical and electrical signals to communicate at incredible speeds. Follow the pathways they take and learn how the brain controls functions throughout the body. Discover how the images of what you see are processed in the brain by building them back together step by step. Your brain is always changing. There’s no better place to help it change for the better than Your Brain at The Franklin Institute!

Wondrous Space

Journey through the cosmos as you explore this immersive, multisensory, two-story exhibit designed to inspire an excitement for space science.

Discover what lies beyond Earth on the second floor. Learn about the incredible size and scale of celestial bodies as you travel through the universe. Touch a real meteorite that fell to Earth over 50,000 years ago. How does gravity shape the universe? What affects an asteroid’s impact crater?

On the third floor, imagine yourself in a space career as you experience the engineering it takes to get to space. Design and launch a rocket or see real space technology that could also benefit life on Earth. What do we need to live on Mars? Are there other worlds in our galaxy that could support life?

Whether you’re a space enthusiast, or simply curious about the mysteries of the universe, this exhibit will ignite your imagination and leave you with a deeper appreciation when you look up at the night sky.

Body Odyssey

Curiosity meets discovery in Body Odyssey, where the walkthrough Giant Heart is just the beginning.

Embark on an immersive journey through the intricacies of the human body, exploring how its inner workings interact with the world around us to achieve balance in life and well-being. Travel through the circulatory system, explore the complexity of senses and perception, and see firsthand how the latest technology and data push the boundaries of medicine and human performance.

A Nonpartisan Overview of the Political Environment, Prospective Legislation, and Strategies for Investment and Retirement Planning

In his Washington Update, Jeff Bush delivers a nonpartisan, comprehensive review of Washington DC legislation and regulation affecting investors, financial advisors, and business leaders built on his 30+ years of experience in the financial services and political analysis industries.

We live in a world where “accidental living” – mindlessly moving through routines, wasting countless hours on social media, or complaining about what’s wrong in our jobs, families, and society – has become the norm. But John reminds us that just because we got out of bed this morning, does not mean that we are truly living. What would our day, impact and output look like if we lived a radically inspired life, every, single day? Living radically inspired means you learn from past mistakes, rise above challenges, and thrive no matter the circumstances. No one embodies this more than powerhouse inspirational speaker John O’Leary – who was nearly killed in a devastating fire at age nine.