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• WORD MAGIC — 6 Must Have Interpersonal Communication Skills (Concentration: Verbal Communication & Leadership Foundations))

  • When
    29-Apr-2019
  • Location
    A 6-module online learning program. Available as a six-week Instructor-Led Full Class (Level I Learning: Expertise) OR a Dual Track Full Class (Level II Learning: Skills & Expertise)

  Register

   "Just because you have two ears and a mouth, doesn't mean you know how to communicate." -- A Mother's Advice To Her Son.
  

  
  

  Despite it importance, few people spend the time to really understand it or to improve the component skills of interpersonal communication. So you might way, the competition is weak.

  Still, at some point in climbing the organizational latter, your skills in this area will either make you or break you. Make the  investment in interpersonal communication skills, it will pay off many times over.

  What Employers Want When Hiring

  
  

   Source: National Association of Colleges and Employers 2018 Job Outlook Survey
  

  Still, at some point in climbing the organizational latter, your skills in this area will either make you or break you. Make the  investment in interpersonal communication skills, it will pay off many times over.
  

   Contact Us For More Information
  

  

  LEARN THESE 6 INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

  • TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION: Using the Full-Duplex Method to drastically reduce miscommunication
  • LISTENING Skills: Six types of listening: Five that improve listening and one that doesn't
  • NONVERBAL Communication: How to better read face and hear the meaning in tones and intonation
  • The Use of QUESTIONS: Eight types of questions that shape a conversation
  • Your RELATIONSHIPS: How to generate positive impressions, increase trust, & be better liked
  • INTERVIEWING: Most people don't spend the time needed to polish their communication skills before the interview. And so, they lose the job. Don't let this happen to you.

  
  

  Module Descriptions

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  

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• Meditation: Learn It, Practice It, Experience It (Concentration: The Mastery Practices)

  • When
    29-Apr-2019
  • Location
    A 4-Week On-Line Full Class with Instructor.

  Register

  
  

  A Methods of Masters Practice Class
  

   “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” -- Leo Tolstoy

  This Class is Designed For:

  • Those who are new to mediation.
  • Those who abandoned the technique but want to start again,
  • Those want to use it as a tool for skill building.

  Learn The Knowledge

  This is designed as an introductory class, presenting a fundamental understanding of why it is important to learn how to relax and meditate to prevent adverse psychological and physiological problems associated with stress.  

  Develop The Skill

  Inside the class there are a number of audios and videos providing samples of how one should practice. And there are exercises to go through and assignments to complete. The class also contains discussion forums and methods to get feedback from the instructor and class participants.

  One Will Learn:

  • How stress affects the mind and body,
  • Why meditation positively impacts the mind and body.
  • To use the breath as a means of relaxing,
  • To relax the voluntary muscles using the mind,
  • To choose an object for meditation and concentrate on this.

      
  

  Module 1: How Stress Affects the Mind-Body

  

  Image by: Uoaei1 Das Kreuz am Blassenstein bei Scheibbs (Niederösterreich), darunter dichter Nebel im Erlauf- und Donautal.

  Description

  Many people with rotten stress management techniques end up needing professional help. In some cases, this cry for help comes for the ravages of acute stress; in other cases, the health professional is seeing the impact of chronic stress.

  Chronic stress is a contributing factor to conditions such as hypertension (high blood pressure), ulcers, and atherosclerosis (closing of the arteries, typically around the heart.) While acute stress generates anxiety, worry and is associated nasty emotions such as anger.

  The module helps you understand the distress associated with stress.

  Learning Objectives

  • Discover the impact of acute and chronic stress on the body.
  • Know how stress impacts the normal functioning of the mind.
  • Know the relationship between stress, illness and immune suppression.
  • Understand how increasing stress levels impact work performance.

  Application Assignment

  • Produce a personal profile documenting your intellectual, emotional, behavioral, contextual and physiological stress symptoms.

  Module 2: Using the Breath To Relax

  

  Image Source; National Cancer Institute. Anatomy of the respiratory system, showing the trachea and both lungs, diaphram, and their lobes and airways.

  Description:

  For many, there is a vague understanding that when anxious, one breathes faster and shallower. At extreme levels of stress, some start breathing “like a dog” and will even hyperventilate.

  However, the reverse is also true, breathing slowly and deeply relaxes the mind and the body. However, few people understand how to use the breath to relax.

  This module will show you how to use the deep breath technique to quickly relax.

  Learning Objectives:

  • Discover the relationship between the breath and feeling anxious or feeling relaxed.
  • Experiment with slow breathing to control and reduce stress.
  • Practice using the deep breath technique to reduce anxiety.

  Application Assignment

  • Practice using the different variations of the Deep Breath Technique to reduce the impact of stressors in our life.

  Module 3: Mastering the Fine Art of Progressive Relaxation

  

  Source: Welcome Trust. Muscles Man’, Pseudo-Galen, Anathomia

  Description:

  Stress is associated with a physiological mechanism known as the “fight or flight” response; meditation is associated with the exact opposite mechanism, the relaxation response. So while stress results in anxiety and worry, meditation generates peace and serenity.

  Meditation has been used for thousands of years in the East, but it is relatively new to the West. Since it is relatively new, most people don’t understand its benefits. This module explains the primary benefits for learning meditation. Benefits that include but are not limited to reduction of stress and anxiety.

  Learning Objectives:

  • Understand the physical and psychological benefits associated with the regular practice of meditation.
  • Discover the positive aspect of meditation on the mind and body.
  • Learn the access steps necessary to enter a meditative state.

  Application Assignments

  • Practice accessing the meditative state. While meditating, choose between several different types of meditation objects. Explore how to better this special state of mind.

  Module 4: Learning How to Mediate

  

  A Mandala made available as a post on Google+ by the Dalai Lama

  Description:

  Stress is associated with a physiological mechanism known as the “fight or flight” response; meditation is associated with the exact opposite mechanism, the relaxation response. So while stress results in anxiety and worry, meditation generates peace and serenity.

  Meditation has been used for thousands of years in the East, but it is relatively new to the West. Since it is relatively new, most people don’t understand its benefits. This module explains the primary benefits for learning meditation. Benefits that include but are not limited to reduction of stress and anxiety.

  Learning Objectives:

  • Understand the physical and psychological benefits associated with the regular practice of meditation.
  • Discover the positive aspect of meditation on the mind and body.
  • Learn the access steps necessary to enter a meditative state.

  Application Assignments

  • Practice accessing the meditative state. While meditating, choose between several different types of meditation objects. Explore how to better this special state of mind.

  
  

  About the Instructor

  With degrees in Pharmacy, a MBA and a M.A. in Psychology, Murray Johannsen (bio) has a unique perspective in knowing how to use mediation to reduce the ravages of numerous stressors on both mind and body. He possesses deep knowledge and extensive experience on both the theory and practice of meditation and is skilled using and teaching mastery practices such as self-talk and visualization to jump start personal change and promote self-development. Questions? Feel free to contact him.

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• A Short Course on Great Leadership: Getting Started on the Way of Heroes (Concentration: The Great Leader)

  • When
    06-May-2019
  • Location
    A 30-day One-module Online Training Course. Available as a Self-Paced Short Course (Level I Learning: Expertise) OR a Skill-Intensive Short Course (Level II Learning: Expertise and Skill)

  Register

  
  

  Painting of Joan of Arc. Saint of the Catholic Church. Patron of the French Army. A peasant girl who liberated France from British in the siege of Orlean and thus changed history. 

  If you act to change the existing order of things, you are on the Quest of Heroes. 

  This gives you a great and noble purpose, to fundamentally make your world a better place. For in the structure the hero's journey, we see our own struggles to achieve. 

  The story of the hero is ancient, yet still alive today.

  Many of our greatest works of literature and our most popular movies have as their fundamental focus the Quest of the Hero. 

  And in the story of the hero, we see our own story—or what might be your own story. For it is true today as it was in the past, that doing anything great is going to be difficult. 

  Yet, we can earn from those who have gone before, and make our own road easier, the journey quicker, the path less likely to end up in failure.

  Learning Objectives

  Level I Learning: Expertise
  

  • Identify the essential elements needed to move from average to great.
  • Delve into the power of myth to understand the challenges you will face.
  • Get inspiration from the Hero archetype in the great stories from the past 
  • Understand the Four Core Competencies of Transformational Leaders
  • Know why transformational leaders and Great Founders need to act less like managers and more like heroes.

  Level II Learning: Skills

  • Assess where you are on your Quest
  • Choose your path, construct your vision for what you will do next
  • Find two heroes that will serve as an example and source of inspiration
  • Delve into identifying flaws limiting your success

  
  

  
  

  Pallas Athena statue, in front of the building of the Parliament in Vienna, Austria. Image by: Zebulon. An example of both myth and archetype that survived for thousands of years. 

  

  We all face a choice, to strive to do something great or to die forgotten. For Heroes do great things. And because they do great things, they will not die forgotten. 

  Don't become just a name on a stone — unremembered after the children and grandchildren are gone. 

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• Best Practices in Conversion Using Ads and Landing Pages (Concentration: Digital Marketing)

  • When
    06-May-2019
  • Location
    A Six-Module Full Class On-Line (Track II)

  Register

  
  

  Landing pages are necessary to get the highest conversion rate from PPC ads, gateway pages or e-mail campaigns. Good landing pages only have two purposes: to generate leads or revenues. Sounds easy but are quite many subtle issues involved in getting a conversion a viewer to take action.

  There are three major tasks associated with the coming up with a landing page that works:

  a. Writing engaging copy,

  b. Designing the page, and

  c. Systematically testing the page to optimize it.

  
  

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• Vices To Virtues: Getting Good To Be Great (Concentration: The Transformational Leader)

  • When
    13-May-2019
  • Location
    A 4-module Online Program. Available as a eight-week Dual Track Full Class (Level II: Skill Learning)

  Register

  
  

  Image from the ceiling from the Sistine Chapel. Painting by Michelangelo

  A Program For You, Your Children and Grandchildren — Learn It Yourself — Teach It To Them

   Questions? Contact Us For More Information
  

  Finding flaws matter. After all, your strengths get you hired, your weaknesses get you fired. Yet most people would not know how many flaws they have let alone whether they have a fatal flaw. 

  There is nothing worse then finding out you can't advance due to factors you control.

  Those who wish to lead and live an ethical life understand the importance of building habits known as virtues to counteract the tendency for us do bad things. It's like an ethical vaccine preventing descent into the abyss of bad habits, negative emotions and unproductive states.
  

  Those with the moral authority to lead, have virtues followers identify with.  More importantly, they Take Action to practice and install these in day-to-day activities that make up work and life. After all, it’s a poor sort of ethical system if you can't use it to guide daily decisions and actions.  

  By taking this class you will learn:

  • Why humans are good and bad: but you can choose the good
  • how to reveal your flaws and search for the elusive fatal flaw
  • A powerful way to evolve yourself by defining your virtues
  • About installing your virtues —it’s about making yourself better

  

  Module 1: You’re Good and You’re Bad: The Paradox of Your Mind

  "Everybody has good and bad forces working with them, against them, and within them.” ― Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem

  “The insufferable arrogance of human beings to think that Nature was made solely for their benefit, as if it was conceivable that the sun had been set afire merely to ripen men's apples and head their cabbages.” — Cyrano De Bergerac
  

  
  

  
  

  Antonio Canova (1757–1822) Justice. Image by: Fondazione Cariplo

  Module Description

  The Ego, as the primary part of the mind that deals with realty, also has some characteristics that prevent it from achieving happiness. This session looks at a number of these limitations.

  Freud was the first Western psychologist to point out the Ego was wrapped in a cocoon of largely unconscious mechanisms that protect—the way a blanket protects a baby. However, in adults, these Ego defense mechanisms filter and distort realty in ways that prevent the Ego from dealing with anxiety and dangerous truths. And so the Ego stays immature--often entering a state of arrested development.

  Learning Objectives

  Level I: Knowledge and Understanding

  • Understand the major flaws associated with human nature.
  • Know the common model used in Western psychology for the nature of of your mind.

  
  

  Level II: Skills Development
  

  • Develop the insight to discover your flaws and search for the Fatal Flaw
  • Document your flaws as they exist.
  • Develop the insight to know what will make you virtuous
  • Develop the self-discipline to be able to develop a virtue.

  Key Concepts

  • Morality and Ethics
  • The Ego and The Unconscious
  • Jung" Shadow
  • Karma
  • Postive
  • Negative
  • Self-deception and Cognitive bias
  • Ego (Neurotic) Ego Defense Mechanisms

  
  

  Module 2: The Search For The Fatal Flaw

   “A Native American elder once described his own inner struggles in this manner: Inside of me there are two dogs. One of the dogs is mean and evil. The other dog is good. The mean dog fights the good dog all the time. When asked which dog wins, he reflected for a moment and replied, The one I feed the most.”  ― George Bernard Shaw
  

  
  

  
  

  Hieronymus Bosch- The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things

  Module Description

  If each of us that the potential to do good and bad, we should understand the nature of the bad in hopes that we can prevent this from occurring. In other words, assuming free will (a big assumption), you will choose what path you travel down. Just as important, is your ability to recognize pathologies in others. In this case, we are going to focus on traits and behaviors, the kind of thing you can observe in yourself and see in others.

  In this module, you will do what very few people do — document your flaws. For example, if you ask the average person what their top ten weaknesses are, they would look confused, the offended before going into denial that they have any flaws at all. Or perhaps they will give you a fake one—the kind of thing that you would do if you were in an interview.

  The search for the fatal flaw is a characteristics that will cause you no end of grief if you do not take care of it.

  "Power Corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely." — Lord Acton. Said in 1887, these words still ring true today. But you should also understand that, money corrupts just as much as power.
  

  Learning Objectives

  Level I: Knowledge and Understanding

  • Identify the definitions of the seven deadly sins.
  •  Understand how Allport defined the different category of personality traits.
  •  Discover the Big Five personality traits

  Level II: Skill Development

  • Capture your "bad" personality traits..
  • Document your top sins and explain why these are a problem.
  • Document insights into emotions/states of mind that are considered to be weaknesses.

  Key Concepts

  • The Seven Deadly Sins
  • Negative emotions
  • Harmful states of mind
  • Personality Traits
  • Cardinal
  • Central
  • Secondary
  • The Fatal Flaw

  
  

  Module 3: Evolve Your self — Define Your Virtues

  
  

  “The problem with people who have no vices is that generally you can be pretty sure they're going to have some pretty annoying virtues.” ― Elizabeth Taylor

  “Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder.” ― George Washington

  Module Description

  Most people, that vast majority I belief, never ask themselves what they should be, what they should become by the time they check out of life. Sure, everyone focus on money and having lots of it, but very few focus on this issues of the character. Do you want be kind? Or is this unimportant. How about creative? Or resilient? or Optimistic? It seems strange that we would spend more time on our taxes in a year than we would what kind of person we should be. In this section, you will put together a profile for your "Ideal Self."

  Learning Objectives

  Level I: Knowledge and Understanding

  • Understand the nature of the ideal self.
  • Know the nature of moral virtues as defined by the Catholic Church
  • Know that there are competitive traits helpful in sports
  • Identify traits commonly associated with great leadership

  Level II: Skill Development

  • Define a set of future roles you would like to play on the stage of life.
  • Evaluate what set of virtues will help you to play your next to rooms.

  
  

  “Virtues are too difficult,” I told him, shaking my head. “Look how old you are and you’ve hardly made a dent in them. I’ll admit, you seem to have zeal nailed, as well as faith and temperance. Self control? I’ve got my doubts based on your recent actions. I’m not seeing the kindness, love or generosity, either. That humility thing seems to be pretty far beyond your reach, too. Really, really far. I’m sorry to tell you this, but from what I can see, the sin of pride is a major component of your character. Dude, you’re old. You should have these things pretty well ticked off your shopping list by now. I’m seriously disappointed. Seriously.”

  ― Debra Dunbar, A Demon Bound

  Module 4: Take Action

  "We are what we repeatedly do, excellence then is not an act, but a habit.” — Aristotle

  “Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.” — Marcus Aurelius (Roman emperor, 121-180 AD. 
  

  
  

  
  

  Image taken by: Murray Johannsen
  

  “Where we stand in times of controversy is a measure of our character,” said the Rev.  Jesse Jackson, an Apple shareholder who attended the meeting. “Some leaders only follow opinion polls. Others stand up for their principles, refuse to compromise, and mold opinion. We have such a leader of Apple, Tim Cook.” Benner, (2016) Apple Shareholders Show Their Support for Tim Cook, New York Times, Feb 25..

  Module Description

  Once you know your starting point and your destination, you still have to get from here to there. And this frankly, is the hard part. It's easy to come up with the map, it's hard to walk down the path. For what you are striving to do is reduce your bad behaviors, flaws and sins and substitute a better set of behaviors which we call the virtues.

  Unfortunately, this is not like taking a class, which you will only due once. You will have to practice many times. And you will find that sometimes you take a step forward, you will take a step back and it seems like you are standing in place. Don't worry about it. 

  Learning Objectives

  Level I: Knowledge and Understanding

  • Understand the nature of procrastination
  • Understand why few have strong self-control and will-power to resist temptations
  • Discover how Ben Franklin was able to develop his virtues

  Level II: Skills Development

  • Practice using the same technique as Ben Franklin Technique to develop your virtues.
  • Develop a combination of techniques to mentally practice developing one virtue that is not being used.

  
  

  Other Skills To Develop

  • Reflection
  • Insight
  • Self-Control

  
  

  “Don't make another's pain the source of your own happiness.” ― Mark Frost, The Paladin Prophecy

  

  
  

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• Craft Your Vision: The First Step Toward Constructing a Better Future (Concentration: Skill Mapping)

  • When
    15-May-2019
  • Location
    A Single Module Online Program. Offered Self-Paced for 30-days (Level I Learning: Expertise Develop)

  Register

  
  

  Melpomene (Tragedy) by Edward Simmons.
  

  
  

  "The door of opportunity frequently opens for those best prepared to walk through it." — Murray Johannsen
  

  Success is more than just living in the present. Some people have dreams, but few have vision. Some simple live in the present, but others use the present to prepare for the future.

  For example, birds live in the moment, but squirrels use the moment to prepare for the future. Birds exists day-to-day, squirrels store food in the summer for winter. And so it is with people.

  This module covers essential elements needed to stimulate foresight and construct a vision.

  
  

   

  Create Vision — Activate Imagination

  
  

  
  

  Learning Objectives:

  
  

  • Develop the information sources for a robust program of environmental scanning.
  • Develop a deeper understanding of foresight
  • Practice developing a vision for your future.

  
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• The Psychology of Leadership (Concentration: Leadership Foundations)

  • When
    03-Jun-2019
  • Location
    A Six-Module On-Line Full Class

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  Portrait of Ben Franklin

  
  Timing Not Correct? Join Our Waitlist

  
  

   Contact Us For More Information
  

  
  

  
  

  This is due to the fact that leadership is influence, and we don't influence things, we influence people. And the more you understand about how cognition affects behavior, the better you will understand what you see.

  
  

  
  

  Module 1: How To Emerge as a Leader

  
  

  

  Edmund Leighton (1853–1922) God Speed
  

  
  

  Assume you have just been given a position with a new title—you are in charge of a group of strangers. The title and the position help, but you still have a challenge, you must emerge as there leader.
  

  
  

  
  

  Module 2: What Makes a Group a Group and a Team a Team

  
  

  Shea Smith drops back to pass. Image by BrokenSphere
  

  
  

  Another type of leader in demand in today's world is the one you can build teams. A team leader is difficult, much tougher than being a supervisor of a group. However, teams are worth going after since teams out perform groups. And companies that know how to develop teams and their leaders typically out perform those who don't.
  

  
  

  
  

  Module 3: Avoiding The Bad Leader

  
  

  Stalin, Lenin, Kalinin in 1919. Image by: E rulez
  

  
  

  We tend to focus on the good, but we also need to understand the bad. Bad leadership has two aspects to it: the first is the person who is not effective as a leader, who has little influence or who has to rely almost exclusively on authority. A second dimension is the person who has a great deal of influence who can cause people who can engage in unethical or immoral actions.

  
  

  Module 4: Personality Traits 

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Traits are characteristics, patterns of behavior and thinking that are consist over time. They are also strong tendencies to act in a similar way across many different types of situations. For example, an introvert consistently will not say much, while the extrovert is continuously uses the voice. For leaders, traits are valuable in two ways. First, by identifying traits in another, one can predict how that person will act in the future. Secondly, it is reasonable to assume that certain traits associated with the being a leader and others associated with being a follower.
  

  
  

  Module 5: The Psychology of Success

  
  

  

  Viribus Unitis. Image by Tsui
  

  
  

  Success as a leader begins with understanding what goes on inside. For example, an entrepreneur must possess both management ability and leadership skills if the business is to grow. Learn what the psychologist's have identified some of the common aspects important in success.
  

  
  

  Module 6: Social Psychology — Understanding Organizational Culture

  
  

  Three Backfeet Chiefs, Image by MatGTAM
  

  Sad to say, one can succeed as a leader in one culture and miserably fail in another. It's important to understand the key organizational and national differences that impact leader influence. Rather than look at all national cultures, the focus is on East and West.
  

  
  

  

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• Creating a Sustainable Business Model With a PERSONAL BRAND (Concentration: Digital Marketing)

  • When
    03-Jun-2019
  • Location
    A Six-Module Full Class On-Line

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  Image by lumaxart

  Today, you can seek financial independence by creating a personal brand. For once you have a  large following, you have a business model. And you can do that part-time until you want to go full-time. You don't have to be a employee in a corporation, you can be a superstar with fans. 

  The Six Modules in the Class will provide the roadmap of the journey toward greater success—whether you want to stay solo or pursue the dual branding opportunities presented by having a corporation or social enterprise.

  Learning Areas:

  Module 1: Opportunity and Peril: The Social Media Landscape

  Module 2: Must Know Truths about Personal & Organizational Branding

  Module 3: Getting Noticed — Choosing Your Positioning and Differentiation

  Module 4: Find Your Voice—How To Construct Powerful Messages

  Module 5: Choosing The Right Mix Channels and Mediums

  Module 6: Campaigning and Curating Essentials To Consistently Broadcast Your Message

  
  

  "I once used the word "obsolete" in a headline, only to discover that 43% of housewives had no idea what it meant. In another headline I used the word "ineffable," only to discover that I didn't know what it meant myself." — David Ogilvy

  Clearly, you have always had the ability to have a personal brand, to be a star on the stage of life. For the most part, these would be individuals in the performing arts, and great writers. In fact, the b-schools completely and still mostly ignore who to create a personal brand—preferring instead to focus on the corporate identity, In fact, few b-schools even have a class on publicity.

  Click here To Get More Information
  

  
  

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• Use What's Free: How To Use Publicity to Access The Media (Concentration: Digital Marketing)

  • When
    10-Jun-2019
  • Location
    A 6-Week On-Line Full Class With Instructor (Digital Marketing)

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  The Conversation Prism 2.0. Image by Brian Solis and JESS3

  If you know how to use publicity, you will easily make your numbers. After all, getting your message out to millions through traditional media will rocket your numbers up. You don't have to change your message, if you have designed it to be newsworthy.

  In a world where big media is controlled by big business, publicity offers a low-cost method of reaching a mass audience. Many a small business has used it successfully to grow rapidly. The Internet has generated new types of word of mouth–one based on email; and increasingly, on video. This is a course which is about using the Internet as part of a program for publicity.

  You will Learn About:

  • Understanding The Nature of Publicity

  • Setting a Solid Foundation: Making Your Writing Newsworthy

  • Publicity Strategy: Putting Together a Plan

  • Publicity Tactic 1: Writing Engaging Pitch Letters

  • Publicity Tactic 2: Writing and Distributing Publicity Releases

  • Publicity Tactic 3: Constructing a Media List

  • Publicity Tactic 4: Writing and Distributing Articles

  • Publicity Tactic 5: Developing a Media Friendly "Press Room”

  • The Future of Web Publicity    

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• Running Cost Effective Email Campaigns (Concentration: Digital Marketing)

  • When
    17-Jun-2019
  • Location
    A Six-Module Full Class On-Line (Track II)

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  Image by: aylmao1999

  According to the Direct Marketing Association as of 2009, email marketing delivers $43.62 for every dollar spent. Whether this number is true or not (after all, the DMA is not the most unbiased of sources), the consensus of experts is that email works. And what makes email marketing so effective? Fundamentally, it's about getting people to give you permission to send them information; the mechanics of email campaigns; and your ability to send interesting, relevant content.

  Four Course Modules

  a. Email Marketing Strategy: The Must Understand Rules of the Game

  b. How to Run and Optimize an email Marketing Campaign

  c. Copyrighting Guidelines: How to Write Compelling Headlines, Motivational Prompts and Interesting Newsletters

  d. Proven Methods you can Use to Build an In-house List.

  Take Aways. This is an applied course. You will: 

  Develop Interesting headers

  Devise compelling paragraphs

  Design a newsletter or email promotion

  Put together an email campaign.

  Evaluate results and suggest improvements

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• Leadership Communication Skills: What You Must Know to Influence a Group (Concentration: Verbal Communication & Leadership Foundations)

  • When
    24-Jun-2019
  • Location
    A 6-module online program. Available as a six-week Instructor-Led Full Class (Level I: Learning Expertise) OR as a twelve-week Dual Track Full Class (Level II: Skill Learning)
  • Spaces left
    10

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  "When managers and other responsible persons in business organizations are asked how much of the work day is spent in communicating, the replies range from 85 to 99 percent." -- Harold Zelko and Frank Dance (1965)
  

  
  

  
  

  This course focuses on six essential leadership communication skills—the kind of skills that lead to increased levels of responsibility and increased pay. 

  After all, one cannot be effective as a leader if one doesn't posses stellar communication skills. 

  And really, you can never get too good at the art of communication.

  

  Modules include:

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  

  
  

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• Linkedin For Business (Concentration: Digital Marketing)

  • When
    01-Jul-2019
  • Location
    A 6-Week On-Line Full Class With Instructor A 6-Week On-Line Full Class With Instructor (Digital Marketing Concentration: Track I)

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  Most people have many contacts in their network, but few know how to leverage these contacts. There is a similar phenomenon in chemistry, where there exists both potential energy and kinetic energy. Potential forever remains a possibility. Kinetic energy makes things happen. And so it is with your Linkedin network, you must convert potential energy (contacts) into the kinetic kind (referral sources, appointments and interviews.)

  Class Modules

  
  

  
  

  This online class is about developing contacts and taking actions that covert work leads to prospects to work. You will learn how to:

  
  

     • Develop both personal positioning

     • Put together your branding strategy

     • Develop more high quality leads

     • Take more effective conversion actions

  
  

  
  

  1. Building a Strong Foundation: The Essentials of Branding, Positioning and Differentiation

  
  

  
  

  Image by: Ivan Walsh

  
  

  You have the option of presenting ourself in many different ways. Whether one wants to do so depends on the nature of the product or service. Sometimes people want to hire the expert. Sometimes, they want to hire the business. Sometimes they want to hire an expert who has a business. This section looks at the corporate entity and how it might be used on this medium.

  
  

  2. Enhancing Your Personal Brand: Developing a Top-Drawer Profile

  
  

  "A child of five would understand this. Send someone to fetch a child of five." — Groucho Marx
  

  
  

  
  

  Image by: dodgers

  
  

  
  

  Getting found by the prospects such as head hunters involves the smart use of your profile. The issue is two-fold, first, being discovered during a search and second, once they are on the profile getting and keeping them interested.

  
  

  3. How to Properly Leverage Group Membership 

  
  

  Image by: Lumaxart

  There are thousands of groups you join. Some groups you join because of a common interest, (i.e. technology) or (much more likely), it's where the clients or recruiters hangs out. Once you join a group you can: share your knowledge to help others, post a news article, start a discussion, answer a question, or post a job lead.

  
  

  4. Growing Your Network: Utilizing, Influencing and Boosting Social Capital

  
  

  
  

  
  

  It's long been known that in professional circles the quality of the network is very important. In the old days, one used a rolodex and a phone. Today your options are more numerous and more complex. Linkedin presents one way to leverage a network, but it is not the only way. The way Linkedin manages the network is through "degrees of separation." This model has strengths, but it also has major weaknesses. For example, to assume all individuals you know are equally important, and is willing to help you out is not a valid assumption.

  
  

  5. Advanced Methods of Projecting Your Expertise

  
  

  "If the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail." — Unknown Source

  
  

  Image by lumaxart

  
  

  Linkedin has both basic functions which one must master and the advanced options which you can choose to use. ANSWERS as the name implies is a service defined to get answers to your questions. Its value lies asking good questions and answering the same. How do you jazz up a profile? You can add applications. While it is not necessary, potentially one can create another channel to impress. Some may want to host an event. Events offer a valuable way of getting to people together either locally or on the web. For example, you could host a local group or might want to offer a webinar of some type.

  
  

  6. Managing Your Reputation

  Before one starts to develop a personal brand, its wise to take a look at what is already being said out there since most individuals will not only check your profile, they will also do a quick check on Google. And of course, you want to keep some information out of the public domain to discourage identity theft. 

  
  

  

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• The ABCs of Performance Management (Concentration: Motivation at Work & Leadership Foundations)

  • When
    08-Jul-2019
  • Location
    A Six-Module Program. Available As An Instructor-Led Full Class (Level I Learning: Expertise Development) OR Available As A Dual Track Full Class (Level II Learning: Skill Development)

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  This leadership training package contains down to earth, practical techniques based on behavioral principles to extinguish problems or ignite topnotch performance.

  • How to identify what turns employees on and off about work
  • Social rewards to recognize, praise, and commend superior performance.
  • 5 tools to initiate and prompt desired actions.
  • Crucial traps to dodge when applying negative reinforcement and punishment.
  • Internal and external motivators which change behavior.
  • The secrets of using modeling to set standards.
  • Four sound, proven triggers that prime dynamite performance

  
  

  
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• LEAD THE PACK: How To Build Teams and Facilitate Meetings (Concentration: Leadership Foundations)

  • When
    08-Jul-2019
  • Location
    Full Class On-Line With Four Modules (Concentration: Transformational Leadership) Elective

  
  

  Image by Lumaxmart

  
  

  Often "executive teams" aren't. They function like a group of feuding kids fighting to please a difficult father or mother. Without effective leadership, groups never evolve into teamsundefinedthey get stuck performing on the floor of mediocrity, not the ceiling of possibility.

  Besides problems with group dynamics, research indicates that 30% to 60% of the time spent in meetings is wasted. Despite its importance, few managers run good meetings. More importantly, bad meetings result in problems not getting solved and wrong decisions getting made.

  Learn tools and techniques to increase motivation and participation; set codes of conduct; decrease conflict; evolve a group into a team; establish consensus; define roles and responsibilities; and play the critical communication roles that lead to action.

  This class shows you how to:

  •     Change group norms.
    
  •     Improve the meeting process.
    
  •     Evolve groups into high performance teams.
    
  •     Establish high performance teams
    
  •     Quickly set-up project teams
    

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• VIDEO PUSH: Using Videos To Create Brand, Capture Leads and Generate Revenue (Concentration: Digital Marketing)

  • When
    08-Jul-2019
  • Location
    A Six-Module Full Class On-Line (Digital Marketing)

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  Image by: Parceiromaste

  Today, you can't do digital marketing without the use of video. Not only does it enhance the brand and increase conversion, but video makes or breaks crowdfunding campaign. It's the text and the images that get people interested but it is the video that closes the sale. Studies have shown that a good video increases the likelihood of making a sale.

  It's much more powerful medium than just using text or images when building a personal brand. Honestly, hardly no one remembers the article you write but they will remember that video.

  Your will learn about:

  Module 1: Why Use Video? Understanding It's Business Case

  Module 2. The Top Platforms — What Each Does Well

  Module 3. Must Use Optimization Techniques

  Module 4: Setting-Up a YouTube Channel

  Module 5: Expanding the Fan Base: Strategy and Tactics That Work

  Module 6. Setting Planning and Executing a Campaign

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• Interview Secrets: A Short 30-day Training Course With Coaching (Concentration: Verbal Communication)

  • When
    05-Aug-2019
  • Location
    A 4-Week On-Line Short Course in the Verbal Communication Concentration (Level I Learning: Expertise and Skills)

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  Interviews are widely used.  A common ritual of corporations and governments across the world.  And it you you know what you are doing, you can get an advantage and standout. There is a number of these subtle technique that increase the likelihood of you being that one who gets that job. 

  Key Take Aways

  • 7 Cognitive bias you can take advantage of 
  • A powerful pattern to answer questions
  • Types of Questions you should ask
  • How To Prepare: The common mistakes to avoid
  • Great Openings: How to Nail the Positive First Impression
  • Five cognitive biases that you could use to shine   
    
  • What you must do to stand out
  • The three phases of the interview     

  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Stand Out From the Crowd

  
  

  You have a two-week money back guarantee.

  

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• Pitch Perfect: The Secrets of Constructing a Dynamite Presentation (Concentration: Verbal Communication)

  • When
    19-Aug-2019
  • Location
    A 4-Week Skill-Building On-Line Short Course
  • Spaces left
    10

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  Average speakers use a presentation to inform. Great leaders use the platform to persuade, motivate and to inspire. They know techniques one has to learn and practice to wow the audience. 

  Cleaver speakers know they must capture the audience’s interest in the first one to two minutes. They must make a positive impression based on nonverbal communication and subtle characteristics of the voice.

  And they sweat over how to make a strong conclusion. They know how to embed use facts, statistics, stories and anecdotes, they are skills at framing questions questions, etc. Other important variables deal with the use of support material such as facts, statistics, stories and anecdotes, the ability to ask and answer questions, etc.

  When the best visuals are combined without a dynamic, credible speaker, there a magic in words. Be ready to learn how to cast a few spells.

  Discover proven tactics to increase persuasiveness and the wow factor.
  

  
  

  

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• INFLUENCE AT WORK: How to Enhance Your Personal Power (Concentration: Leadership Foundations)

  • When
    09-Sep-2019
  • Location
    A 9-Week On-Line Full Class With Instructor

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  "The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority." -- Ken Blanchard

  
  

  
  

  Many managers and executives depend too much on their authority -- a limited source of power that doesn’t work well on peers and the boss. Consequently, they fail to get the results they want.

  Additionally, many individuals rely too much on positional influence, rather than developing personal influence. Positional influence is typically limited and constrained, but personal influence is something that can be grown and expanded. Another fact limiting influence, is that many tend to act selfishly like dragons hoarding their gold; rather than socially, like philanthropists who spread the wealth of their influence to benefit others.

  This class expands your knowledge by providing practical influence techniques.  You learn about:

  The Use and Misuse of AUTHORITY.

  How to project EXPERTISE.

  Ways one can use developmental COACHING.

   The Nature of building CHARISMA.

   Using VISION—The Power of Setting Expectations.

  If you are taking Foundations to Great Leadership concentration, positive reinforcement, punishment, relationships, and persuasion is covered in other Full Classes.

  
  

  
  

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• Skill-Based Expertise: What You Must Know to Build Skills Faster (Concentration: Skill-Based Learning)

  • When
    16-Sep-2019
  • Location
    A 4-module Online Program. Offered For 4-Weeks (Level I Learning: Expertise Develop) OR Over 8-Weeks (Level II Learning: Skill Building)

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  Picture by neurovelho, Sheet Music is the essential theory underlying the creation of all music.
  

  A FULL CLASS IN THE SKILL-BASED LEARNING CONCENTRATION

  “Our knowledge can only be finite while our ignorance must necessarily be infinite.” -- Karl Popper, Austrian philosopher

  Course Overview

  In the 21st Century, each of us must continually upgrade knowledge and skills. To not do so means we risk unemployment, under employment and a life of stagnant wages. While we live in an Information Age, few schools and universities bother to teach us how to convert theory into skills. Few understand the steps–the processundefinedof how to build skills. The goal of this class is to accelerate someone going from the novice stage to the mastery stage.

  This course presents many insights useful in:

  Defining Skill-based Theory. Not all theory is can be turned into a skill. Discover how to tell what works and what does not.

  Module 1. Must Know Theories For Learning New Behaviors

  “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” -- Leo Tolstoy
  

  
  

  Image by: Luxmart Art

  Knowing how to get the most out of learning a new behavior means we have to step back and know what understand motivates it. There are three of behavioral theories: classical conditioning, operant conditioning and vicarious learning. You will discover the role each plays, the importance of knowing how to use this ourselves., and ways to apply it.

  Module 2. The Major Cognitive Learning Models

  “You tend to become what you think about.” -- Earl Nightengale: The Greatest Secret

  
  

  Roden: The Thinker: Image by: Yair Haklai
  

  Module Description
  

  The second major school of learning in psychology relates to cognition. Here the focus is on the black box of the mind, not on observable behavior. Inside the black box, there are many processesundefinedprocesses that run outside of conscious awareness. For example, listening is an extremely important mental process that has few observable elements.

  To learn how to listen, we must go in inside the black box and make changes. This module first looks at general theories of learning then it focuses on Bandura’s Self-Efficacy Theory as one of the more important models affecting our ability to learn.

  3. Discovering Skill-Based Theory 

  “It AIN’T so much the things we don’t know that get us into trouble. It’s the things we know that just ain’t so.” undefined Mark Twain

  
  

  Page from book illustration fungi (or mycology) of different species. Woodcut and text. Done in 1581.
  

  Sound theory one can turn into a skill is surprisingly hard to find. Chefs know that no matter how one cooks the food, bad ingredients still produce tasteless food. It’s a variation of garbage in and garbage out —bad theory produces crummy results. Discover guidelines on how to evaluate the content, determine appropriate context and judge the “experts” to reduce the possibility of trying to build a flawed skill based on bad theory.

  One should take a look at theory from a couple of different aspects. The first is validity; i.e. do you think the method will actually work. There are many theories and models invented by professors which really aren’t valid, despite what the statistical models say.

  The second framework of analysis on how detailed the method is. Does it give you enough information to be able to mentally or physically practice.

  Module 4. The Legacee Skill Model

  “Fire! Ready! Aim!” undefined American saying

  Before on goes on a journey, it’s good to have a map. Before one builds a skill, it’s important to have a Content Learning Guide. The guide helps to flesh out the thinking process. to clearly define theory, process, outcomes and a methodology for learning.

  Goal setting is an important part of the process. Many of us have been exposed to goal setting at work. However, the process that we use in this class is different that what is done in business or government. The first part of goal setting is to use language to draft on a piece of paper what types of results one is looking for. The second phase of the process is to change the words in to images. Many would argue the the images are more important than the words. This is our view as well.

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• Skilled Practice: How To Boost Performance (Concentration: Skill-Based Learning)

  • When
    23-Sep-2019
  • Location
    A 4-module Online Program. (Level I Learning: Expertise Develop) OR Over 8-Weeks (Level II Learning: Skill Building)

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  A Full Class in the Skill-Based Learning Concentration

  This is an applied class. This program presents a step-by-step format to enhance learning of complex skills. It includes a practice assignments designed to try out new skill development techniques.

  Module 1. How To Practice: The Bare Essentials

  “You can’t learn to swim by reading about it.” – Henry Mintzberg 

  

  Youth with Violin by Giovanni Martinelli, oil on canvas, ca. 1640-1650

  People continually underestimate the importance of practice. In many corporate settings, the trainer or seminar leader provides training but typically leaves little time for development. The importance of practice cannot be underestimated.

  Skills cannot be build without it. Practice can be physical, but it doesn’t have to be. It can be mental as well.

  Module 2. Enhancing Your Practice: How to Use Visualization and Guided Imagery

  “Immense power is acquired by assuring yourself in your secret reveries that you were born to control events.” undefined Andrew Carnegie

  

  AnAntonio de Pereda (1611–1678) : The Knight’s Dream

  Mental practice is as powerful as physical practice in building skills. Despite its importance, few understand how to use the mind to build skills. This directly results in a tremendous loss of corporate training dollars and a a huge indirect in terms of skills never developed and never perfected. Learn how to use mental imagery to more quickly develop skills and enhance the usefulness of training programs you attend.
  

  It’s been known for years that visualization is a key factor in harnessing the healing factors lying untapped with the mind. The same can be said about its importance in building skills undefined its use accelerates the process of learning. But like all tools, one has to know how to use it. There are different types of imagery. Some is known as receptive–useful in both insight and creativity. Another type is known as programmed–a category helpful in skill development. Still other types of imagery are associated with certain types of states, for example such as transitioning between wakefulness and sleep.

  Module 3. Enhance Your Practice: Using Reflection and Self-Monitoring

  “The problem with the world is that the ignorant are cocksure and the wise are full of doubt.” undefined Betrand Russell

  John William Godward (1861–1922): Idle Thoughts

  It has long been known that feedback is an essential element of performance, but there is a real art in knowing to deliver it. One of the most difficult aspects of building a skill is to develop a sense of self-awareness during the practice phase. It is so difficult, that only the champions really know how it is done. However, without the development of this component skill, one really shows very little improvement in the skills we use the most.

  Traditionally, feedback is something one can get from an expert who also posses good coaching skills. However, given the nature of the skills most of you are developing, you will mostly likely not have access to a good coach.

  Sometimes a good friend can provide meaningful feedback and this is worth a try. If these two sources are not available, one has two other techniques: mindful practice and reflection. The assignment is going to be focus on the last two techniques.

  Module 4. Enhancing Your Practice undefined Generating Internal Motivation

  “Skill is nil without will.” undefined Judah ibn Tibbon, c. 1120-c.1190 Spanish physician and translation

  

  Karl Briullov (1799–1852): Nun"s Dream

  As Abraham Lincoln once remarked at a cabinet meeting, “If I knew what brand of whisky he [General Ulysses Grant] drinks, I would send a barrel or so to my other generals.” Motivation drives skill development. Unfortunately, many skill development efforts fail because those in it don’t address what how to motivate themselves properly. While we can solicit support from friends and family, champions understand they must develop the internal drive to keep going despite the many set-backs one will encounter. Divine the secrets of using internal and external consequences to increase internal motivation. In many cases, a few weeks is not enough time to really master a complex skill. One has to keep at it for years. On example is a foreign language or getting a black belt in Judo. To prevent giving up before the task is complete, one has to address the issue of motivation.

  
  

  Image by Mutante. This board is symbolic of mastery of one of the most complex games known–a game that requires years of years of practice to be able to master it.
  

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