Mark Brown is an Emmy Award Nominated inspirational speaker.

Originally from Kingston, Jamaica, Mark immigrated to the United States at 18 years old with only $40 in his pocket and a dream for a better life. Today, he has become one the most popular inspirational speakers in the world.

As an expert in helping people overcome their fears to reach their maximum potential, Mark has been featured in The New York Times, Men’s Health, on CNN Headline News, and even had his own PBS Special, which was nominated for an Emmy Award. Using a unique blend of humor and hard-hitting honesty, Mark will both challenge and compel you to take your performance to the next level.

Mark Brown examines ‘ATE’ mistakes leaders make that are counterproductive, and offers ‘ATE’ time-tested techniques for successful teamwork and accomplishing team goals. Effective project managers display the leadership skills that are in high demand, and Mark will expound upon practical but powerful leadership principles which, when applied, will catapult any project manager to leadership success in any field.

Participants in this session will:

• Obtain the tools necessary to improve team communication, boost morale, while increasing productivity and efficiency
• Discover and eliminate the flawed philosophy that stifles leadership growth
• Learn simple yet powerful methods for inspiring and motivating their team
• Understand and overcome the single mistake almost EVERY leader makes
• Develop three habits that are critical for building individuals and teams, and achieving success as a project manager

Andy Crowe is the CEO and founder of Velociteach, and author of Alpha Project Managers: What the Top 2% Know that Everyone Else Does Not, and The PMP Exam: How to Pass on Your First Try, and the PMI-ACP Exam: How to Pass on Your First Try. His books and resources have sold over 250,000 copies worldwide.

Velociteach was recently chosen as PMI’s education provider of the year and was recognized as one the top 100 small businesses in the USA by the US Chamber of Commerce.

He is a PMP, a PgMP, and a Six Sigma Black Belt, and he lives in Kennesaw, GA.

This keynote by best-selling project management author Andy Crowe explores the topic of motiving project teams to operate at their peak performance. In his high-energy and content-rich style, Crowe weaves existing motivational studies with cutting edge behavioral research to unlock how project managers can channel the underlying motivation of individuals and teams. By exploring such topics as contingent, intrinsic, and extrinsic motivators, managers will be exposed to techniques they can immediately put into practice to help their teams operate at peak performance.

David is Chief Academic Officer at the University of Management and Technology, Arlington, Virginia, USA, where he is responsible for the university’s global academic programs. He served on the faculty of George Washington University for 19 years, where he established GWU’s project management degree program, was Director of the Program on Science, Technology, and Innovation, and was Chairman of the Management Science Department. He helped design and deliver project management programs in major companies and government, including AT&T, IBM, ABB, Nokia, Motorola, World Bank, US Department of Energy, Smithsonian Institution, and US Department of Defense.

David has been an active volunteer at PMI since the 1990s, serving as PMI’s volunteer Director of Certification and Director of Educational Services and working on a number of PMI Board task teams. He served on PMI’s global Board of Directors in 2015-2017, where he chaired the Audit and Performance Oversight Committee and chaired the Governance Refresh Task Team. He has been awarded PMI’s Outstanding Person of the Year Award, Distinguished Service Award, and PMI Fellow Award.

He received his PhD from The American University, Washington, DC. He is an avid photographer, writer and physical fitness buff.

Joanne Eckton is a transformational leader, a widely recognized expert in aligning teams to perform with purpose and improve performance. She helps technology leaders develop teams that can improve business results and increase innovation while balancing competitive pressures and talent shortages.

She is a speaker, creator of the Team Maximizer Framework™ and author of “Make Your Job Great: How to Step Up, Own Your Space and Get Your Boss off Your Back.” She is also co-Founder of Women Get IT, a not-for-profit mentoring organization for women in tech.

This is a high-energy, high-content program designed for teams who need to implement technical solutions for complex or uncertain environments. Now more than ever, business is dependent upon technology to deliver products quickly, driving even greater need for business acumen, innovative thinking and experimentation.

This program is designed to strengthen strategic and business management expertise  in your leadership and  technical staff. After this career-changing event your team will:

• Understand the Competing Values Framework and learn how to identify the predominant culture impacting your team
• Identify the behaviors that will increase your effectiveness in your organization’s culture
• Develop a model of delivery that brings the business and technical staff to the table together to focus on business value without burnout or a death march to the deadline
• Call out and eliminate the “elephants in the bushes” that derail many strategic projects

Mike Weber earned his Bachelor’s degree at Cornell University. He then enjoyed success as a sales rep for Great American Opportunities – Southwestern’s national fundraising company that helps kids raise millions of dollars for educational and community organizations that are changing lives. In 1993, he founded Southwestern Consulting’s Leadership Institute with a focus on equipping leaders to excel in today’s dynamic world. Engaging and humorous, Mike partners with schools, businesses and associations to help people get more of what they want out of life by challenging their assumptions, habits and patterns of thought. Mike speaks nationally on the topics of resiliency, teamwork, community and life purpose.

One thing we know for sure is that Change is inevitable …  In life … In business.  Procedures change.  Systems change.  The market changes.  Job descriptions change.  Your team changes.   The ability to adapt and adjust how you think and act can mean the difference between the success and failure of any project.

Here’s another thing we know:  Whenever there is change there is conflict.  Success demands that we break out of the mold of approaching and doing what we’ve always done to embrace the ideas of thinking and doing things in a fresh, new, more effective, productive manner.

There are seven unwritten rules that operate in every project – seven rules that, if not broken, will stand in the way of your team’s success. The Unwritten Rules of Momentum, Importance, Possibility, Capability, Responsibility, Growth, and Association affect how you act - and how you interact - within a team. Recognize the patterns of behavior that are holding you back and learn a 3-step process to change how you think and change how you live.  Get ready to laugh, be engaged, and positively become open-minded as you learn to Break the Unwritten Rules.