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  • ExporTech for the Wine Industry: When You’re Ready to GO GLOBAL

    open

    Walla Walla  – June 21, July 19, August 23

    $995 per company (includes three-day ExportTech program for up to 3 people, all meals and books)
    Regularly a $5,000 program, wineries can attend for $995 thanks to subsidies for Washington companies made available through the CERB Export Grant program.

    Information and registration: Contact Linda Adams – (425) 438-1146 x107

    Click here to take the export readiness survey.

    ExporTech: When You’re Serious About Building Export into your Strategic Plan

    The ExporTech program is an export acceleration system for achieving profitable growth.

    •Do you believe your wine has international sales potential but don’t know how to get started?
    •Have you received international inquiries, but haven’t fully capitalized on them?

    ExporTech can drive international sales today. Companies across all industries that have gone through the ExporTech program report significant impacts to their bottom lines:

    •The average participant increases sales by nearly $170,000.
    •Many companies generate export sales within 3-6 months of completing the program, and some have negotiated sales before the program’s final session. •The program saves the average company over 120 hours of labor time by navigating them through the international growth process.

    How does ExporTech work?

    The ExporTech system has several hallmarks.

    1.The process assists companies to develop a simple, actionable international growth plan - based on a series of carefully designed tools and templates.

    2.We connect participants with a wide range of seasoned international business experts who help them navigate the export process.

    3.The program involves a unique combination of group work, individual work, and personal coaching that allows companies to extract information that is critical to their export success.

    - During group sessions, experts are selected based on the specific needs of the participants, to educate the entire group and provide one-on-one consultations.
    - In the final group session, each company’s plan will be reviewed and vetted by a panel of experienced international businesspeople, to help them avoid costly mistakes and see new opportunities.
    - Each company is assigned an experienced coach to provide focused, one-on-one support in the development and execution of their plans.
    - Each three-session program is limited to six to eight companies to ensure quality, personalized service and attention to each company.

    What is required?

    Companies participate in three one-day group sessions scheduled over a three-month period. In between, each company works on the development and implementation of their international growth plan with the support of a coach.

    SESSION 1: Export Strategy and Best Practices
    The Big Picture
    Successful Export Strategies
    Best Practices Plan Template
    Individual Coaching on Markets, Logistics, Capacity, Resources
    Between Sessions – Market Research, Target Market Selection, Strategy

    SESSION 2: Mechanics of Exporting
    Custom Agenda Based on Companies’ Needs
    Financing Rep & Distributor Partners Export Controls Legal Issues Intellectual Property Culture
    Between Sessions – Plan Development, Concrete Strategies to Go to Market

    SESSION 3: Export Growth Plan Presentations
    Panel Review of Company Plans with Expert Feedback and Coaching
    Action Plan for Going to Market

    Back

  • Innovation Engineering Leadership Retreat

    open

    WHEN:  October 15-17, 2012
    WHERE:  Semiahmoo Resort, Blaine
    COST:  $995 per person

    REGISTER: Early bird registration (3 for the price of 2) will be open in March 2012 and will continue through April 30, 2012.

    THREE INTENSIVE DAYS THAT WILL CHANGE THE WAY YOU DO BUSINESS

    To learn what Innovation Engineering can mean for the success of your business, check out this video on Innovation_Engineering.

    FACT: Companies pursuing innovation as their core strategy realize 50 to 100% higher profit margins than those who pursue “low cost, high quality, fast delivery, or voice of the customer” as their business strategy.

    Start Leading Forward
    In the global marketplace, the “best efforts” of management are not good enough. Leaders must provide proactive leadership of their company’s innovation system. As leaders of your companies, you need to be spending over half your time and energy developing the products, services, customers and markets of the future. Your direct reports need to be leading your people in day-to-day business. You must “force” space by pushing your thinking into the future rather than focus solely on current business issues. We must all start leading foward today!

    More Profitable Products and Services
    Innovation Engineering     teaches business leaders a systematic approach to leading profitable growth through innovation. Learn how to CREATE, COMMUNICATE and COMMERCIALIZE meaningfully unique ideas and products. It is about commercializing ideas for new business models and more profitable customers and markets to achive an ORDER OF MAGNITUDE improvement. At Procter & Gamble, Innovation Engineering methods delivered ideas to market 4X more of the time, with 10% of the staffing and cost.

    The Innovation Engineering Leadership Retreat is based on a first of its kind program at the University of Maine that teaches students how to successfully lead innovation. Developed and taught by Doug Hall, founder and CEO of Eureka! Ranch, the Innovation Engineering Leadership Retreat will teach you and your team how to create, communicate and commercialize meaningfully unique ideas for more profitable products and services for you and your business.

    CREATE
    How to lead the CREATION of ideas for more profitable products & services

    1. Stimulus Mining – Tech Mining, Trend Mining, Market Mining, Insight Mining
    2. Creativity – Classic Creativity, Logical Creativity, Industrial Strength Inventing, Out of the Box Inventing
    3. Leveraging Diversity of Thought – Group Diversity, Frame of Reference, Deconstruction, Forced Association
    4. Driving Out Fear – Data-Driven Decisions, Rapid Cycles of Learning, Focus on Customers, Meaningful Ideas

    COMMUNICATE
    How to lead the COMMUNICATION of ideas to customers, investors & partners more efficiently and effectively

    1. Meaningful Uniqueness
    2. Transforming Features to Customer Benefits
    3. The Six Strategies for Adding Credibility
    4. Enhancing Value wtih Overt/Numeric Benefits
    5. Accelerating Awareness with “12 Year Old Level” Clarity
    6. Focus, Focus, Focus on Your Final Decision Makers

    COMMERCIALIZE
    How to lead the COMMERCIALIZATION of more profitable innovations to market faster, cheaper and more successfully

    1. “Fail Fast, Fail Cheap” Learning Culture
    2. Open Innovation Collaboration
    3. Death Threat Focused Action Planning
    4. Early Stage Forecasting to Reduce Risk
    5. Simultaneous Engineering of the Product, Customer Promise & Profit Formula
    6. Management as “Success Coach” not “Command & Control”
    7. Monthly “Yes, No, Yes but Change” Meetings on Every Project

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  • ExporTech: When You’re Ready to Go Global

    open

    Sessions in 2012:
    Skagit County – June 19, July 17, August 21
    Walla Walla (wine industry specific) – June 21, July 19, August 23
    Vancouver – September 20, October 11, November 8
    Spokane (free trade countries) – October 9, November 6, December 11

    Cost:  $1995 per company (includes one-day Jumpstart and three-day ExportTech program for up to 3 people, all meals and books)
    Subsidies are available in 2012 for Washington companies through the CERB Export Grant program.

    Information and registration: Contact Linda Adams – (425) 438-1146 x107

    ExporTech: When You’re Serious About Building Export into your Strategic Plan
    The ExporTech program is an export acceleration system for achieving profitable growth.

    • Do you believe your product has international sales potential but don’t know how to get started?
    • Have you received international inquiries, but haven’t fully capitalized on them to generate significant sales growth?
    • Would you like to shift from a reactive to a proactive approach to expanding international sales?

    ExporTech can drive international sales today. Companies that have gone through the ExporTech program report significant impacts to their bottom lines:

    • The average participant increases sales by nearly $170,000.
    • Many companies generate export sales within 3-6 months of completing the program, and some have negotiated sales before the program’s final session.
    • The program saves the average company over 120 hours of labor time by navigating them through the international growth process.

    All of these sales increases and cost savings yield an impressive ROI for participating companies. The estimated average gain in operating margin is 10X the typical investment of staff labor time and program fees.

    How does ExporTech work?

    The ExporTech system has several hallmarks.

    1. The process assists companies to develop a simple, actionable international growth plan – based on a series of carefully designed tools and templates.
    2. We connect participants with a wide range of reputable international business experts who help them navigate the export process.
    3. The program involves a unique combination of group work, individual work, and personal coaching that allows companies to extract information that is critical to their export success.

    - During group sessions, experts are selected based on the specific needs of the participants, to educate the entire group and provide one-on-one consultations.

    - Planning exercises and peer discussions are employed to help executives apply knowledge to their own companies.

    - In the final group session, each company’s plan will be reviewed and vetted by a panel of experienced international businesspeople, to help them avoid costly mistakes and see new opportunities.

    - Each company is assigned an experienced coach to provide focused, one-on-one support in the development and execution of their plans.

    - Each three-session program is limited to six to eight companies to ensure quality, personalized service and attention to each company.

    What is required?

    Companies participate in three one-day group sessions scheduled over a three-month period. In between each company works on the development and implementation of their international growth plan with the support of a coach.

    SESSION 1: Export Strategy and Best Practices
    The Big Picture
    Successful Export Strategies
    Best Practices
    Plan Template
    Individual Coaching on Markets, Logistics, Capacity, Resources

    Between Sessions – Market Research, Target Market Selection, Strategy

    SESSION 2: Mechanics of Exporting
    Custom Agenda Based on Companies’ Needs
    Financing
    Rep & Distributor Partners
    Export Controls
    Legal Issues
    Intellectual Property
    Culture

    Between Sessions – Plan Development, Concrete Strategies to Go to Market

    SESSION 3: Export Growth Plan Presentations
    Panel Review of Company Plans with Expert Feedback and Coaching
    Action Plan for Going to Market

    Back

  • Lean Enterprise Certificate Program

    open

    Beginning April 23, 2012 in the Puget Sound area.

    CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

    Cost: $1995 (includes all course materials and certificate exam)
    Information: Linda Adams – (425) 438-1146 x107

    Impact Washington’s Lean Enterprise Certificate Program trains participants on the elements of the Lean Enterprise that, when implemented, can transform a company. Manufacturers that implement Lean experience dramatic improvements in the areas of productivity, space, quality and lead-time.

    Over seven days over seven weeks, students will participate in a combination of training and practical application in preparation for the nationally-recognized Lean Certificate examination. The examination will be given on the last day of the class.

    The program begins with the Principles of Lean Manufacturing with Live Simulation (Lean 101). This introductory seminar combines classroom discussion and live simulation to demonstrate the principles of Lean Manufacturing. Lean 101, or equivalent, or basic Lean knowledge, is a prerequisite for the remaining course in the program.

    Certificate Program Curriculum
    Day 1: Introduction to Lean Manufacturing. This will consist of an introductory seminar that will combine the theory of Lean Manufacturing with a live simulation that incorporates the theory learned in the presentation.

    Day 2: Introduction to the Theory of Value Stream Mapping, Workplace Organization and Standardization, 5-S and Cellular flow. During this portion, students learn the common language of Lean as they draw the current state map for a company, analyze that current state, find the non-value added activities and draw a future state map that eliminates those unnecessary activities. This section looks at the visual factory; visual devices are powerful solutions for working smarter, not harder. Organization and orderliness are stressed. Cellular flow is the linking of manual and machine operations into the most efficient combination of resources to maximize value-added content while minimizing waste (during this class the students will identify a lean project they wish to work on to complete their practicum requirement).

    Day 3: Set-Up Reduction/Quick Changeover, Pull/Kan Ban and Total Production Maintenance. Set-Up reduction teaches a systematic, low cost, shop-proven method that has reduced set up and turnaround time in all types of manufacturing environments. In addition this class will cover the effectiveness of Pull Kanban systems to drive velocity thus reducing the costs of over production. Pull Systems and Kanbans control the flow of resources in a production process by replacing only what has been consumed. Total Productive Maintenance will also be presented to the student. TPM is a strategy to maximize the productivity of equipment over its entire life while reducing downtime, improving quality and increasing capacity while minimizing capital expenditures.

    Day 4: Problem Solving, Process Design, Quality, Productivity & Delivery Measures Product Development and Leadership & High Performing Teams. Models of problem solving approaches including the Deming cycle and Six Sigma’s DMAIC are reviewed. Gap Analysis, Brainstorming, 5 Why’s, and root cause analysis are covered. In addition, Flow Charting, Pareto Charts, Histograms and Cause Effect Diagrams are presented. This training also includes the value of Vision, Mission and Values to an organization. Policy deployment and the roles and responsibilities of employees and leaders are discussed. Leading change in a continuous improvement culture is presented. Designing and improving process strategies are covered in this section. Variety Reduction, Engineering Changes and Design for Manufacture and Design for Assembly are key components of Product Design and Development that are presented.

    Day 5: Plant visits will be arranged to visit local plants that are successfully implementing Lean Manufacturing Processes.

    Day 6: Practicum. In addition to the presentation of the Theory of Lean, students will be assigned to work with a team on a practical application of a key component of a Lean Transformation. On day six, student teams will present their project to their classmates.

    Day 7: SME Exam. The class will spend the day reviewing in preparation for a 150 question multiple choice test to be given.

    Books provided as part of the registration fee are: Lean Thinking by James Womack and Daniel Jones, Gemba Kaizen by Masaaki Imai, Lean Production Simplified by Pascal Dennis and Learning to See by Mike Rother and John Shook. In addition, instructional manuals that reflect the classroom presentations will be provided.

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