Business success requires more than a great idea, the best technology, a sound business model and a clear strategic plan. Because, in reality none of the above ingredients actually does anything. Success happens—or does not happen—as a result of people interacting to get things done. Although some companies talk about how ‘people are our greatest asset’, it is a challenge to help people become fully-engaged high-performers.

How do you keep their best and brightest employees and managers ‘on-board’ and motivated? How do you make sure every individual—and every team—is operating at peak-performance levels? The answer is surprisingly simple, but requires a significant shift in your thinking and behavior as a leader, and the thinking and behavior of your key people.

The world of budgets, technology, and planning operates by Newtonian laws of cause and effect and predictability. On paper, the numbers always add up, the plan always comes in on time and on budget, the solution to the problem is often clear. Then why doesn’t it work like it should? Because the world of human beings operates by an entirely different set of principles. It’s more like the Quantum Field where there is no cause and effect, no predictability. All you have is probability and uncertainty. Maybe people will have enough trust, commitment, imagination and courage to do what is needed—and maybe they won’t.

In this dynamic and practical session, John Scherer and Amy Barnes, internationally renowned consultants in leadership and development, will show how we can raise our chances of business success by mastering a few important ‘people skills’ and the principles of ‘true leadership’ that create a culture of engagement and effectiveness by unleashing and focusing the human spirit.

John Scherer

An American now living in Poland, John Scherer has been consulting with organizations and their leaders around the world for over 25 years. His innovative and successful contributions to leadership and performance-improvement were recognized by the Stephen Covey Organization which honored John as one of America’s Top 100 Thought Leaders in Personal/Leadership Development. In 2008 John shifted a major part of his business to CEE, and since then has conducted his Leadership Development Intensive (LDI) for Management Boards from companies like Hewitt, Netia, DHL, AmRest, InterIKEA and others. International clients include Boeing, Siemens, ACE Hardware, GTE, The Government of Canada and many others. His bestselling book, Five Questions that Change Everything, is being translated into Polish for release in mid-2011. He shares his time between Krakow and Seattle, WA.

Amy Barnes

Born in Hong Kong, Amy Barnes is a London-based leadership coach and consultant with clients like British Airways, O2 Telefonica, Rank PLC, The Home Office of the British Government and, in Poland, AmRest, Netia and others. Before beginning her consulting career, Amy held several important management positions in Customer Service, HR, Business Improvement and Organization Effectiveness inside companies like Hilton Hotels, The Thompkins Group, and the Swiss-owned Lonza Biologics. She and John are forming a consulting firm, specializing in assisting clients in unleashing the spirit, wisdom, and creative power of the entire workforce, resulting in competitive advantage based on engaged and authentic people at every level.