Management Services Weekend Retreat – Southeast Region

The first in a series of 2009 weekend retreats introduced the new interactive teaching method now in use during Management Services advanced training sessions.
A group of executives from Park Ridge, Illinois met with Project Directors and Staff Executives Saturday and Sunday, March 7 and 8, 2009 in Orlando Florida.

World Headquarters Managing Director Paul Rauseo, Management Services Chief Executive Tom Hartnett, Management Services Senior Executive Mondher Smida, and Director of Corporate Communications and Training Donna V. Werner were all in attendance.

The weekend started off with a presentation by the Director of Corporate Communications (Donna V. Werner) who discussed the firm’s current web presence on www.georgesmay.com, www.georgesmaynews.com, and www.georgesmayblog.com. In addition to highlighting the differences of each site and their relevance to Management Services field employees. Ms. Werner emphasized the importance of regularly reviewing these corporate tools and also utilizing them with clients to better understand the scope and magnitude of the George S. May International Company.

As the Executive Administrator of the George S. May Foundation for the Arts P.A.U.S.E. Initiative, Ms. Werner gave an overview, an update and future plans for P.A.U.S.E. and also for the Foundation. In addition to approving several new programs, Ms. Werner also announced the addition of an online store at http://pause.gsmfoundation.org where supporters are able to purchase P.A.U.S.E.-wear.

The Managing Director (Paul Rauseo) discussed new GSMIC initiatives including the recent launch of the expense tracking and reimbursement system, “TnE.” After having been a user since its launch last year, Staff Executive John Thomas echoed the user-
friendly and high-quality nature of the software.

On Sunday, Chief Hartnett and SenEx Smida spent time coaching and teaching the rudiments of M.A.P.S. presentations, Managing and Supervising Productivity (MSP) and Sales Professional Selling Systems (SPSS) and their benefit to clients and their employees.

Three articles from Harvard Business Review (Turnaround Management Every Day, Moving Upward in a Downturn, and Seize Advantage in a Downturn) were used as teaching tools for those in attendance. The discussion and role plays using these articles were found to be useful with giving Staff Executives and Project Directors that competitive advantage GSMIC clients always find useful. The readings also provided material with which our consultants can remain current and up-to-date on best practices and methods in these distressing economic times.