Highlights from LMC Leadership Summit
Champions from various sports fields shared their secrets to achieving their goals at the LMC Leadership Summit.
Held Sept. 20-23 at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel, the event included award-winning educator Kathy Pearson, president and founder of Enterprise Learning Solutions, Inc.
Pearson laid the groundwork for the Summit with a focus on the theme of this year’s event, “The Secret to Achieving Your Goals & Dreams.”
On Sept. 21, five-time Iditarod champion Dallas Seavey presented “Setting Goals and the Strategies to Reach Them.” Seavey grew up in a family of three generations of Iditarod champions. He started his own sled dog team when he was just 21 years old, and his team broke the Iditarod speed record twice.
Seavey shared how he built his team of dogs and humans by understanding their strengths and weaknesses and helping them reach their full potential.
Dave Scott, Ironman world champion, took the stage mid-morning on Sept. 21 to talk about “Success vs. Failure.” Scott knows what it takes to be successful. A six-time winner of the Ironman triathlon, he was the first inductee into the Ironman Hall of Fame in 1993. Today, Scott devotes his time to educating and inspiring athletes of all ages and abilities. He shared his techniques to stay motivated and focused on goals for success.
Science journalist Joshua Foer was on hand to discuss his best-selling book, “Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything.”
Foer is a “mental athlete” who won the U.S. Memory Championship after just one year of intensive memory training. He discussed how perseverance, concentration, and creative thinking can help overcome limitations. Foer also demonstrated some memory techniques he uses to train his brain.
During a Sept. 21 panel discussion, Ahron Cohen, a Venture Partner with the ADvantage Sports Tech Fund; Amiel Sawdaye, senior VP and assistant GM for the Arizona Diamondbacks; and AJ Maestas, founder of Navigate, a sports and entertainment consulting firm; talked about the core characteristics and strategies that got them to where they are today.
On Day 2 of the Summit, leadership coach Dante DiBattista navigated attendees through the role of leaders, the false assumptions associated with leadership, and the six mindset shifts needed to become an effective leader. Attendees walked away from DiBattista’s session with action items and resources they can use to implement the strategies he shared with them.
Olympic silver medal-winning hockey player Lyndsey Fry kicked off the Sept. 22 afternoon sessions with “Leading by Embracing Change.” Fry shared how transitions in her career as a professional hockey player presented her with opportunities to grow and break barriers in her own life.
In the last session on Sept. 22, Annie Van Fossan, director of member services at Tugboat Institute, discussed “evergreen” companies and the seven principles they are built on: purpose, perseverance, people first, private, profit, paced growth, and pragmatic innovation. During the session, attendees collaborated with their groups on how their company aligns with these principles and set goals for closing any gaps.
“The education this week is relative to the business in terms of setting goals for myself both personally and professionally, but also my staff. It has given me a new vision on what I can bring back to the company,” said Brad Martineau from Jackson Lumber and Millwork.
Orlando Alamano from Northwoods Lumber Company said, “The Summit was extremely valuable. I almost have to slow myself down to not want to implement everything that I am taking away in one shotgun blast when I get back.”
The annual LMC Leadership Summit is a part of LMC’s “21st Century Leaders Program,” which is designed to bring members together to learn and connect.
LMC said its mission is to provide 21st Century Leaders with the education and resources they need to lead their organization into the future.
Based in Wayne, Pa., LMC is a forest products and building materials buying group owned by independent lumber and building material dealers. There are over 1,600 LMC dealer locations in the United States and the Bahamas.
