Association for Strategic Planning presents breakfast talk on innovation, organization change

Nancy Dunnigan, founder of Cognis Consulting, and Dr. Carol Pletcher, of Pletcher Inc., will speak Tuesday, March 23, at the Association for Strategic Planning 2010 Breakfast Series. Their topic is “New Decade, New Thinking: The Intersection of Innovation and Organization Change.”

Registration will begin at 7 a.m. followed by breakfast and the presentation. Discussion will follow from 7:45 to 9 a.m. in Room 202, Opus Hall, Minneapolis campus.

The speakers point out that resetting of the business environment in this new decade will require new thinking for strategy development and execution; organizations must leverage their core and change the questions they seek to answer.

Dunnigan and Pletcher, who work at the intersection of innovation and organization change and have used their skills to help organizations implement strategies more effectively, will present their techniques for using the positive core of the organization as an asset to be leveraged for improving strategy execution. Participants will leave with a new option in their toolkit for surviving and thriving in the new reality.

Pletcher, former Cargill Inc. innovation officer who Business Week named one of the Top 25 Champions of Innovation in the world, brings real-world experience and expertise to the task of using innovation as a key strategy for sustained growth. Today she heads Pletcher Inc. and works with companies in a variety of industries (chemical, insurance, food and agriculture) to jump-start their innovation efforts.

Dunnigan is a founding partner of Cognis Consulting and is now its sole owner. She brings a multidisciplinary perspective to her work, leveraging her experience in business management, law, social sciences and information technology.

Cost of the breakfast presentation:

  • $25 – students and members
  • $35 – standard prepaid guests
  • $40 – guest rate at the door

Register by Friday, March 19, on the Association for Strategic Planning Web site or call (952) 457-6396.