For over 40 years, the NAED Leadership Enhancement and Development (LEAD) Conference has been an annual favorite for current and emerging leaders in the electrical distribution industry. The NAED LEAD Conference has been developed by industry professionals who volunteer their time serving on NAED's LEAD Committee . These volunteers strive to design the best education and networking opportunities to help organizations develop their managers and individuals enhance their careers.

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Who Should Attend?
Emerging electrical industry leaders from distributor, manufacturing, and manufacturer rep firms that want to:

• Enhance their management skills
  
• Network with peers and trading partners in small group settings
• Learn from experts in interactive workshops
• Benefit from the collective wisdom, passion, and professionalism of industry leaders and peers
• Learn best practices that support business results
  
  
  2011 LEAD Conference Highlights
  Click here to see highlights from the 2011 LEAD Conference 
  

2011 Attendee List  

Connect with the NAED LEAD Group on LinkedIn

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Thursday, July 19

2:00 - 7:00 p.m. - Registration

3:00 - 5:00 p.m. - Round Table Discussions
Plan to arrive early and join other emerging industry leaders for LEAD's Best Practices Sharing Round Table Discussion Session. You will have the unique opportunity to share ideas and best practices with your peers in a comfortable, non-competitive environment. 

5:30 - 6:30 p.m. - "First-Time" Attendee Reception
All first-time attendees are invited to meet the LEAD committee in a relaxed networking event, while you learn from the experts on how to get the most out of your LEAD conference experience.

6:30 - 8:00 p.m. - Opening Reception (Families Welcome)
Join us for an evening of food and fun for the whole family. It’s a great time to rekindle old friendships and make new acquaintances within the industry. Come meet and greet our first time attendees.

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Friday, July 20

6:30 - 7:45 a.m. - Networking Breakfast

8:00 - 8:45 a.m. - Welcome & Opening Remarks
Chris Phillippe, 2012 LEAD Committee Chair, Eoff Electric Supply
Chris will officially kick-off the conference with a welcome and introductions of the 2012 LEAD Committee








8:45 - 10:15 a.m. - General Session
Connecting Generations: Enhancing Employee Engagement by Bridging the Generation Gap
Clint Swindall, President & CEO Verbalocity
The ability to bring generations together is one of the single most important factors for business success in the new millennium. In order to achieve cooperation between the generations in the workplace, understanding the reasons for the differences and knowing how to respond to these differences will determine the level of success of all organizations. In order to begin connecting the generations, an effort must be made to look beyond our own perspective and understand what has happened to each generation to make it unique. Through a blend of personal experience, ongoing research and daily interaction with companies and clients, Clint Swindall has a strong grasp of the generations and can help you understand the dynamic of how this impacts our workplaces today.

It is essential that we learn how to approach the generational challenges in the workplace. For the first time in history, we have four generations in the workforce - four generations that have been shaped by the times in which they grew up. Much of the focus on generations today is on the differences between these cohorts. In this training, we'll spend some time discussing the differences, and how we can use those differences to enhance the working relationship. More important, we'll spend time discussing similarities, and the benefits of taking time to understand each generation. Not only will participants learn how to enhance relationships in the workplace, they'll leave this training with a stronger understanding of the generational impact in all aspects of their life. Welcome to the challenge, and the solution, of bringing those generations together!

Each person attending the 2012 LEAD Conference will receive a copy of Clint's book: Engaged Leadership: Building a Culture to Overcome Employee Disengagement.

Meet Clarence Martin, NAED Chair, and hear how he climbed the leadership ladder at State Electric. After Clarence's inspiring story, Brian will join Clarence in updating you on what's new at NAED. In this session, you can hear the latest updates on the NAED Branch Management University, the 2nd Annual Congressional Fly-In in Washington, D.C., the newest training resources available on the NAED Learning Center, NAED's Certified Electrical Professional (CEP) program - just to name a few of our offerings. This session promises to be very informative and will help you to better understand your NAED benefits!

11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - Panel
Views on Leadership
Participate in this unique question and answer session with our NAED Chair Panel that includes past chair, Bob Reynolds (Graybar), current chair, Clarence Martin (State Electric), and future chair, Sandy Rosecrans (City Electric).  

12:30 - 1:30 p.m. - Networking Lunch
Join us for the conference lunch and take time to catch up with office responsibilities before heading back for the afternoon education sessions.

1:30 - 2:00 p.m. - Book Signing
Clint Swindall, General Session presenter, will sign his book, Engaged Leadership, for LEAD attendees.

Clint will use this workshop to expand on his morning presentation by drilling down to specifics on how to build a culture of engagement by connecting the generations. In this interactive afternoon session, you will learn the specifics of Engaged Leadership and the importance of personal leadership.

6:30 - 8:30 p.m. - Networking Dinner (Families Welcome)
Join us for dinner and an evening of networking at the Westin. Families are welcome as we indulge in an evening of original Chicago-style pizza.
 

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Saturday, July 21

6:30 - 7:45 a.m. - Networking Breakfast

8:00 - 8:15 a.m. - Welcome & Agenda review
Chris Phillippe, 2012 LEAD Committee Chair, Eoff Electric Supply

8:15 - 9:45 a.m. - Education Session
Social Media Measurement and Management
John Wayne Zimmerman, CEO of eRocketFuel
Would you ever open a bank account and never check the balance? Never look at what you are spending most of your money on? A business cannot survive with this mentality. What a waste! This is exactly why you need to measure your company's social performance on the web.

In this session, you will learn a variety of tools used to collect data in the social networks and how to put that data into quantifiable action. It's time to get on board or get out of the way - Learn to maximize the social technology available today. Don't get left behind in the dust of the old ways of doing business, embrace the new social technology way of doing business in 2012!

10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. - Education Session
LEADing the Way to a Technology-savvy Workforce for ALL Generations
Jodi O'Toole, Technology Manager, NAED and John Lorince, Marketing Manager, The H. Leff Electric Co.
This educational and interactive session on social technology will cover aspects of social technology... why you need to embrace this and how to implement it to grow  your business. This session will also include a panel of active industry professionals already using social technology to grow their businesses. Come prepared with questions, ideas or even concerns for discussion.

There are so many productivity tools out there; sometimes it is hard to know where to begin. Never fear, this session will help you no matter where you are or what device(s) you are using. Learn how to elevate your productivity while on the go in your mobile work world!

Jason Webb, 2013 LEAD Chair, Border States

The Westin Michigan Avenue Chicago  
909 North Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611
Phone: (312) 943-7200

Reservations
Click here for online hotel reservations  or, if you would prefer to book your reservation by phone, please contact the Westin Michigan Avenue Chicago directly by phone at (312) 943-7200. Hotel reservations received after June 27, 2012, will be provided on a space and rate availability basis

Hotel Room Rate
The hotel room rate is $179 (USD). Hotel rates are subject to state and local taxes, currently 16.4%. Room reservations must be made by June 27, 2012 to receive the NAED guaranteed rate. Subject to availability, the group rate is available 3 days prior and 3 days post 2012 LEAD Conference dates. A deposit in the amount of one (1) night's room & tax is required to hold a reservation

Hotel Policy
Check in: 3:00 p.m. (every effort will be made to accommodate early arrivals) - Check out: Noon

Hotel Cancellation Policy
There will be no charge if cancellation is made on or before June 27, 2012. Cancellations received after June 27, as well as no-shows, will be charged one (1) night’s room & tax.

Travel Information

Transportation
The Westin Michigan Avenue Chicago hotel is located in downtown Chicago, on Michigan Avenue. The hotel is 12 miles from Chicago Midway (MDW) airport and 16 miles from Chicago O’Hare (ORD).

GO Airport Express  is Chicago’s official shared ride shuttle provider and premier all-purpose ground transportation provider for Chicago’s O'Hare (ORD) and Midway (MDW) Airports to Downtown Chicago Hotels with shuttle vans departing from O'Hare (ORD) and Midway (MDW) Airports every 15 minutes to and from Downtown Chicago. Click here to reserve your ground transportation with GO Airport Express . Reservations can also be made by calling (888) 284-3826 or (800) 284-3826. and reference group code NAED.

A cab will cost $36-$50. The hotel has valet parking for $59 per day (with in/out privileges).

Click here for driving directions.  

Attire
Casual is recommended for the entire conference. Business casual is recommended for the Friday night event at the hotel.

Weather
Chicago has an average high of 84° and low of 66° for mid July.

Recreation & Leisure
The hotel is within walking distance to many attractions including:

• Magnificent Mile (upscale shopping on Michigan Avenue)
• Navy Pier
• Millennium Park
• Shedd Aquarium
• Adler Planetarium
• Field Museum
• Museum of Science and Industry
• Art Institute of Chicago
• Hancock Observatory

Registration Information

We are excited to announce that the registration process is now online, click the button below to get started. If you need assistance with your online account, please contact Member Services at 888-791-2512 or click on Live Chat at the top of the webpage.  If paying by check, click here.  Registration will not be processed without payment. Please submit one registration for each attendee. You will receive an email confirmation for your records. Substitutions received in writing will be accepted at any time. Cancellation Policy: Cancellations received in writing at NAED on or before June 27, 2012, will be charged a processing fee of $100 per registrant cancelled. No refunds will be made for cancellations received after that date. Fax cancellations to NAED at (314) 991-3060 or email leadreg@naed.org.

Registration Type Early Bird Price Regular Price Distributors $750 $950 Other NAED members $850 $1,050 Non-members $1,050 $1,250 *Spouse/Guest $200 $400 *Children 12+ $100 $100 *Registration fees include Thursday and Friday evening events. No charge for children under 12 yrs.

 Housing Information

See Travel tab for Housing information.