Now We're Talkin'... 2017 Small Giants Summit Agenda
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Day 1: Tuesday, May 16th
| Event | Time & Location | Description |
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Times Interest for Virtual Group:
Current Journeyers:
Detroit Local Group:
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Whether you’re an active member of one of these Small Giants groups or looking to join one, Meetups will take place throughout the city. Get a sneak peek of Detroit’s reinvention in action, while catching up with fellow group members. |
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5:00 PM - 6:00 PM Westin Book Cadillac |
If you’re new to the Community, you may know that Small Giants are companies that choose to be great instead of big…but what does it mean to be a Small Giants company? Kick-off your Summit experience with an overview of the history of Small Giants and what it means to be a part of the community today.
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6:00 PM - 8:30 PM Westin Book Cadillac |
Before we get to two full days of learning and relationship building, take a moment to enjoy some light hors d’oeuvres and drinks while you spend some time setting the foundation for the Small Giants Summit experience, and get to know the other attendees.
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9:00 PM - Midnight Locations TBD |
Are you a night owl? Prefer not to head up to your room directly after the reception? Like to explore the city you’re in? The Detroit Experience Factory will provide a list of activities to do in the D.
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Day 2: Wednesday, May 17th
| Event | Time & Location | Description |
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Time: 6:30 AM - 7:30 AM Location: Westin Book Cadillac |
For those of you who want to break a sweat, feel free to utilize the Westin's workout facility or check out local yoga classes at Citizen Yoga (.4 miles away). Special drop-in rates are available for local + out-of-towners. We also recommend running on the Detroit Riverfront or renting bikes to explore the Dequindre Cut. |
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Time: 8:00 AM - 8:15 AM Location: Westin Book Cadillac –> Garden Theater |
Meet in the lobby of Westin Book Cadillac and volunteers will guide you to the Detroit Bus Company bus. We will host our content portions of the event at the Garden Theater, a separate venue from our hotel block at the Westin Book Cadillac. |
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8:15 AM - 8:45 AM Garden Theater |
Enjoy breakfast catered by the Garden Theater vendors. Take this time to stretch your legs, ask individual questions of speakers, and build relationships with your fellow Small Giants Community members.
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8:45 AM - 9:00 AM Garden Theater |
We will kick-off day one with a welcome that will set the stage for the day. Hear from Small Giants Leadership on what’s in store for the coming days.
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9:00am - 9:20am Garden Theater |
OPENING LONG STORY SHORT: In 2008, Carla learned the true meaning of entrepreneur because she couldn’t sleep at night: Walker-Miller Energy Services (WMES) was on the brink of shutting down. Through transparent conversations with her loyal staff, WMES led with their core values and reinvented their business model. Today, they are stronger than ever and Carla credits her people-focused culture. |
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9:20 AM - 9:50 AM Garden Theater |
OPENING PANEL: Get to know the stories of three values-driven leaders in West Village, Detroit and how they have contributed to its reinvention. The three panelist are Kirsten Ussery from Detroit Vegan Soul, Terra Castro from Detroit Body Garage, and Gordon Hawkins from Hawkins Reality. The panel will be moderated by longtime SGC member Rob Dube. |
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9:50 AM - 10:00 AM Garden Theater |
Enjoy a little time to stretch your legs, grab a DROUGHT juice and KIND bar, ask individual questions of speakers, and build relationships with your fellow Small Giants Community members. |
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10:00 AM - 11:20 AM Garden Theater |
INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP: Vulnerability is Sexy is an interactive workshop that explores how we can communicate differently to invite people into who we are as individuals, teams, and organizations. Together, we will transform our societal approach to relationship building by flipping it on its head. |
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11:20 AM - 11:40 AM Garden Theater |
LONG STORY SHORT: When Jonathan became the CEO of E-Myth in 2011, he thought he had landed the perfect job. However, soon after crisis hit: betrayed by an abusive spiritual teacher and finding himself the spokesperson for a brand he no longer believed in, Jonathan embarked on a messy, two-year process of reinventing himself as an entrepreneur, husband, and father.
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11:40 AM - 12:00 PM Garden Theater |
LONG STORY SHORT: Invigorating, refreshing and uncompromising like their juices, the James sisters bootstrapped a small juice operation into a triple bottom line business. But who said it was easy? The James sisters share how their values influence their everyday business: from managing a business as women entrepreneurs, to creatively financing, and empowering their employees to think like owners. |
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12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Garden Theater |
Enjoy lunch catered by Holiday Market. Take this time to stretch your legs, ask individual questions of speakers, and build relationships with your fellow Small Giants Community members. |
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1:00 PM - 2:30 PM Garden Theater |
INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP: With the hiring landscape more complex than ever, how can you attract and retain employees who align with your company values? In this interactive workshop, Kinesis founder and CEO Shawn Busse bridges the gap between marketing and HR – and demonstrates how to showcase your company culture to consistently draw right-fit, high-caliber candidates to your door. |
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2:30 PM - 3:00 PM Garden Theater |
Enjoy a little time to stretch your legs, grab a delicious snack from local business, Sweet Potato Sensations, ask individual questions of speakers,and build relationships with your fellow Small Giants Community members. |
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3:00 PM - 3:25 PM Garden Theater |
LONG STORY SHORT: Bruce joined RBB in 2000, becoming president after 9/11 when the tech bubble burst. The founder, who’d run the business since 1973, had been looking for a successor for years… but learned that wanting one and having one are two different things. In 2014 Bruce began his own leadership transition, determined to apply lessons learned along the way.
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3:25 PM - 3:50 PM Garden Theater |
LONG STORY SHORT: From humble beginnings to market leader, FreshBooks has always been recognized for delivering a great product and its commitment to unparalleled customer service. Overcoming a fear of remaining great as the company grew, with values intact, was the problem. This talk will cover how FreshBooks addressed this challenge and has grown to over 250 employees.
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3:50 PM - 4:00 PM Garden Theater |
Small Giants event staff will wrap up the day and deliver housekeeping notes for your convenience. |
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4:00 PM - 5:00 PM Garden Theater |
Take another opportunity to mix and mingle with Small Giants at the Garden Theater's bar over a locally-brewed beer and Bettermade Chips. |
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4:45 PM - 5:00 PM Garden Theater –> Westin Book Cadillac |
Enjoy the short ride back to the Westin Book Cadillac in style on a signature bus from the Detroit Bus Company.
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5:00 PM - 6:45 PM Up to you! |
Whether you wish to go back to the hotel room and refresh by yourself, or explore the city with fellow Small Giants, the choice is yours! |
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6:45 PM - 7:00 PM Westin Book Cadillac –> Punch Bowl Social |
Meet in the lobby of the Westin Book Cadillac to walk to Punch Bowl Social.
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7:00 PM - 9:00 PM Punch Bowl Social |
Enjoy gourmet pub food and American fare + cocktails in an industrial, rustic setting. Hang with new and old friends over optional luxe and mini-lane bowling. |
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9:00 PM - ? Up to you! |
For sleepy heads, we will head back to the Westin Book Cadillac in groups. For the night owls, we will provide nearby options if you’re more inclined to run free in the Big D! |
Day 3: Thursday, May 18th
| Event | Time | Description |
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6:30 AM - 7:30 AM Westin Book Cadillac
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For those of you who want to break a sweat, feel free to utilize the Westin's workout facility or check out local yoga classes at Citizen Yoga (.4 miles away). Special drop-in rates are available for local + out-of-towners. We also recommend running on the Detroit Riverfront or renting bikes to explore the Dequindre Cut. |
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8:00 AM - 8:15 AM Westin Book Cadillac –> Garden Theater |
Meet in the lobby of the Westin Book Cadillac. We will host our content portions of the event at the Garden Theater, a separate venue from our hotel block at the Westin Book Cadillac. |
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8:15 AM - 9:00 AM Garden Theater |
Enjoy breakfast catered by the Garden Theater vendors. Take this time to stretch your legs, ask individual questions of speakers, and build relationships with your fellow Small Giants Community members. |
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9:00 AM - 9:15 AM Garden Theater |
Longtime Small Giants Community Member Rob Dube will lead us through a brief mindfulness and meditation session to start the day off right! |
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9:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Garden Theater |
Learn from some of Forbes America’s Best Small Giants: Zawadi Bryant from NightLight Pediatrics, James Goebel from Menlo Innovations, and Kris Maynard frome Essential Ingredients during this dynamic and interactive panel moderated by Forbes' Senior Editor, Loren Feldman. |
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10:30 AM - 10:45 AM
Garden Theater |
Enjoy a little time to stretch your legs, grab a snack, ask individual questions of speakers, and build relationships with your fellow Small Giants Community members. |
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10:45 AM - 11:45 AM Garden Theater |
Choose from two of four roundtable discussions for a sharing of best practices led by experts on a variety of topics. Topics include: The Power of Open Book Management led by Steve Baker, Master your Digital Marketing Small Giants Style led by Bob Ruffolo, Building Culture "In the Cloud" led by Doug Kueker, and Scaling Culture & Teal Organizations led by Dimitri Syrkin-Nikolau. |
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11:45 AM - 12:30 PM
Garden Theater |
Enjoy lunch catered by the Garden Theater vendors. Take this time to stretch your legs, ask individual questions of speakers, and build relationships with your fellow Small Giants Community members. |
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12:30 PM - 2:00 PM
Garden Theater |
Two Small Giants leaders will be selected to share a real-time business challenge to the audience in an interview style, led by SGC member Chris Hutchinson. The audience will work together in roundtables to crowd source solutions. |
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2:00 PM - 2:15 PM
Garden Theater |
Enjoy a little time to stretch your legs, grab a delicious snack from local business, Good Cakes & Bakes, and build relationships with your fellow Small Giants Community members. |
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2:15 PM - 2:35 PM
Garden Theater |
LONG STORY SHORT: Student Maid has millennials lining up to clean dirty toilets. The service’s student-only employees excel in relationship building, problem solving and are highly engaged due to the company’s promise to help them become successful in life. Kristen will debunk stereotypes about millennials and show the leadership shift required today to help millennials thrive in the future. |
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2:35 PM - 3:00 PM Garden Theater |
LONG STORY SHORT: When Candice Gouge and Hiram Hartnett no longer recognized the culture that they had been a part of for years, they went to the President to change it. It took secret meetings, firing of several executives, and a comprehensive employee and leadership development program, but Pegasus did get its mojo back. |
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3:00 PM - 3:15 PM Garden Theater |
Enjoy a little time to stretch your legs, grab a delicious snack from local business, Good Cakes & Bakes, and build relationships with your fellow Small Giants Community members. |
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3:15 PM - 4:00 PM Garden Theater |
CLOSING KEYNOTE: We are all manufacturers of culture. As leaders, it should be our top priority. In this keynote, you will learn how to blueprint and activate high performing company cultures by treating it as a person, using extreme simplicity in its design, evangelizing constantly and cultivating keepers. Dussault and his team have used these principles to re-energize an industry and deliver consistent, outsized returns. |
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4:00 PM - 4:10 PM Garden Theater |
Allow the Small Giants Leadership team to thank you for your attendance and wrap up the content portion of the event. |
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4:10 PM - 4:30 PM
Garden Theater –> Westin Book Cadillac |
Meet in the lobby of the Garden Theater and follow pre-communicated transit instruction. |
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4:30 PM - 6:45 PM Garden Theater |
Whether you wish to go back to the hotel room and refresh by yourself, or explore the city with fellow Small Giants, the choice is yours! |
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6:45 PM - 7:00 PM Westin Book Cadillac –> DIA
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Meet in the lobby of the Westin Book Cadillac and follow pre-communicated transit instruction. We will ride together in style to a special social evening at The Detroit Institute of Arts Museum. |
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7:00 PM - 9:30 PM
Detroit Institute of Arts |
Enjoy gourmet passed and stationed foods, while exploring the galleries of the DIA. Sip great wine and local beers, while conversing and listening to local jazz artists. The event will take place in the world famous Diego Rivera Court. |
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9:30 PM - 9:45 PM
Garden Theater --> Westin Book Cadillac |
For those ready to head back, we'll provide transportation to the Westin Book Cadillac. Those looking to stay out and explore the city are welcome to at their own leisure. |
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9:30 PM - ?? Up to you! |
For the night owls, refer to your Detroit Experience Factory guide for nearby options of evening activities. |
Like what you see? Register here!
Day 4: Optional Day Of Mojo on Friday, May 19th
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8:30 AM - 9:00 AM Westin Book Cadillac |
Rise and shine and get ready to enjoy a day full of Detroit values-driven companies and stories. Breakfast is on us! |
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9:00 AM - 12:30 PM
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The Detroit Experience Factory will be shuttling us around the city and sharing stories about Detroit, as we travel from business to business. |
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9:45 AM - 10:45 AM Eastern Market
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Hear from Dan Carmody, Executive Director of Eastern Market, about the history of Eastern Market and its impact on both the small business community and the community at large.
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11:30 AM - 12:30 PM Detroit Bikes |
Hear from Zak Pashak, Founder and CEO of Detroit Bikes, about how they're creating opportunities in the city of Detroit. |
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12:45 PM Westin Book Cadillac |
We will return to the Westin Book Cadillac. From there it's up to you whether you'd like to pick up your luggage or continue to explore the city on your own! |
Like what you see? Register here!
For questions, please email hello@smallgiants.org.