In her two decades as a consultant on education and economic class, Ruby has published more than a dozen books and spoken extensively around the globe.
Ruby empowers educators and community leaders to address issues of poverty in classrooms, communities, businesses, hospitals, churches, and social services. Through aha! Process programs and conferences, Ruby has certified thousands of trainees in her Framework for Understanding Poverty and Bridges Out of Poverty models. Her book Emotional Poverty won an IPPY Award from the Independent Publishers organization, which named it one of the best educational resources of the year.
Over her distinguished career, Ruby has worked as a teacher and principal, written K–12 curriculum in all subject areas, and assisted in strategic planning and staff development programs for multiple organizations. Ruby’s work guides educators and community leaders through her extensive library of resources. She aims to equip everyone she meets with the tools to write a future story full of hope.
Uncover the hidden rules. Be empowered by empathy. Implement Ruby Payne’s proven practices. Write your future story with hope.
In his professional career, Mr. Olivo has 30 years of experience in identifying, measuring and comparing the “commonalities” of highly successful athletes, business leaders, and organizations. Tom has worked in a multitude of industries with thousands of senior executives and managers, emphasizing the importance of evidence-based business practices, business analytics and leadership alignment (Getting the Right People in the Right Roles).
Since 2001, Tom has operated most dominantly in Healthcare, with an intense focus on trying to make a measurable difference with every outcome possible. This has been achieved by utilizing several innovative measurement tools which contributed to the creation of the largest database of its kind comparing the management effectiveness of over 40,000 leaders and the business practices of over 500 individual hospitals.
Tom is the co-author of Impending Crisis, Too Many Jobs, Too Few People (a Business Best Seller for 2003), Success Simplified (with Dr. Stephen Covey in 2011) and Roadmap to Success (with Dr. Ken Blanchard in 2012). He is considered by business leaders to be an expert in Performance Measurement and Talent Management and is one of the most requested speakers in the Healthcare industry on the topic of "quantifying the impact that leadership effectiveness has on performance outcomes."
In his closing keynote, Tom reflects on his storied career surrounded by highly accomplished people. In addition to raw natural talent and refined skill development over time, he has discovered there is another key contributing element of success that virtually everyone takes for granted, is almost impossible to quantify and people are discounting: that element is the impact of serendipity… or plain ol’ luck.
In this presentation, Tom will share compelling evidence that long-term success is ultimately a combination of how a person's natural talent and learned skills respond to the people they meet, the experiences they have, and the serendipitous opportunities that are presented - and our ability to better manage, and even create more serendipitous opportunities. When analyzing a lifetime of leveraged interactions, Tom has created a visual roadmap of how people can take inventory of and quantify the impact that this "luck" has had on their lives and professional careers, and how to leverage the opportunities.
Don't wait until the end of your career to look back and appreciate these life-changing inflection points. Identify them now, and learn to create more "luck" for yourself - AND the people you come in contact with every day.
It’s an uncomfortable question most business leaders and owners avoid asking. But John Bazen, the president of Bazen Electric in Grand Rapids, Michigan, was forced to confront this exact scenario recently when he was diagnosed with follicular lymphoma. After he reacted poorly to his first treatment, his oncologist told him he couldn’t go back to work for at least the next five months.
“The onset of this treatment came very suddenly and I was not able to work out any transition planning with the team,” says Bazen. “I didn't look at emails and had very little communication. I was out of any operational decisions to speak of.”
At the upcoming Great Game of Business conference in Kansas City, Bazen will share his story about how embracing the principles of teaching people the rules of business, keeping score, and sharing a stake in the outcome, his family’s business didn’t shut down when he had to step away. In fact, the team beat its profit goals for two quarters in a row.
“I’ve come to realize that the name of the business should really be Employee Electric instead of Bazen Electric,” says Bazen. “Because it’s the employees who make this place run.”
Bazen will also talk about how his company now has promoted a non-family member to the role of president, which is also paving the way for Bazen to retire and exit the business as he starts the next phase of his life.
Can leadership be taught?
That’s a question that Colonel Jeff Fultz spent his entire 30-year career in the U.S. Marine Corps working to answer. Fultz not only led tank groups on the battlefields of Iraq, but he also served in key leadership roles at Marine training bases like Camp Lejeune, Camp Pendleton, and Parris Island, which is where thousands of raw Marine recruits land every year.
One of Colonel Fultz’s key responsibilities was to instill in all those 18-year-old recruits—an incredibly diverse group of young people who came from all walks of life—a common language that would empower them all to grow as young men and women and as leaders.
“As a leader in the Marines, you can’t afford to wait for positions of higher authority,” says Fultz. “You need to train your replacement and they need to be ready to step up into your place if you go down.”
Fultz, who now works as Director of Operations at SRC Lexington, has brought the tools, insights, and lessons from the Marines to help train the next generation of leaders in his facility in Lexington, Kentucky.
“I knew that if we could get our frontline people to take accountability for their actions and to think and act like servant leaders,” he says, “everything else in the business, from quality to profits, would improve.”
Come hear Colonel Fultz share stories from his Marine Corps career from the main stage at the Great Game of Business conference in Kansas City. In a separate breakout session, he’ll also share more specifics of the Marine-inspired leadership training program he has brought to SRC that focuses on creating a shared language.
Any business leader worth their salt knows that their most valuable asset is their people. But how often do you get the chance to prove that through your actions and not just with your words?
The pandemic gave Kris Maynard, the chairman of Essential Ingredients (Ei), in Lawrenceville, Georgia, the chance to look himself in the mirror and assess how well he was living the mission of his company, which is to be a blessing to others.
“Perhaps I have earned a strong ‘A’ grade as a leader for the level of care I have given from my heart,” says Kris. “But what I’ve learned is that my care wasn’t tuned into the real-world challenges that some of my colleagues face each day. Fortunately, I’ve been able to use an eye-opening moment to try and become a better and more caring leader.”
In his upcoming main stage talk at the Great Game of Business conference in Kansas City, Kris will share his experience of visiting each of his employees in their homes to deliver care packages where he came to recognize that he and the company needed to do more for their people—starting with raising their pay to a Living Wage.
Listening to Kris should give every business leader reason to put their people first—especially when it’s hard.
9:25 AM - 9:40 AM
OBMx Talk: Are You Ready?
What would happen to your business if you as an owner or leader got sick—really sick—tomorrow? Or worse? Would everything and everyone continue working like a well-oiled machine without you? Or would things slowly begin to fall apart because you were too important and valuable to the operation?
It’s an uncomfortable question most business leaders and owners avoid asking. But John Bazen, the president of Bazen Electric in Grand Rapids, Michigan, was forced to confront this exact scenario recently when he was diagnosed with follicular lymphoma. After he reacted poorly to his first treatment, his oncologist told him he couldn’t go back to work for at least the next five months.
“The onset of this treatment came very suddenly and I was not able to work out any transition planning with the team,” says Bazen. “I didn't look at emails and had very little communication. I was out of any operational decisions to speak of.”
At the upcoming Great Game of Business conference in Kansas City, Bazen will share his story about how embracing the principles of teaching people the rules of business, keeping score, and sharing a stake in the outcome, his family’s business didn’t shut down when he had to step away. In fact, the team beat its profit goals for two quarters in a row.
“I’ve come to realize that the name of the business should really be Employee Electric instead of Bazen Electric,” says Bazen. “Because it’s the employees who make this place run.”
Bazen will also talk about how his company now has promoted a non-family member to the role of president, which is also paving the way for Bazen to retire and exit the business as he starts the next phase of his life.
Bio: Bio Coming Soon
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8:30 AM - 8:45 AM
OBMx Talk: Leading From the Front
Leading from the front is the best way to get your business to perform at it's maximum efficiency. I will discuss how Marine Corps leadership traits and principles apply to the Great Game. Developing leaders instead of managers inspires people to be the best version of themselves. Making frontline leaders problem solvers instead of problem identifiers by giving them the confidence and necessary tools to lead. I want the audience to learn that leadership can be taught and should be a top priority for any organization. The Marine Corps has developed successful leaders for 248 years and I will share some of the secrets that has made the Marine Corps the worlds premier fighting force. Recommended audience is leaders at all levels, but focused on those decision makers who could implement a leadership based program at their organization.
Bio: Jeff Fultz has served as the Director of Operations for SRC Lexington since 2018. Prior to that Jeff served 30 years in the United States Marine Corps, retiring as a Colonel in 2017. During his Marine Corps service Jeff served in multiple command and staff positions, including command of 2d Tank Battalion as a Lieutenant Colonel and command of Marine Special Operations Support Group as a Colonel. Other highlights of his Marine Corps service include command of a Marine Corps Security Force Company guarding United States Navy National Security assets; serving as a staff officer for Joint Interagency Task Force-West providing training for several Southeast Asia countries to combat illegal drugs; Chief of Staff of the 1st Marine Division and Operations Officer and Chief of Staff of Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island and the Eastern Recruiting Region.
8:45 AM - 9:00 AM
OBMx Talk: Counterintuitive Care
Any business leader worth their salt knows that their most valuable asset is their people. But how often do you get the chance to prove that through your actions and not just with your words?
The pandemic gave Kris Maynard, the chairman of Essential Ingredients (Ei), in Lawrenceville, Georgia, the chance to look himself in the mirror and assess how well he was living the mission of his company, which is to be a blessing to others.
“Perhaps I have earned a strong ‘A’ grade as a leader for the level of care I have given from my heart,” says Kris. “But what I’ve learned is that my care wasn’t tuned into the real-world challenges that some of my colleagues face each day. Fortunately, I’ve been able to use an eye-opening moment to try and become a better and more caring leader.”
In his upcoming main stage talk at the Great Game of Business conference in Kansas City, Kris will share his experience of visiting each of his employees in their homes to deliver care packages where he came to recognize that he and the company needed to do more for their people—starting with raising their pay to a Living Wage.
Listening to Kris should give every business leader reason to put their people first—especially when it’s hard.
Bio: Kris Maynard was born and raised in rural Ohio and graduated from Miami University in Ohio with a pre-med degree in Zoology in December 1989. His chemical career started in Chicago, Illinois in the spring of 1991 after spending several months in Russia doing missions work where he discovered the love of his life. Kris and Cindy were married in May of 1991 and relocated from Chicago to Atlanta, Georgia, where he got his first "real" job. In May of 1996, Kris co-founded Essential Ingredients.
Kris serves as the Executive Chairman at Essential Ingredients. His favorite thing about Essential Ingredients is helping to create and shape a work environment that provides a pathway for employees and stakeholders to utilize their giftedness and bring their best selves to their callings. He is also passionate about building personal relationships with customers and suppliers, understanding their businesses, and exploring creative ways to help them be more successful. Kris believes that demonstrating that work can be rewarding, fulfilling, and even fun is something that can give hope to all workers throughout the world and that people underestimate the power that great businesses can have as a force for good in the world. Kris and his partners converted the company to a 100% S Corp ESOP in 2011, and he now has his sights set on building an evergreen company to last 100 years with the stated purpose of "being a blessing to others".
Kris and Cindy have three children: Rachael, Ryan, and Justin as well as two grandsons. Kris is an avid pilot, fisherman, hunter, reader and loves all things outdoors. In his free time, Kris enjoys exploring the mountains with friends and family near their farm in Dahlonega, Georgia.
8:00 AM - 9:40 AM
Bio: In her two decades as a consultant on education and economic class, Ruby has published more than a dozen books and spoken extensively around the globe.
Ruby empowers educators and community leaders to address issues of poverty in classrooms, communities, businesses, hospitals, churches, and social services. Through aha! Process programs and conferences, Ruby has certified thousands of trainees in her Framework for Understanding Poverty and Bridges Out of Poverty models. Her book Emotional Poverty won an IPPY Award from the Independent Publishers organization, which named it one of the best educational resources of the year.
Over her distinguished career, Ruby has worked as a teacher and principal, written K–12 curriculum in all subject areas, and assisted in strategic planning and staff development programs for multiple organizations. Ruby’s work guides educators and community leaders through her extensive library of resources. She aims to equip everyone she meets with the tools to write a future story full of hope.
Uncover the hidden rules. Be empowered by empathy. Implement Ruby Payne’s proven practices. Write your future story with hope.
12:30 PM - 1:15 PM
Closing Session: Are You Feeling Lucky?
Tom Olivo has had the privilege of spending his entire athletic and professional career – surrounded by highly accomplished people. So, what has he learned? In addition to raw natural talent and refined skill development over time, there is another key contributing element of success that virtually everyone takes for granted, is virtually impossible to quantify and people are discounting. That element is the impact of randomness (aka LUCK).
In this presentation, Tom will present compelling evidence of how long-term success is ultimately a combination of how natural talent and learned skills respond to the people they meet, the experiences they have, and the serendipitous opportunities that are presented (aka luck). When analyzing a lifetime of leveraged interactions, Tom has created a visual roadmap of how people can take inventory with and quantify the impact that luck has had on their lives and professional careers.
It is also Tom’s observation that there seem to be a lot of people who have been extremely successful in their careers who are quite certain that it’s entirely due to their natural talent or developed skills (not appreciating that the opportunities presented had nothing to do with them or what they control).
Bio: In his professional career, Mr. Olivo has 30 years of experience in identifying, measuring and comparing the “commonalities” of highly successful athletes, business leaders, and organizations. Tom has worked in a multitude of industries with thousands of senior executives and managers, emphasizing the importance of evidence-based business practices, business analytics and leadership alignment (Getting the Right People in the Right Roles).
Since 2001, Tom has operated most dominantly in Healthcare, with an intense focus on trying to make a measurable difference with every outcome possible. This has been achieved by utilizing several innovative measurement tools which contributed to the creation of the largest database of its kind comparing the management effectiveness of over 40,000 leaders and the business practices of over 500 individual hospitals.
Tom is the co-author of Impending Crisis, Too Many Jobs, Too Few People (a Business Best Seller for 2003), Success Simplified (with Dr. Stephen Covey in 2011) and Roadmap to Success (with Dr. Ken Blanchard in 2012). He is considered by business leaders to be an expert in Performance Measurement and Talent Management and is one of the most requested speakers in the Healthcare industry on the topic of "quantifying the impact that leadership effectiveness has on performance outcomes."
Tom has been an accomplished athlete all his life and during his collegiate career he was recognized as a two-time NCAA All-American in the sport of Springboard Diving. In 1986, Tom was also honored as an NCAA Coach of the Year.
Tom shares his time with his wife Katie in both Bozeman Montana and Puerto Jimenez, Costa Rica, where his hobbies include all forms of outdoor recreation/fitness activities. As an extremely passionate fly fisherman and photographer, he spends his free time traveling to some of the most remote parts of the world in search of elusive “uncatchable fish.”
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