Leadership Conference

Leadership Conference

AUGUST 8 - 10, 2023

Business relationships between employees and customers thrive when you have an effective and diverse leadership team in all areas of operation – from the branch level to the corner office. Cultivating those leaders requires education and networking opportunities. As the equipment distribution industry becomes increasingly competitive, it is more important than ever before to invest in leadership development for the future of the business.

How prepared are those in your business who are or will enter leadership roles? Take the opportunity to set up the new and future leaders in your dealership for success by sending them to the AED Leadership Conference. No other event will give you more focused expertise on building and optimizing leaders in your dealership.

Attending will enable professionals to grow by delivering actionable content on leadership principles, the most relevant industry information, technology updates, and a platform to grow their professional networks and to learn from their peers. The Leadership Conference is one of the most highly anticipated industry events of the year across North America. There are many reasons attendees return year after year, including preparing for a promotion, inspiration for improving and motivating the team, and the overall quality of the program.

Early Registration: $1025
Regular Registration: $1125
Late Registration: $1225

Save now and register early!

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2023 Platinum Sponsor:

Conference Agenda

Tuesday, August 8
TimeSession TitleSpeaker
5:00 pm - 6:30 pmRegistration
5:00 pm - 6:30 pmWelcome Reception
Wednesday, August 9
TimeSession TitleSpeaker
8:00 am - 8:45 am
Registration
8:00 am - 8:45 am
Breakfast
8:45 am - 9:00 am
Welcome & Announcements
9:00 am - 10:15 am
Leadership Keynote: TOPGUN Lessons LearnedPatrick Houlahan
10:15 am - 10:30 am
BREAK
10:30 am - 11:30 am
How to Leverage New Technologies into ProfitAdam Gilbertson
11:35 am - 12:35 pm
Brand & Culture-Building in a DealershipLaura Love
GroundFloor Media
12:35 pm - 1:30 pm
LUNCH
1:30 pm - 4:45 pm
Good Speakers Get More (Workshop)Todd Cohen
5:00 pm - 6:00 pmEvening Reception
Thursday, August 10
TimeSession TitleSpeaker
8:00 am - 8:45 amRegistration
8:00 am - 8:45 amBreakfast
8:45 am - 9:00 amWelcome & Announcements
9:00 am - 10:15 am
Mental Health & Employee Wellness: Bringing Humanity Bak into the BusinessVince Hafeli
10:15 am - 10:30 amBREAK
10:30 am - 11:30 am5 Laws Of LeadershipGeoffrey Love
11:35 am - 12:35 pmCreating a Culture of Empowerment: How to Spend Less Time Doing Your Employees' JobsSummer Jelinek
12:35 pm - 1:30 pmLUNCH
1:30 pm - 4:45 pmCreating a High Performing Team (Workshop)Ed Wallace
Conference Agenda Subject to Change

Hotel Information

Hyatt Regency Boston
One Avenue de Lafayette
Boston, Massachusetts 02111

Room Rate: $259.00

Book By: July 17, 2023

Call-In Reservations: 617-912-1234

Book Your Stay

Want more information on the Leadership Conference? View our video below!

 


Session Descriptions

KEYNOTE:

TOPGUN Lessons Learned
Patrick Houlahan

Graduating from TOPGUN wasn’t just a rite of passage and it wasn’t just a check mark along a career path. It was a validation of hours upon countless hours of hard work, reflection, and a meticulous level of attention to detail. In the cockpit, as in leadership, it’s critical that you hold yourself and all those around you to the highest of standards.

In this presentation, Patrick Houlahan discusses the top five lessons of his TOPGUN training and shows audiences how to leverage them. The top five lessons—Purpose, Dedication, Humility and Honesty, Tough Love, and Debrief—give leaders and teams an actionable template for developing and leading high-performing teams whose commitment to excellence, to each other, and to continual improvement is equal to their “need for speed,” and to being “with the best of the best.”

 

WORKSHOPS

Good Speakers Get More
Todd Cohen

Did you know that the number ONE fear of most people is public speaking? It’s true! Good speakers get more. Yet, mastering this skill makes you memorable, advances your presence and leadership credibility, and advances your career.

In this interactive half-day workshop, Todd Cohen will share and teach you the tips, tricks, and tactics of being a good speaker and how to make it your number ONE thing you want to do! Good and confident speakers are top of mind. You don’t want to miss this experience!

 

Creating a High Performing Team

Ed Wallace

AchieveNext

Leaders are continually challenged with bringing people and teams together to process projects and improve company performance. Teams sometimes fall short of their promise due to:

  • Lack of clear understanding of the team’s value proposition
  • Misalignment connecting value proposition to company strategy
  • Influence but not decision-making authority in getting resources and implementing recommendations
  • Lack of strong relationships needed to deliver
  • Other company priorities

 

But it doesn’t need to be this way. In this workshop, participants will:

  1. Understand the characteristics of a high performing team
  2. Apply the 5 Principles of Relational Leadership to team building scenarios
  3. Learn about and use tools to support impactful team performance
  4. Form a team and compete against other teams to win the Ultimate Team Challenge
  5. Leave with at least one idea that can immediately be applied to team situations

Bring your dealership team to engage the thinking of all and to create synergy around this team performance workshop. Participants will receive a copy of Ed’s newest book The Relationship Engine.

 

TOPGUN Lessons Learned
Patrick Houlahan

Graduating from TOPGUN wasn’t just a rite of passage and it wasn’t just a check mark along a career path. It was a validation of hours upon countless hours of hard work, reflection, and a meticulous level of attention to detail. In the cockpit, as in leadership, it’s critical that you hold yourself and all those around you to the highest of standards.

In this presentation, Patrick Houlahan discusses the top five lessons of his TOPGUN training and shows audiences how to leverage them. The top five lessons—Purpose, Dedication, Humility and Honesty, Tough Love, and Debrief—give leaders and teams an actionable template for developing and leading high-performing teams whose commitment to excellence, to each other, and to continual improvement is equal to their “need for speed,” and to being “with the best of the best.”

 

5 Laws of Leadership

Geoffrey Love

Randall Reilly

No matter where you are in your leadership journey, the more you learn about the laws of leadership the better leader you will be. In this session we will explore 5 laws that have helped countless leaders to grow not only themselves, but also those around them. This session is focused on raising your awareness to the fact that leadership is a teachable skill.

There are four ideas to keep in mind as we explore the laws:

  • The laws can all be learned – some easier than others.
  • The laws can stand alone, but they each complement the others.
  • The laws carry consequences. Ignore them and you will not lead well. Implement them and people will follow you.
  • These laws are the foundation of leadership

Learn the laws of leadership and strive to apply them to every aspect of your life to achieve your full potential as a leader.

 

Marketing for Growth: The Vital Role Digital Plays in Lead Generation, Recruiting and Brand Building

Laura Love

GroundFloor Media

In this session, GFM|CenterTable will share their experience in developing custom digital communications campaigns for a heavy equipment dealership that engaged target audiences, delivered new revenue opportunities, broadened brand reach and fostered company pride. Building a company brand isn’t limited to the marketing department; learn how you can leverage these tools in your own department or area of responsibility such as parts, sales, rental, or human resources.

 

Mental Health and Suicide Awareness in Construction

Vince Hafeli

In this session, Vince Hafeli, President of Ajax Paving, will discuss his journey through life and the night he attempted to take his life. He will present the statistics on suicide in the construction industry, common warning signs, and action steps.

Key learning objectives include:

  • What the numbers say
  • Steps your organization can take relating to mental health and suicide
  • How suicide can happen to even successful people that appear to have it all, and the warning signs to be on the lookout for

Learn how to promote a culture of caring in the industry, and work toward having open conversations pertaining to mental health awareness.

 

How to Leverage New Technologies into Profit

Adam Gilbertson

RDO Equipment Co.

 

Creating a Culture of Empowerment: How to Spend Less Time Doing Your Employees’ Jobs
Summer Jelinek

Have you ever found yourself wondering “Why are people always asking me how to do something?” Does your jaw clench thinking of your employees coming to you about every choice or decision? Do you ever feel like you do too much hand-holding? Leaders today walk a tight rope of being strong, but not aggressive, being polite, but not a pushover. Add in the generational dynamics of leadership and it is exhausting!

By the end of this session, you will:

  • Uncover the Jedi Mind Trick of Self-Management so you can manage yourself first
  • Discover the 4 types of people and what information each type needs from you to be able to make decisions more effectively on their own
  • Walk away with actionable and immediate steps to take to improve relationships with your team, your leaders, your customers, and your peers

 

What People Are Saying:

Jon Shilling, General Equipment & Supplies

“This is well worth the time, travel, and expense involved to send a young leader to in your company.  both for the educational content as well as the social aspect of getting to meet other industry peers and converse with them on their pains in the market today as well as successes.”

Taylor McCarthy, Leppo Rents

“I would recommend this event to “high potential candidates” or emerging leaders within an organization.  It was a great, concentrated event with valuable information for managers and leaders.”

Chad Van Solen, Vermeer Midwest

“It is well worth the time and money. AED does a great job of getting great speakers with relevant content.”

Bill Price, West Side Tractor Sales

“It allows me to step away from the business, meet with peers, hear new ideas, and reflect on small changes I can make to improve our business. IT helps me develop and focus our strategy for next year.”

Alvin Prasad, Sonsray Machinery

“I would love to see all of our managers attend! It’s a great experience. It really allowed me to take my management skills to the next level.”

Companies who have attended previously include:

4 Rivers Equipment, LLC 
All Erection & Crane Rental Corp. 
Anderson Equipment Company 
Atlas Bobcat 
B-C Equipment Sales, Inc. 
Beard Equipment Co. 
Bejac Corporation 
Berry Companies, Inc. 
Berry Tractor & Equip. Co., Inc. a div. of Berry Companies, Inc. 
Bingham Equipment Company 
Bobcat of Houston, a div. of Berry Companies, Inc. 
Bobcat of the Rockies, a div. of Berry Companies, Inc. 
Brandeis Machinery & Supply Co. 
Burris Equipment Company Inc. 
CC&T – a division of GT Mid Atlantic, LLC 
Cisco Equipment 
Clairemont Equipment Company 
CMW Equipment 
Coastline Equipment 
Columbus Equipment Company 
Company Wrench, Ltd. 
Construction Machinery Company Inc. 
Contractors Sales Co. Inc. 
Cooper Equipment Company 
Ditch Witch of Georgia 
ECA Canada Company 
Equipment Corporation of America 
Equipment Sales & Service Limited 
EquipmentShare.com, Inc. 
Flagler Construction Equipment, LLC 
Frank Martin Sons, Inc. 
Garton Tractor Inc. 
General Equipment & Supplies, Inc. 
Gibson Machinery, LLC 
Groff Tractor & Equipment, LLC 
Hawthorne Machinery Co. 
Heavy Machines, Inc. 
Holt of California 
Indy Equipment 
Intermountain Bobcat 
International Drilling Equipment 
Kern Machinery, Inc. 
Kirby-Smith Machinery, Inc. 
Komatsu Equipment Company 
Leppo Rents/Bobcat of Akron 
Louisiana CAT 
Luby Equipment Services 
MacAllister Machinery Co., Inc. </span
Meade Tractor 
Mega Machinery 
Michigan CAT 
Modern Group Ltd.
Monroe Tractor & Implement Co., Inc. (Corporate – Rochester)
Morrico Equipment, LLC
Newman Tractor, LLC
Nixon-Egli Equipment Co.
Norris Sales Co. Inc.
Nortrax, Inc.
OCT Equipment, Inc.
Ohio CAT
Orange Power Group, LLC of Tulsa
Power Equipment Co.
Quinn Company
RB Scott Company, Inc.
RDO Equipment Co.
Rexco Equipment, Inc.
RGW Equipment, LLC
Road Machinery & Supplies Co.
Road Machinery LLC
Roland Machinery Co.
Rueter’s Elkhart
Ruffridge-Johnson Equipment Co. Inc. 
Scott Equipment 
Sonsray Machinery 
Southeastern Equipment Co. Inc. 
Stevenson Sales & Service, LLC 
Stowers Machinery Corp. 
Swanston Equipment Corporation 
Synergy Equipment 
Texas State Rentals 
Tractor & Equipment Co. 
Trax Plus 
Vermeer Great Plains, Inc. 
Vermeer Heartland, Inc. 
Vermeer High Plains 
Vermeer Mid Atlantic,LLC 
Vermeer MidSouth, Inc. 
Vermeer of Michigan, Inc. 
Vermeer Rocky Mountain, Inc. 
Vermeer Sales & Service of Central Illinois, Inc. 
Vermeer Sales & Service, Inc. 
Vermeer Southeast Sales & Service Inc. 
Vermeer Texas-Louisiana 
Vermeer-Wisconsin, Inc. 
Wagner Equipment Co. 
WAJAX 
Waupun Equipment Co. 
West Side Tractor Sales Co. 
Westrax Machinery, Inc. 
Whayne Supply Company 
Wheeler Machinery Co. 
Williams Equipment & Supply Co., Inc. 

 

AED Cancelation Policy:
In order to be flexible with AED members in these uncertain times, AED is currently extending it’s cancellation policy due to the ongoing public health crisis. Although subject to change, if you need to cancel a registration for an event, you may request a refund from AED for your registration up until 7 days before the event. As always, you will be refunded at any time if cancellations arise due to health related complications or increased travel restrictions. The Association will continue to evaluate this on an ongoing basis.

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