Defense Alliance Holds “Signature Event”

Minneapolis—6/01/2007-- The Defense Alliance of Minnesota and the Centre for Applied Leadership co-hosted a first-of-its kind “Signature Event” on May 31st.  The evening seminar, “A Military Perspective on Leadership Development,” was attended by 75 business leaders from the region, and was sponsored by SMI, Inc. of Washington, D.C.

The purpose of the evening gathering was to explore the unique attributes of military leadership development, and how they might apply to success in corporate America.  It was held in the Dome Room of the Millennium Hotel in downtown Minneapolis.  Following a cocktail hour and dinner, the event featured a panel discussion by six current and retired men and women from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, all of whom held commanding officer or senior leadership positions in their respective services, and who now work in corporate America.  The panel members related their experiences with regard to effective leadership styles in the military, and then returned to their tables where they led small group discussions with the attendees.  The event concluded with summaries by the panel members of what was discussed at each table.

Gary Moore, Vice President at BRS, Inc. said:  “I truly appreciated… last evening’s event at the Millennium.  I thought it was extremely helpful and timely, particularly for my small business as our senior leadership team is attempting to enact a radical culture shift for the company as a whole. What I learned from last evening will be shared among this team and, no doubt, be directly applied toward this effort.”

The co-director of the Centre for Applied Leadership, Captain Menikheim (and the event’s co-host and moderator) summed up the evening in a message to the attendees the following day:  “Last night was filled with wide ranging conversations.  The buzz never subsided and we expect elements of the dialogue were spinning in your head on the way home.  We invite you to continue the conversation with us about the challenges of leadership development.”  A summary of the topics that were covered can be found by logging on to the Defense Alliance of Minnesota’s “Message Board” at www.defensealliance.com. 

The military panel members were:  Captain Doug Menikheim, U.S. Navy (Ret.), co-director of the Centre for Applied Leadership; Colonel William Miller, U.S. Air Force (Ret.), Manager of Systems Engineering for Army Programs at BAE Systems, Armament Systems Division; Colonel Jeff Vold, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, Director, Ground Forces Markets, Shield Technologies; Commander Chip Laingen, USN (Ret.), Director, Defense Alliance of Minnesota and Communications Director, Minnesota Wire & Cable Co.; Lieutenant Colonel Alex Plechash, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.), Vice President of Institutional Sales
FOLIOfn Investments; and Lieutenant Colonel Louise Morgan, U.S. Army (Ret.), Business Manager, Army Programs, BAE Systems, Armament Systems Division.  Due to the unexpected large number of attendees, the Centre for Applied Leadership (CAL) also provided three facilitators for the group discussions:  Mary Louise Menikheim (CAL); Dr. George Dierberger, and Dr. John Mirocha, President & CEO, John Mirocha & Associates, Inc.