Released: March 03, 2008

2008 K-State Leadership Seminar Scheduled April 3

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Ever wondered what makes one idea a winner, when similar ideas can’t seem to get to first base . . .

The 2008 K-State Leadership Seminar has been designed to help participants learn about borrowing concepts and ideas from successful ventures to add value to their organization, personal and professional life – and community.

The professional development seminar is titled “Entrepreneurial Leadership: Seize the Opportunity!” and scheduled from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on April 3 in the University’s Student Union, said Jean Darbyshire, a K-State faculty member and conference chair. The conference typically draws participants from the campus, community and region.

Keynote speaker, Jeffrey Stamp, will lead off the seminar with his interpretation of “Entrepreneurial Leadership: Creating a Culture of Opportunity.”

Stamp is an assistant professor and Chair of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of North Dakota in Fargo. His research focuses on the creative and cognitive processes entrepreneurs use in developing an idea, recognizing opportunities – and making it happen.

He is skilled in marketing and venture development. His career has included leadership in the creative process in developing “Baked Lays” for the snack division of Frito-Lay and a subsequent assignment as brand manager. The new food product reached $230 million in its first year of sales and earned recognition from Ernst & Young as the top brand introduced in the food sector.

As part of the seminar’s morning session, Stamp also will lead a panel discussion tying entrepreneurial ideas to everyday life, Darbyshire said.

Panelists will include Kansas State University Provost M. Duane Nellis, representing education; David Dreiling, owner and founder of GTM Sportswear, Manhattan, Kan., representing business; Cy Moyer, of Phillipsburg, Kan., representing community development via “Discover Phillips County,” and David Procter, director of the Kansas State University Center for Engagement and Community Development, representing social entrepreneurship.

During the buffet lunch, Kansas State University faculty will offer creative, can-do approaches to applying entrepreneurial ideas successfully, via “Celebrating Entrepreneurship at K-State.” Vincent Amanor-Boadu is professor of agribusiness in the Department of Agricultural Economics in the College of Agriculture. Stephen A. Dyer is professor of electrical and computer engineering in the College of Engineering.

Following lunch, seminar participants will have the opportunity to choose one of four labs to try out the creative entrepreneurial process such as developing ideas and identifying potential opportunities:

* Entrepreneurship in Academia, facilitated by Sue Maes, Interim Dean of Continuing Education at K-State, and featuring Dean Virginia Moxley, College of Human Ecology, and Dean Fred Cholick, College of Agriculture and Director, K-State Research and Extension.

* Entrepreneurship in Business, facilitated by keynoter Jeffrey Stamp;

* Entrepreneurship in Community, facilitated by Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development, and featuring Shelly Buhler, Rossville, Kan., community volunteer and current Chair of the Shawnee County Commission; Jim Davis, Hutchinson, Kan., representing Reno County 2020 Growth Coalition, Inc., and Cy Moyer, from Phillipsburg, Kan., representing “Discover Phillips County.”

* Social Entrepreneurship, facilitated by David Procter.

After a refreshment break, seminar attendees are invited to reconvene for the closing session: “Greensburg, Kan.: When change isn’t a choice …” Facilitators for the session include Carmen Stauth, Kiowa County K-State Research and Extension spokesperson; Darin Headrick, superintendent of USD 422, and Kim Gamble, community volunteer, business owner, farm wife and mother.

Headrick is optimistic – and excited – about the small city’s prospects.

“While no one would choose the circumstances that are re-shaping our community, we have the opportunity to fix what others can’t,” said Headrick, who cited re-building green and community planning as opportunities.

The new hospital will, for example, be built near the highway to facilitate access for emergency vehicles, rather than re-built in the center of town where such vehicles could easily be slowed by other traffic.

The K-State Leadership Seminar will end at 3:15 p.m. to allow participants to attend the Provost’s Lecture at 3:30 p.m.. That lecture will feature Jeffry Timmons, who will speak on “Cultivating the Entrepreneurial Mindset.”

Timmons, who at one time held simultaneous professorships at Babson College and the Harvard Business School, is an internationally known teacher and researcher who specializes in teaching entrepreneurship, new ventures, entrepreneurial finance and venture capital.

He is the founding author for “New Venture Creation,” 8th ed. (forthcoming from McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2008), which is the leading text on the subject and also translated into Chinese and Japanese. He has co-authored, with Stephen Spinelli and Andrew Zacharakis, “Business Plans that Work” and “How To Raise Capital: Techniques and Strategies for Financing and Valuing Your Small Business.”

He travels the world teaching business strategies and, in 2006, was appointed Chair, International Steering Committee for the National Entrepreneurship Research Center in the School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.

Registration for the K-State Leadership Seminar, which includes a conference packet, buffet lunch and refreshment breaks, is $60. Registration and more information are available at www.dce.ksu.edu/conf/leadershipseminar.

With a new parking garage under construction at the K-State Union, parking will be available in the East lot at Bramlage Coliseum (on the northwest corner of the campus) with shuttle service to the Union. Parking permits will be mailed to each off-campus participant in advance, if registration is received by March 26. Conference organizers are encouraging attendees to allow 30 minutes for parking and shuttle service.

The K-State Leadership seminar is the 12th in a series and is sponsored by various campus and community entities.

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K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.

Story by:
Nancy Peterson
nancyp@oznet.ksu.edu
K-State Research& Extension News