Thought Leaders
Recognized speakers from the industry will speak on hot issues and trends on Friday and Saturday.
Tom Asacker
Speaker and Author of A Clear Eye for Branding
Opportunity Screams: Unlocking Hearts and Minds in Today's Idea Economy
Friday, June 25 – 8:45 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.
NAA Thought Leaders Series Presents Tom Asacker. This provocative and engaging session, based upon Tom's upcoming book of the same name, will teach attendees how to get unstuck and create more joyful and exciting realities for your people, your customers, your communities, and your brand. Realities that are driven by a burning integrity of purpose and inspired imaginative vision. For decades, information was power. Not any longer. Not when everyone is drowning in it. Today, power comes from the ability to screen, interpret and translate the flood of information into meaningful ideas. “Opportunity Screams” demystifies the complex, chaotic marketplace of products, services, ideas and tools. It's a lens, a wake-up call and an action plan for bringing life to ideas and ideas to life. You will learn a new model for viewing and seizing opportunity that most people are unaware of; one based on how people in a culturally mature marketplace perceive the world and how they make choices and recommendations; and the thinking and feeling states that must be motivated in others to attract attention, sustain interest, and inspire action, along with dozens of modern day examples and actionable ideas.
About the Speaker
Tom Asacker has been teaching and inspiring organizations and entrepreneurs for more than 20 years. World-class brands including Procter & Gamble, UPS, Hewlett Packard, and G.E. have called on Tom, a renowned speaker and strategic advisor, to shake up their people, fill them with ideas and charge them with inspiration.
Often described as a catalyst and non-conformist and acclaimed for his no-nonsense style, Tom Asacker is the author of A Little Less Conversation and A Clear Eye for Branding, groundbreaking books that redefine business for the new, customer-controlled economy. Tom’s first book, Sandbox Wisdom, a heartwarming story about a CEO’s search for meaning and success in the world of business and work, was a business bestseller in the U.S., and was published internationally to rave reviews.
A popular speaker, Tom has lectured on customer relationships, business, branding, and innovation to corporate, association, and university audiences around the world. He is inspiring and entertaining, while at the same time eminently approachable. He writes regularly for both the national and business press and has provided analysis on television and radio broadcasts. As an independent business consultant, he's advised start-up ventures and Fortune 100 companies on marketplace trends and brand development.
Asacker brings a breadth of marketing, management and operational expertise from prior management posts at G.E., as well as from his entrepreneurial experience as co-founder and president of a high-tech medical device company. He is a recipient of the George Land Innovator of the Year Award; he holds medical patents and product design awards; and he is recognized by Inc. Magazine, MIT, and the Young Entrepreneurs' Organization as a past member of their "Birthing of Giants" entrepreneurial executive leadership program.
He holds a degree in Economics from UNH, and lives in the great Northeast.
Bruce Wilkinson
President and Chief Leadership Officer of Workplace Consultants, Inc.
One Voice Leadership: The Key to Personal and Organization Success
Friday, June 25 – 1 p.m. - 2 p.m.
NAA Thought Leaders series presents Bruce Wilkinson. The multifamily industry is more diverse and multi-generational than ever before and leaders will need new skills in order to motivate everyone to meet today's onsite challenges to reach optimum resident service outcomes. The key is to create both an organizational culture and matching on-site employees climate that inspires a philosophy of One Voice Leadership, so that everyone is educated, motivated, inspired and held accountable to lead each other in achieving both personal and organizational leadership success.
About the Speaker
Bruce S. Wilkinson, CSP is a leadership/communication specialist, professional keynote speaker, workplace trainer and author who reinforces personalized messages with humor, passion, enthusiasm and authenticity. His mission is to help organizations translate their culture into a workplace climate that inspires excellence and accountability. Bruce has degrees in both Safety Engineering and Occupational Safety and Health. He was a two-term elected member of the Board of Directors of the National Speakers Association and is one of fewer than 800 people worldwide to earn the prestigious Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation.
He recently retired after twenty-two years of service as a post certified reserve police officer with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office (New Orleans), where he worked in patrol, emergency rescue and as a member on the police academy staff. Besides his personalized keynotes, he has developed and presented programs on effective leadership, teams, communication, workplace culture/climate, change, work/life balance, managing and motivating employee behavior, humor at work, customer service, sales motivation, safety leadership and personal responsibility.
As president and chief leadership officer of Workplace Consultants, Inc. and Wilkinson Seminars and Presentations, he has presented in all 50 states, delivering enthusiastic keynotes and training programs for more than twenty- five years to clients such as the National Apartment Association, Office Depot, Burger King, SUBWAY, KFC, Xerox, Frito-Lay, Kellogg’s, T.G.I. Friday’s, the Department of Defense, NASA, Louisiana State University, Miller Brewing, Anheuser-Busch and Jack Daniel’s.
Dan Thurmon
Author and President of Motivation Works, Inc.
Off Balance On Purpose – Embrace Uncertainty and Seize New Opportunities for You and Your Company
Saturday, June 26 – 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
NAA Thought Leaders series presents Dan Thurmon. He's back with a brand new program (and experience) that will expand your thinking, sharpen your focus, and thrill you with his signature high impact demonstrations. Life is not a hypothetical future. It’s an undeniable present. Our industry has changed in profound ways – shaped by competition, technology, and the economy. The companies and individuals who will enjoy success now and in the future are those who will seize upon these changes, thrive personally, and lead others in an inspirational way. Off Balance On Purpose is more than a philosophy. It’s a plan of action that will help you to own your reality, clarify your purpose, lean forward, leverage your resources, and follow through! After attending Off Balance On Purpose, you will be able to manage your internal reality to accomplish more and better lead your team; leverage your resources in more creative and effective ways; and understand a new model for building “life balance” into your culture, which will enable you to attract, retain, and motivate the best and brightest talent for your team.
About the Speaker
Dan Thurmon began his entrepreneurial career when he was eleven years old after learning to juggle at a Renaissance Festival. That one event uncovered a passion for inspiring audiences that has only grown over time. As an entertainer, Dan has appeared at thousands of events across the country and overseas. His performing credits include national television appearances and collaborations with major musical artists. He has also traveled to the front lines of Iraq and Afghanistan to entertain and encourage US Armed Forces.
Dan’s performing experience taught him the essentials to consistently deliver superior performances on and off the stage. Those lessons, combined with a business education and thirst for motivational influences, led him to develop an original communication style as he built a successful company.
Dan is author of the book Success in Action and President of Motivation Works, Inc., an international speaking and entertainment firm. He teaches audiences how to manage the demands of their busy lives with increased focus and decisive action. His unique programs always blend meaningful content with emotionally charged performances.
Dan graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in Marketing. He has also studied business management, music, theater, acting, dance, gymnastics, and aviation. Dan has achieved the highest earned award of the National Speakers Association, receiving the elite designation of “Certified Speaking Professional.” He currently lives in the Atlanta area with his wife, Sheilia, and their children, Eddie and Maggie.
Cam Marston
Founder and President of Generational Insight
Sales and Service Across the Generations
Saturday, June 26 – 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
NAA Thought Leaders series presents Cam Marston. Everyone likes the same type of sales style and the same type of service...right? Nothing could be further from the truth. The truth is that what your sales team doesn't know about the four generations impacts the bottom line. Each generation, with their unique values, defines a quality sales or service experience in their own unique way. What Gen X may prefer, Matures may think is outright rude. What Boomers define as "rapport building," Millenials may define as a waste of time. In Sales and Service Across the Generations Marston explores the sales and services biases of each of the four generations and gives simple, easy to execute ideas for how to best work with each. It is highly energetic, highly engaging, and full of immediately actionable ideas that translate into increased sales.
About the Speaker
Cam Marston, founder and president of Generational Insight, is a consultant, author, and speaker who has worked with Fortune 500 companies and small businesses throughout the world to improve multigenerational relations and communications. His work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, New Zealand Herald, Entrepreneur Magazine, Charlotte Observer, HR Management Today, Money Magazine, Fortune Small Business (FSB), on the BBC, and in and numerous trade journals and city business journals across the United States.
Cam's programs and concepts are the result of nearly a decade of extensive research and study inside businesses of all sizes and sectors. In the course of his work, he has interviewed hundreds of representatives of the various generations. Their answers are interesting—sometimes surprising—and always valuable.
Cam began his generational-focused consultancy after several years selling for Nestle Brands Foodservice Company. While at Nestle he discovered that he developed closer relationships with his customers when he talked to them about subjects that appealed to their value systems. He soon learned that his customers had many different values but the values were roughly the same in each generation.
In 1996 he founded Marston Communications, now Generational Insight. Originally his clients engaged him to conduct surveys, focus groups, and research on both their customer and employee bases. Cam's results revealed significant generational differences that his clients had never recognized and which supported his findings while at Nestle. The focus of Marston Communications began to evolve just as awareness of generational differences was gaining national media attention.
Today, Cam uses personal research conducted within client organizations and the explosion of available data on generational dynamics to explore the unique affects of generational difference in the workplace and in sales-based relationships. He presents his findings to organizations around the globe, ranging from small, local associations to national convention audiences of more than 3,000 to a handful of Fortune 500 senior executives in a corporate boardroom.