COMMON POWERUp 2024

In a world turned upside down, sometimes it seems that all around us is darkness. When surrounded by clowns and frowns, it is tough to see things clearly.

To counter this darkness, we need light, more light. And like the galaxies over our heads, the darkness dissipates when all the stars shine together.

Each and every one of us is a star. Our unique extraordinariness means that we have our own light to shine that no one else can offer. Often, though, we don’t recognize that we are a star, and our light is dim, or does not shine at all.
Trevor brings his signature keynote “Be The Star That You Are!” as a campaign to have all of our stars shine – together – to vanquish the darkness in our world.

Using his Seeing Stars framework, Trevor offers fresh perspectives to be comfortable with our own personal presence, uncover personal power, find balance from engaging and indulging in play, and discover our purpose and mission.

Together, we can shine our light, overcome darkness, and collectively make a difference in this world.

Our bodies weren’t designed to sit starring at a screen for hours every day. Whether you are at your desk interacting with Tech or looking down at your gadgets, we have all experienced the outcomes: decreased energy, fatigue, neck and back pain, issues with the hands and wrists, eye strain, disrupted sleep and the list goes on.

It doesn’t have to be this way. This session will delve into the science behind what makes our bodies feel so poorly in addition to what we can do about it. By making some simple changes we can improve how we feel, get our energy back and erase the negative impacts Tech can have on our bodies.

Learning Objectives:
1) Understand the impact Tech can have on our bodies
2) Understand the science behind why Tech can have a negative impact on our health
3) Learn what you can do to improve the outcome of interacting with Tech

Positive healthy relationships are vital to success in everything you do: whether it is excelling in your career, creating a vibrant and energetic work environment, or having a happy and rewarding personal life. Learning how to interact with others in a way that is respectful and constructive is essential.

Learning Objectives:
Come to this session to learn:
1) How to connect with others in a positive and proactive way
2) The impact of creating respectful and nurturing relationships
3) How to create long-term relationships that will accelerate your career
4) Tools and techniques to foster positive relationships

The distractions are EVERYWHERE! Emails, texts, social media, meetings, phone calls - the list is as endless as the demands on our time. We live in a fast paced multi-tasking world of constant change, never having enough time! We NEED to find ways to maximize our productivity, despite the distractions! But there are questions…

• Is it possible to use technology more efficiently and effectively to stay organized and communicate better?
• Are we using technology too much, not allowing enough time for other aspects of life?
• Can both be true? Spoiler alert… Yes, they are! Come join this session to find out how. Enjoy two speakers for the price of one, and learn two different but complementary approaches to the same goal!

Ok, maybe we're setting the bar a little high by saying EVERYTHING, but did you ever feel like all the people around you seem to just KNOW things, things you don't? Sure, you're a wiz with SQL, and no one codes RPG like you do, but when it comes to people skills, to working in teams, to communicating well, to building your career... Well, they never taught you THAT! Come to this session to learn everything you've been missing out on.

Learning Objectives:
Attend this session to learn to:
* Collaborate more effectively with other team members
* Resolve conflict with coworkers
* Improve your relationship with your boss
* Negotiate to get what you want
* Effectively market yourself in your current position
* Communicate better with everyone
* Understand EVERYTHING THEY NEVER TAUGHT YOU!

Whether you're looking to retire from full-time work but still do a little work on the side, move to part-time work, or explore a new career path, consulting and contracting work for IBM i developers has become extremely popular. Learn from Bill Onion a consultant turned consulting shop owner and Robert Nettgen, a Director of IT turned consultant about their experiences in the field. Gain valuable insight into the pros and cons of contract work, what companies are looking for, and how to make yourself more marketable as a consultant.

Learning Objectives:
1. Insight into the world of contracting and consulting and tips on how to succeed
2. The pros and cons of consulting vs in-house developer
3. Learn the biggest challenges we see in the industry as consultants for a variety of IBM i run shops

What are your career goals? Sure, we're all great with technology, but to continue growing in our careers requires that we do the unthinkable... we actually have to TALK to each other. And even worse... we have to TALK to the business people in our companies! Why? WHY? Why would we possibly want to TALK to PEOPLE? The answer to that question is that today more than ever, technology IS the business. So it makes sense that IT can help or hurt a business more than ever. It's critical that we align our IT efforts, goals, and strategies with those of the business - and all of that requires good communication. Would you like to have a seat at the table, to be taken seriously as a businessperson, and to have a voice in the decisions our companies make? Then attend this session to partner with your business and communicate for success.

Learning Objectives:
During this session, you'll learn the business and communications skills needed to truly partner with the business and elevate your career. These will include:
1. Speaking the language of the business
2. Thinking like a businessman
3. Demonstrating strong leadership
4. Selling fellow business leaders on the value proposition of IT investments
5. Always being prepared
6. Earning influence
7. Preparing for and navigating board meetings
8. Difficult conversations
9. Always keeping your cool
10. Aligning IT with business goals

Staying in your comfort zone can and most likely hindered your career. Have you tried seeing what happens when you tried something outside of your comfort zone? would you be willing to try? This session will highlight some of the reasons why you should get out of your comfort zone and try something new. You will probably be surprised by the consequences of getting out of your comfort zone.

Some of us are lucky enough to have a single job for our entire career, but for most, we will at some point change jobs - either by our choice or our employer's choice. It just makes sense to be prepared for that reality, in case it happens. The irony is that many of the things you can do today to make yourself more employable in the event you ever do find yourself fired also may just make it far less likely that you ever will be fired!

Learning Objectives:
During this session we'll discuss:
- How to maximize your value and your employability to make it far less likely you'll ever be let go from a job
- Building your networking skills to widen your professional circles
- Practical considerations you should do today to be prepared in case you ever do find yourself let go
- How to handle yourself in the situation of being fired
- Best ways to conduct your job search
- Interviewing tips to maximize your chances of finding your new dream job as quickly as possible

Education in today’s IT and Business Environment challenges both the Company and the employee. What skills are needed to provide for today’s (and tomorrow’s) business needs? How does the company and the employee deal with these challenges? How to decide; what to learn, how to learn and when to learn, when planning for future needs. These challenges differ depending on where a person is in their careers path. Jim discusses these challenges and more in this presentation. Great presentation for managers and employees!

• The question of being relevant?
• How to know… your relevancy
• Uh Oh… I’m not relevant (what to do)
• Business vs IT Skills – the Balance
• The Specialist vs the generalist – Let’s hire a consultant

Learning Objectives:
1. Internalize the need to continue learning in Information Technology
2. Understand how your current skills can be leveraged into new skills
3. Have a better understanding of how to approach today's educational opportunities

We all want to upgrade our computer, car, house, phone... The list goes on and on. But how about upgrading our TODAY, so we get the most out of each new day? How much more productive would TODAY be if we could focus on the right things? How would you like to give your TODAY a processor upgrade, and get more done TODAY? How about a memory upgrade, so forgotten tasks don't fall through the cracks TODAY, and all the information you need will be at your fingertips TODAY? What does each new TODAY mean to you, and how do you make the most of it? Attend this session to upgrade your TODAY, and make TODAY matter!

Learning Objectives:
In this session you'll learn:
- The value of each day and how to live TODAY to the fullest with no regrets
- How to spend each TODAY wisely by focusing on the right things, supercharging our productivity
- Ways to use tools and develop systems to be organized TODAY, supplementing our limited memories

We all come from different backgrounds. Some of us might have heard or lived under the mindset of “Failure is not an option” or “You have to keep pushing to reach your goals” and that was the only way we knew to strive for excellence. While this session will help you hit the same goals but, give you tools to avoid the burnout that many of us failed to avoid.