Speaking Engagements

The president of Connections 4 Success, Vanessa Dodds, is a sought-after speaker with experience presenting at trade shows, conferences, and workshops. Her dynamic and interactive teaching style keeps attendees interested and engaged.

Listed below are a few examples of topics which highlight Vanessa’s expertise. Presentations can be customized to best serve your event or organization. Contact Connections 4 Success today to book Vanessa Dodds as a speaker for your function.

CHOOSING TO OVERCOME & NOT BREAK: “Leading with Resiliency, Perseverance, & Strength.”

A Keynote Presentation by Vanessa Dodds

We as individuals face obstacles and crises in life that too often, we mistake as defining our lives.

In reality, it is our choices and responses to those obstacles and crises that define who we are as human beings, family members, community advocates, professionals, activists, and leaders. Our ability to be resilient, persevere, and have the strength to endure defines our leadership and gives us our true meaning for life.

Who is this keynote speech for?

  • Corporate executives invested in diversity, inclusion, equality, and improved workplace culture.
  • Organizations, universities, and the public sector invested in elevating a message of resiliency, perseverance, and hope to ignite change, leadership, collaboration, and opportunities.
  • Diversity, minority, women, and veteran conferences focused on a movement and inspiring individuals and leaders to take action for a purpose.
  • Support groups, health organizations, medical advocacy groups focused on inspiring participants, individuals, and families to accept, overcome, and life a life beyond existing conditions.

Audiences will leave with:

  • An understanding of the 5 Guarantees of Life
  • The confidence and capability to never let their circumstances or conditions define them.
  • The ability to define and overcome marginalization, professional discrimination, loss, or barriers.
  • The ability to excel in life, professional advancement, and impact.
Matthew Kaufman, CPSM Marketing Director, Atlantic Engineering Services

The 4 P’s that Impact Profit: Effectively Monitoring KPI’s

When you find yourself worrying about the profitability of your company, ask yourself these four questions:

  • Are your employees producing in a way that drives results?
  • Is your company’s product relevant to industry needs and trends?
  • Are you guaranteeing your business process works?
  • Would your organization benefit from increased productivity?

The answers to these questions can be found by analyzing your Key Performance Indicators for people, products, processes, and productivity. This training offers valuable insights on what KPI’s to be monitoring and in which business assets to be investing. These simple adjustments will increase profits.

During the workshop, we’ll discuss:

  • Turning KPI data into growth benchmarks for sustainability
  • Proactivity and adaptability with monthly monitoring strategies
  • Improved relevance of products and services to trends and clientele needs
  • Increased communication and collaboration for workflow and innovation
  • Accountability strategies to increase personnel responsibilities and results

Workforce Management After Industry Disruption

A major disruption will affect all aspects of your business, including your workers. After you’ve adjusted operations to respond to the disruption, you will need to be sure your team is ready to adopt the changes, maintain productivity, and continue to create valuable products and services for your clients.

Are all of your employees in the right position? Do you have the needed skills to continue operating your business at its highest potential? A major disruption will put business leaders in the critical position of re-evaluating their team and its ability to perform under new conditions. This workshop will provide you with tips and advice on the management of your workforce after a major disruption to your business or your industry.

During this presentation, we’ll be discussing:

  • Cross-training staff to conduct multiple functions and responsibilities
  • Ensuring the right people are in the right roles
  • Streamlining operations for maximum savings
  • Maintaining productivity, performance, and value
  • Assessing leadership and management potential
Megan White VP / Corporate Banker, First Commonwealth Bank
Non-Profit Academy

Change Management & Its Necessity for Survival

Organizations must be operationally capable of agility, change, and adaptation in order to remain competitive and survive within its industry. Change management is the systematic approach to responding to industry and technology innovations, customer demands, and disruptions by assessing processes, preparing, and supporting organizations and their teams.

During this presentation, we’ll be covering the approaches organizational leaders must take to fully plan for and prepare their business for change. By treating the organization holistically, business leaders can develop a complete plan of action with necessary phases, goals, and objectives to sustain change and pivot towards a more sustainable and successful operational model.

Business leaders will leave this presentation knowing how to:

  • Identify, prioritize, and vet the need for change
  • Analyze the impact, operational effect, and reaction to the changes
  • Monitor and assess the cost, value, and profitability of the change

Regulations, Policies, and Laws

Your organization’s operations and long-term impact on the end consumer will always be affected by regulations, policies, and laws. They are constantly being modified or realigned to best reflect the current trends, technologies, and needs. These ever-changing guidelines can sometimes cause an issue to your services, industry, and fiscal outlook. Industry leaders need to understand current trends and be adaptable when things change.

This workshop is for you if you’re interested in being more proactive with regulation, policy, and legal updates.

When you attend this event, you’ll be leaving with tips on how to:

  • Prepare for regulation, policy, and law changes
  • Create “evergreen” operations, products, and services
  • Modify operations more proactively to best align to regulatory changes