Sterling Brennan, Santa Margarita Stake President for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, chats with recent college graduate at Breakthrough Conference.
What: 3rd Annual Breakthrough Conference: a business, professional, and personal development symposium. Workshops – Networking – Meet and Greet
Who: 330 participants attended the free conference, which was open to the public. The conference was sponsored by the South County BYU Management Society and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Rancho Santa Margarita and Mission Viejo, California.
When: November 3, 2011 6-10pm
Where: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints building in Rancho Santa Margarita, California
Why: Helping the community prepare for the professional changes happening in today’s turbulent economy.
There was a new format at the 3rd Annual Breakthrough Conference in Rancho Santa Margarita, California, sponsored by the South County BYU Management Society and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The conference admission was still free of charge and open to all but instead of starting with a keynote speaker the conference gave you the choice of two workshops rather than one. Ted Thacker, President of South County BYU Management Society, said the new format was based on the past participant’s repeated requests to attend more than one workshop. This year participants could choose to attend two of the six workshops including franchises, social media marketing, high impact presentations, creativity and innovation, upgrading your career and strategic professional planning.
In Bill Rowe’s class on upgrading your career there was a mixed audience filled with new graduates, women transitioning back into the workplace, and male baby boomers looking for a new job. Classes and workshops seemed to focus on the many changes that have happened in the business economy in the last few years. In Marla McCutcheon’s “New Media Marketing” workshop she talked about how websites are no longer just an online brochure. Marla advised “this is the time where you as a business need to create more intimate relationships through social media. Your website should contain video, connect to Face book and even Twitter.” She continued, “The new public relations is about creating a buzz and creating a wider net. Anything you can do that can widen your reach or create a more intimate customer relationship is the new marketing paradigm.”
Dan Rex, Executive Director of Toastmasters International, spoke of the changes and differences between old school and new school presentations. Dan Rex said that in the old days people would try to include everything on the slide in a PowerPoint presentation. Dan said the new paradigm is simplicity with only one topic per slide. He used Steve Jobs as a perfect example of a marketing genius that knows how to give a clean, focused, and compelling presentation.
Joel Deceuster, Founder of the Relationship Factor, spoke to a large audience about personal strategic planning. He said, “Most people lack to the ability to focus and don’t stop to create and execute a plan for their lives or their business.” Blair Nicol, Principal of FranNet of Orange County, taught that you need that type of focus to find a franchise that matches your unique abilities.
At the end of the workshops there was a half-hour meet and greet to encourage networking participants and even presenters to chat and make new connections. Ken Gibson, former President of the South County BYU Management Society, said, “Our goal for the conference is way beyond a simple job fair. The conference is meant to reach out to the community, polish personal skills, and keep professionals current in this turbulent economy. With over 330 attending this year, I think the community has heard our message.”
