Your future, our focus
P O W E L L, W y o. - The Women's Business Roundtable series in Cody and Powell kicks off this month with a Thursday, Oct. 16, session in Powell and Tuesday, Oct. 21, in Cody.
Both programs will feature Rick LaPlante, a former Microsoft executive, talking about "The Empowering Nature of Working in Small Groups." He'll explain how working in small groups or teams can greatly increase success by getting to the "primary value" of teams. LaPlante said these primary values add "additional insight and perspectives to combat our own personal, hidden even to us, mental models of the way we see the world." He'll also talk about how to lead a small group and effect change.
LaPlante joined Microsoft in 1988 and held a variety of positions ranging from software design engineer, development manager of Microsoft's internal tools engineering team, and director of business development for the company's developer and .NET platform lines of business.
In 1999, he created the business plan that turned into Visual Studio Team System and served as the director and general manager of the product line since its inception. In that role he was responsible for leading the engineering team of nearly 400 people in locations across the globe and overseeing the product definition, business, partner, and go-to-market strategies for the Team System business, which delivered over $350 million in new revenue for Microsoft in its first full year in the market.
In October 2006, LaPlante left Microsoft to live in Powell where he is "one third" of Triple L Cattle, along with his wife and daughter. When not attempting to learn everything he can about ranching, he volunteers at schools, does consulting work for Microsoft, coaches other business executives and works on projects for the companies where he sits on the board of directors.
The one-hour program gets underway in both communities at noon, with networking opportunities starting at 11:45 a.m. The Powell session will meet in the Center for Training and Development on the Northwest College West Campus. In Cody, the group convenes at the NWC Cody Center, located in the Park County Complex.
Admission is free and includes lunch.
Click here to reserve a seat, or call (307) 754-6062 or toll-free (800)560-4692, ext.6062. Reservations for the Oct. 16 session in Powell must be made by Wednesday, October 15. Reservations for the Oct. 21 roundtable in Cody must be made by Monday, October 20.
The Women's Business Roundtable meets the third Thursday of the month in Powell and on the third Tuesday in Cody. It is produced through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration and Northwest College Centers for Training and Development.