In the Hot Seat

In the Hot Seat: How 10 Virtual Executive Teams Build Confidence and Restore Profitability

PDMA St. Pittsburgh | May 13, 2021

The year is 1999 and every company in the world is battling with Y2K, the year that all systems will come crashing down and you (yes, YOU!) have been hired to rebuild a storied outdoor products company. Product sales are declining, innovation is stale, and your largest customer is DEMANDING ACTION! What do YOU do?

Join PDMA Philadelphia in this virtual networking event in which YOU are the head of The Coleman Company. You will engage with fellow “Coleman CEOs” to create solutions to Coleman’s product and organizational challenges. Do you expand the product line and broaden your reach? Do you narrow the product line and focus on “Stars?” What is your plan?!

Moderated by Christopher W. Miller, Ph.D., NPDP, CEO and Founder of Innovation Focus, program attendees will learn about Coleman’s history, the market environment and the challenges confronting the organization. Breakouts of three to four attendees will walk in the shoes of the Coleman executive team and conceptualize solutions to restore growth to the company, while getting to know fellow product and innovation management professionals. Build your network, put your skills to the test and match your plan to Coleman’s resurgence during this interactive, virtual event.


About the Presenter

Chris Miller

Chris is Founder of Innovation Focus and a high energy facilitator and speaker in service to inspire deep understanding and meaningful innovation. He received his Ph.D. in Psychology from Case Western Reserve University. His doctoral research targeted the life-long career development of engineers. He has over 20 years of experience in facilitating, consulting and exciting interdisciplinary high performance teams on product development, customer interaction and rapid project completion. He has held positions in information systems and market research with two Fortune 500 companies. In addition, he initiated several business ventures in consumer electronics, publishing and consulting services.

Chris is a Past President of the Board of the Product Development and Management Association (PDMA) and has been an active volunteer for over 20 years, holding numerous local and international positions including Chairing the International PDMA Conference, the Voice of the Customer Conference and the Front End of Innovation Conference. He prides himself as being a bridge between the academic and the practitioner community. Chris is a regular guest lecturer at universities and conferences for a variety of organizations.

As a strong advocate for innovation, he is in service to inspire deep understanding and meaningful creativity. He is also a prolific writer and published author. He has been recognized for his series of Growth Forum articles for the PDMA publication Visions. He has written Chapters for all of the PDMA Tool Books including topics such as Hunting for Hunting Grounds, Creating the Customer Connection, Slingshot Groups and Ideation.

Chris developed the Focused Innovation Technique™ based on the highly successful problem-solving styles of technical professionals The Focused Innovation Technique has been credited with helping to bring to life a diverse set of products, services and business solutions for clients such as WD-40, WaterPik, Leap Frog, Lipton, Hershey Foods, Veterans Life Insurance; Health Care Resources Conservation Coalition; High Concrete Structures and Kodak. His pro-bono work has earned him the Ruth Waxman Award from the Volunteers for Medical Engineering for the conversion of military technology for medical purposes..

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