eBay, Microsoft, Walt Disney World among keynote speakers for 2013 SMPS Conference, July 31

The Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) is pleased to announce the keynote speakers for?Build Business: Dream Big!, its 2013 conference to be held July 31 – August 2 at the Walt Disney World® Swan and Dolphin in Orlando.

“Building a Business Through Storytelling”
Disney Institute
August 1, 9 – 10:30 am
The power of story has been an ever-present force in the nearly 100-year history of The Walt Disney Company. Today, storytelling is considered a critical and relevant leadership tool for gaining emotional buy-in from stakeholders and employees. Disney Institute will reveal how the company uses the elements of storytelling to pass on the culture that keeps its business world-class.

“The Answers Are in the Box”
Dan Clark
August 2, 9 – 10:30 am
After years of being told to ?think outside the box,? Dan Clark will explain why ?The Answers Are in the Box.? Clark observes that most people search for new answers when what we need are the right answers. The author of The Art of Significance (March 2013, Penguin), Clark will help the audience learn to ask the right questions by sharing the stories, principles, and personal experiences behind the 12 Highest Universal Laws of Life- Changing Leadership.

“Owners Dream Big Too”
Presenters: Martha Clarkson, Global Workplace Strategist, Microsoft Corporation Mike Lewis, Director of Mission Critical Engineering, eBay Inc. Jason Lovelace, P.E., Manager, Engineering Services, Magic Kingdom Alec Ras, Program Manager, Facility Asset Management, Walt Disney World Moderator: Kevin Hebblethwaite, FSMPS, CPSM, President/CEO, Hebblethwaite LLC, and Society President, SMPS
August 2, 2:30 – 4 pm
The conference’s closing panel discussion will bring together representatives from these corporate giants to examine the creative, decision-making, and procurement processes behind their most innovative building projects. Attendees will leave this session with a real- life perspective on the ?new-norm? realities their clients are facing, the future of procurement and pursuits, and how firms can capitalize on disruptive thinking to win more satisfying and profitable work.

The only business development, marketing, and management conference for the design and building industry, Build Business will bring together leading experts, practitioners, and marketing and business development professionals in Orlando this summer. This action- packed 3-day conference offers attendees 30 powerful learning sessions, 3 dynamic keynote speakers, and unparalleled networking to make and renew priceless business contacts.

Build Business: Dream Big! will seek to explore the ?new norms? in the design and building industry. Recovery is not going to be what recovery has been in the past. The new reality is ?back to the basics? to make professional services firms efficient and agile—and ready with the answers to address their clients’ new realities. Now is the time to escalate creative, disruptive thinking that transforms businesses, markets, and communities! Conference attendees will be exposed to critical information, dynamic strategies, and valuable knowledge that will allow them to dream big and translate solid plans into executable strategies for their firms.

For more information about these speakers and the Build Business conference, go to www.buildbusiness.org. Discounted early-bird registration is available prior to May 15, 2013. Press passes are available for the media.

About SMPS
The Society for Marketing Professional Services (www.smps.org) represents a dynamic network of 6,000 marketing and business development professionals working for architectural, engineering, planning, interior design, construction, and specialty construction firms located throughout the United States and Canada. The Society and its 50+ chapters benefit from the support of 5,000 design and building firms, encompassing 80% of the Engineering News– Record Top 500 Design Firms and Top 400 Contractors. SMPS’s mission is to advocate for, educate, and connect leaders in the building industry. SMPS is the only organization dedicated to creating business opportunities in the design and building industry.

Build Business: Dream Big!
Marketing Conference for the Design and Building Industry, hosted by the Society for Marketing Professional Services
July 31 – August 2, 2013
Walt Disney World® Swan and Dolphin, 1500 Epcot Resorts Boulevard, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
www.buildbusiness.org
1.800.292.7677

Rural hospitals present unique opportunities and challenges for healthcare facility operators. Oftentimes, the infrastructure and building systems have not been updated for years and require significant improvements in order to meet today’s modern medical demands. Additionally, as these smaller, more remote hospitals are acquired by larger regional and national healthcare systems, the first step by new ownership is often to update and rehabilitate the building. But how can this be done thoughtfully, economically, and efficiently in ways that allow the engineering and facility staff to adapt to the changes? And how can the updates accurately reflect the specific needs of rural communities and the afflictions with which these areas most commonly face?