MABC Blog

June 12th Program Presentation

Cultivating Connections 

with Karen Cross Durham, Big Picture Consulting

Networking in this day and age has become increasingly daunting as we connect with one another in myriad ways—online, in-person, via phone, and through texting and messaging.

Join Karen Cross Durham as she discusses the value of fostering connections and why they’re essential as entrepreneurs.

Karen is a Communications Consultant, Certified DreamBuilder Coach, and Life Mastery Consultant.

ABOUT THE PRESENTER

Karen Cross Durham

Dedicated to personal development and a spiritually principled life for over 20 years, Karen Cross Durham is a Certified DreamBuilder Coach who works with individuals to help them realize their dreams and create richer, more fulfilling lives.

Karen is also an experienced communications professional having worked in the arts for more than 25 years, including for a variety of film organizations for over 20 years.

Hope to see you there!

June 12, 2025      8:00am - 10:00am CST

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Agenda

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8:00-8:30 a.m. CST  - Open Zoom Networking

8:30-9:00 a.m. CST - Meeting opening remarks

9:00-9:45 a.m. CST - Program

9:45-10:00 a.m. CST - Questions & Answers

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Program Logistics

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Who. For all B2B consultants craving collegiality, collaboration, and real conversation. Guests welcome!

What. Monthly program providing networking, relevant education, and personal and professional growth opportunities. 

When. Thursday, June 12 • 8:00 AM–10:00 AM CST

Where. Zoom Meeting ID will be in your registration confirmation email

Cost. Free for Members & Guests

RSVP. Register Today!

Guests always welcome!

Membership Statement: Guests are welcome to attend up to 3 events in any format for free. Membership is then required to access programming, networking, and special projects or events.

It’s here! My TEDx Talk, The text message that changed my understanding of DEI, is officially live.

Check out Deborah's TEDx Talk here

This moment means more than I can fully explain. For years, I’ve spoken, trained, and coached leaders on how to build cultures of belonging. But one late-night message from my son—just a few simple words—completely changed how I understand inclusion.

In that moment, everything I thought I knew became personal.

This talk is the most vulnerable I’ve ever been on a stage. And it’s also the clearest I’ve ever been about what real inclusion actually looks like—beyond policies, beyond programs, beyond checkboxes.

If you’ve ever struggled to lead with heart, to include with intention, or to belong in a world that wasn’t built with you in mind… I hope this message speaks to you.


Watch my TEDx Talk here:https://zurl.co/cCNJl

I help organizations move beyond performative DEI by embedding it into leadership, strategy, and operations. My approach shifts DEI from being merely a checkbox to a strategic business advantage—driving innovation, engagement, and long-lasting impact.

As a DEI strategist, speaker, and executive coach, I work with leaders who are ready to transition from superficial initiatives to genuine, measurable change. I challenge outdated frameworks and help organizations reimagine DEI as a leadership-driven, cross-functional strategy that enhances decision-making, talent retention, and business performance.

I don’t just teach DEI—I help leaders integrate it into their leadership, hiring, and growth. Through executive coaching, organizational assessments, and leadership development, I equip companies with the tools to create inclusive cultures where employees thrive, trust is built, and impact is sustained.

In today’s politically charged climate, organizations that deprioritize or dilute DEI risk disengaged employees, misaligned leadership, and reputational damage. Conversely, those who commit to meaningful action create stronger teams, foster greater innovation, and establish a workplace where belonging enhances performance.

If you're prepared to advance from initiatives to infrastructure, let’s connect.
hashtag# TEDxhashtag #DEILeadershiphashtag #Belonging

Looking forward to listen to Roberto Munoz this Thursday morning at 8, when MABC presents another high level program presentation.

Roberto Muñoz
https://robertomunoz.focalpointcoaching.com/

Sales and Business Coach

Roberto Muñoz is a sales and business coach specializing on business growth through market strategy and organizational structure. For 25+ years he led sales teams in telecom companies like Televisa, Motorola, and CommScope, generating $160M in annual revenue. In his senior leadership roles, he defined and executed long-term growth strategies which captured key accounts, reorganized sales teams, and secured sustained revenue growth. In his coaching practice, Roberto has helped tens of CEOs to define a clear vision of the desired future of their business and a roadmap that works for them.

FocalPoint Business Leadership Coaching

Unlocking Potential. Unleashing Greatness.

Our Why

To enable help those around us to build and multiply their talents so they can improve their lives and the ones of those around them.

Mission

To empower business owners with strategy and wisdom so that they can achieve growth and positively impact their community.

Our values

Improvement - Find a better way

Growth - Don't settle for the easy

Collaboration - We need each other

Ethics - Do what's right, the right way

Legacy - Make this world better

Are your sales calls plagued with terms that only engineers can understand?

Can non-tech decision makers connect with the value you add?

Every sales training talks about the "value proposition" and most salespeople have a well-rehearsed pitch that describes their product at length.  Then they repeat this message to all decision makers, without distinction of their role, technical understanding, or even the stage of the sales process.  It is hard to tell if the non-techies understood what you can do for them. 

Selling complex technology requires a unique skill not taught in Engineering School: “translation.” Your customers need your technology to reach a business goal. Learn to translate your features into the success metric of the desired goal. Gaining clarity on that outcome and the role each player has on the decision table will allow the creation of a strategy focused on the success of the project, not just having the right feature set.

May Program Presentation - May 8th 8am

Cross-Cultural Communications

with Roberto Muñoz , Focal Point Coaching

You are invited to attend via Zoom!

Do you do international business or plan to interact with clients from another country?

A successful dialogue depends on understanding the subtle cultural differences between diverse nationalities.

Based on Erin Meyer's The Culture Map, this presentation explores how communication, leadership, and trust vary across cultures.

Learn strategies that you can put into practice in your next meeting so you can identify where perspectives differ, enhance collaboration, and work more effectively in a multi-national setting.

ABOUT THE PRESENTER

Roberto Muñoz

Roberto is a Business Coach certified on DISC and Emotional Intelligence. He is an expert in leadership team interactions and sales strategy design. He has lived in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and now the USA. He is fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Having worked for French, Mexican, Canadian, and American companies, he has been exposed to a wide variety of leadership styles. His curiosity and appreciation for history, current events, local cuisine, and making deep personal connections has led him to develop great respect and understanding of diverse cultural backgrounds.

John Hogan – Principal   On the Floor Consulting

Introduction

On the Floor Consulting helps businesses break through growth barriers by crafting a 10-year vision, setting annual and quarterly objectives, and systematizing operations through our North Star Operating Model. As your Interim COO, I don’t just build the plan—I mobilize it, working on the floor with employees closest to the work to uncover unseen risks, issues, and opportunities. This hands-on approach ensures root causes are fixed, operations are streamlined, and teams are aligned. The result? Lower costs, completed initiatives, and scalable growth that frees leaders to focus ON the business—not just IN it.

Services

Small Business Scale-Up.
Growth Barrier Breakthrough.
Interim COO.

Step 1: On-the-Floor Discovery
We dive into your operations at every level—from leadership to the front lines—uncovering hidden risks, issues, and growth opportunities. With 20+ years of operational leadership, we assess your vision, people, processes, and systems to identify what’s holding your business back.

Step 2: North Star Alignment
We craft a 10-year vision, 1-year plan, and quarterly objectives to align your entire organization. This includes reviewing talent structures, recruitment needs, system maturity, and vendor relationships—ensuring your people, processes, and technology are ready to scale.

Step 3: Mobilization & Execution
As your Interim COO, I roll up my sleeves to lead execution. From recruiting key talent and onboarding technology solutions to optimizing processes, vendor management, and leadership development—I fill the operational leadership gap so you can focus on growth.

Fractional/Interim COO Services
When you need a strategic operator but aren’t ready for a full-time executive, I step in to lead. Whether improving processes, launching new initiatives, managing key vendors, or developing your leadership team, I ensure your business is aligned and accelerating toward its goals.

Background Info

With over 20 years of leading many successful initiatives as a Chief Operating Officer, Chief Administrative Officer, Chief of Staff, Executive Director, and Executive Business Operations Advisor, John is uniquely experienced to identify your company’s desired state and reality “on the floor”, create a plan to bridge the gaps, and deliver change initiatives so you can achieve your goals.

John works with your teams by providing change leadership services for your strategic and optimization initiatives so that your leadership team can focus on day-to-day operations. Clients will realize bottom-line savings, improved team performance, and profitability by realizing the benefits of a successful change implementation.

Prior to consulting, John worked in the health insurance, government contractor, financial, and government sectors where he specialized in guiding and executing multimillion-dollar business initiatives. Through his ability to quickly learn a business and diagnose areas of opportunity, he has successfully rehabilitated and executed strategic initiatives – saving millions and creating conditions for growth.

Consulting Specialties

• ·       Strategic Planning
• ·       Operations
• ·       Leadership
• ·       Performance Improvement
• ·       Growth Management

Angie Addison -  MABC Member Profile

Milestones HR, LLC is a business-minded, people-focused Human Resources consulting service offering HR expertise to small and medium companies at various milestones in their progression including start up, growth, constriction, and transition. We offer outsourced Human Resources and/or Human Resources project based solutions.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/angie-addison-02b31310/

Services

Since 2014 Milestones HR has been serving small businesses in Human Resources related services including:

Build or Refine HR Infrastructure & Strategy: Is Human Resources your necessary evil? Let’s make it a functional and vital need in your business! Align the Human Resource function to work towards your company’s short and long term goals Create efficiency to reduce administrative costs.

Candidate Profiling, Recruiting, Selection, Background & Reference Checking, and Orientation/Onboarding: Who is in your corner? Secure the top talent that best complements your company. Acclimate the new hire to your culture so that they can contribute sooner.

Employee Relations, Conflict Resolution, and Internal Investigation Support: Let’s make sure your employees look forward to Mondays! Solve employee dissatisfaction to increase employee contributions.

Performance Management, Key Results Area Performance Assessments, & Employee Coaching: Are you getting 5+ years of experience or the same experience for 5+ years in a row? Link employee contributions to your company’s success while growing employee knowledge, skills and abilities.

HR Audits, Employee Handbook Policy & Procedure Writing & Review, and Legal compliance: What keeps you awake at night or always on edge? Identify and address liability areas to mitigate legal costs.

Outsourced Human Resources: We offer on-site and remote HR services to your employees so they have a consistent person to go to with HR related questions or concerns.

Background Info

We are results-focused consultants who enjoy all aspects of Human Resources and the value that solid practices can bring to both individuals and companies collectively. We offer outsourced Human Resources Generalist services to companies who need Human Resources expertise but do not require a full-time Human Resources presence.

We enjoy working with small to medium-sized professional service businesses. We have been fortunate to work in both a Human Resources and an Operations capacity allowing us to become familiar with the inner workings of a company. We use this knowledge to partner with business leaders on how to best integrate Human Resources as a contributing function of the business.

We offer various solutions including serving as an on-site or off-site human resources generalist in a short or long term capacity, complementing existing Human Resources teams with project work, and/or setting up an HR function and then training existing employees to maintain it.

We have led the Human Resources function from setting up a Human Resources department from scratch to improving an existing function. The results of my work have included:

- Creating highly functional, mission-focused Human Resources systems & processes.

- Managing organizational structure through rapid growth or constriction for various disciplines.

- Partnering with company leaders to implement recruitment strategies reducing the hire time for needed talent and building a future candidate pool.

- Securing the right hires by identifying candidate profiles, recruiting, conducting behavioral interviewing, candidate selection, background & reference checking.

- Creating and onboarding new hires to increase the new employee’s ability to acclimate and contribute to the company’s goals.

- Designing and implementing real time, results focused performance appraisal and development programs.

- Creating and updating policies including Employee Handbooks.

-Serving as your employee's HR team, including surveying for employee engagement and being a resource for employees.

- Securing and aligning benefit offerings (health, dental, life, disability, 401(k), Vacation/PTO, etc.) with demographic needs of employees, company size, industry and budget.

Consulting Specialties

• ·       Human Resources
• ·       Performance Improvement
• ·       Business Strategy
• ·       Conflict Management
• ·       Employee Relations

Check your calendar for this evening April 10th at 5 pm! You don't want to miss attending MABC - Madison Area Business Consultants and Jennifer Revels program tonight on Authentic Branding!
Guests are welcome to come check it out for free.
Details to register are below.

Join us for MABC Live! and Unlock the Keys to Your Authentic Brand — an interactive workshop designed to help you deeply connect with your audience by aligning with who you truly are.

Led by the incredible Jennifer Revels of Revels Consulting & Coaching, this session will explore the transformative systems of Human Design and Gene Keys to help you uncover your unique energy blueprint.

You’ll learn how to:
 ✨ Align your brand with your authentic self
 ✨ Market in a way that feels natural and magnetic
 ✨ Attract your ideal clients with ease
 ✨ Stand out in a crowded market

Whether you're a solopreneur or a growing team, this experience will equip you with insights to show up powerfully and purposefully in your business.

Date: Thursday, April 10
 ⏰ Time: 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
  Location: Serendipity Labs, 525 Junction Rd, Ste 6500, Madison, WI 53717
  Register here: https://lnkd.in/ge8sExhC

A note from our MABC President: Please bring a guest—colleague or client! Let's grow together.

hashtag#MABC hashtag#AuthenticBranding hashtag#Consultants hashtag#HumanDesign hashtag#GeneKeys hashtag#LeadershipDevelopment hashtag#SmallBusinessGrowth hashtag#MarketingAuthentically

MABC Live!

Unlock the Keys to Your Authentic Brand – Deeply Connect with Your Target Audience 

An interactive workshop experience

With Jennifer Revels 
Revels Consulting & Coaching

In this workshop, we’ll dive into the powerful systems of Human Design and Gene Keys to help you understand your unique energy blueprint and how to harness it for personal growth and marketing success.

You will discover how to align with your authentic self to build a brand that resonates deeply with your ideal clients.

Learn to leverage your strengths and gifts, embrace your natural flow, and show up as your truest self in your marketing—ultimately creating a brand that feels aligned, magnetic, and true to who you are.

Leave this workshop with insights to attract the right audience and stand out in a crowded market by embracing your unique design!

ABOUT THE PRESENTER

       

Jennifer Revels is an HR consultant and leadership coach with over 25 years of experience in helping leaders and small business owners like you with all facets of hiring and managing teams … and when necessary, having difficult conversations or making changes, in the right way and with minimal legal risk. 

REGISTER TODAY FOR THIS FREE EVENT!

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What: MABC Live! Event | Unlock the Keys to Your Authentic Brand

Date:  Thursday, April 10

Time:  5:00 pm - 6:30 pm 

Location:   Serendipity Labs, 525 Junction Rd, Ste 6500, Madison, WI 53717

Message from our MABC President:
Please Bring a Guest Colleague or Client!

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Founded in 1987, we provide members opportunities for education, networking, and collaboration to aid in providing high-quality consulting services to clients.

Jennifer Revels - MABC Member Profile

Leadership/HR Coach/Consultant, Personal Growth & Retreats/Workshops, Recruiter

I help passionate and caring small business leaders develop or adjust their talent strategies and employee communications, retain top performers, optimize team relationships/dynamics, and bring in employee well being guidance & programs. I also help businesses recruit and hire leaders and professionals for key positions. Finally, my biggest passion is empowering and coaching individuals and leaders to find a path to their purpose, passion and dreams in their work and other pursuits….and help leaders find balance for themselves while also developing those types of growth coaching practices and strategies for their team. I can also be a growth coach in a workplace for employees and offer other empowering workshops to enhance the vibe and provide neutral support for people on a personal and professional level.

HR Consulting • Management Consulting • Leadership Development • Career Development Coaching • Executive Coaching • Interview Preparation • Public Speaking • Corporate Events

Develop or adjust talent and employee communication strategies, optimize team relationships/dynamics, facilitate retreats and workplace workshops/programs to enhance employee well being. 25+ years of HR expertise and leadership coaching/advising allows me to provide a unique perspective to business leaders. By lasering in on relationship building and fostering strong communications/expectations, I can help business leaders who are struggling with getting the right people in the right positions, and enhance employee retention. Strategies and solutions are also offered to target team dynamics and conflict management. Specific and customized services include overall talent strategy/employee communications assessment; professional/executive search/recruitment solutions; leadership coaching/on-call services; personal growth coaching and guidance for team members, and workplace workshop or retreat planning/facilitation.

Consultants: It's time to move out of isolation and into connection.

Join us for MABC Live! and Unlock the Keys to Your Authentic Brand — an interactive workshop designed to help you deeply connect with your audience by aligning with who you truly are.

Led by the incredible Jennifer Revels of Revels Consulting & Coaching, this session will explore the transformative systems of Human Design and Gene Keys to help you uncover your unique energy blueprint.

You’ll learn how to:
✨ Align your brand with your authentic self
✨ Market in a way that feels natural and magnetic
✨ Attract your ideal clients with ease
✨ Stand out in a crowded market

Whether you're a solopreneur or a growing team, this experience will equip you with insights to show up powerfully and purposefully in your business.

Date: Thursday, April 10
⏰ Time: 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
Location: Serendipity Labs, 525 Junction Rd, Ste 6500, Madison, WI 53717
Register here:https://lnkd.in/ge8sExhC

A note from our MABC President: Please bring a guest—colleague or client! Let's grow together.

hashtag#MABChashtag#AuthenticBrandinghashtag#Consultantshashtag#HumanDesignhashtag#GeneKeyshashtag#LeadershipDevelopmenthashtag#SmallBusinessGrowthhashtag#MarketingAuthentically