October 31, 2023
The ARA Show™ 2024 offers a one-stop shop of rental-specific education on Sunday, Feb. 18, at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. It will feature a mixture of professional speakers, industry leaders and rental peers presenting 16 sessions organized into four tracks:
Lead & Learn
Connect & Collaborate
Empower & Engage
Plan & Strategize
Sunday Education is sponsored by Ditch Witch. The schedule of sessions on Feb. 18 is as follows:
Learn & Lead
8:30-9:45 a.m. “The FUNdamentals of Meaningful Leadership,” presented by Paul Long. Companies around the world are challenged right now on how to attract and retain great talent. As our workforce and markets evolve, one thing remains constant — an overwhelming human desire to feel fulfilled. This session will show how the concept of Fundamism can help rental leaders and teams maximize fulfillment, change perspective and achieve their goals.
10-11:15 a.m. “Leading with Intention and Emotional Leadership,” presented by Monica Guzman. Every successful rental leader must develop EQ, or emotional intelligence, to inspire confidence, communicate effectively and collaborate with others in the workplace. This session will share strategies for getting the most out of your rental team while achieving your own personal and leadership goals.
1:15-2:30 p.m. “Made for Leaders: Moving in a Direction of Mutual Respect,” presented by Merrick Rosenberg. This session will help you develop personality flexibility so you can adapt instead of making your team flex to you. You will learn how to give feedback in the most effective way and motivate your team by unleashing their natural gifts.
2:45-4 p.m. “Story-Driven Leadership,” presented by Kelly Swanson. Leadership is not about telling people what to do but inspiring them to want to do it. True leaders create fans who buy into your vision. This session will show you how to connect deeply with your team members using strategic storytelling and humor.
Connect & Collaborate
8:30-9:45 a.m. “Generational Issues: Stop Acting Your Age!” presented by Matt Havens. Using humor, this session will teach you a simpler way to understand, recognize and resolve every generational issue facing today’s workforce. You will learn how to inspire a healthier, more robust work ethic and attitude toward change in all your employees.
10-11:15 a.m. “Empowering No Fail Trust and Psychological Safety,” presented by Jason Harris. As a rental leader, how do you foster an environment of mutual trust, responsibility and productivity? This session features a fourth-generation military member and US Air Force pilot who will explain his proven methodology of “No Fail Trust™.”
1:15-2:30 p.m. “Stories, Not Statistics: Where Authenticity & High-Performance Teams Converge,” presented by Alyson Van Hooser. This session will discuss how to make a deep connection with employees through “stories, not statistics.” This proven leadership strategy will radically and authentically improve leader/employee relationships, create empowerment and lead to high-performance accountability.
2:45-4 p.m. “The Secrets of Social Media Success,” presented by Brian Carter. In this high-energy and entertaining session, you will learn the lessons from a seven-year study of hundreds of top performing companies who used social media to successfully drive key organizational achievements, regardless of their size, budget or training. You will learn how to reach the right prospects and become number one in your local market.
Empower & Engage
8:30-9:45 a.m. “Smart Strategies to Keep Your Top Talent from Becoming Someone Else’s,” presented by Lisa Ryan. This session will use lessons from the construction and distribution industries to help you discover the five contributing factors that lead to employee engagement, how to drive the creation of productivity-enhancing ideas, and the best management tools to encourage an employee’s emotional connection to your company.
10-11:15 a.m. “The Power of Using ‘Yes, And!’ Innovation to Stay Competitive in the Rental Industry,” presented by Avish Parashar. In a world that is changing faster and faster, innovation and creativity become keys to staying competitive. This session uses humor and interaction to show you how to use the power of “Yes, And!” to tap into your creativity, unleash innovation, and become a game changer in your company and rental industry.
1:15-2:30 p.m. “Supporting the Invisible Needs of Your Workforce,” presented by Joe Gerstandt. From Gerstandt’s story of growing up on a family farm in Iowa, serving in the United States Marine Corps, personal and professional successes and setbacks, and being in the world with other humans, he distills insights applicable toward leadership, behavior change, culture change, enlisting more allies in this work, and more effectively creating inclusive spaces and places.
2:45-4 p.m. “Hunting Discomfort: How to Be Resilient and Built for Breakthrough Growth,” presented by Sterling Hawkins This session reframes discomfort as a necessary and inspiring path to growth. It uses case studies, cutting-edge research, and best practices to equip you with ways to build your capacity to deal with discomfort and prepare yourself and your team for breakthrough growth.
Plan & Strategize
8:30-9:45 a.m. “Recognizing Fake IDs,” presented by Glen Garrity. Theft is an increasingly serious issue in the rental industry. In this session, you will learn from a seasoned detective and ID expert on how to identify valid and fraudulent driver’s licenses using the naked eye and various types of technology.
10-11:15 a.m. “Consumer Behavior in a World of Memes, Gifs, and Trends,” presented by Steve Lerch. The digital world is empowering consumers like never before to consume online content, ask questions and make informed decisions. In response, companies must be more nimble, flexible and relevant. In this session, a former Google executive will explore how customers in the rental industry continue to evolve and the steps you need to take to keep up.
1:15-2:30 p.m. “Believe in Safety,” presented by Brandon Schroeder. Everyone has decisions to make about safety, and many of them happen in an instant. If you have the wrong safety habits, you make it much easier to make the wrong decision, which can have an effect that is impossible to undo. In this session, you will hear a life-changing story from an accident survivor. This story will give you a concrete example of why it’s so important to be a safety advocate for your company.
2:45-4 p.m. “Financial Decision Making,” presented by Roman Basi. Buying, selling or transferring a business can be a very complex, timely and costly process. In this session, you will learn from an engaging expert who has experience as an attorney, CPA, real estate broker, title insurance agent and an MBA.
The full day of education on Feb. 18 is included as part of full registration to The ARA Show, which also includes entry to all three days of the trade show and the Keynote Session. It is also included as part of The ARA Show Networking Package. For more information on the show and to register, visit ARAshow.org.
