MCA-KC's Latest Educational offerings earn high marks among its members

In its continued commitment to bring high-quality educational offerings to its members, MCA-KC recently presented two training sessions focused on today’s timely topics: “Surviving & Thriving in Difficult Times” and “Cash Is King”. Both sessions took place on March 25 at the Overland Park Sheraton Hotel and were presented by Jim McCarl, a nationally-renowned business leader and President of the McCarl Group, a consulting firm specializing in providing strategic business planning services for mechanical contractors.

During the morning session – “Surviving & Thriving in Difficult Times” – McCarl emphasized that even in the toughest of economic times, there are always opportunities. “When things are going well with the economy, it feels like it’s the best time to run your company,” he said. “But when things are not going well with the economy, it is actually the best time to lead your company.”

During the afternoon session – “Cash Is King” – McCarl discussed the importance of understanding the cash flow cycle by all members of the organization. “Most employees don’t know much about your company’s cash flow needs,” he said. “But once you educate them and they grasp the cash flow cycle, they will become part of the solution rather than part of the problem.”

Both sessions received high ratings from the participants. One of those participants was Mike Chick, Vice President & General Manager of Midwest Mechanical Service, Inc. “As a young executive, it is important to learn from people that have been in the industry for years and have experienced the peaks and valleys of an unstable economy,” said Chick. “The message to me from these sessions was to stay positive, stay the course, continue doing the right things, and ultimately this too shall pass.”

Other comments by participants indicated that they believed the sessions were very informative and provided them with “take-home value” and tools for immediately improving their professional effectiveness. “The information contained in these two seminars is very important to every mechanical contractor, especially ours,” said Ken Hageman, President of Rand Construction Company. “As a result of this training, I plan to upgrade our a profit/risk assessment matrix and develop additional plans for succeeding in these difficult times.”

“The session on ‘Thriving & Surviving’ is so timely and valuable,” said Paul Smith, Vice President of Construction for P1 Group, Inc., “I could see it being extended to a full day seminar.”