Our V.P. of Engineering & Business Development, Jay Kirihara, recently participated in the “Negotiations Skills Management” (MBA) class at the University of St. Thomas, Opus College of Business. The focus of the course is on interpersonal and inter-group conflict and its resolution. The objective of the class is to help students develop their own negotiation style. In the morning session, Jay delivered the a “Mindful Sales” presentation which talked about trusting relationships as it relates to negotiations. The presentation highlighted case studies involving humility, charisma, and mindfulness and how these are essential elements of long-term relationships. Over 40 MBA students were in the class.
In the afternoon session, 8 other representative of Advanced Molding Technologies participated in case study interactions with the students. The Advanced team included Molly Deiley, Eric Eichten, Emily Fanucci, Mindy Lhotka, Chris Luebke, Jesse McConaughey, Brett Nelson & Erik Sherburne. These individuals were placed into student groups and negotiated as department managers in a manufacturing situation. Feedback from the group members was that the session was, “fun, at times intimidating, and overall a wonderful learning experience.”