ANN ARBOR – The Ann Arbor IT Zone has added four new members to its Board of Directors – Theresa Carroll, Doug Hockstad, Chris Kochmanski, and Dennis Blanchette.

Theresa Carroll is an attorney and member of the Corporate Finance Practice Group with Dykema Gossett and will serve as the Secretary of the IT Zone. Doug Hockstad is a senior technology licensing officer with the University of Michigan Office of Technology Transfer. Chris Kochmanski is a partner in DesignHub, a Saline-based marketing firm. Dennis Blanchette is an entrepreneur and business advisor; he serves as a mentor and advisor for the Spark Entrepreneur Boot Camp and was an executive with Wyse Solutions and Pier3 Technologies.

The majority of the directors and officers will be continuing their service on the IT Zone board from the previous term. Ken Nisbet, executive director of the University of Michigan Office of Technology Transfer will continue as Chairman of the IT Zone Board; Rich Sheridan, President of Menlo Innovations will serve as the Vice Chair; and Chuck Salley, former IT Zone president, will serve as Treasurer. Other continuing board members are Barbara Nanzig, chief of staff, Internet2; Gary Hessenauer, CPA, Hessenauer & Associates; Jim Adox, partner, RidgeLine Ventures; Larry Freed, CEO, ForeSee Results; Michael Cole, vice president, Technology Industry Group, Bank of Ann Arbor; Farnam Jahanian, Ph.D., founder/chairman of the board, Arbor Networks; and Bhushan Kulkarni, CEO, GDI Infotech. Sabrina Keeley, former President of the Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce will resign her position on the board as she assumes her new position with Detroit Renaissance.

Verne Harnish Wows Ann Arbor CEOs

Local CEOs had a lot to say about Verne Harnish, author of Mastering the Rockefeller Habits after hearing his presentation May 10. Comments included: ?Excellent take-home value,? ?Would love to have additional employees attend this seminar,? ?First Class,? ?Excellent Program,? and ?Information you could act on.? The vast majority of our audience ? 82 percent – said that Verne Harnish?s presentation exceeded their expectation.

Verne covered a wide array of topics including a must-read list of business books for CEOs, developing strong interviewing skills, building a solid team, setting goals, marketing initiatives, increasing cash flow, intra-company accountability, and strategic planning.

One of the many ideas that struck a nerve for the audience was Verne?s Accountability Worksheet. The worksheet makes it crystal clear to everyone in the company what they are personally responsible for. It eliminates doubling up on responsibility where several people are struggling for control over a functional area of the company. It also eliminates gaps where no one is taking responsibility. Here are the basic steps Verne presented for companies to complete an Accountability Worksheet:

1. Name the #1 person accountable for each position in the company (head of company, head of sales, head of marketing, head of finance, etc.).

2. List the key measures for each position.

3. Take Income Statement and Balance Sheet and assign a person?s name to each line item.

4. Each month, review the line items on the financial statements. if any line item is off-plan, the person with accountability answers two questions: 1) Why is the number off? 2) What is your corrective action plan?

Verne provided the audience with idea after idea to improve their businesses. The whirlwind morning program packed a full day of information into just four hours.

For more information on Mastering the Rockefeller Habits and Verne Harnish?s business development programs, click onGazelles.Com