KAS Concepts

KAS Concepts supports leaders to strategically align learning to drive organizational growth.

Whether building a learning strategy, lining out training processes or standing up training teams, KAS can guide you through the process. 

KAS also exists to support the trainer's themselves to design, develop and deliver training that doesn't suck through it's line of No Boring Training products & services.

Founder

igus Inc.

Created and built out first ever learning & development department and processes for North American operations supporting 500+ colleagues across all disciplines in the organization 

Key Accomplishments
* Aligned learning to business strategy to implement customized learning approaches tied to business outcomes
* Led team organizing end user training of new enterprise software roll out to 300 plus users to increase adoption rates and reduce learning curve of new system 
* Created and implemented job skills training program for sales teams that lead to reduce ramp time for new sales team members 
* Created and delivered leadership development training series with customized in-person workshops, micro-video channel and self-study content to increase retention across the org   
* Created and delivered professional development training series to support continued growth of team members in areas such as interviewing skills and bias 
* Pioneered introduction of micro-learning video content of high cadence targeted trainings that have been adopted by the worldwide organization to fuel self and classroom study options 
* Led introduction of customer service new hire training program to standardize processes & training across teams, reduce order entry errors and increase customer satisfaction 
* Led creation and launch of new onboarding program for office and production team members  

Responsibilities Leading L&D Team 
•	Design, development and deliver of new hire job skills training programs across all divisions 
•	Design & implement comprehensive ongoing training programs to support talent retention 
•	Design, implement, deliver topic specific training workshops to address emergent needs
•	Create, manage and deploy self-study options via e-learning and micro-video platforms 
•	Coordinate with overseas headquarters to synchronize training, share ideas and expand training capabilities

Learning and Development Manager

Rebuilt training program to produce comprehensive onboarding and ongoing training programs for outside & inside sales roles. 

Key Accomplishments: 
•	Designed division wide new hire job skills training program that reduced ramp time from 36 months to 12  
•	Implemented structured instructional design process to create learning material tied to business outcomes
•       Trained SME instructors on Adult Learning Styles which lead to increased training material retention rates based on in-program testing scores and manager post-training review 
•	Designed & delivered various targeted sales process training workshops which directly addressed skills gaps and produced sales growth increases 
•	Created video sales training programs that have been adopted by global organization 


DryTech Division Trainer: 
•	Instructional design of sales team training programs: new hire process, follow on training & targeted workshops
•	Delivering instructor lead training content & coordinating other instructors as required by curriculum during trainings
•	Coordination & organization of ILT training groups  
•	Designing, monitoring and tracking training effectiveness evaluations during & after training cycles
•	Coordinating with and advising executive and field management leaders to identify training gaps and implement strategic vision via training
•	Coordinating with product support staff to develop sale training materials for new product releases
•	Developing & delivering sales training audio programs  
•	Creating & delivering sales training video programs

DryTech Division Trainer 

10 years successfully producing sales growth and building sales teams.  

From Jan17 to Dec20 I held the dual role of Regional Sales Manager and Drytech Divisional Trainer. 


South Region (2011-2016)
* Sales in the region have grown from $3m to $9.6m over 5 years. 
* Onboarded 6 new sales people growing team from 3 to 9  
* 12 states 

South Central (2017-2020) 
*  Built new sales team in under-served and under-performing territories to produce growth of $1,151,787 
* Onboarded 5 new team members 
* 6 states 

Gulf States (2020) 
* Realign sales team with corporate divisional structure changes including evaluation & creation of new sales territories to drive sales growth 
* Guide sales team through organizational change process
* 5 states 
* Guide sales team through challenges of pandemic

Regional Sales Manager

Local sales representative tasked with growing sales of DryTech products (including plastic bushings, linear slides and spherical bearing products) in the Southern Ohio, Southern Indiana and Kentucky area. 

Daily responsibilities included regular sales visits with customers, exploring opportunities for sales growth and identifying key strategic accounts, regular sales presentations to new potential customers, prospecting, and making proposals. As needed would present technical training presentations to customers to strengthen their product knowledge and uncover new sales opportunities. 

I was also tasked to support the Regional Sales Manager, as needed, for special projects. 

Sales for this previously underdeveloped area were increased from less than $200,000 to $800,000 annually. 

Special projects included overhauling existing sales presentation package (PowerPoint). Awarded Employee of the year 2006 and Outstanding Achievement 2007.

Territory Sales Manager

Witt Galvanizing

Sales representative for 3 hot dip galvanizing plants, covering a 6 state area. 

Responsibilities included relationship building with steel fabricators and steel specifying groups to drive sales. For larger projects, quoting prices based off estimated processing rates was required. 

Large profile projects included Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio and the CTA-Blue Line overhaul project in Chicago.

Sr. Technical Sales Representative

Asked to give a training but don't know where to start? ⚙️ Want your training to work? ⚙️ New to training or want to break in? ⚙️ Leaders, do you want happier, more innovative, more aligned people in your orgs? ?

Leaders lay awake at night worrying about revenue, profit, productivity, net promoter score, developing leaders and talent retention. 

How they can carve out a competitive advantage and drive top line performance. 

Aligning learning strategies with big picture vision builds the foundations so the organization can thrive. 

But especially in small to medium sized firms, late stage startups or larger autonomous teams training is a hassle due to workload. So it gets pushed off. 

Sometimes leaders just don't know where to start. 

Or worse yet, the training you do offer is dull, boring and people just don't want it.  

Powerful in-house training, supporting the overarching company goals, is not out of your reach. 

I support leaders to

✅ Align learning strategies with overall vision
✅ Build their own internal training capabilities 

I also support trainers themselves, especially those newer to corporate training or experienced trainers that need a second opinion or outside perspective. 

Built on experience and how people actually learn. I combine training experience with 25 years of sales, sales management and HR success to see the whole picture. 

You want more results and less yawns? 

Let's chat.

Adam Spacht

Beth Henkes, MHA

The Idea Hound®

We spot opportunity, track a plan, and fetch success for anyone chasing a brilliant idea.

See what we’ve unleashed below, and at www.theideahound.com.

Featured Speaker, The Green Marketing Academy™

Developed a process for high-output event production where none existed before…in less than a week. We then produced 55 events in 52 days utilizing 120 volunteers and tripling impressions.

Created a cause-based social community for dog lovers and advocates, producing 85K reaches and 25K engagements over 8 short campaigns, resulting in $75K in donations for rescue organizations.

Built a community outreach marketing plan in 24 hours that anchored education offerings for 5 years.

Owner

Oversaw Go to Customer, an evolutionary customer experience project portfolio of five complex, cross-functional programs reporting to leadership in 3 divisions. Implemented change management and baseline documentation using Lean methodology to save time, money, and reduce defects.

• Served as the co-project lead and liaison to 50 stakeholders and 750 users on a $650K cross-functional technology tool that completed on time and budget, exceeding Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

•	Interviewed 63 retail employees over 30 hours to research customer experiences with visual display; created detailed personas and presented a perspective to cross-divisional leaders.

• Assembled a 15-person team to improve a multi-divisional process, documenting standards and removing three process steps to save $8K in payroll costs and 175 hours.

Program Manager, Voice of the Customer, Retail Operations

Scheduled, led, and assisted with all aspects of Lean process improvement training and projects for 240-person Marketing department.

• Developed and led 13 experiential training sessions for 600 attendees over 6 months, teaching Lean Principles to promote value stream awareness and improve processes in daily work.

•	Oversaw a 69 step go-to-market (GTM) campaign process evolution, resulting in baseline standard work creation over 6 months and consultation on a new GTM approach.

• Managed marketing Kaizen program and 20 Kaizen Facilitators; over 500 hours monthly time savings accrued in the first 6 months of the program.

Process Improvement Specialist, Marketing

Drove sales in the footwear department by improving selling behaviors, successfully executing events, and promoting the co-op membership.

• Collaborated with store team through quarterly training sessions and daily feedback to produce double-digit growth in Footwear over one year, placing first in the 8-store market in two categories. 

• Subject Matter Expert (Footwear): Fit Basics Class Instructor; “Fit Guru” REI Expert Advice; Wirecutter Magazine contributor; and REI Co-op Journal.

Footwear Sales Lead

CityDog Magazine

Contributing Writer: Dog's Eye View

in collaboration with Sawyer & Winston 

Together, the three of us assessed the dog friendliness of neighborhoods throughout the Seattle area on a quarterly basis. Our articles reviewed the towns and neighborhoods of: Bainbridge Island, Bellevue, Edmonds, Kirkland, Madison Park, South Lake Union, Woodinville and others including a stop in San Francisco.

Freelance Writer

Puget Sound Surgical Center

Built the marketing strategy, analyzed competitors, and refreshed the brand to attract new patients and increase revenue in a national and international market.

• Rebranded the company, including a $10K website improvement, changes to live seminars, the addition of advertising and digital channels for a planned 30% increase in new patients.

• Created and launched the inaugural volunteer program with 1000 bariatric patients, providing support for current and prospective patients.

• Completed 86 hours of Certified Medical Education (CME) training in Diabetes and Bariatrics.

Marketing Director

Eaglemont

Increased brand awareness and sales to the public through new and existing partnerships with conservation-minded organizations across the nation. 

• Planned and produced a month-long tour over four states:  25 live events in community spaces and media outlets; interaction with hundreds of loyal and new fans; culminating in a product launch party for 200 guests with Jungle Jack Hanna in collaboration with the Bronx Zoo in New York City.

• Secured contracts with top three industry wholesale retailers and partnered nationwide with nonprofit education divisions, doubling product sales in 9 months.

Director of Programming and Business Development

📣I banish bad process to wrangle chaos and amplify brand.

Many people say they are a "Master of Chaos." I truly bring order to disorder with expected organization and assessment skills, but add creative flair that allows me to achieve unexpected success in challenging circumstances. 

Working with creative people, often in creative spaces, is one of my greatest joys (extra bonus for dogs!). 

🌀 As a former Production Stage Manager in live production, I handle multiple moving parts, tight deadlines, and crisis situations with ease. My years in service spaces gives me exceptional customer experience prowess, I build teams that provide views into all parts of a process to solve problems and create improvements while emphasizing unheard voices.

🔵🟢🟠

The Founder and CEO of The Idea Hound, I love working with clients who want to unleash greatness in their brand, processes, and projects.

We spot opportunity, track a plan, and fetch success for anyone chasing a brilliant idea. 

Learn more about us here on LinkedIn and at https://www.theideahound.com/

Founder & CEO

Strategy | Process | Projects
We spot opportunity, track a plan, and fetch success for anyone chasing a brilliant idea.

See what we’ve unleashed below, and at www.theideahound.com.

Featured Speaker, The Green Marketing Academy™

Developed a process for high-output event production where none existed before…in less than a week. We then produced 55 events in 52 days utilizing 120 volunteers and tripling impressions.

Created a cause-based social community for dog lovers and advocates, producing 85K reaches and 25K engagements over 8 short campaigns, resulting in $75K in donations for rescue organizations.

Built a community outreach marketing plan in 24 hours that anchored education offerings for 5 years.

taplio

The Battle

Adam Spacht

Beth Henkes

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