SCRS Repairer Driven Education Turns Up the Afterburners at the 2011 SEMA Show

CC | May 10, 2011

Headline speaker Patrick “Lips” Houlahan of Afterburner Incorporated brings his high-energy, multimedia keynote to RDE, unleashing the power of Flawless Execution to those in attendance.

Last year’s SEMA Show marked the debut of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists’ (SCRS) advantageous Repair Driven Education (RDE) curriculum, which created industry buzz over the two days of educational offerings targeted specifically for the modern-day collision repair professional.

“The positive response we received from our attendees, speakers and SEMA Show management regarding our RDE series were very gratifying for our group,” noted SCRS Chairman Aaron Clark. “We were excited to have delivered what was perceived as a tremendous program for the industry in our inaugural year, and have worked hard since to harness the lessons we learned from the event to further amplify the program and offerings for 2011.”

The 2011 RDE program has expanded into all 4 days of the SEMA Show, and will feature time slots in the afternoons, complimented by I-CAR educational offerings in the morning. In addition to the full suite of regular session courses featuring some of the most prominent and sought-after subject matter experts, SCRS has added an evening headline presentation that is guaranteed to hit home with its attendees.

“SCRS certainly is in touch with the fact that many in our membership base are overwhelmed by the pressures our industry faces today, more than ever in the past,” stated SCRS Executive Director Aaron Schulenburg. “Shops today are forced to make decisions on a daily basis that impact both their shop and their market; and frankly, many of them feel the fatigue of fighting for their businesses on a daily basis. We wanted to bring in a speaker who we felt could help, could relate to that environment, and who could bring tangible guidance to the shops in a way that would both engage and entertain our audience, while giving them tools and knowledge they can implement in their business as soon as they return home from the show.”

After looking at numerous options, one presentation seemed best suited to hone in on the business conditions experienced by collision repair businesses, while providing the necessary guidance to bring value away from the RDE experience.

On Thursday evening, November 3rd at 5:30 p.m., SCRS will introduce former U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18 Hornet Instructor, and “Top Gun” graduate Pilot Patrick “Lips” Houlahan with Afterburner, Incorporated (Afterburner). The Afterburner team consists of current and former U.S. Fighter Pilots who have intimate understanding of how critical it is to execute in fast-changing and sometimes hostile environments. The high-energy, multimedia headline presentation they have prepared for SCRS is designed to help attendees use immediate business relevance to inspire repair businesses on how to achieve forward-looking mission-oriented goals.

The power of the program lies in the dynamic and powerful Flawless Execution Model(sm) because it is simple to use, yet it has lasting effects. You can’t always control the competition or predict the demands of your customers, but RDE participants will learn how to overcome these threats to maintain the flexibility they need to succeed in an uncertain environment.

Afterburner’s highly skilled speakers have trained over 1.5 million managers and executives, from renowned companies such as Verizon, GE, ExxonMobil and H&R Block, to name a few. Flawless Execution(sm) consists of the simple, scalable continuous improvement process of plan, brief, execute, and debrief. This business process creates accountable actions and enables organizations to:
Plan quickly and effectively by tapping into the power of cognitive diversity. In just six steps, your team can produce detailed plans based on individual accountability and team work;

Brief to win by aligning your team to execute initiatives flawlessly through proper communication techniques;

Execute by creating an execution rhythm, which drives individual accountability; learn to identify and eliminate performance-draining Task Saturation(sm);

Debrief your team on the outcome, creating a culture of learning that’s critical to adapting to a rapidly changing environment and producing better leadership skills

The headline presenter, Lips, graduated from The Citadel in 1992, and graduated from “Top Gun,” the United States Navy Post Graduate Fighter Weapons School in 2000. While on active duty, he applied his superior tactical expertise, leadership, and instructional capabilities to train over 260 replacement aircrew. In 2003, Lips was selected as the Instructor Pilot of the Year and was nominated for the Marine Corps Aviator of the Year. Lips has received numerous awards recognizing his superior ability to instill tactical readiness in his students, directly contributing to the training and readiness of all Marine and Navy F/A-18 Squadrons. Lips is a graduate of the United States Marine Corps Amphibious Warfare School and has excelled as a Logistics, Maintenance, and Training Officer.

After leaving active duty in the Marine Corps in 2004, Lips brought his wealth of instructional experience to the Afterburner team and immediately made a significant impact. An expert at teaching and applying the Flawless Execution Model(sm), he quickly became one of Afterburner’s most dynamic speakers and breakout facilitators; leading to his selection as San Diego’s MPI (Meeting Professionals International) Speaker of the Year for 2006. He still participates in the Marine Corps Reserves as an F/A-18 Hornet Instructor Pilot and is currently enrolled in the Marine Corps Command and Staff College studying the art of Strategic, Operational, and Tactical Planning.

Lips is also a partner in an internet advertising company which seeks to close the distance between advertising and purchasing. The challenging experience of starting a business coupled with his vast knowledge of leading high performing teams, has made Lips one of Afterburner’s most valued speakers, and an obvious fit to deliver value to collision repair professionals this November.

“SCRS is proud to deliver content of this caliber through our RDE program, and believe that the message and the delivery are going to be well received by our audience,” concluded Schulenburg. “RDE and the SEMA Show are about embracing opportunities for the betterment of your business, and we are thrilled to bring our audience of small businesses training that can inspire and motivate their advancement.”

About SEMA and the SEMA Show: The SEMA Show is a trade show produced by the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA), a nonprofit trade association founded in 1963. Since the first SEMA Show debuted in 1967, the annual event has served as the leading venue bringing together manufacturers and buyers within the automotive specialty equipment industry. Products featured at the SEMA Show include those that enhance the styling, functionality, comfort, convenience and safety of cars and trucks. Additional details available at www.semashow.com or www.sema.org, (909) 396-0289

About SCRS’ RDE Series: REPAIRER DRIVEN EDUCATION (RDE) series will feature over 21 seminar offerings, many of which are uniquely designed and being offered only at the 2011 SEMA Show. The series will be offered either as individual sessions, or as a package, and registrants will have the option to attend seven regular session seminars which will be delivered between the hours of 12:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. each day of the show; as well as a special headline presentation being delivered from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday evening. Each of the courses has been individually selected or crafted by SCRS because the content specifically focuses on information that is relevant to collision repair professionals and appeals to the diverse array of marketplace perspectives within the collision repair industry.

About SCRS: Through its direct members and 38 affiliate associations, SCRS is comprised of 6,000 collision repair businesses and 58,500 specialized professionals who work with consumers and insurance companies to repair collision-damaged vehicles. Additional information about SCRS including other news releases is available at the SCRS Web site: www.scrs.com. You can e-mail SCRS at the following address: info@scrs.com