Bestselling author Mary Byers is the keynote speaker at the ASA Soybean Leadership College on Wednesday, Jan. 15 in Nashville, Tenn. Byers is co-author of Race for Relevance and Road to Relevance.

Her presentation features insights from Road to Relevance to help move soybean organizations to greater discipline, focus and value. Framed by five key strategies illustrated by examples, the book is a guide to competitive advantage.

Among other takeaways, participants will learn:

• How to identify strengths that deserve a concentration of resources
• The value of a coordinated product and service portfolio and how to achieve one
• The negative effect that marginal or underperforming activities have on your organization and ways to abandon them

Byers joins an all-star cast of agricultural industry leaders for the Soybean Leadership College. Also scheduled to speak at the 2014 ASA Soybean Leadership College, is U.S. Farm Report host John Phipps, Center for Food Integrity CEO, Charlie Arnott and Damian Mason. 

The Soybean Leadership College will also showcase breakout education sessions on organizational leadership, communications and the latest issues impacting the soybean industry such as the key target areas of Freedom to Operate and Customer Focus.

The Soybean Leadership College is open to ASA, USB and USSEC directors, state association and QSSB leaders and staff, soybean producers wanting to assume a leadership position on a state or national level and college students seeking to further develop their organizational leadership skills.

To register for the ASA Soybean Leadership College contact your state association. For more information about the Soybean Leadership College, visit https://soygrowers.com/learn/soybean-leadership-college/.

The 2014 Soybean Leadership College is sponsored in by the following corporations and checkoff organizations:

BASF, United Soybean Board, Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board, Delaware Soybean Board, Illinois Soybean Board, Indiana Soybean Alliance, Iowa Soybean Association, Kansas Soybean Commission, Maryland Soybean Board, Michigan Soybean Promotion Committee, Minnesota Soybean Research and Promotion Council, Nebraska Soybean Board, New York Corn and Soybean Growers Association, North Carolina Soybean Producers Association, North Dakota Soybean Council, Ohio Soybean Council, South Dakota Soybean Research and Promotion Council, Tennessee Soybean Promotion Council, Virginia Soybean Board, and the Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board.