Leadership Essentials is for the current & future leaders of the attractions industry.

IAAPA has partnered with GoalMakers to bring you our newest initiative, Leadership Essentials, a 10-week, fully virtual training and networking program with a curriculum based on an executive MBA.

Terell Weg

"Each team member walked away with something that they did not know before and actually implemented right away in our business. It's worth your time; it's worth your team's time!"

Michael J. Vance

“Many of the tools & resources you can implement immediately in your work life. The combination of online learning & group breakout sessions was very valuable to me. If you are a learning leader, I recommend checking out the next session."

HOLIDAY Van ErEM

"I loved the self-based timeline and bi-weekly check-in discussions. I met new people that I can learn from outside of the program and feel confident in sharing my new knowledge with others. This program is worthwhile and I learned so much."

Chase Keller

"Two Words: Do It!
This program offers a time-efficient, streamlined format and relevant real-world content. Take this opportunity to position your company for success."

Bill Warnecki


"The program is spectacular. 
The beauty of this is that it could be attributed to anybody at any level of your organization, even us old dogs got something new out of it!"


Key takeaways from Leadership Essentials:

Master Team Management

Refine Your Leadership

Grow Your Bottom Line

 See All Pricing Options   
March 10th
PROGRAM KICK-OFF

$995

solo Learner

$795

for teams 5+
Lifetime Access
after the 10-week program

The Transformation

Leadership Essentials is a 10-week fully virtual program for both the current and future leaders of the attractions industry to master the skills of organizational leadership, people management, and business finance.
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An interactive, virtual, peer-based learning program.

At Your Own Pace eLearning

Asynchronous eLearning allows you to work at your own pace, around your schedule, with an interactive eLearning portal accessible on both web & mobile.

Live Interactive Conversations

Join bi-weekly live facilitations with our the experts to discuss the learning and work in breakout rooms to implement & gain feedback from your peers.

Your New Professional Credentials

By the end of the program you will have new knowledge, resources, and skills -- so share that with the world with your new digital badge and certificate!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Loved by Learners!

IAAPA Member Exclusive Pricing

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Solo Price

$995

the most popular

Pairs Pricing

$895

per learner

Team Pricing

Teams of 5 save $1,000!

$200 off each additional learner.

  Secure Checkout Process

Non-Member Solo Price

$1,495

To become an IAAPA member and receive your discounted pricing, please contact our membership team at iaapa@iaapa.org.

Save These Dates!

Within the program, there will be live sessions to network and learn in real-time with your cohort.
All live sessions will be held on Tuesdays from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM ET.

PROGRAM
KICK-OFF AND
ONBOARDING

March
10

VISION, GOALS & PLANNING PROCESS

March
24

THE RIGHT TEAM & CUSTOMER

April
7

AN EMPOWERED SYSTEM OF MANAGEMENT

April
21

DEMYSTIFYING THE FINANCIALS

May
5

APPLYING THE FINANCIALS

May
19

Can't make one of the live sessions? No worries, all are recorded for you to review later!
W h a t ' s   I n c l u d e d

Explore the Leadership Essentials program

With over 20 hours of video, a private learning community, and an arsenal of templates, resources, and knowledge, it's one of the most comprehensive programs for the attractions industry leaders in the market.

When you join, you'll receive lifetime access to
  • 6+ hours of live facilitated expert coaching
  • 350+ learning modules within the self-paced online learning
  • A cohort of your fellow business leaders to connect & network
  • Downloadable companion worksheets & materials
  • 20 interactive tools to implement the learning 
  • Knowledge checks to build competency
  • A printable learner handbook to organize it all
  • Lifetime access to the eLearning portal and resources
  • and a LinkedIn badge and certificate to share with the world!
Share your certificate with the world!

What is the Leadership Essentials Curriculum?

Scroll through each section with key learning takeaways below.

Want a deeper dive? Click to jump to the full breakdown  

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Set Goals All the Time

We begin by crafting a vision for the company, our long-term goal 3-5-years from now. This will be the North Star for our entire team. Then we learn what makes a 'good goal' and create company-wide, department-level, & individual goals that align with our vision. 

Learning Outcomes of this Section

  • Set a company-wide vision.
  • Learn how to create good goals.
  • Create goals for the company, departments & each employee.
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Focus On The Process Not a Plan

We’ll get a baseline of our company's current status by collecting valuable information. Using that as a baseline we will adopt a planning process so our company can adapt to today’s ever-changing conditions.

Learning Outcomes of this Section

  • Measure current company state.
  • Replace the business plan.
  • Create strategies for a constant planning process.
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Coach the Right People

We’ll clearly define positions at our business, and create position descriptions for ourselves and key roles within the organization. Then we identify the right natural abilities needed for these roles, and if we have our people in the best place for success currently.

Learning Outcomes of this Section

  • How to build the right team.
  • Learn to identify natural abilities.
  • Create position descriptions for yourself and every employee.
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Serve the Right Customer

We begin by identifying our right customers, then determine how we find more of these right customers, building a sales process to serve them, streamlining our operations processes around them, and finally fostering a culture & strategies necessary to serve the right customer.

Learning Outcomes of this Section

  • Identify your good customers.
  • Define your generic strategy.
  • Create a sales process & refine your operations processes.
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Empower Your Entire Team

Learn how managers empower their team members by establishing clear goals and allowing people to achieve those goals in their own way, through our system of “wide boulevards, high curbs”. We determine if our team members meet the criteria required to work in an environment of empowerment and how to coach them in they can.

Learning Outcomes of this Section

  • Learn the life-cycle of a manager.
  • Build an empowerment culture.
  • Create an organization of 'Wide Boulevards, High Curbs'.
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Do the Right Things Right

We will use six tools to monitor and manage our company’s performance and build our own System of Managing—a clear and effective means of providing clarity and purpose to team members while steering everyone to accomplish their individual goals, as well as the company’s goals. 

Learning Outcomes of this Section

  • Learn the six tools to measure & manage goal achievement.
  • Create a system of management for your team.
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Demystifying the Financials

Using a case study, we will understand how to read and use financial statements. With the case study as real-world context, we will also learn about projections, inventory, accounts receivable, and cash flow and how to use this information to build stronger businesses.

Learning Outcomes of this Section

  • Using a real-life case study we will:
  • Learn how to properly read the financial documents.
  • Further understand the benefits of accurate projections. 
  • Build out your own financial models of success.
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Applying the Financials

With a new understanding of the basics, we will focus on specific elements that grow the bottom line. We start by calculating our own financial ratios, and how to set realistic goals for your business with them. From there we learn how to easily use break-even analysis to inform everyday decisions. 

Learning Outcomes of this Section

  • Dive deep into how to calculate the important financial ratios and set realistic goals for each of these ratios.
  • Understand the cash flows (in and out) of your business.
  • Calculate your break-even to inform every decision. 

Meet Your Industry Experts & Facilitators

Steven Tarca

Organizational Leadership & Team Management

Steven Tarca, ICAE SHRM-CP is a Senior Director of Guest Experience at SUMMIT One Vanderbilt. With over 15 years of experience in attractions management, his expertise spans from launching new experiences to working with established hospitality organizations.   
 
Steve's journey began in arts management on Broadway, where he honed his skills in food and beverage operations and discovered his passion for service. This passion led him to pursue a master's degree in hospitality and tourism management at UCF, while gaining invaluable experience at the Walt Disney World Resort, working at iconic attractions such as the Jungle Cruise and The Haunted Mansion. Returning to his roots in New York City, Steve then became a leader at the Empire State Building Observatory before becoming part of the Guest Experience opening team at SUMMIT One Vanderbilt in 2021. Since opening, SUMMIT has welcomed over 8 million guests. 
 
Steven's dedication to hospitality and attractions excellence lies in fostering engagement, nurturing culture, and elevating training initiatives. His guiding principle echoes his belief that caring for our team is paramount to delivering exceptional guest experiences.

Mario Centola

Financial Management

Bio Coming Soon!

Jeremy Wall

Program Guide

Jeremy has a passion for simplifying the complex. As you will see in both the self-paced learning, he will help support your learning journey to bring these learning concepts from theory to practical implementation within your business. Jeremy has founded, grown, and exited businesses before and will work with you and your team as you look to create a lasting impact on building a better culture, healthier balance sheets, and a stronger bottom line.

John Cioffi

Program Creator

John Cioffi, the Chief Content Officer at GoalMakers, has spent the last 30-years, coaching hundreds of clients to success. He previously ran a subsidiary of Amoco Oil, a Fortune 100 company, and held executive positions at several other companies in a wide variety of industries. John received his MBA from The Wharton School and holds a Master’s from Dartmouth.

A blend of self-paced eLearning with interactive live sessions!

Self-Paced eLearning

The content is engaging and approachable built to suit all different learning styles helping to simplify concepts into practical application within your business.

Printable Workbook

Along with the digital learning, engage with the physical workbook which can be printed out as your physical companion to guide your time in the program.

Bi-Weekly Zoom Calls

Participate in our live bi-weekly facilitations, as well as  the community forum, to share thoughts and ideas, increase connection, get help implementing the learning.

Don't just take our word for it

Hear what learners have to say

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KAREN GONZALEZ

"The resources provided in this course are well developed and explained. I will begin using them immediately and will put into practice this new way of setting and reaching goals for our office.

 I have been in business for many years and have learned on the job. This course has provided me the tools with which to measure and manage based on industry standards.

My goal in taking the course was to be able to better understand and use our financial statements to understand and manage the business. I will continue to put in the work and become more comfortable with the process."

CINDY CADACIO-CHAN

"The program was a great personal development opportunity.

I loved the scenarios and stories. The training gave me the opportunity to think about our organization, how things currently are and how we can grow as a company.

I would definitely recommend the class and look forward to more educational training!"

HEATHER BAKER

"I thought the program was really helpful in reframing how we approach business goals and managing employees. The first several sections have helped me review and refine how our firm develops goals, and how we go about hiring and training associates. I used a lot of the specific program material when developing position descriptions for our associates.

Where the distinction between a service-based business like practicing law differs from other businesses and industries was obvious. Nevertheless, having the context and more detailed information to refer back to will likely useful when things come up.

Overall, I really enjoyed the program and thought it was practical and well thought out. I liked how the program catered to different learning styles by having videos and written information, and how it was broken up into smaller bite-sized pieces. The click through nature of the written materials with the time estimate on the front end helped make the large amount of information seem more manageable.

It's a great value-add and was a good experience. "

TOM REINBOLD

"It has been an incredible learning experience for me. The comprehensive curriculum, expert instructors and the very interactive format have transformed my approach to management. 

I really enjoyed the approach to creating a management style. This program provided so many great tools that I shouldn't have any issues finding many new and great ideas to further my sales management career. 

The program's flexibility allowed me to balance learning with my busy schedule. The practical exercises allowed me to learn in real world scenarios. Thanks to this program I have grown both personally and professionally!

I highly recommend it to anyone seeking to elevate their managerial skills and make a lasting impact in their organization. "

KYLE BEERBOHM

"My objective with taking the course was really to dive deeper into the financials and metrics. However, the goal setting and management side of the course really caught my attention in the way it was presented.

It was much more practical than your standard "management style". It really focused on being dynamic and how to adapt to the changes that occur in the real world and not what some textbook says should happen. The financial tools were also great because it gave me the resources to really dive in deep and understand my numbers in relation to industry benchmarks.

I thoroughly enjoyed connecting with others during the live sessions because you could have real conversations with other people in your exact situation to help each other solve problems. This program was not just some textbook/pie in the sky management course. It really focused on the real world and more importantly, how to adapt to the changing world we face and how to manage those changes."

DARYL RICHARDSON

"In all my years working in sales or management, I have never experienced a session that taught me as much as this one.

I strongly believe that it is absolutely essential for anyone entering the business world or getting involved in the sales aspect.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching both John's and Jeremy's videos, and the virtual conversations we had were equally enriching."

What makes this program different?

The real key is a blended learning experience -- pairing self-paced, online learning with live facilitated session to learn with your peers and from the experts themselves in real-time. 
Live Sessions
Self-Paced eLearning
Professional Networking
facilitations

Expert-Led Live Coaching Sessions

Beyond the online learning we come together with a cohort of your peers for bi-weekly facilitations allowing you to be coached in real-time by masters of the craft.

Save the Date for Our Live Program Kick-Off

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Grab Your Seat
Learning

Interactive Self-
Paced Online Learning

The program is designed to provide you with impactful knowledge & resources that will guide you, step-by-step to put into practice immediately.

Want to test-drive the self-paced learning yourself? 

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Networking

A Cohort of Fellow Business Leaders

Connect with both the current and future leaders of industry to learn & share together in a peer-to-peer learning experience, building your support system!
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Want to learn more?

Use the calendar link below to find a time to book a time for a 15-minute discovery call where you can ask any questions you have before signing up.

Leadership Essentials Begins March 10!

THE GOALMAKERS GUARANTEE

We believe in our material so much that we offer a money-back guarantee if you don't find value after the first two weeks.

Frequently Asked Questions

Don't see the answer to your question below?
Click here to book a time to chat with the GoalMakers team

Who is the program for?

This information is beneficial for everyone, from the CEO to the frontline, essentially the more of your team that understands these fundamentals, the better off your business will be. However, if you want to start slow, we suggest that owners, managers, future leaders, supervisors, and high-potential employees go through this program together as a unit for the most impactful outcomes.

How long will it take me to complete? Per section & in total?

Weekly you should expect about 2.5 hours per week, but self-paced learning is all up to your availability! 

Then bi-weekly we have 60-minute long live sessions with your peers and industry experts. 

Overall, you should expect anywhere from 20-40 hours over the 10-weeks. (Some learners spend much longer than this and some a little less, but it depends on where you are at in your professional journey)!

How many people from my team should participate? 

Beyond being a great learning program this is an organizational alignment tool meaning that the more people who participate together, the better the impact you'll see when looking to implement these learnings.

What if I miss the live sessions?

While you will get the most out of joining them and participating in the conversation with both your peers and industry experts, if you can't make one do not worry! All sessions are recorded and uploaded into the eLearning to review later.

How long will I have access to the program?

Great question, while the program runs in a synchronous timing with your peers after the 10-weeks you will retain access as it does not expire!

Are there assignments & testing?

You won't get a certificate just for signing up, no participation trophies here! 

Throughout the program there are 6 end-of-section knowledge checks at the end of each of the management sections, and then a cumulative exam at the end. All must be completed and passed in order to receive your certificate.

The full breakdown of each section:

Not ready to register, but want to stay connected?

Add your email address below and we'll stay in touch (no spam) about any special offers for the program both for this cohort and future! 
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