Workshop: Smarter to Wiser, Faster
Two days. Six Wisdom Domains. In a world that's changing faster than ever, build the capabilities you need to make wise decisions.
Work changed. Development didn't. Wisdom remains human work—and the leaders who cultivate it will define the next decade.
Workshop Details
Date: May 11-12, 2026
Time: 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Cost: $1,800
Location:
Spark, Lipscomb University's Downtown Campus
400 Commerce Street Nashville, TN 37219
Why Attend the “Smarter to Wiser, Faster” Workshop?
In a world where AI is accelerating knowledge for everyone, human wisdom is the last true differentiator. This isn't a seminar — it's a two-day immersive experience designed to transform how you think, decide, and lead. You'll learn directly from Steve Nedvidek, the innovation executive behind Chick-fil-A's legendary culture of curiosity, who will share real-world frameworks that drove one of America's most successful restaurant companies. You'll use a North Star–South Star model to get clear on where you're headed and what's holding you back. And you'll apply cutting-edge brain science to sharpen your own decision-making and unlock the full potential of your team. Whether you're navigating organizational change, developing the next generation of leaders, or simply ready to lead with greater clarity and courage, this workshop gives you tools you can use the moment you walk back through your office door.
Built around Lipscomb’s "Smarter to Wiser, Faster" framework, the workshop integrates six critical capabilities that shape wise leadership. These Wisdom Domains include: Character & Stewardship, Perception & Detection, Systems Thinking & Creative Mindset, Discernment & Decision-Making, Unity-Building & Narrative and Courage & Resilience.
Meaningful Outcomes
- Launch a Transformational Leadership Journey. Begin a leadership experience that shapes how you think, lead and grow long after the workshop ends. It's designed as the starting point for sustained leadership development, not a one-time event.
- Experience a New Standard of Leadership Development. Engage in a more immersive, practical and personal approach than traditional executive education. It's built to challenge conventional models and create a more applied, engaging experience.
- Apply the Wisdom Domains to Real Leadership Decisions. Use the Wisdom Domains as a framework for clearer thinking, stronger leadership and better outcomes. The experience is fully grounded in and consistently reinforced through the core framework.
- Activate the Smarter to Wiser, Faster (S2WF) Framework in Practice. Experience how the framework supports ongoing growth, accountability and performance. The content is designed to integrate seamlessly into real-world leadership beyond the workshop.
- Strengthen Reflection as a Leadership Discipline. Develop deeper self-awareness through guided individual and group reflection. The workshop is intentionally designed with space for insight, processing and perspective shifts.
- Build Meaningful, Lasting Relationships and Immediate Application. Form authentic connections within your cohort that extend into your leadership network. You will walk away with practical frameworks you can apply right away in your role.
Presenters
Steve Nedvidek
Retired Chick-fil-A Innovation and Marketing Executive; Keynote and Workshop Speaker; Instructor at UGA Terry College of Business; Award-winning Graphic Novelist
Wisdom Domain Connection: Systems Thinking & Creative Mindset • Perception & Detection
Steve Nedvidek is an award-winning graphic novel creator, cartoonist, innovation professor, actor, feature film model builder, but primarily is a world class babysitter of two beautiful granddaughters.
Steve is a native of Detroit, Michigan, but grew up in North Carolina. He attended Wake Forest University, met his wife there and received his Masters in Theatre.
His life’s path has taken him into the worlds of art direction, television, film production, writing, marketing, and innovation. In 1988, he began a thirty-year career at Chick-fil-A, Inc., where he had roles as film and video producer, marketing consultant and program manager for Kids Meal, Local Store Marketing, Retail Licensing, leader of Creative Services and Innovation/Creativity specialist. He worked for many years on the world famous cow campaign. In his last role, Steve helped open the company’s innovation center, Hatch, and stood up the innovation discipline for the entire company. After retiring from Chick-fil-A, Steve taught for six years as an adjunct professor at Wake Forest, and now regularly teaches Executive Education classes for large corporations through the UGA Terry College of Business.
Steve thrives at the intersection of the arts and business. His creativity, unique perspectives on problem solving, and mastery of the Design Thinking discipline make him a multi-faceted contributor in different situations. In addition to co-creating the alternate history, action /adventure trilogy of The Jekyll Island Chronicles, Steve has done everything from creating children’s ministries to editorial cartooning for local newspapers to serving on the Board of Directors for several arts organizations, including as President for the Creative Center of North Carolina.
Residents of Kennesaw, Georgia, Steve and his wife, Sue, have three children, Michael, Emily and Alex and have two granddaughters, Presley and Grace.
Dr. Lonnie Cochran
Associate Professor, College of Education, Lipscomb University
Wisdom Domain Connection: Perception & Detection • Character & Stewardship
Dr. Lonnie Cochran is an Associate Professor in Lipscomb University's College of Education, where she teaches research courses in the M.Ed., Ed.S., and Ed.D. programs and serves as an advisor for doctoral research teams. Before joining the university faculty, she spent 16 years teaching in K-12 settings, building a ground-level understanding of how learning works.
Her research interests include teacher preparation and effectiveness, social-emotional competencies and mindfulness for pre-service teachers, MBES, and educational leadership. Her doctoral dissertation at Lipscomb examined teacher efficacy across five different preparation pathways, contributing to the evidence base on what makes educators not just knowledgeable but effective. She holds an Ed.D. in Learning Organizations and Strategic Change and an M.Ed. in Teaching, Leading, and Learning, both from Lipscomb University.
Dr. Cochran's work sits at the intersection of Perception & Detection and Character & Stewardship within the Wisdom Domains framework. Her expertise in how people develop self-awareness, emotional intelligence and the capacity to notice what others miss—and her commitment to preparing professionals who lead with integrity—make her a natural voice in the conversation about building human capabilities that technology cannot replicate.
Mike Fernandez
Founding Dean, George Shinn College of Entertainment and the Arts, Lipscomb University
Wisdom Domain Connection: Courage & Resilience • Unity-Building & Narrative
Mike Fernandez is the founding dean of Lipscomb University's George Shinn College of Entertainment and the Arts—the fastest-growing college on campus. What began as a small theatre department under his leadership has grown into a comprehensive arts college offering degrees in cinematic arts, fashion and design, contemporary and classical music, theatre and dance, and visual arts, along with an MFA film program ranked No. 1 in Tennessee.
Fernandez holds a B.A. in theatre from Abilene Christian University and a master's degree in playwriting from the University of Houston, where he studied under four-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Edward Albee. He also holds an Executive Leadership Certificate from the Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities Association. He is a member of Leadership Music's Class of 2018 and serves on the executive board of the Nashville Shakespeare Festival.
His most significant contributions lie at the intersection of enterprise-level innovation and individual leadership development. Fernandez has led transformative initiatives that reimagine how institutions engage creativity, build partnerships and prepare students for the evolving marketplace. At the same time, his work in leadership formation focuses on helping individuals develop clarity, purpose and wisdom through integrated, whole-life alignment.
Fernandez's leadership reflects a deep commitment to Courage & Resilience and Unity-Building through narrative. Building an entire college from the ground up required both the willingness to act decisively in uncertain conditions and the ability to articulate a compelling vision that aligns diverse stakeholders—students, faculty, donors and industry partners—around a shared purpose. His work demonstrates that the arts are not peripheral to leadership development, but central to forming leaders who can think creatively, act courageously and lead with clarity and purpose.
Ron Harrell
Founder, Harrell Media Group; Adjunct Professor, Branding, Storytelling and Social Media, Lipscomb University
Wisdom Domain Connection: Unity-Building & Narrative • Perception & Detection
Ron Harrell helps leaders, teams and brands cut through the noise so they can communicate with clarity, purpose and confidence. A seasoned media executive and brand strategist, Ron has spent more than 30 years shaping audience growth, talent development and narrative strategy for some of the most recognized names in broadcasting.
As founder of Harrell Media Group, a Nashville-based consultancy, Ron works with organizations and individuals to Reduce The Noise To Increase The Volume®—a principle that guides his approach to brand clarity, leadership communication and decision-making in complex environments.
Ron's career includes leadership roles with CBS Radio, Cumulus Media, ABC Radio and Hubbard Broadcasting. He later brought his expertise to the nonprofit sector as Vice President of Branding and Content for WAY Media, and then as Chief of Programming for Hope Media Group following the WayFM–Hope Media Group merger. In those roles, he led programming and content strategy for the WayFM network, KSBJ,and Vida Unida, helping each brand strengthen its identity and deepen its connection with diverse audiences.
At the core of Ron's work is a belief that external brand strength is built from internal clarity, vision, alignment and disciplined execution. He brings that same philosophy into the classroom as an Adjunct Professor of Branding, Storytelling and Social Media at Lipscomb University, where he equips emerging leaders with the tools to craft meaningful messages in a crowded world.
Within the Wisdom Domains framework, Ron represents Unity-Building & Narrative at its most practical: finding the signal in the noise, shaping stories that resonate and helping people see what others overlook. His expertise in Perception & Detection, honed over decades in a saturated media landscape, reflects the shift from smart communication to wise leadership.
Rob Touchstone
Director of the Center for Vocational Discovery, Lipscomb University
Wisdom Domain Connection: Character & Stewardship • Discernment & Decision-Making
Rob learned to be an entrepreneur while finding and selling golfballs as a kid growing up near a golf course in Marietta, Georgia. He has a passion for serving marginalized and impoverished people and communities and believes that one of the most effective and sustainable ways to address needs is through business as mission. Rob loves helping businesses, churches and nonprofits strategize how to engage at the intersection of compassion, strategy and sustainability.
In 2012, Rob created the vision for and co-founded The Well Coffeehouse as a social enterprise that turns profits into hope for those who lack access to clean water. He also planted Dwell, a marketplace church community at The Well, and preaches weekly at the Christ Family Church in Nolensville.
Rob received the NASBA Center for the Public Trust Making a Difference Award in 2017, was named Nashville's Business Innovator of the Year in 2016 by 12th and Broad, and earned the Mary Morris Award for Exemplary Service in 2015.
As the creator and director of the Center for Vocational Discovery at Lipscomb University, Rob teaches and mentors students to think missionally about business, economics and entrepreneurship. He earned a Master of Divinity from Lipscomb and served students for 16 years as a youth minister. Rob loves teaching, baseball, the outdoors, hiking, a good cup of coffee and driving with the top down on his Jeep Wrangler. His greatest gift is his family. He is happily married to Aimee, and they have four children.
Todd McCullough
Chief Innovation Officer, Lipscomb University
Wisdom Domain Connection: Systems Thinking & Creative Mindset • Courage & Resilience
Todd McCullough is a transformational strategist and innovation leader with decades of experience helping Fortune 500 companies, global consulting firms, and civic organizations turn complex challenges into clear, purposeful action. His work has always centered on deeper questions than strategy alone: how do leaders improve the current organization, while at the same create the future one? How do leaders create the environment for organizational success?
Those questions have taken him from leading Doblin — a pioneer in innovation strategy — to advising executives at Coca-Cola, Ford, McDonald's, SC Johnson, and Subway, to helping catalyze the Louisville Healthcare CEO Council, which brought competing health system CEOs together around a shared vision for their city. In 2025, he joined Lipscomb University as its inaugural Chief Innovation Officer, where he is helping build new models for how institutions develop human capability alongside technological change.
Todd has taught strategy, innovation, and leadership at Vanderbilt's Owen Graduate School of Management for over 17 years. He is a CPA (inactive). He holds a BBA from Harding University, and an MBA from Vanderbilt.