Certification Network Group
Symposium and Action Planning Workshop

Thursday, July 29, 2010        10 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Bechtel Conference Center at the American Society of Civil Engineers National Headquarters
Reston, Virginia

Certification +Technology : Disease or Cure?

A Highly Interactive Day with a Panel of Experts to Help
in Rebuilding Your Own Action Plans
for Integration of Systems, People, Certifications and Learning Providers

Hey! It's Free!
This event comes at no charge, as a benefit of being a member of CNG.
We checked and anything close to this is charging a fee of $250 to $750.

Registration closed on Friday, July 23 for this symposium.

If you registered for this and did not complete your Preparation Page,
you still need to get that done and submitted by noon Saturday, July 24.
Here is your link to the Preparation Page
http://www.keysurvey.com/survey/317536/1527/

Sorting Through High Tech for People Solutions Today's mantra is "Do more, faster, with less — less time, less human resources and less budget". What does that really mean to you and your organization? It means there is a good chance that your organization is living in a chaotic state. - one in which decision making processes are greatly impaired. Mission critical decisions fall prey to this chaotic state causing additional loss of time and money ultimately, sending organization into another unproductive chaotic state.. This symposium will first address the causes and problems related to this fluid decision making process and then provide strategies and action plans to help bring your association out of chaos and into a healthy decision making state. The Agenda. Click here to download (pdf) Why should you attend this symposium? After attending, you will: Understand what are the right questions to be asked prior to, during and after any type of technological solution implementation. Be able to use the 5 Whys for problem definition and problem focus. Be able to list at least three key elements that all successful delivery methods offer Be able to recognize at least three technical issues to avoid Be able to differentiate when to select low tech over high tech. Draft an action plan for addressing your issues, unique to your organization and your position.   Workshop FAQs Who would benefit most from this day? You are susceptible to the dreaded GIGO if you have... Who will be in my group? Who will help me implement my plan? Symposium and Workshop Leaders Adam Booth Thomas Lowther Lance J. Welter Details and Directions Who would benefit the most from this day? Certification program owners and staff as well as creators and implementers of certification who struggle with GIGO thinking. Though thought to have been eliminated decades ago, GIGO thinking is now on the rise and poses a serious threat to all certification implementation and communications projects and solutions.   You are susceptible to the dreaded GIGO if you have the following symptoms: Jump to any solution before you completely understand the problem Try to match technology to an undefined problem (the "silver bullet solution" for your problem) Implementing a technology solution that interferes with your associations best practices, forgetting these create the value your membership will buy and therefore generates your needed revenue Allowing non-value features into requirement documents because someone thinks they are cool Create an IT budget from a single data point that of the software purchase and not understanding long range IT implications At the beginning of any new project, there are several known things; the name of the project, the date on which the project will be completed and most importantly, what alleged problem the project will correct. What is always missing is the how step: How do we know we have a problem? How have we defined the problem How do we know the problem does not come from our process? How do we better to understand the requirements to correct the problem? How will this project/software correct the problem? How will we know the true budget – financial and staff time? Without the how step, the dread GIGO disease creeps into your project, takes over and dooms your project to frustration, budget over runs and a great possibility of NOT correcting or improving the original problem. Are you are susceptible to the GIGO disease? Do you use computers or office management software in your business? Do you have an IT department, either on site or 3rd party? Have you ever moved an office process from paper to computer? Ever been involved in an upgrade or plate form change? Are you a Cubs Fan? If you answer yes to four or more questions – including the Cubs question – this seminar has been designed for you.

GIGO = Garbage In, Garbage Out is a phrase first heard in fields of computer science, information systems and communication technology. For the past 40 years, GIGO has invaded all professional fields and caused billions of dollars of waste and frustrated business owners and employees and destroyed productivity and profits. GIGO is used primarily to call attention to the fact that computers will unquestioningly process the most nonsensical of input data (Garbage in) and produce nonsensical output (Garbage out). GIGO was most often said aloud in the early days of computing, but applies even more today, when powerful computers can spew out mountains of erroneous information in a short time. It is also commonly used to describe failures in human decision making due to faulty, incomplete, or imprecise data. Catch phrases such as Ready, Fire, Aim point to this human nature to rush to conclusions and actions without ever thinking things through or having any idea about the impact and damage it will cause to people and their relationships with the people they value the most. If you have been in the work force in the last 40 years, you have had to address this issue and the need to get better and smarter about fighting the GIGO monster has grown as fast and as large as the number of computers and amount of information that’s out there. Unfortunately, you may have inherited GIGO along with those seven little words that will ruin the value any true client-driven project: “We have always done it this way”   This symposium is possible by the continued support from all of the sponsors of CNG:   Pearson Vue Prometric Castle Worldwide Cobalt Integral7 HumRRO Comira Certification Management Services

Who Will Be In My Work Group? Who Will Help Me Implement My Plan?

We built this program for the people who have been struggling for many months with issues around customer data, customer service, staff reorganization around how customers actually behave and spend their money rather than products and services we hope they buy. Tightly wrapped around these issues are more issues specific to software selection, customization and many questions about who needs to control or drive this “whole organization-plus vendors” dynamic.

These are the people who will be delighted with the seminar and the immediate help they get in one day. These are the people who will be in your work groups in the afternoon as everyone turns their talk into action plans. These are the people who will be in your MasterMind group, formed during this meeting, to help you stay on course and stick to your better plan.

 

You are one of these people if your title and your work looks like this:

Executive Directors, Chief Financial Officers, Chief Information Officers, Assistant Directors, – to ascertain and understand how a proven system for an IT integration will ensure a successful implementation.. The presentation will include discussions and examples of:

Internal and External Stakeholders – to understand the entire process, learning their roles and responsibilities in voice of the customer research which will help establish their requirement for the technical documentation.

Department Managers/Project Managers – to understand that a failed IT integration can be avoiding by; doing a complete review of all process prior to IT selection, establishing technical requirement based on customer value and creating a technical document which will be used to drive the selection of the IT solution to a successful conclusion.

Anyone who has been tasked, by their board or executive committee, to improve their GSA, improve member/certificant retention and growth or improve an antiquated process through the selection, purchase and implantation of an IT solution needs to attend this full day, interactive workshop.

About our symposium and workshop leaders

Adam Booth, Manager, Technology Based Learning. KPMG LLP.

Adam Booth is a performance support and education specialist with 15 years of experience in four countries leading learning and process improvement design and development initiatives for fortune 500 companies such as Cisco Systems, Marriott, and KPMG. Mr. Booth is currently a Manager of Technology Based Learning for KPMG,  recognized as “America’s Best e-Learning Team” by Brandon Hall in 2008. KPMG’s learning and development function has been recognized in the Top 5 learning teams for five consecutive years in Training Magazine’s Top 125.

Mr. Booth brings a holistic business and technology approach to organization learning by leveraging cutting-edge technologies, Web 2.0, mobile learning, simulations, and communities of practice to deliver enduring, cost-effective results aligned with both the needs of the learners and the business objectives of the organization.

Thom Lowther, U.S. Green Building Council

Thom Lowther, Ed.S. has been involved with professional and organizational development for more than 30 years. His experience includes working in the public sector, the private sector, higher education and associations. Thom is currently the Vice President of Education at the U.S. Green Building Council in Washington, DC. He is responsible for the formulation and implementation of vision, strategies and programs related to the education content, development, support, and delivery. He oversees all new business and financial models and license agreements. Thom is accountable for the business metrics tied to the USGBC Strategic Plan. As a member of the management team, his focus is domestic while supporting international operations.

Thom currently serves on the American Society for Quality –ASQ- Learning Center Advisory Council. He is a former Chair or the Board of the Learning Resources Network (LERN), a leading international continuing education association and served on the Advisory Panel for Professional Development of the Union of International Architects (UIA).

Lance J. Welter, MA, Sutton Enterprises

Mr. Welter, a sales and marketing specialist with over 25 years of developing successful client driven strategies for and with Fortune 500 Companies, venture start ups (IPO’s) and associations.

Through his understanding of Toyota Lean and Agile Development processes, he brings a no nonsense approach to problem definition and how correct use of VOC, voice of customer, will bring problem resolution and create revenue generation opportunities. He is a firm believer that customer knowledge creates innovation and innovation creates needed revenue.

Mr. Welter has a long track record of leadership and achievement in professional and civic organizations, including serving as chair of international conferences. His facilitation experience includes EPA Superfund Town Hall meetings, US Coast Guard Towboat and Pushboat public meetings along the Mississippi and corporate product development strategy meetings.

Mr. Welter holds a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Communications from Northern Illinois University and a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Communication Theory, emphasis on Conflict Resolution from Northeastern Illinois University.

RSVP NOW!

No charge for this meeting but you must register in advance.
Participation limited to the first 75 CNG members to RSVP.
The RSVP link will disappear when we have 75 enrolled or July 22, whichever comes first.

No walk ins because there is preparation for this meeting that all who
register will need to get and provide back to the program leaders in advance.

Time: 10 am. To 4:00 p.m.
Date: Thursday, July 29, 2010
Place: Bechtel Conference Center, located inside the headquarters for the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), 1801 Alexander Bell Drive, Reston, VA 20191-4400
Directions:

Parking: Open parking lot surrounds the ASCE building.

Map & Directions