Featured Speakers

It is the goal of the Central Ohio Chapter of ASTD (American Society for Training and Development) to serve as a resource where individuals and organizations that have learning needs can connect with individuals and organizations with learning solutions.
 
Join us as we explore Workplace Learning and Performance during a fun filled day in a dynamic environment at COSI.  Our conference will feature interactive educational sessions and vendor demonstrations, networking opportunities and more.

We have a great lineup of very talented and exciting speakers including:

Julie White, PhD has been an international speaker, seminar leader, consultant, professor and author for more than two decades. The former director of the Institute of Management at Old Dominion University, Julie is also the author of five of the best-selling audio and video programs in the US, including the national best-seller, Image and Self Projection, The Psychology of Self Esteem, and the recently published book People Leave Managers…Not Organizations.

Julie will be speaking on The 5 Traps of Performance Management.

This is NOT your average session. No passive listening. No doodles on your calendar. No emails! As an experienced training or HR professional you know the importance of truly effective performance conversations. Yet, many managers feel uncomfortable discussing performance and often fall into predictable traps!

In this fast-paced session you will be provided with content and materials to help your managers understand techniques for avoiding the 5 traps of performance management. Each participant will receive a kit containing the PowerPoint Slides, Participant Guide (right to reproduce for their organization), and a white paper “It’s Not About the Form”.

What You Will Learn

• Understand and mitigate the 5 most common traps of performance management
• Eliminate potential conflicts encountered in performance conversations
• Facilitate alignment in performance discussions
• Increase comfort level in discussing performance with your staff

Kurt is a nationally know consultant and speaker with years of real world executive experience with Zandex Health Care Corp, Zanesville, OH, Armour Swift-Eckrich, Division of ConAgra, Inc., Downers Grove, IL / Omaha, NE, Wendy’s International Dublin, OH, and Cooper Energy Services, Mount Vernon, OH.

Kurt will help you explore the fascinating issue of Crucial Confrontations.

Broken promises, violated expectations, and bad behavior are a part of life.  These “gaps” between what you expect and the results you’re expecting are at the heart of most chronic problems. Left unaddressed, performance suffers, accountability disappears, and execution stalls.  Most often the only result is that the problem persists.

When we avoid addressing important issues, we lower the standards, we vote for the status quo, or we “act it out” in ways that perpetuate our problems.  Crucial Confrontations skills are culled from over 10,000 hours spent observing hundreds of master communicators confront almost anyone about almost anything in ways that get results and strengthen relationships.

This breakout session is all about skills and results.  Learn to hold people accountable-at any level-in your organization and personal life.  Confront the gaps in your life by stepping up to unresolved issues-those you face every day or have avoided for years.  

This powerful and engaging training will help you master the skills of the best influencers studied for over 25 years.

Dan has more than 30 years of experience in developing and conducting management development and certification workshops for organizations in a wide range of industries.  Dan has been the project leader on Instructional Design projects for subjects ranging from loan officer training for a financial institution to executive development for a multi-billion dollar corporation in the chemicals industry.  These projects include a project for developing video-based instructional support materials for AT&T’s World-Class Performance Management System. 

Dan has produced more than three hundred and fifty videotapes and films for use in both customized and off-the-shelf training programs.  One of these films, “Terminating an Employee,” won the Bronze Venus Award.  He has been a frequent speaker at national and regional conferences held by TRAINING magazine and the American Society for Training and Development.

Dan will be speaking on the Move from Training to Performance Solutions:  

We serve our organizations as performance consultants and design training so it has an impact.  However, we may still find it hard to fill our classes, get people to complete our online courses and demonstrate ROI on learning. We may also be experiencing the age old problem that training is the first area to be cut during a downturn.

How do we change this and lead our profession forward? The answer is to stop thinking training and to start thinking performance solutions!

Moving an organization and individuals to high performance through performance solutions requires a systems approach. Five Star’s research has identified the five drivers for high performance:

• Focused and Aligned Leaders
• Skilled and Motivated Workforce
• Integrated Talent Management
• Enabling Technology
• Continuous Process Improvement 

Using case studies, this session will define the five drivers of high performance and provide a process for designing and implementing learning and skill-building solutions. These solutions have been proven to increase individual and organizational performance. Also, this session will outline how you can partner with others in your organization to create lasting change on the job.

Jennifer in her role as Vice President, External Relations for the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD), is responsible for leading communication efforts to the media, policy makers, and ASTD’s chapter leaders and international community.

Jennifer joined ASTD in 1999 to lead the Public Relations function. Under the leadership of the PR department, ASTD’s research and content on trends in the learning field are frequently cited in top business publications such as BusinessWeek, The Financial Times, MSNBC.com, The Wall Street Journal, and in a variety of city business journals in the United States. In 2004, the ASTD PR department created an awareness campaign called “Employee Learning Week” to recognize the value of employee learning and its important connection to business results. Since that time, 44 cities and counties and eight states in the U.S. have recognized Employee Learning Week through government proclamations.

In her volunteer work, Jennifer served a two-year term on the executive board of directors for the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and was president of the IABC Washington, D.C. chapter, now IABC’s largest chapter in the U.S. She holds IABC’s Accredited Business Communicator (ABC) credential.

Jennifer will be updating us on Bridging the Skills Gap, An inside look at ASTD’s new white paper on the impact of the skills shortage

When was the last time you assessed the skills of your workforce? From basic skills to more technical, professional, management, and leadership skills, does your workforce possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities to move your business to the next stage of success?

“Bridging the Skills Gap: How the Skills Shortage Threatens Growth and Competitiveness…and What to do About It,” examines what business leaders and learning professionals can do to assess the severity of the skills gaps their organizations face, and how to close those gaps to contribute to the growth and success of their organizations.

“Bridging the Skills Gap” also provides recommendations to government for streamlining training programs and services to help individuals access learning opportunities, and help organizations hire and develop skilled talent. The paper includes seven case studies from public and private sector organizations.

Diane Alexander, President, The Mind Works, Inc, Columbus, OH, - www.themindworks.com

Diane Alexander is President of The MindWorks Inc., a company dedicated to teaching people how to use their minds more effectively.  With graduate degrees in psychology, business, and neuroscience, her presentations are so effective that she is repeatedly retained by such organizations as Abbott Labs, AEP, AT&T, Goldman Sachs, Honda of America, Nationwide Insurance, and Victoria’s Secret.  Diane does regular guest appearances on TV and radio and her book Break-out Creativity is required reading for many corporations.

The MindWorks, Inc. has been acclaimed by the London Times as having “the best training programs of their kind in the world.”

Diane’s presentation will be on Using Your Brain - To Get The Results You Want

Companies need more than just bodies - they need minds that contribute solutions and make a difference to the bottom line.  Increasing workloads; Diminishing resources; Constant changes; No wonder we all feel swamped, pressured and frustrated by the end of the day!

We can’t stop the business pressures that continue to mount.  But Diane can show you powerful techniques that enable you to tap into more of your greatest resource on the planet - your brain.  Your brain functions much like a computer.  However, it has no user manual.  It’s not user friendly.  With 100,000 miles of blood vessels and 100,000 billion neurons firing, it’s the most complex piece of equipment you have.  Yet most people have had more training on how to use their cell phones!  Isn’t it time to learn how to use your brain to get the results you really want?

You’ll Discover:

•   The 3 critical brain factors Harvard researchers found that differentiate high performers from the rest of the pack.
•   Step-by-step strategies that you can use to save you hours each day and produce results that make a difference.
•   Whole brain thinking tools that integrate your brain, producing more innovative insights in less time.
•   Easy-to-use tools that enable you to become a more valuable contributor by producing the right information at the right time.
•   A technology for using your brain that will be different from anything else you’ve ever experienced!

Visit the COASTD conference website – www.centralohioastd.org often to see more of what you will find as you explore the world of training at the conference on October 14th at COSI.

Sign-up today – www.centralohioastd.org and don’t miss your opportunity to explore the world of training!