14th Annual Workplace Learning and Performance Conference

Striking Similarities: Great Trainers and Great Leaders

Mike Mears, Owner, Mears Consulting

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Mike Mears, a Six Sigma Black Belt, has observed great leaders and trainers in a variety of his roles ranging from Commander of a nuclear missile site to President of a fast food company. An international speaker, Mike founded the Central Intelligence Agency’s Leadership Academy and conceptualized their Innovation Center. His book, Leadership And Life By The Elements, is scheduled to be published in February 2009.

www.mikemears.biz

Session 1A (10:10 a.m. - 12:10 p.m.)
Alan Krieger, President, Krieger Solutions, LLC

Video can be a powerful tool to enhance training…or it can put people to sleep. Showing a full length training video often promotes a passive learning environment. The “talking head” section of these programs are often hokey, boring or both. Commercial Hollywood movies are copyrighted and use of clips is illegal (without paying a huge license fee). One video company has recently recognized this and will now provide short clips to use as case studies to spark discussion. An international trainer and consultant, Alan will demonstrate how to integrate these clips both technologically and from a curriculum design perspective into an interactive training program that promotes active, engaged learning.

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Alan Krieger is an international trainer and consultant with over thirty years experience in training, organizational development, and management in the public, private and non-profit sectors. He has provided training and organizational consulting services to national governments, international organizations, state agencies, small corporations, local governments, non-profit agencies and statewide associations.

Alan is known for his practical, hands-on approach to training. His workshops actively engage participants in the learning process. His new use of video clips helps engage participants and provides practical, concrete examples for discussion. Alan presents training for a wide range of skills including: leadership, supervision, meeting management, communication, conflict resolution, performance management, and managing multiple priorities. Alan also provides organizational development consultation services to facilitate higher performance through team building, conflict resolution and strategic planning.

www.kriegersolutions.com

On-the-Job Training That Works

Session 1B (1:25 p.m. - 2:25 p.m.)
Judi Clements, President, Judi Clements Training & Development

Do you utilize on-the-job training (OJT) at your organization? Have results from OJT been spotty? Are some of your best employees some of your worst trainers? Judi has trained hundreds of professionals, performers, and media spokespeople and will show you how to plan and deliver effective on-the-job training. You’ll learn how to avoid Sink-or-Swim OJT. You’ll learn that there is more to OJT than teaming new employees with experienced ones and hoping the new ones learn by osmosis. Don’t let your customers suffer slow, inaccurate service until the new employees get “broken in.” This program will help you professionalize your OJT and ensure new employees get the training they need without sacrificing quality service.

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Judi Clements founded Judi Clements Training & Development 22 years ago. Judi offers professional development programs for staff and managers in the areas of supervision, communication, customer service and wellness.

www.judiclements.com

The Dynamic Trainer: Charge ’Em Up & Watch ’Em Fly

Session 1C (2:35 p.m. - 3:35 p.m.)
Joan Hebert, MBA, MS, Principal, Hebert Performance Training

Learn some of the most fun and effective ways to get trainees involved by invigorating the learning environment. Getting the “bored” student interested and involved is often a challenge. Learn how to more effectively use your body language, integrate questions, utilize games, create a learner friendly environment, as well as use some of the easy tips learned from over 20 years experience. Learn how to make even a “dull” topic fun and memorable. Increase the quantity and quality of participant involvement, thereby, improving the learning experience. This interactive session will demonstrate as well as provide a forum for discussing useful tips and techniques to put some “wow” in your training sessions.

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Joan Hebert, MBA, MS, principal of Hebert Performance Training, specializes in customer service, leadership development, presentation/training skills, teambuilding, sales, and communication skills. HPT is celebrating 11 years serving nationwide clients such as Time Warner Cable, Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, U.S. Department of Defense, Citizens Savings Bank, and National Grid that describe Hebert as "energetic, humorous, captivating, down-to-earth, and able to gain the interest of trainees!" Hebert is a certified Achieve Global and AMA instructor, and Syracuse University Adjunct Professor. Prior to HPT, Hebert spent 15 years with AT&T as a #1 nationally ranked master trainer. HPT is a NYS “Woman-Owned Business Enterprise”, member of ASTD, SHRM/CRHRA, listed on the NYS Eligible Training Provider List, and the federal government CCR. Hebert’s articles on leadership, training, and customer service are published both in the US and internationally.

www.heberttraining.com

Get Lost! You’re Not the Boss of Me! I’m Telling!

Session 2A (10:10 a.m. - 12:10 p.m.)
Merci Miglino, CPC, Professional Speaker, Trainer & Coach
Mary Lee Miglino

Does your conference room table feel more like the dinner table? Who we are in our family of origins never leaves us. Before you ever hit the job market, you were working within a team called a family. Where you sat at the table, determined partly by your birth order, is an important predictor of communication style in the workplace. This lively and funny presentation explores how birth order informs communication and team building approaches in an increasingly diverse and multigenerational workforce. Using real-life experiences and current research, Merci Miglino, the author of From Doormat to Diva^©, and her sister Mary Lee Miglino, will provide practical, concrete strategies for managing and maximizing family dynamics in improving and transforming organizational cultures.

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Educated as a teacher and working as a journalist, paralegal, communications director and campaign manager, Merci Miglino, CPC, is the eldest daughter of nine children where she learned to motivate a divergent group toward a common goal and to persist even in the face of impossible challenges.

Armed with this background, Merci conducts training and facilitation for numerous organizations including the International Coach Academy, a virtual, global training community originating in Australia and now the first and only such training school in China. She also conducts training and facilitation for Time Warner Cable, the NYS CSEA Labor Partnership, and the Capital District EAP.

Merci is a certified professional coach coaching entrepreneurs, practitioners, and serves as a corporate coach for one of the fastest growing travel companies in the world. A noted speaker she has written a book, From Doormat to Diva© Taking Center Stage In Your Life where Merci mixes education with entertainment to share insight and inspiration for life and business changing impact.

www.doormattodiva.com

Mary Lee Miglino, M.Ed,  a real-life Cinderella in her family of origin - a large Italian Catholic family where the first born son and daughter are fondly referred to as the “prince and princess”. She has been a change agent in several endeavors including government service in California. As an instructional designer, trainer, educator and Diversity practitioner she brings a well-rounded approach to transforming human performance in the workplace.

Use Your Brain For A Change! Developing Work Environments That Enhance Employee Performance

Session 2B (1:25 p.m. - 2:25 p.m.)
Cathy Urquhart, Founder, Performance Health

Every trainer knows “Telling Ain’t Training^®.” Today ‘telling’ isn’t leading or managing either. Whether we are talking about Gen X, difficult employees, or new work processes, leaders and managers who understand how the brain learns can develop work environments that build trust, improve morale, motivation, innovation, and team work, all vitally important to business and employee success. Participants will experience key requirements employees need and leaders and managers can implement, to create the kind of work environment where employee performance thrives by using a 6-step process.

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Cathy Urquhart, author and learning facilitator, speaks with the power of more than 25 years of leadership, management, and academic experience in non-profit, for-profit, and academic settings. Cathy has combined her passion for performance and health into a forward thinking program that helps people develop habits for success in both these areas. Not satisfied with training that provides ‘tips and tricks’ that only work in specific situations, Cathy’s dynamic and imaginative presentations use the latest in learning and brain research and leads audiences to gain insight into problems and develop solutions that work. Audiences gain strategic tools and processes that can be used immediately and in the future.

Cathy holds an MS in Psychology and Nursing from the University of South Alabama. She has held faculty positions with the University of Alabama at Birmingham, School of Nursing, and the University of Phoenix ground campuses in both Birmingham, AL and Braintree, MA. She was the management trainer for a large managed care company before leaving to start her own company, Performance Health.

www.performhealth.com

More Marketing with No Money

Session 2C (2:35 p.m. - 3:35 p.m.)
Dr. Thomas J. Denham, Founder, Careers In Transition LLC

You love what you do, but you know you could always improve in the area of marketing. This interactive workshop will help you answer the urgent question: “What have I done to market myself or my business today?” A contributing writer for three books and leading authority on career development, Dr. Denham will discuss new strategies for branding and marketing for professionals short on cash but long on talent. Join us for this lively and engaging conversation of the when, where, why and how of successful marketing. No matter how much you know about marketing, participants are guaranteed to walk away with at least 10 new ideas that are affordable and effective. You’ll also learn some serious marketing No-No’s! You can’t measure up if you don’t market up.

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In 1995, Dr. Thomas J. Denham founded Careers in Transition LLC, a private practice in career services, which focuses on career counseling for individuals and consulting services for institutional clients. Tom has over 18 years of experience in career services, having held leadership positions at Union College, Harvard, St. Lawrence, and Boston Universities.

Tom founded Northeast Public Radio’s award winning talk show, The Career Forum. He has been a contributing writer for three books, has published dozens of articles, and speaks extensively on career management issues. He is currently working on his first book on finding your passion.

He has served on the Board of WMHT Educational Telecommunications and the Consulting Alliance. He has chaired the Entrepreneur’s Councils of the Albany-Colonie and Guilderland Chambers of Commerce. His company was a finalist for the Albany-Colonie Chamber’s 2006 Microenterprise of the Year Award. In 2006, he was selected as one of the Albany Business Review’s “40 Under Forty” honorees, that recognizes young professionals making a difference in business and in the community. In 2008, the Guilderland Chamber of Commerce unanimously honored him as the Small Business Person of the Year. He also earned the 2008 UAlbany Alliance for Graduate Education & the Professoriate Service Award. In addition, he was honored with the Friends Service Award by the Capital Alliance of Young Professionals this summer.

Tom earned his bachelor’s degree from St. Lawrence University, masters from Boston University and his doctorate from Nova Southeastern University. He is Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Qualified and has earned his Master Career Development Professional (MCDP) credential.

www.careersintransitionllc.com

Implementing ROI Training Evaluation

Session 3A (10:10 a.m. - 12:10 p.m.)
Chandler Atkins, Ph.D., President, Atkins Training & Development

This program will demonstrate how to complete the five levels of evaluation of a training program. Dr. Atkins, a distinguished professor of Business at Adirondack Community College, will review the ten specific skills that are required for organizations to be at the top. These include: planning for ROI calculations, isolating training variables, monitoring costs, implementing and teaching others the ROI process, providing internal consulting, as well as collecting, converting, analyzing and presenting data.

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Chandler Atkins, Ph.D.
30 years, Distinguished Professor of Business, Adirondack Community College
20 years, adjunct professor of business, SUNY Plattsburgh, Graduate Program
Consultant to NYS Government on Training ROI
Ph.D. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 1991
MBA, 1978

Why Metrics Matter: Tips and Tools for Credible, Scalable and Repeatable Measurement

Session 3B (1:25 p.m. - 2:25 p.m.)
Debbie Groves, Director, East Region for KnowledgeAdvisors

This session will heighten awareness regarding how to conduct learning measurement and analytics in a practical, credible and comprehensive manner. Debbie, a leading authority on measurement, will cover the business case for measurement and present research that describes where the learning industry is at today regarding measurement.

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Debbie Groves has over 13 years experience in the learning industry, helping clients meet business objectives with solutions that maximize the performance of human capital. She is responsible for KnowledgeAdvisors client relationships and business development in the Eastern US region and Canada. Prior to joining KnowledgeAdvisors in 2008, Debbie spent over a decade contributing to the growth of SkillSoft (SmartForce/CBT Systems) as an account executive in the NY Metro area. Her prior roles include responsibility for a mainframe technology training division of an IT consulting firm, and corporate fundraising for the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. Debbie is also violinist, and holds a degree in Business and Music from the University of Hartford and the Hartt School of Music.

www.knowledgeadvisors.com

Annual State of the Industry Report

Session 3C (2:35 p.m. - 3:35 p.m.)
Andrew Paradise, Senior Research Analyst, ASTD

ASTD estimates that U.S. organizations spent $134.39 billion on employee learning and development in 2007. Andrew will share this data included in ASTD’s annual 2008 State of the Industry Report. The State of the Industry Report is ASTD’s annual review of trends in workplace learning and performance. The report includes data from ASTD BEST Awards Winners, ASTD Benchmarking Forum Members and other organizations from 2001 to date.

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Andrew Paradise is a Ph.D. serving on the staff of the national ASTD as Senior Research Analyst. Andrew leads a research team that, among other projects, compiles the data for the Annual State of the Industry Report, ASTD BEST Awards and other benchmarking surveys.

www.astd.org

In-house Training Teams: Cut Costs While Offering Personal Development

Session 4A (10:10 a.m. - 12:10 p.m.)
Deborah Mackin, President and Principal Consultant/Trainer, New Directions Consulting, Inc.
Michael Harrington, Director of New Training and Strategic Initiatives, New Directions Consulting, Inc.

Organizations have talented employees — presenters and teachers — right in their midst, who may be hiding behind a bank teller window, an assembly line, or a quality audit. Given the opportunity, these people can be formed into an exciting in-house training team to augment your offerings, provide opportunities for personal growth and development and keep training costs reduced. Deborah, the author of three best selling books on teambuilding, will discuss how to recruit and select prospective trainers when setting up an in-house training team and she will share success stories from the field.

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Deborah Mackin is a successful consultant, trainer, author and presenter.
Deborah is the author of three best selling books on teambuilding (most recent: The Team-Building Tool Kit, second edition). Deborah’s work is also cited in business, quality and human resource journals.

She has a B.S. in Speech and English and a master’s in Organization and Management.



Michael Harrington, Director of New Training and Strategic Initiatives, is the newest member of the New Directions training and consulting staff. As Deborah’s son, he will joke that he learned how to train at the dining room table. Michael has a Masters in Administration and Leadership from SUNY Plattsburgh and has been Chief Student Affairs Officer at Paul Smith's College for the past three years. His undergraduate studies were in Mass Communication and Radio/Television Broadcasting. This background provides him with the perfect skills for presenting and training on our communication and leadership workshops.

He particularly brings to the company and our training offerings a new understanding about the Gen X/Y worker and how best to help them learn and retain the necessary workplace skills. We’re excited to see how he is going to weave social networking and his technical skills into the trainings.

He also has years of experience in the educational environment helping with student retention programs, leadership programs for RAs and RDs and strategic planning.

www.newdirectionsconsulting.com

Leadership Without Limits—Inspiring the Best in Yourself, Your People and Your Organization

Session 4B (1:25 p.m. - 2:25 p.m.)
Loretta Love Huff, President, Emerald Harvest Consulting

This workshop provides a model that builds leadership capability to powerfully connect with, influence and inspire others to action. Participants will learn the keys to being a leader without limits: vision, values, trust, integrity, motivational style, planning, execution and learning. Loretta is author of two books: 6 Keys for Dissolving Disputes: When ‘Off with their Heads!’ Won’t Work and Leadership without Limits: Inspiring the Best in Yourself, Your People and Your Organization. She has made several appearances on the Fox News show, radio shows across the country and has been featured in business publications including the New York Times, the Arizona Republic, the American Management Association’s Executive Matters newsletter, Arizona Woman, Working Mother and numerous association newsletters.

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Loretta Love Huff, The Dream Leader for Business™, is President of Emerald Harvest Consulting. She is a seasoned corporate executive with corporate experience in human resources, IT and commercial banking plus 10 years as an entrepreneur in management consulting. Loretta teaches graduate programs in Transformational Leadership, Systems Thinking, Business Communications and Conflict Management for the University of Phoenix.

As an award-winning executive/business coach and performance improvement consultant, Loretta helps corporate leaders and small business owners optimize their performance and accomplish their business and professional objectives. Her vision is that people express their unique gifts to manifest their highest destiny and that organizations honor those gifts in pursuit of their business goals.

Loretta is a board member of Gabriel’s Angels, the Arizona Parkinson Network and the Phoenix chapters of the National Speakers Association and the National Association of Women Business Owners.

Loretta is also author of the book 6 Keys for Dissolving Disputes: When ‘Off with their Heads!’ Won’t Work. Her second book, Leadership without Limits: Inspiring the Best in Yourself, Your People and Your Organization will be released in Fall 2008. She has made several appearances on Fox News show, radio shows across the country and has been featured in business publications including the New York Times, the Arizona Republic, the American Management Association’s Executive Matters newsletter, Arizona Woman, Working Mother and numerous association newsletters.

www.lorettalovehuff.com

When Knowledge is Not Enough: Impacting Supervisors’ and Managers’ Leadership Behavior

Session 4C (2:35 p.m. - 3:35 p.m.)
Alan Stern, Founder and Principal, Stage Right Organizational Development, Inc.

Effective behavioral change requires ongoing commitment beyond participation in training. Alan brings 30 years in education and government, and his lifelong involvement in theater to this session which will introduce participants to Competency Development Frameworks. He will explain the structure for establishing a comprehensive program that includes training, development of individual learning plans, individually paced self-instruction and coaching support to build proficiency in supervisory and management behaviors.

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Alan Stern is Founder and Principal of Stage Right! Organizational Development, Inc., a training and OD firm in the Saratoga Springs, New York area. Alan has more than 30 years of experience in education, government, training and theater. He has been a teacher, supervisor, administrator, state agency senior manager, stage and film actor, model and entrepreneur.

Alan’s company, Stage Right, helps individuals and organizations use creativity, spontaneity and authentic communication to make meaningful and sustainable change to impact outcomes. Alan’s work applies a unique set of approaches based on the solid principles of organizational improvement and the practices of structured story telling, improv and theater. These combine to help people tap into their creative sides, learn to improvise and use their resources, collaborate and build teams, communicate with clarity, make their partners look good and lead with authenticity and courage.

Stage Right’s programs put people into action using the premise that it’s better to act your way to better thinking than trying to think your way to better acting. Stage Right offers programs on performance, personal and organizational leadership, supervision and management, conflict management and authentic communication. The programs focus on finding what works and building on those strengths. Alan has helped attorneys scour a mountain retreat on a scavenger hunt, social services commissioners from the UK play “telephone,” and whole office staffs tell stories and create paper cut-out murals—all to discover their strengths, be better able to work together, communicate, and perform better as individuals and as teams.

Alan does keynotes and conference presentations and has presented internationally at the Institute of Fundraising in Birmingham, UK, Diversity in Fundraising in London, UK, and the International Leadership Association in Amsterdam, Netherlands. His clients include: Chanel, Capital Repertory Theatre, AIDS Council of the Capital Region, Michigan Office of the Auditor General, NYS Governor’s Office of Employee Relations and many NYS agencies, The NYS and CSEA Partnership for Training, American Society for Training and Development, Centre for Public Innovation, London, England, St Peter’s Hospital, and the Albany Chamber of Commerce.

www.stagerightorg.com

Everyone Can Become a Dynamic Speaker – Yes, I Mean You, Too!

Closing Session (3:45 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.)
Mark Grimm, Founder, Mark Grimm Communications

Hosted by the author of Everyone Can Be A Dynamic Speaker, this interactive session features compelling video and graphics, presenting a clear path for attendees to become more dynamic at public speaking. Mark, a former TV news anchor, has conducted one-on-one interviews with two presidents. The session will help lessen anxiety and develop more clarity and relevance to help cultivate the inner power that rests within us.

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The Guilderland Chamber’s 2006 Entrepreneur of the Year, Mark Grimm is founder of Mark Grimm Communications, a communications training and media relations firm.

Mark was the keynote speaker for the NYS Training Council’s Annual Institute in 2007. He has conducted communications training for the Training Council and ASTD, state agencies, trade associations, private companies, and individual executives.

A former ASTD Trainer of the Year nominee, Mark is a one-time TV news anchor who’s interviewed two presidents; has appeared on Phil Donahue and CBS National News; has appeared as an analyst on every major Capital Region media outlet; has made hundreds of speeches; hosts a Siena radio talk show; and is an adjunct communications professor.

Mark has a master’s degree in public communications from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School and is a magna cum laude Siena graduate, where he was named the Conlin Scholar, Siena’s top honor for English majors.

www.markgrimm.com