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ASTD 2004 International Conference & Exposition review

Over 400 European delegates were among nearly 9000 training, learning, and performance professionals who attended the American Society for Training & Development’s (ASTD) 2004 International Conference & Exposition.

The event took place between May 23rd - 27th at the new Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. During the Conference and throughout 2004, ASTD celebrates its 60th anniversary.

ASTD 2004 featured three keynote speakers, sessions by industry “legends,” an EXPO with 342 training suppliers that showcased their latest products and services, certificate programs, hundreds of educational sessions, and plenty of networking opportunities.

New this year, ASTD partnered with Harvard Business School Publishing (HBSP) to present a preconference workshop, Training Directors Business Boot Camp, designed to help training directors prepare for their biggest business challenges.

Educational sessions were organised into nine educational tracks, allowing attendees to apply their professional development and learning to specific needs and interests.

Highlights of the ASTD 2004 International Conference & Exposition included three keynote speakers:

• Richard Teerlink, Former Chairman and CEO of Harley-Davidson, Inc. and author of More Than a Motorcycle, talked about the principles, innovations, and creative responses that were responsible for Harley-Davidson’s reinvention and miraculous turnaround. His philosophy centers on the idea of people being the only sustainable competitive advantage.
• Henry Mintzberg, Professor of Management at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, presented a new way to create managers, calling for a revolutionary shift in management development. Mintzberg’s discussion is based on his new book, Managers Not MBAs.
• Candice Carpenter, Founder of iVillage.com and author of Chapters: Create a Life of Exhilaration and Accomplishment in the Face of Change, examined personal and professional change in a radically new context and offered a powerful prescription for managing change.

Legends Sessions featured industry experts who have helped to shape the learning and performance profession over the years: Arie de Geus, Gloria Gery, Geary A. Rummler, and Peter M. Senge. These individuals shared experiences and insights on topics like organisational identity, the anatomy of performance, and global learning.

Three hundred and forty-two training suppliers showcased their latest products and services in the EXPO. Select exhibitors offered demonstration sessions and computer labs.

Educational sessions were offered in nine tracks including careers, e-learning, leadership and management development, learning as a business strategy, measurement and evaluation, organisational culture and change, performance improvement, personal and professional effectiveness, and training and specialized training programs.

Certificate courses in Training, ROI (Return-on-Investment), HPI (Human Performance Improvement), E-Learning Instructional Design, along with the Business Boot Camp, were available to attendees who wanted to enhance their learning and development experience.

Conferences-within-a-Conference provided intense, focused learning experiences for specialized areas or topics. They included: Consultant’s Day, Measurement, Evaluation, and ROI (presented in partnership with the ASTD ROI Network), Public Sector at its Best, Creative Training Techniques (presented in partnership with The Bob Pike Group), Financial Services, and Developing Connected Leaders (presented in Partnership with the Center for Creative Leadership).

Related links

ASTD President & CEO Tony Bingham's Keynote Speech at ASTD 2004

ASTD Board of Directors Chair Pat Crull's Keynote Speech at ASTD 2004

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