"It’s even harder to describe the ‘vibe’ when Barack Obama entered the stage for his ‘keynote interview’."
Ger’s Learning notes #21
ATD Conference 2018
It was 5.30 a.m. in San Diego when my wake-up alarm went off. It was time to get up to attend the Association for Talent Development (ATD) conference, which started on May 7, 2018. We got up early particularly to attend Obama’s keynote. Together with my colleague, Thijs (and over 10.000 other people who wanted to see and hear Obama speak), we walked the long cue (a few miles long!), step by step. It reminded me of that great song by the Proclaimers.
We needed more than two hours to enter the large conference ballroom, not too bad considering some people started queuing at 3 in the morning. We could feel the excitement hanging in the air: it’s hard to describe! It’s even harder to describe the ‘vibe’ when Barack Obama entered the stage for his ‘keynote interview’. What a wonderful present for the 75th anniversary of the ATD.
I had the privilege to be a presenter at two sessions at the conference: ‘Learning like van Gogh’ and as part of the panel on ‘Artificial Intelligence and the Impact on L&D’. I now consider myself as having been a direct colleague of Obama for a few days :).
Read about Obama and my pick of other wonderful sessions at the ATD. Thijs and I returned home with a unique experience: Yes, we did!
(1) Obama’s Three Leadership Takeaways from The 2018 ATD Conference
by Dan Prontefact @dpontefract
What’s it about?
Dan Pontefract created a good, condensed overview of the three main leadership topics that Obama discussed during his ATD 2018 keynote interview.
Why read it?
- Of course, you want to know the main topics Obama discussed during the conference.
- Dan Pontefract covered the theme of leadership in his own books very well, so he is very capable of reviewing and curating what Obama shared.
- The post covers the atmosphere, the core messages and the most interesting quotes and is concise at the same time – that’s great work.
Where to find it?
Obama’s Three Leadership Takeaways from The 2018 ATD Conference
(2) Buckingham to Encourage Attendees To Be Freethinking Leaders
by ATD staff
What’s it about?
Marcus Buckingham, known as the founder of the Strengths Revolution, was the keynote speaker on Tuesday at ATD 2018. The title of his presentation was ‘Love + Work’.
Why read it?
- It’s so important to be reminded of the Strengths Revolution once in a while and focus more on people’s strengths because our society does not and that is a pity.
- Marcus suggests that you spend a week in love with your work, meaning that you find those aspects of your job that you love the most. Create a journal of your findings.
- He shows how the way we organize work is based on lies and that ‘burns us out’. The solution: become a freethinking leader of talent.
Where to find it?
Buckingham to Encourage Attendees To Be Freethinking Leaders
(3) The Art and Science of Training: Solving the Puzzle
By @ElaineBiech
What’s it about?
Elaine Biech promotes the idea that learning design is both science and art (and wrote a book about it) and suggested how to apply this idea at work during her wonderful session.
Why read it?
- Elaine Biech is THE ‘Grandmaster’ for the learning profession, writer of many books and engaged in important roles at the ATD for many years
- First, read the slide deck that you can find at the bottom of the post, and then have a look at the very interesting checklist.
- Apply, with some colleagues what we did at her ATD session: explore, for each of the scientific facts, how you can implement them in your work situation in an artful way.
Where to find it?
(4) My Digital Native Millennial Goldfish Story
By by Zsolt Olah @rabbitoreg (and praise for Clark Quinn @Quinnovator)
What’s it about?
Zsolt ‘confesses’ that he’s a ‘Gen X-er’ and not a Millenial and what that means for the way he prefers to learn (fun!)). Inspired by Clark Quinn and the Debunkers Club who gathered at ATD.
Why read it?
- This post is relevant, funny and has some beautiful GIFs included.
- The content is based on the new book by Clark Quinn ‘Millenials, Goldfish and other Training Misconceptions’, containing some good Myth-Busting work.
- Check your assumptions and become a better fact-based learning professional or even join the Debunker Club!
Where to find it?
Ger Driesen
Loves to connect people, ideas and inspiration in the global learning community.
On the wish-list to learn: Forging (yes, as forging steel)
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