PDMA 2006 - Experiencing the PDMA Experience in Track 3

Got up this morning to workout at the hotel gym.  Did a quick 30 minute cardio which was refreshing.  Since today was the last day of the conference I expected things to start winding down.  Had a nice talk with Henry Van Nostrand (Association Headquarters) and Gloria (NSA) during breakfast before going over to Track 3 to make sure we were set for the day. 

Heard some great talks from Scott Cook (Intuit) and Darrel Rhea (Cheskin) on innovation.  I even asked a question to Scott about the process for gathering user requirements.  I was glad to hear Darrel talk since he was also speaking during our Track 3 later in the day.  I even got to hear from Bank of America OCI award before heading back over to Track 3.  The team was organizing the final materials. 

Darrel did a great job presenting a systematic framework for innovation which really interested me since it seemed very similar to the work that had been done at Intel.

Mike Wittenstein (Storyminers) and Mark McJunkin (ProductM) had the rest of the track.  After resolving some AV issues we were on finally back on track.  We broke for lunch where I sat with David Maloney (SAP) and heard Ping Fu (Geomagic).  Being able to overcome adversity and be part of some great things is very inspiring.  As I was walking out I got to talk with Ken Westry (NPD Learning) and talked about a possible NPD workshop next year in Arizona.  Also stopped by to talk with Leontyne (Association Headquarters) and thank her for all of her help with chapter related stuff.

We finished Track 3 giving out “Emmy” awards to the small but intimate set of folks who got the chance to work on real world problems.  The mini-workshop turned out to be a really great part of the track.  It was too bad that many folks missed it cause they had to catch flights.  We hope folks liked the unique experience we tried to create for Track 3.  Send a reply to this blog and let us know your thoughts.  I know the team was grateful for everyone who helped us pull the track off and all of those who thought it worthwhile to spend some time with us.

A pleasant dinner with Lee Shaffer (PLM Associates) and Anita Caufield (Forecast Technology Group) where we saw quite a few other folks who wanted to get out of the hotel.  Then a quick cab ride back home for a early evening.

The last presenter was Deborah Kelly-Ennis (Diageo).  The Captain Morgan your Halloween skit was a hoot!  I even got a picture of Hamsa Thota, our fearless chairman, dress in his “First Class Male” costume.  I’ll let you see the picture but you have to pay me more than Hamsa! 

It’s been a long but satisfying 4 days.  It’s always sad for me at the end of the conference because it seems that I never get to spend enough time with old and new found friends.  It was truly a new learning experience for me to be involved in the conference planning, participate in a panel discussion, and blog for PDMA.  Let me know how your conference experience went (good, bad, or otherwise).  I hope it was a good one.

In the spirit of learning, I hope to apply what I’ve learned for the 2008 International Conference that will be in Arizona (Surprise!  So now you know a little bit of my motivation to be so involved in this one).  Let me know if you think Phoenix in late October is a great location for a conference because if I don’t get to see you at the 2007 conference then maybe we’ll get together in Phoenix in 2008.

Oh and by the way I’m still not done!!!  I’ll be co-teaching the Portfolio Management Workshop with Paul O’Connor tomorrow.  You might see one more blog from me after all.

Whether I see you tomorrow or not I encourage you to do something in the product development world that will make a difference.  In the words of Darrel Rhea, CEO of Cheskin, “To truly serve people requires compassion & empathy.  When we do our best work, we create value, enrich lives, and evoke meaning”.