Organization Development Network

It is so good to be back in Seattle for this year's OD Network Conference 2009! We were here at the Sheraton Seattle in 1996, I think it was. I remember a particularly figural pre conference one day workshop with Joyce and John Weir on Self Differentiation that year, bringing back much of what we worked on in our 10 day Self Diff lab in the `80s . . . <snap> . . . OK, back to the present.

What a cool city in which to be holding our conference. Water, mountains, snow, boats, skis, bikes, renewable energy, bio tech, hi tech, Microsoft . . . did I say water and boats?

This year, the conference theme is "Now Is Our Time: Advancing the Theory and Practice of OD." The program has a sort of matrix structure, with Program Tracks on Building Communities and Connections, Developing Leaders and Managing Talent, Demonstrating the Value of OD, Practicing Outside the Box, and Enlarging Our Toolkit. Then there are threads which run through the themes for HR professionals in an OD role, internal OD consultants, OD professionals in healthcare, and OD and sustainability. Can't even escape an organizational matrix at a conference!

The first round of pre conference workshops launched at mid day today. Jeff Frakes and the Fielding Community started "Clear Evidence" on gathering data to measure the impact of OD interventions. And the Gestalt Center for Organization and Systems Development gang is back again this year offering their winning 2 day "Becoming a Better Intervenor" workshop again this year, with Veronica and John Carter, Marcela Benson-Quaziena, Mauricio Puerta, and Mike Rynex.

Seattle superstar and master OD consultant Geoff Bellman hosted a gathering for two of his European colleagues, Rob Filjstra and Harry Wullings, who asked us if we were OD tour guides and challenged us to be expedition leaders. It was down at the Stonington Gallery here in the arts district of Seattle and brought together the most interesting collection of eclectic and creative people. It felt a bit like a preview of the coming week at the OD Network conference, except with art and hors d'oevres!

Back at the Sheraton in Seattle, it's a small-ish group gathering here now, collecting the timber and preparing the ground for what is gonna be one great big roaring bonfire of knowledge, experience, gathering, networking, socializing, and reconnecting with friends and colleagues from around the world. What could be better than that? Still time to warm up with us . . . drop in for a day or for the whole experience . . . this is one not to be missed. Matt

It was a very different type of day in Seattle.  It had the standard drizzle and dark clouds, but it also had hard rains, a flood warning, heavy winds, and brilliant sunshine.  And that was all outdoors.

ODNet list mate Randy Webb said that they had had sunny weather all summer long, and that they held off the first prolonged rain for our arrival. How thoughtful of them!

Indoors, though, it was warm and sunny, with plenty of networking all around.

Eight more pre conference workshops launched today, including one day workshops on Roger Harrison's Skilled Facilitator model and Sam Kaner's advanced skills workshop, plus sessions on sustainability, lessons learned from the neurosciences for leaders, influencing strategies, and the 21st
century town hall with Janet Fioro and Diane Altman Dautoff from America Speaks.  There were also workshops on bridging generational divides in the workplace, and on "gracious space as a context for change," which sounded really cool.

I spent the day convening the program directors of the OD graduate schools for a spirited conversation about the field of OD, where it is headed, how it is surviving the recession, and the future of OD education.  You can bet that kept a facilitator on his toes, with very rich and compelling
content.

   Meanwhile, down in the lobby, we had another several hundred people arrive here at the Sheraton today.  It was fun to spend time in the lobby and see friends that I know, and to see friends greet other friends.  It's such a great study of human behavior, just watching how people greet each other,
with hugs, or kisses on lips or one cheek or two, or handshakes, one hand or two, bags on the floor or on the arm, loud voices or soft whispers, and then all of the body language as people stand together, connect person to person, catch up, and plan their time together.

I'm also enjoying watching how people keep track of their schedules.  More than one has pulled out the conference program with circles and stars around featured sessions.  There have been a few index card schedules, neat fit into breast pockets.  I've seen a few paper diaries and calendars.  Among the electrati, there was an obvious generation divide, with older people using Palms and Blackberrys for the calendars, and the younger folks more likely to have the iPhone.  It's sad to be so
predictable.

Tomorrow, it's a full day, with the OD Network Business Meeting, the gODparents, the People of Color, and first time attendees all meeting at 9.  Then at 10:15, Stephanie Jo Gomez and I convene the Dick Beckhard Memorial Mentoring Session.  Carolyn Lukensmeyer is the opening keynote in the afternoon, and then it's concurrent sessions from 3:30 . . .

We're just getting off the runway.  If you're in the Portland, Seattle, Vancouver area, there's still time to drop by and join us, even for just a day.

Hope to see you here!

Matt

When the conference officially began at 1:45 today it felt like we'd already had a full day here in Seattle.

The 9:00 OD Network business meeting revealed a challenging financial and membership picture and a call for members to enlist friends and colleagues and a very compelling summary of the benefits of OD Network membership. Board Chair June Delano and the Network's Executive Director, Peter Norlin
explained the Network's valiant efforts to cut costs, reducing the staff from 8 to 4 in the past year and going from 9 to 6 contractors, most of whom provide specialized services at the conference.  June and Peter challenged us to help right now in recruiting new members to the Network and in other revenue raising efforts.

Then Stephanie Jo Gomez and I hosted the Dick Beckhard Memorial Mentoring Session again this year.  Denny Gallagher had the vision and drive to remember Dick Beckhard by starting this program back in 2001 - you may remember what that fall was like! -- and to grow it into one of the most
popular conference events.  The buzz this year was amazing, using Denny's patented "speed dating" process for matching mentees and mentors.  As I was remembering Dick Bekhard for the mentees, most of whom hadn't heard of him, Charlie Seashore just happened to have a full color picture of Dick
in his briefcase, and we got to show it around and see the man who we were remembering.  Great fun again this year, with almost 80 mentees and about 30 mentors.  If you missed it, come early next year and be there!

Also abrew this morning was the People of Color interest group convened by old buddy Kenneth Jones and John Perry.  The gODparents group was gathered by David Jamieson and Denny Gallagher, who then all joined the Mentoring session as Mentors.  Two CBODN friends and colleagues Angela Watts and John McCall met with First Time Attendees to orient them to the conference and the OD Network.

This year's conference has a different schedule than in previous years. Rather than starting with a reception on Sunday evening and opening keynote on Monday morning as in years past, this year, the conference opened at 1:45 Sunday with the keynote address by Carolyn Lukensmeyer,
with concurrent sessions after that.  Carolyn remembered her first keynote address to the OD Network back in 1995 at this same Seattle Sheraton.  She asked us what it means to be a human being in a culture and democracy that is so degraded.  She said that the powerful voice of the public in government is being silenced by the money of corporate interests, which for the first time in history, inserted themselves into the town hall conversations this August between the public and their representatives. She explained the work of America Speaks http://www.americaspeaks.org and
showed videos their work in rebuilding New Orleans after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which several of my Johns Hopkins students worked on, and of a Global Voices workshop of 10-24 year olds in the Republic of Korea.

Carolyn's keynote was followed by the first round of concurrent sessions. The wonderful Saul Eisen convened a session on the Obama Tipping Point. ODNetters Bob Ebbers (establishing the value of OD) and Tom Devane (team performance) were presenting.  NTL President Fred Nader and NTL member and Director of the AU/NTL program Katherine Farquhar led a session on facilitating leadership transitions.  There was some great talent today, but the session that I was partial to was the annual Student Paper Presentations, for which I had the privilege of being a reader again this year.  Chaired for the 7th year, I think, by Jason Wolf, we had 22 papers submitted, and in the end, selected two winning papers, Nicole Stragalas, "Updating Kotter's Change Management Model," and Helen Starkweather, "Implications of Queer Theory and Disability for OD Practice."  I want to tell you that these two women were dynamite.  It is so great to see such smart and strong young women as the current thinkers and future leaders of our field.

The opening reception was all Seattle with great heavy hors d'oevres, a sweet piano trio, and all surrounded by sponsors and their displays.

The very full day still was not over, though.  Then we had a powerful session on consultants' use of power, led by good friends -- former CBODN President Nedra Weinstein, and current ODN Board member Lisa Kimball. Using the World Cafe model, about 100 of us were involved in an intimate
conversation about power, inviting us to explore the stories we tell ourselves about power, and the limiting beliefs that we carry regarding power.  Quite a . . .  er, powerful . . .  session

Oh, and the sun came out today.

I'm toast.  More tomorrow.

Matt

This has been a jam-packed day.  There was about 10 seconds of free time for the Type A people who were committed to sampling all of the possibilities here today.  6:45 yoga, early continental breakfast, plus a group of Seattle joggers with an early departure.  Peter Block was the morning keynote, and more on that in a bit.

After greeting everyone at the stroke of 8:30 this morning, Board chair June Delano announced an election for two open seats on the OD Network board.  She also announced that your humble list scribe was appointed to the Board of Directors to help the Network with its publication and
dissemination strategies.  It will be some work, eh?  Got any ideas for turning knowledge into money?  Call me soon!

Again this year, as always, Peter Block shook the place down to its booties.  He was completely and totally clear about his purpose: to create a future for the world that is distinct from the past.  He said we can't make change like that with speed, and we can't do it on our own.  All transformation and learning and even healthy behavior is a collective act that can only happen in social settings and in community.

He said that, by their nature, systems are unfriendly to uncertainty and not knowing, and that they create practicality, which is the enemy of mystery and not knowing.  And it is mystery and not knowing that we need to create a new future.  He said, "I'm coming out for not being a results kind of guy."

Block said that we can't problem solve our way into the future.  Analysis, research, and study is a way that systems defend themselves against a new future.  He said that his city, Cincinnati, has conducted 12 studies on racism in the last 13 years, and that was betting there would be a 13sth
soon.

He said that the new future that is distinct from the past will be created when we practise 5 things:  1) hospitality, the practice of welcoming strangers and seeking out people who are different from ourselves; 2) gifts that are given freely, rather than goods that are provided to someone in need; 3) associational life, which we must choose over being cut off from the larger social system; 4) we need to reclaim "reality," because anything that can be laminated or frozen in stasis loses its aliveness, and becomes frozen and unfriendly to any new future; and 5) the structure of how we sit and meet together.  It is the small group in which work occurs, where community is built, where mystery pervades, the unknown explored, and new futures are built.

Some of what he said extends his thinking in his new book, "Community," which is dynamite and essential readying for anyone interested in intervening effectively in social situations.

He was full of wit and wisdom and challenged us right down to our colored markers about the work that we do and how we do it.

It was a true dilemma selecting a morning conference.  ODNetter Jim Rough convened on reinventing democracy, as he's been writing recently on ODNet.  NTL members Fred Miller and Judith Katz worked on building inclusive mindsets, Terry Smith launched sustainable consulting practices, Linda Ackerman Anderson developed strategic change agendas, and David Jamieson and Co on use of self as an instrument of change.  One of the most conceptual sessions was offered by NTL member Bob Marshak and Gervaise Bushe on What's New in OD:  Dialogic Interventions.  Their article in the current JABS was the center of a spirited conversation here on Saturday among the OD academic program directors.  The premise of their article is that OD is shifting from a positivist world view demanding
proof of concrete events to a constructionist perspective, in which reality is constructed by those of us who experience it.  As they've pointed out, this can have profound impact on how we collect data and how we conduct action research.

Over lunch, John Vogelsang, the new editor of the OD Practitioner and the editors of the ODP, Practicing OD, and OD Seasonings - the OD Network family of publications - met with perspective authors to explain the pubs and the editorial review process.  Those of us who work on these pubs
don't get enough chance to see each other and collaborate together, so while the session was very helpful to the potential authors, it was also great fun seeing other editors as well.

After lunch, the Network had a new round of concurrent sessions, in which conference sponsors presented their ideas and some case based learning.

The second round of concurrent sessions was called New Views sessions, all focused on leading edge ideas and concepts that don't get enough exposure.  Geoff Bellman and his co-author Kathleen Ryan presented their new research on the factor that make Extraordinary Groups, June Holley presented on Weaving Smart Networks for Social Change, Stephanie Ryan presented on B Corporations, where private interests and social responsibility converge, and several others.

At 3:30 was another round of concurrent sessions that I was too exhausted to attend, and then at 6:30, I convened the Men in OD group.  We were small, we were intimate, we were very personal, and we were deep.  At the same time, the GLBT group met down the hall, as did the OD in Healthcare
group which Jason Wolf convened, and the global forum met as well.  Plus there were receptions.  Many receptions.  Did I say there were receptions?  Yikes!

So, it's been another day of stimulation, and growth, and truth that challenges, and vistas that open up and brand new horizons.  That's about as good as it gets, ever!

G'night.  Matt

The day dawned ever so slowly this tired morning in Seattle.  In addition  to all of the weary bodies, the morning found itself slow to arise through a dense morning fog that shrouded all but the nearest buildings.  No waterfront.  No Space Needle.  No red-lighted towers.  Just a few feet of visibility . . . which seemed about right given the intensity and all-immersing richness of the conference so far.

And yet, the morning's events didn't allow much luxuriating in a morning slowth or basking in the warmth of your congratulatory messages.  Thank you all for your acknowledgements!

The annual breakfast to announce and honor the Network's award winners was  the early start.  Bev Scott received the Service to the Network Award, Glenda Eoyang and Tony Petrella received the Sharing the Wealth Award, John Carter and Glenn Varney received the Lifetime Achievement Award,
Judith Katz and Roger Harrison received the Larry Porter Award.  And Suzanne Zaldivar received the "Best OD Practitioner Article in 2008 Award," for her wonderful piece on her 8 week consulting project in Afghanistan.  Suzanne is an AU/NTL graduate, and we both consult to the same international organization where I know her and work and how richly she deserves this award.  It was a GREAT article in the ODP in 2008 about the challenges of her work and her own personal journey trying to "do" development in the current conditions in Afghanistan.

The morning keynote session was another wowser.  Leng Lim grew up as a Christian fundamentalist in Singapore, believing that there was one correct and true set of beliefs, one God, and only the true believers who were saved.  Focused on what separates us, not what connects us.  On a hitchhiking trip through Malaysia 25 years ago, at the end of a long dinner with a Muslim family, the father said, "We are of different faiths, but we all love the same God," which was the beginning of his shift toward
a more inclusive view of God, religion, and other people.

Years later, he was literally kidnapped from his car by a crowd in Saudi Arabia, noosed with a Saudi man's head-dress rope, and almost killed.  It was only when he folded his hands in prayer and prostrated himself in front of the man and the mob that he was released.  The offense seemed to
be that he was an Asian man in western dress with a camera taking pictures of a woman in a country of Muslim beliefs and Arab culture.  Over time, he got back in touch with the wisdom of the Malaysian man who said that "we are all one," and now he no longer seeks revenge on his kidnapper, and no
longer wishes him ill.

He described a camping trip to the canyons of New Mexico, where he began to ask questions like those of Harry Levinson, such as "what's this life all about?" and "what's the second half of life all about?" and "what do I have to do to make this second half of life meaningful?"  He described a transcendent experience, with powerful sounds and movements arising from within him, echoing off the canyon walls, and connecting him to a much larger cosmos way past his own self.  And his answer to the "what am I to be, to do, in the second half of my life?" question came as, "To be part of life."  We all laughed when he said that his second question was, "Well will I have a big part to play or small part to play in all of this life?"  He danced, tears flowed, the mind chatter stopped, and he was in the force, the presence of the life force in the middle of New Mexico.

He said that these are the experiences of tribal peoples all around the world before Western settlers and missionaries "taught" them otherwise. He said these kinds of transcendent experiences were likely the offenses of the witches burned at the stake.  And of native peoples everywhere, including in Asia, before the West arrived with its cultural imperialism and tried to convert them to the "real" world.
 
He talked about the conflicts that occur when culture dominates society versus when economics dominate a country.   He challenged the west to get past it economic and cultural triumphalism and to let culture arise and not be driven by economics.
   
We then sat in 4s, and did a closed-eye-then-open-eye process of looking at our partner, and being seen by our partner.  Then we were to project everything positive about that person, their gender, race, nationality, etc right on to their face and their person.  Then we were to project everything negative onto them.  And he invited us to experience ourselves and our bodies in the various stages of that exercise.  Very, very powerful.
   
His closing question to us was, "What is the culture you intend to create in the here and now, and why does it matter?"
   
The afternoon keynote was a lot more cerebral and introduced some research and grounded theory to our work.  Denise Caruso is a researcher, analyst, and author, writing about ways to improve cross discipline and cross functional collaboration.  She founded the Hybrid Vigor Institute to study and practice specific methods for interdisciplinary research and collaboration.
   
She cited the MacArthur Research Network as an exemplar in cross disciplinary team work.    She said that the steps toward building collaboration include, deciding to collaborate, a problem of many dimensions, not enough data on hand, where there is no single authority on the subject, and when you can't wait a long time for answers.
   
She said that there were 5 factors that made for success: 1) the right people, including fearless leader(ship), and a requisite variety of team members; 2) having consensus on the problem; 3) having a commitment to the process; 4) a desire for renewal; and 5) documenting your processes along the way.
   
She recommended three books: 1) In the Problem; 2) Understanding Risk, and 3) A General Theory of Love.
   
The afternoon concurrents began with the Kurt Lewin Master Class Series,with sessions by Roger Harrison, Barry Oshry, Geoff Bellman, Marv Weisbord and Sandra Janoff, Dick Axelrod, Judith Katz, Ann Feyerherm, Dorothy Siminovich, and Michael Broom.  So, you're probably wondering the same thing that the rest of us were, "how the hell am I supposed to decide among all of these?!!!!!"
   
And, as if that weren't enough, there was another round of afternoon concurrents, all of which were great, I am sure . . .  but I attended the Student Research Paper Colloquium.  We had two grad students and one grad present the research that they submitted to the content.  The papers and
presenters were:

• Anita Bhasin -- An Exploration of Adaptive Leadership Practices and
  Their Impact on Organization Effectiveness
  
• Steve Upham -- Is There Magic in Measurements?  Case Study:
  Reimbursement Time Process Improvements
  
• Fonda Na'Desh -- Gen-Y in the Workplace: Perceptions from Their Boomer
  and Gen-X Coworkers

All of the evening festivities occurred up at Seattle's monument to the 1962 Space Age World's Fair, the Space Needle.  The Pecha Kucha session allowed presenters 6 minutes and 20 seconds to present themselves or their idea to the rest of us.  Very quick, very succinct, and very interesting.

Then the eating, drinking, and dancing got underway.  It was fun for a while, til the wheels fell off this old jalopy.

Final day tomorrow.  More then.

The goodbyes began last night at that great gathering at the Space Needle, with cards exchanged, hands shaken, cheeks kissed, and bodies hugged tight against the 362 days that will keep us all separated til we meet next year in New Orleans.

For a conference that is just half a day from being over, though, there sure was a lot of stuff going on today.  With over 800 people in attendance, this has been one of the larger conferences we've had in
recent years, and no one could be happier than the OD Network, and 800 of its closest friends.

The morning began with a breakfast among the leaders of regional OD networks.  Then the concurrent sessions began, my favorite being the second Student Research Paper Colloquium.  We'd had the first on Tuesday night, but this morning's featured three more award winning student/authors:

• Joyce Langenegge -- Lewin's Force Field Theory: Revisited and Revised
  
• Nuala Campany -- The Application of Stevens-Long's Theoretical Construction of Bion's Experiences in Groups
  
• Earon Kavanagh -- Resituating Communities of Practice: A Human Relations View of Organizing, Power, and Possibilities in Situated Learning

Which reminds me to thank the committee which worked with me to judge the papers, David Jamieson, Katherine Farquhar, and Candi Trujillo.  This is exactly the time to start thinking about next year's Colloquium, so don't wait.

The closing keynote was titled "The Technology of Relationships: Social Networking Strategies and the Future of Human Communities," by Juliette Powell.  Juliette is an author, community catalyst (isn't that a cool title?) and visionary (another cool title!) and shared some interesting data about the impact of social networking by identifying the best practices in community building.  I was on an airplane all day today, so I'm hoping that someone from our lists who was there can share their notes with us.

After lunch, the first of three post conference sessions launched, Gathering Clear Evidence: How Contracting Conversations Can Clarify Our Accountability and Demonstrate Our Value, presented by the Network's Executive Director, Peter Norlin and my own close friend, Judy Vogel . . .
both NTL members as well.

A few closing thoughts on the town and the conference tomorrow.

Matt

One of the ways that this year's conference has been different from others is that we were in a very, very large hotel.  The Sheraton Seattle was a lot smaller when we were here in 1995, but today it's now 1250 rooms, so our 400 or so people staying here was just a drop in their proverbial bucket.

As a result, there were other people and other groups staying here, which means we didn't have the whole place to ourselves, and it's not so cool to smile knowingly, shake hands and hug every person you see!  When we're the only conference in the place, it's likely to be someone you will see or have seen or sat next to sometime in the course of the conference.  But when there are other groups in the place, you're likely to get looked at strangely, if not locked up, for that kind of behavior!

Seattle has been her most lovely and gracious self.  The strong arts and environment communities here, the large cadre of young people drawn to the music, and the casual west coast life style are quite appealing to us buttoned-down east coasters.  It is clear that for the most part, folks
here in the Pacific Northwest are here to work, in order to live.  I think that back east, we have it in reverse; we behave as if we live, in order to work.

There is a large grass roots political movement here that is a powerful force in decisions, such as in shaping Paul Allen's redevelopment project near Union Lake and the rebuilding/rerouting/demolition of Route 99.  And there is a hotly debated proposition on the ballot, 71, to allow gay marriage in Washington State.

Seattle isn't such a great TV town . . .  though the King Broadcasting has a great sense of humor.  Their primary VHF station is KING, and when they added another UHF station, they named it KONG.  Now *that's* funny!  It's one thing for XM Satellite Radio to name its two satellites Rock and Roll,
because no one is looking up Rock or Roll in the TV Guide or trying to persuade businesses to buy time on them.  But it takes a big person and a hell of a good sales person to walk into a shoe store - or better yet, a Halloween store - and with a straight face say "I'd like to sell you time
on KING and KONG!

By contrast, though, Seattle is a great radio town.  In addition to all of the standard formats, such as all news, NPR, classic rock, adult contemporary, hot AC, and the ubiquitous Jack format, Seattle has a full time, commercial classical music station KING-FM, a couple of great alternative stations, a great new music station, and some pretty good news/talk, too, featuring Dave Ross, who you can hear nationwide doing short features on the CBS Radio Network.  The first thing that you notice
is that there are no less than 20 non commercial stations in the FM band between 88.5 and 91.9.  Now, many are low power and don't cover much ground, but they are licensed to high schools and community colleges, and the few larger stations are licensed to the University of Washington (KOUW).

And it has a great club scene, too.  I heard a dozen people talk about the great grunge bands or new music groups they heard while in Seattle.

One big gaping hole in the media landscape, though, is the Seattle Post Intelligencer.  Once the grand dame of Seattle society and the place to go for news, the PI has shifted from rag to web, with only a small fraction of the news gathering capacity that it used to have.

Anyway, a conference of this size is the work of many, many hands, and hearts.  A huge thank you goes to the Program Development Team, responsible for the screening the over 400 proposals to get down the best 75 or so and for dreaming so large about what this conference could be: Marcella Benson-Quaziena, Anita Bhasin, Wendy Fraser, Stephanie Jo Gomez, Effenus Henderson, Kenneth Jones, Laurie Lemieux, Barbara Mink, Lindsay Nelson, Sonja Price, Rachel Lyn Rumson, Candido Trujillo, and Angela Watts.  You guys must have worked overtime to come up with this year's
feast.  It was true gluttony for the mind and soul.

This year's OD Network Awards Committee was Leslie Cady, Jane Hascall, David Jamieson, Brenda Jones, Krissa Merron, Fred Miller, Michele P. Flaherty, and Jason Wolf.  Thanks, all, you found the right people to honor on our behalf.

The local Seattle OD group, the Pacific Northwest OD Network had a huge hand in our Tuesday night closing party and dance at the Space Needle and for reaching out to the local Seattle OD community, bringing in a huge number of people and organizations from the Seattle area to join in the action, including  Diane Branson, Danny Ceballos, Audrey Chestnutt, Jeff Crowley, Diane Altman Dautoff, Dave Eberhardt, Denise Morris Kipnis, Kerry Kuenzi, Nalani Linder, Ann McCreery, Cynthia Prewitt, Mark Radonich, Rose Singer, Kayla Joy Sherwood, Diane Vreyans, Joyce Yee, and Katrina Zavalney.  Many, many thanks to all of you for making us feel so warmly welcomed.

Huge kudos go to the magnificent Linda Sherman, who brought her calm, cool head to the planning and organizing of this enormous event.  In the face of flustered presenters and lost participants and distracted volunteers and bustling hotel staff, she always maintains her calm, cool, collectedness . . . . and pulls off the most amazing events and conferences on our behalf.

And, finally, thanks to the OD Network staff for pulling together to pull off one whopper of a conference.  Danielle Driscoll, Joselissa Cerda, Nick Corne, and Peter Norlin.  That's it.  That's the whole network staff. Gee, have they been overfunctioning for months now, much to our benefit!

And, so, the planning now begins for the OD Network's 2010 Conference in New Orleans, LA.  We were last there in 1998, and it's just about time to shine up those dancing shoes, break out the zydeco dance, and move on down to the Big Easy.  See you all there next year!

Matt