Tuesday, October 14th

8:00 am - 9:15 am – General Session
Taking Your Brand and Reputation to the Next Level
John Foley, Founder and CEO, LEVEL Brand
Author, Balanced Brand
In the chaotic world of global competition, find out what it takes to elevate your brand and reputation to the next level. Using the research from his book Balanced Brand, John Foley will share the research and insights he discovered while interviewing companies such as Tiffany & Co., Mayo Clinic, 3M, Cargill, Apple and Wal-Mart. Participants will learn how to apply the building blocks of alignment, authenticity and trust to create world-class brands and reputations. These concepts have the power to transform every aspect of business and give a fresh perspective on how to build an unassailable competitive advantage.

9:30 am - 10:45 am – Breakout Sessions
T1. Six Years of Communication ROI Studies: What Top-Performing Companies Worldwide Have
Taught Us About Communication Best Practices
John Finney, Senior Communication Consultant, Watson Wyatt Worldwide
In three major studies since 2003, Watson Wyatt has surveyed more than 750 companies to examine the relationship between an organization’s employee communication practices and its business performance. The survey responses tell that top-performing organizations do things differently than their lower-performing peers. In this interactive presentation, audience members will have an opportunity to complete a brief effectiveness quiz to see how they measure up to the high performers. Participants will learn about the best practices that offer the greatest potential for increasing communication effectiveness as identified from the findings of the global 2007/2008 Communication ROI Study, Secrets of Top Performers: How Companies With Highly Effective Employee Communication Differentiate Themselves.

T2.   Appreciative Inquiry as a Communication Tool
Connie J. Mayse, Communications Consultant, Towers Perrin
As communicators, we are often consulted to help “fix” problems, which can lead to an unintentional focus or bent. Appreciative Inquiry, or AI, takes the view that organizations are not problems to be fixed, but mysteries to be embraced. Participants will learn the background and principles of AI and work through an AI exercise, as well as discuss relevant applications.

T3.  Strategic Corporate Communications and Execution 
Sharon Wamble-King, Vice President, Corporate Communications, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Florida
At Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Florida, communicators are business partners who execute communication processes and programs to drive business results. Therefore, contends Wamble-King, it is critical to think through and develop strategic plans that fuel results-oriented execution. You demonstrate the value of a communication strategy through its execution and the measurement of results. Wamble-King believes that effective execution is tied to the rigor and thoroughness of the strategic planning process. This session will focus on the multiple dimensions and interdependencies of the strategic planning process and how it shapes implementation to achieve the outcomes defined in the strategy.

T4. Connecting Employees across Generations and Geographies
Chris Gay, ABC, Co-Founder, Bridge Consulting
Whether it’s connecting people with strategy, leaders with employees, global teams across the world, or generations with each other, facilitating connections is becoming more and more central to the role of the communication professional.  In this highly interactive session, participants will profile people and situations in a prototypical organization and discuss their point of view and potential solutions for creating high levels of engagement for each of them. Join this session to “meet” various people in an organization, understand their issues, and discuss solutions that will help build connections with each of them resulting in a high performing culture delivering strong business results.

9:30 am - 12:15 pm – In-depth Session
T5. Ragan – Social Media Brainstorming and Benchmarking
Mark Ragan, CEO, Ragan Communications
Learn what your communication colleagues have done with social media and how you can take advantage of Web 2.0 tools. Tap into the "wisdom of the crowd" by attending this free-wheeling brainstorming and networking session. Participants will share their best ideas on everything from blogs to podcasting to building social networks within their organization. Come prepared to ask questions and share what you know with the rest of the group.  If you're eager to compare notes on what you have done---or have not done--with social media, this is the place to be.

11:00 am - 12:15 pm – Breakout Sessions
T6. Serving up the ACE Operating System: From the Shop Floor to the Office
Brian Edward Boyer, Manager, Internal & Executive Communications; Elaine Pescik, Manager, Internal and Executive CommunicationsUnited Technologies Corporation; Myra Lee, Senior Manager, Internal and Executive Communications
United Technologies has a standard operating system known as ACE (Achieving Competitive Excellence). This case study will show how United Technologies has successfully transformed ACE from the manufacturing side to the business side, resulting in a way to measure the success of communications strategies and discover areas of opportunity. Through standard work and innovative measurement tools, ACE allows communications to know its strong points and areas of opportunity in order to have the most effective process in place and ensure individuals can execute it to perfection every time.

T7. Power, Presence and Projection
Liz Keever, Principal, Oration Group
The idea of “finding your voice” is literal in this workshop. Speaking is a physical act that can be absolutely riveting. Capture the energy in your voice and body to channel your words directly to the heart of the message. Participants will review the five vocal variables then be coached as they actively practice the skills of creating a compelling vocal and physical presence. This is active, fun and enlightening.

T8. When You or Your Client Are the Headline
Larry L. Smith, President, Institute for Crisis Management
Why does your company or client need three crisis plans and how important is the Communications Crisis Plan? Two-thirds of all business crises could be averted with some planning and education. This session, led by the author of IABC’s Crisis Management and Communication: How to Gain and Maintain Control, will answer those questions and reveal where your most likely crises will come from and what to do about them. Participants will also take a behind the scenes look of one of the worst workplace violence office tragedies in the United States and how to apply what they have learned about crisis management.

T9. Avoiding a Corporate Identity Crisis: How Communications Can Take the Lead
Larry Ackerman, President, The Identity Circle
It’s only a matter of time. Inevitably, all companies “wake up” one day facing challenges they never saw coming: a palpable lack of market relevance, broad-based employee discontent, unrelenting investor skepticism, brand confusion, management upheaval. The signs are many, but the cause is almost always the same – an unforeseen loss of identity that leaves the organization off-balance and unsure as to where to go next. In this session, attendees will learn how communications is in a unique position to help avoid corporate identity crises and the many costs that attend them. Through case studies, attendees will see first-hand how executives can invoke a rigorous “identity discipline” that will help turn communications into a bona fide corporate leadership function.

12:30 pm - 2:00 pm – General Session
The Silent Language of Leadership
Carol Kinsey Goman, Ph.D., Executive Coach and Consultant, Kinsey Consulting Services
Author of ten business books, including "The Nonverbal Advantage: Secrets and Science of Body Language at Work"
All leaders express enthusiasm, warmth, and confidence – as well as arrogance, indifference, and displeasure through their facial expressions, gestures, touch, and use of space. If a communicator wants to be perceived as credible and forthright, he or she has got to think "outside the speech" and recognize the importance of body language. This visual, entertaining, and interactive session shows how to take an innate (but latent) talent and turn it into a powerful leadership skill. You'll learn:

• How nonverbal communication can build or destroy a leader's credibility.
• How leaders project confidence and charisma.
• How to use body language to create or break rapport.
• How to optimize the power of touch.
• How to interpret the five "Cs" of reading body language

2:00 pm - 2:30 pm – Conference Close