First, from a financial perspective, 2004 was a fantastic year for ASTD National. We’re in the black over a million dollars for the first time in several years, and 2005 is looking good, too. Second, because of intense lobbying efforts, the Certified Professional in Learning and Performance (CPLP) professional certification initiative has yielded recognition from the Department of Labor and the US Census to include training as an actual occupation in the DOL roster of occupations and the Census list for 2010. Third, a contributing factor to the gap between the training and performance departments/organizations and the rest of “the business,” has been identified as a lack of “business acumen” on our part. The punch line here is that we need to be able to talk in business language the finance folks can understand if we want a seat at the table of leadership. Increasing “business acumen” is going to be a big message in the future.

With 139 chapters nation-wide and a rekindling of the Hawaii chapter out here in the West, ASTD is alive and well on a national and local/domestic US level. We continue to expand internationally as well. There were around ten thousand attendees in Orlando, and next year’s ICE is scheduled the first week of June in New Orleans. Much is changing, and in the dynamic business times our organizations live and work in, “providence favors the prepared mind,” to quote Steve Uzzell, the final keynote speaker. Organizations need to be ready for anything, … and that’s where we come in. (I’d expect increase in demand from the organizations and processes that we support as professionals.)

See you at the luncheon!

Chris

	Book Review
“Lessons in Learning, E-Learning and Training” (Perspectives and Guidance for the Enlightened Trainer) By Roger Schank If you’ve spent any time studying e-learning, or simulations and story-telling and the use of computers and automation in training, you’ve probably run across Roger Schank. I’m a fan. I have been for years. His writing style and approach to training and learning have always resounded with me. Here’s a snippet: People learn best when they experience a situation, must decide how to deal with issues that arise from that situation, and are coached through their mistakes by experts. So good training tools would help designers build situations that can cause mistakes and provide experts to help. What I really like about Roger is that he’s not afraid to change his mind, use missteps from his past and back up his change of mind with reasons, experience and new learning. In this book, he revisits a lot of territory, and discusses things he’s learned the hard way. Here are some lines from his Introduction: This book is intended to supply trainers with ammunition to help them think about what is needed and confront those who ask for stuff that makes no sense. This book is meant for anyone who is ever called upon to design or deliver training. He’s not kidding. With chapter titles like “I Wanted To Learn But There Was No Money In It” and “And We’ll Have Fun, Fun, Fun ‘til Our Company Takes the e-Learning Away” … well, it’s a good read. Each chapter tackles a particular topic, and you get the benefit of decades of experience from a guy who has written over 20 books, and who has been an industry leader, out there in the trenches, on the front line with major clients. I really can’t do it justice with a list of topic descriptions. The punch line? If you’re called upon to design or deliver training, … buy this book.

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