Safety 2010 Will Be a 'Golden' Opportunity
Next week this time, ASSE's 2010 Professional Development Conference and Exposition will be full underway at the Baltimore Convention Center. The Expo action will actually kick off Sunday, June 13, from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., which should be just enough to whet the appetites for its all-day schedule (9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.) on both Monday and Tuesday.
The conference will feature some 220 educational sessions in 22 tracks covering everything from ergonomics to emergency management and including the new-this-year Executive Track, designed for supervisors, managers, and others who may have only a peripheral involvement with safety at their worksites.
Every day next week will feature key presentations from industry luminaries you won't want to miss. Here's a brief rundown of the main presenters who will be alternatingly sharing the Safety 2010 spotlight and setting the conference's tone.
On Monday, June 14, Andrew Winston will take the main stage to kick off the conference with his keynote address, "Finding the Gold in Green," an encapsulation of the ideas found in Green to Gold, the best-selling guide he co-authored with Daniel Esty on what works and what doesn't when companies go green. Winston, also the founder of the Riverside, Conn.-based Winston Eco-Strategies, speaks worldwide about how companies can use environmental strategy to innovate, create value, and build competitive advantage.
Later the same day, Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA David Michaels, Ph.D., MPH, will headline the Plenary Session, which might appropriately be titled "OSHA Speaks." Fresh from hosting the March 4 "OSHA Listens" public meeting and the April 7 online chat about the Department of Labor's Strategic Plan, Michaels is expected to share his insights on what safety professionals have expressed as their key concerns regarding the regulatory, standards development, and compliance assistance efforts of the federal government. Organizers say the OSHA chief also will respond to questions from attendees, even queries that have been texted to him during the proceedings.
Keynoting for Tuesday's General Session will be FORTUNE magazine's senior editor at large Geoffrey Colvin, presenting "The Upside of the Downturn: Management Strategies to Prevail in the Recession and Thrive in the Aftermath." The author of The Upside of the Downturn and Talent is Overrated will share how successful leaders respond in a crisis, focusing on specific tactics leaders can use in tough times and how they can position themselves and their business to be strong.
Wednesday's featured speaker will be Joe Malarkey, delivering his unconventional address, "Choose to Lose." ASSE describes the presentation as, "Nonsense? You bet! He ties it all together with an important message: You can't let the chance of failure prevent you from taking the steps to succeed."
Attendees earn 1.8 CEUs for the conference, which includes a lunch on Wednesday (1.7 CEUs without lunch). See you there next week!