I cannot imagine life without the internet in general.  And the iPod.  The Flip. Blackberry. Laptop. Desktop. Netbook. Kindle. Wii.  Email.  IM.  Twitter.  Blogs.  LinkedIn.  GPS.  Somebody stop me.

Seriously, technology has enriched my life in ways I never could have imagined.  But it has created some new puzzles.  Witness…..

Is it more impressive to other passengers on a plane that I am…

a. reading from an iPad

b. reading from a Kindle

c. reading from a thick scholarly tome which I can barely lift or

d. talking on my cell phone even though the forward door is closed

Which makes me more important….

a. 10,000 followers

b. 10,000 friends

c. 500+ contacts on LinkedIn or

d. 10,000 views on my own YouTube channel

Which has the highest cool factor….

a. my avatar attending a meeting in Second Life  

b. hosting my own webinar

c. my avatar hosting a webinar

Is it more rude to…

a. fail to reply to every text and email in real time no matter where I am

b. ignore the person standing in front of  me, e.g. the presenter at a meeting, so I can reply to texts and emails.  (what are all those hands doing under the conference table anyway?)

c. neither of these is rude

d. both of these are rude

Gotta run – I’m sure the answers are in Wikipedia.

Ms. Dorris, honored by Government Computer News as its Civilian Agency Executive of the Year for her role in using new technology to promote transparency and encourage citizen engagement with the federal government, spoke to a full house of women from across the travel industry. 

Dorris, who leads the award-winning USA.gov, the official website of the federal government, shared the transformation that is underway at GSA, built on strategies of  Customer Intimacy, Innovation, and Operational Excellence.

Other top government leaders on hand were Pam Mitchell, Director, Defense Travel Management Office, Department of Defense;  Becky Rhodes, Deputy Associate Administrator, Office of  Travel, Transportation and Asset Management, GSA; and Susan Gurley, newly named Private Sector Officer, United States Agency for International Development.

Kelly Kuhn, President, Government and Military Markets, CWTSato Travel, which sponsored the industry forum, opened the event with her perspective on leading changes of magnitude.

Women from many segments of the travel industry were present including hotels, airlines, technology companies, travel agencies, automobile rental companies, consulting firms and more. 

The forum included a look into the talent picture of the future and how attendees may want to change in order to sustain their success.  A post-session survey of attendees asked the questions:

What do you believe is the most important skill for success today?  For the future?

Most frequent answers: 

• For Today – building and managing relationships
• For the Future –  staying current with technology and being able to change

Ever do this? Ever have this happen to you? I have been on both sides of this scenario. You can always tell when someone did not expect you to answer. They stumble. They fumble. I know I do.

Now we have Facebook, blogging, Twitter, LinkedIn and much more to help us connect with people without talking to them. According to Microsoft’s Social Media book for small businesses, Twitter grew by more than 600% in 2009, while Facebook grew by 210% and LinkedIn by 85%. We are told that these social media behemoths draw their power from creating communities, stimulating dialogue, conversations and sharing. Well, sometimes they do. Some big brands have figured out how to make this work.

Can the rest of us really maintain a meaningful dialogue with dozens, hundreds, thousands of friends, followers and fans? Social media for most of us is monologue. More like a personal infomercial than a personal conversation. And, online socializing removes our ability to take the measure of a person by their tone, their demeanor. Yes, YouTube is visual but it is more like a performance than an interaction with the audience.

Let me stop here and say that I love social media. I encourage my clients to embrace it. I work with them to make it work for them.  Social media enables us to reach a lot more people. To give voice to our passions and to find people who share them. Through social media, I have found brilliant people I would never have found, reconnected with people I somehow lost.

But social media also enables us to be more unsociable than ever. We can stay in front of our computers, feel connected, without ever really engaging with anyone. We can click from site to site, turning e-relationships on and off.  Unsociable? Heck , we can be anti-social. The other day I asked a website developer if I could hire him to speak with me over the phone to go through some changes to a template of his I had purchased. He informed me that he would do it but only online. No dialogue. OK. I guess.

I think social media is in its glorious infancy. I am looking forward to participating in its growth.

We’ve moved The Transformational Woman from February 9th to April 6th. If you were registered for the February 9th session, you are automatically registered for the new date.

If you travel from outside the DC area, were scheduled to attend the February session, but cannot attend the April 6th session, your registration fee will be applied toward the iFIVE session at EdCon in September.

For those of you who had not registered – we encourage you to make plans to join us on April 6th.  We’ll have the same great industry leaders, the same leading edge professional development program and we’ll add a few surprises.  Join us for The Transformational Woman – invest in yourself!

We are looking forward to seeing you in early Spring  Stay tuned, we will be sending out additional details soon.

Did not register for February but can come in April?  REGISTER NOW.   More on the AGENDA.

For 2009, locavore and frenemy were two of the non-techie words among the almost 100 new words added to Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary.  A locavore is a person who is committed to eating locally grown foods. A frenemy is a person who pretends to be a friend but is actually an enemy.

Way back in the year 2000, the word “dot.com” was a new word added to the dictionary. The definiton was a company that was web-based. It recalls those days when we all knew people who were leaving their jobs at regular companies to go to work for dot.coms. Very cool and meant lots of money to follow. Do we still refer to any companies as dot.coms?

Technology is integrated into all businesses today – into both the business model and the business culture. Technology is not a department or a capability but is inherent in work. You cannot carve it out.

And if the futurists are right, technology will increasingly become more integrated into people. Technology will allow us to become more than human.  How do I download the upgrade?

REGISTER

The skills that made you successful will not guarantee your success in the future.  Do you know what the critical skills are for tomorrow?  Can you transform?  Join us for the Transformational Woman and….

• Find out who will be the most valued talent in the near future
• Hear from industry leaders about what they see as the keys to successfully transforming  
• Explore your own change skills and what changes you can make now 

Kelly Kuhn, President, Government and Military Markets, CarlsonSato Travel, and iFIVE board member, will open the iFIVE “Transformational Woman” session on April 6th at the L’enfant Hotel in Washington, D.C., sharing her leadership experience.

Immediately following, iFIVE will present three industry leaders in a candid roundtable discussion of transformation in tradition-bound and sometimes rigidly hierarchical environments.

Panelists: Kelly Kuhn; Becky Rhodes, Deputy Associate Administrator, GSA Travel, Transportation and Asset Management; and Susan Gurley, Private Sector Officer, United States Agency for International Development.

Moderator: Vickie Singer, Co-founder, iFIVE.

Following the panel, iFIVE will lead a professional development program, exploring the four major change profiles and the implications for successful change. You will have the opportunity to identify your personal change profile and learn how to use your strengths to influence others to change.

Facilitator: Margaret Murphy, executive coach and Co-founder, iFIVE.

And, Martha Johnson, Administrator, GSA, will close the session by sharing her leadership vision for GSA.  This is an unprecedented opportunity to hear up-close from a key member of our president’s leadership team for positive change.

AnCon delegates: a separate registration and fee are required. 

REGISTER NOW

About AnCon

Patrick Lafferty

Since 2005, Pat has led marketing efforts for the Travel Channel, first as an SVP at Discovery Communications and then – after an acquisition by Cox – as the Chief Marketing Officer of Travel Channel Media (TCM).  During this time, he has played a critical role in transforming TCM from a staid TV network into a high-growth multimedia business.

Pat has helped fuel growth of over 20% across ratings, ad revenue, affiliate revenue, and distribution. More recently, he has led efforts to increase brand engagement while reducing spending, through content sampling, strategic partnerships, and companywide employee involvement.

Pat co-led the company through two complex ownership transitions, first in 2007 and then again earlier this year. He initiated companywide diversity and social responsibility programs, and has coached numerous direct reports and staff to increased performance and responsibility.

Prior to joining Discovery, Pat spent ten years at Leo Burnett USA. As SVP of the $250M Army account from 2000 to 2005, he helped create the “Army of One” campaign, increasing leads 45% while decreasing costs per lead 46%. From 1995 to 2000, he oversaw accounts for McDonald’s and Kellogg’s, developing four of the top eight youth ads for Kellogg’s, including the company’s first Golden Marble winner.

Pat began his career with seven years of distinguished service in the U.S. Army. As a company commander, he led 146 soldiers on two foreign deployments to Panama and Haiti. His company safeguarded 500,000 citizens in Port-au-Prince, and his Desert Storm platoon captured 3,500 Iraqi soldiers and secured key headquarters. He earned the Ranger Tab in 1989 and the Bronze Star in 1991.

Pat holds an M.B.A. from Cornell University and a  B.A. from St. Bonaventure University.

Pat lives with his wife, Maureen, and their four children in Bethesda, Maryland.

Pamela Mitchell

Ms. Pamela S. Mitchell, is a member of the Senior Executive Service, assigned to the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense, Personnel and Readiness, serving as the Director, Defense Travel Management Office (DTMO). The DTMO, a component of the Defense Human Resources Activity.

 The DTMO was established in February 2006, to consolidate and improve commercial travel oversight and management within the Department of Defense, serving as the single focal point for commercial travel both within the Department and with industry.  As the Director, Ms. Mitchell provides oversight for commercial travel management, travel policy and implementation, customer support and training, the DoD travel card program, as well as functional oversight of the Defense Travel system (DTS). 

Ms. Mitchell holds a Master of Science degree in National Security Strategy from the National War College, National Defense University and a Master of Business Administration from the Florida Institute of Technology. She is a graduate of the U. S. Army’s Command and General Staff College, and of the University of Southern Colorado with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. Ms. Mitchell retired from the United States Army at the rank of colonel, having served over 25 years in the field of military personnel management and military personnel systems. Key assignments included Chief, Field Systems and Chief, Personnel Service Support at the United States Total Army Personnel Command, and Director, Enlisted Management for United States Army Europe. She also commanded a Personnel Services Battalion, in Germany. 

Following her retirement, she was employed in the private sector as a human resources consultant before returning to the Department of Defense.  Awards include the Legion of Merit with one oak leaf cluster, Meritorious Service Medal with five oak leaf clusters, Army Commendation Medal, and Army Achievement Medal.

Susan Gurley is an attorney with experience in executive level non-profit association management, law school administration, international development and expertise in the travel industry.

In addition, Ms. Gurley has a reputation for anticipating market shifts, redefining corporate strategies and leading organizations through tumultuous change to become stronger, more profitable and sustainable businesses.

Ms. Gurley recently left her position as the Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) to join the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). At USAID she is focused on fostering public private partnerships in the health arena.

One of Ms. Gurley’s principal achievements while at ACTE, was to develop a Corporate Social Responsibility platform for the association. Due to her efforts, ACTE was the first travel and meetings related association, to hold carbon-low events and provide education on CSR-related topics, such as green procurement and the issue of trafficking of women and children.

Ms. Gurley’s senior level management experience also includes her tenure as the Assistant Dean of International and Graduate Programs at Georgetown University Law Center. She managed a $30 million operating budget and created the law school’s International Human Rights Law and National Security Law Certificates.

Ms. Gurley also has significant project management and new program development experience. While working at the U.S. Department of Commerce and at USAID she managed legal reform projects in Central and Eastern Europe and Russia and the Newly Independent States.  She also successfully created new programs, including USAID’s legal and regulatory reform methodology, which is used by USAID officials to analyze the strength of a developing country’s legal system.

She is a University Virginia School of Law graduate and a member of the Virginia Bar. She speaks Hungarian, French, and German.

Becky Rhodes leads one of the most dynamic organizations within the Office of Governmentwide Policy at the U.S. General Services Administration.

As the Deputy Associate Administrator for the Office of Travel, Transportation and Asset Management and a designated member of the federal government’s prestigious rank of the Senior Executive Service, Ms. Rhodes develops policies and guidelines in the areas of Travel, Transportation, Mail Communications, Aircraft, Personal Property, and Vehicle Management. 

GSA created the Office of Governmentwide Policy in December 1995 to serve as a central policy operation and to work closely with the Executive Branch in developing policies and guidelines for real property, personal property, travel and transportation, information technology, electronic commerce, the Regulatory Information Service Center and Federal Advisory Committees.

Ms. Rhodes’ career has marked more than 39+ years of federal government service. Coming up through the ranks, she began her career as a procurement and contracting officer. Before arriving at the Office of Governmentwide Policy, she served as the Assistant Commissioner for Marketing and Chief of Staff for GSA’s Federal Supply Service, reorganized in 2006 as the Federal Acquisition Service. Ms. Rhodes’ career path includes “hands-on” management experience with one or more of the programs currently under her direction.

Customer services leads to customer satisfaction, something Ms. Rhodes knows well. She supports GSA’s efforts to increase interagency collaboration through, commitment, communication and cooperation. The Office of Travel, Transportation and Asset Management works closely with its many customers to form partnerships that leads to innovation and collaborative advantages.

Ms. Rhodes is the 2008 recipient of the National Business Travel Association’s inaugural National Travel Forum Icon award and the Presidential Rank Award.  In 2009, she was honored with the inaugural iFIVE Leadership in Government Travel award.

Kelly L. Kuhn is the president of Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) Military & Government Markets, known in the marketplace as CWTSatoTravel, the travel division of Carlson responsible for soliciting and managing travel for U.S. military and government clients. Kuhn oversees all of CWTSatoTravel’s operations in the United States, Europe and Asia-Pacific from her Washington, D.C., area office. With more than 50 years of experience and a host of honors and award recognition, CWTSatoTravel is the nation’s largest provider of travel management and fulfillment services to the U.S. Government, fulfilling over $1.8 billion in annual air sales. CWTSatoTravel offers airline, hotel, train and car reservations for business and personal travel; leisure tours and cruises; fully integrated online booking and expense management solutions; group/meeting planning; consolidated management reporting; emergency response; and more. CWTSatoTravel employs nearly 1,500 Associates in over 160 locations in 14 countries and US territories.

Prior to the merger between Carlson Wagonlit Travel and TQ3Navigant, Kuhn was president of SatoTravel, a Navigant International company d/b/a TQ3Navigant. Within the span of 15 years, Kuhn held several key positions at TQ3Navigant (and previously Arrington Travel Center prior to its acquisition by TQ3Navigant), including North Central regional president, president and chief operating officer, executive vice president, senior vice president, vice president of Operations, director of Client and Industry Relations, and manager of Corporate Communications.

Kuhn is recognized as an expert in the travel industry. She is a member of the Board of Directors of iFIVE, the travel industry’s 21st century leadership network.

She is frequently quoted in major trade publications such as Business Travel News, Travel Weekly and Travel Agent Magazine. She was named a “Rising Star” in Travel Agent Magazine in 2000 and 2001. Kuhn also is listed on the distinguished 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 “Who’s Who in Chicago Business” published in Crain’s Chicago Business.

Kuhn is very active in the business community. She was appointed trustee of LaSalle Hotel Properties on Jan. 27, 2003, and is a member of the company’s Compensation and Nominating and Governance committees. Kuhn also is a member of The Economic Club of Chicago, The Executives’ Club of Chicago, and The Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation Scarlet and Gold Advisory Board.

Kuhn graduated from Northwestern University in 1987 with a degree in music. Prior to joining Arrington Travel Center, Kuhn worked for various music and theater organizations in the Chicago area as a developer and corporate fundraiser. Kuhn resides in Arlington, VA.

Carlson Companies is a global leader in the marketing, business and leisure travel, and hospitality industries. Among the names in the Carlson family of brands and services are: Regent International Hotels®, Radisson Hotels & Resorts®, Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Park Inn® hotels, Regent Seven Seas Cruises®, T.G.I. Friday’s® and Pick Up Stix® restaurants, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Cruise Holidays, All Aboard Travel, Cruise Specialists, Fly4less.com, Cruise Deals.com, Results Travel, Carlson Destination Marketing Services, Carlson Leisure Travel Services, SeaMaster Cruises®, SinglesCruise.com, Partners In Travel, Carlson Marketing, Carlson/SatoTravel, Peppers & Rogers Group®, and Gold Points Reward Network®.