by Ken Parker, ICMA Senior Advisor
The 100th ICMA Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina is less than two months away. This is a time of celebration and reflection as well as a time to look to the future of local government management. For the past 100 years ICMA has stood for professional local government management. The ICMA Code of Ethics is the standard by which local government managers are measured.
The keynoters are exceptional. The Opening General Session of ICMA’s 100th Annual Conference will set the stage for our centennial celebration by featuring the return of popular presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin. In a presentation based on her latest best-selling book The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism, Doris will tell the dynamic story of the first decade of the Progressive Era in American history, a tumultuous time of reform that ushered in the modern age and witnessed the development of professional local government management and the formation of ICMA.
Monday’s keynote speaker has been described by The Wall Street Journal as the “world’s most influential business thinker,” Gary Hamel has changed the practice of management in companies and governments around the world with his pioneering concepts. His most recent book, What Matters Now: How to Win in a World of Relentless Change, Ferocious Competition, and Unstoppable Innovation, is an agenda for building organizations that can flourish in a world where the unprecedented is the norm. Identifying the key issues that will determine whether your organization thrives or dives in the years ahead, Gary will present an essential agenda for leaders everywhere and will inspire you to rethink how you lead.
Tuesday;s speaker is a Senior Fellow at Duke University’s Center for Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship, Dan Heath and his brother Chip are the best-selling authors of Made to Stick and Switch. In their latest book, Decisive, they tackle the thorny problem of how to overcome our natural biases and irrational thinking to make better decisions about our work, lives, organizations, and careers. Dan will introduce a four-step process that draws on extensive studies, stories, and research, and offers specific, practical tools to help you think more clearly about your options, get out of your head, and improve your decision making at work and at home.
The closing keynote speaker for the 2014 Conference is Peter Kageyama. He is cofounder and producer of the Creative Cities Summit, an interdisciplinary event that brings together citizens and practitioners around the big idea of the city. The author of For the Love of Cities, he has spoken all over the world about bottom-up community development and the amazing people that are making change happen. Part of ICMA’s Celebration of Service to the Profession, Peter’s presentation will explore and celebrate what makes cities lovable and what motivates ordinary citizens to do extraordinary things for the places where they live.
The 2014 ICMA Conference provides exceptional training opportunities. Whether it is case studies from cities and counties or examining the latest technological tools, there is something for every size community at the 2014 Conference.
Join your friends as the Southeast hosts the 2014 Annual ICMA Conference in Charlotte. It is not too late to register. Hotel rooms are available. You will not want to miss the celebration of the 100th Anniversary of ICMA.
