Wanted: Professional Development with Substance

I am not one for conferences and expositions. The series of 1 hour shots of wisdom, blasts of optimism, or accounting of organizational successes leave me wanting for more. I want the time to be able to process and discuss. I want the time to roll up my sleeves and engage in small group, peer to peer discussions and not just listen as one of 200 or more. I have been a member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) for over 10 years and have never been to an annual national conference.

I am going to the SHRM national conference in June. I am not going to visit Las Vegas (I don’t gamble well so I don’t gamble), not going to listen to Lance Armstrong (Sheryl Crow maybe) or to see Michael McDonald sing (who is he anyway?). I am going for a course with substance.

Listen to this. If this program description doesn’t capture it for me, not sure what would. "Pressures in the public sector are ever greater. Expectations around performance and accountability are increasing, budgets are always tight and compensation and other programs are restricted by policy and regulation and the expectations of the organization’s constituencies are often conflicting." This seminar sponsored by Harvard Business School Publishing promises hands-on and peer to peer learning and ideas presented by some of the world’s foremost thinkers and researchers.

"HR in the Public Sector: Meeting Critical Business Challenges" is right up my alley. It is akin to a "play book" for the public sector. The seminar is only being offered during the SHRM national convention so I applied on Thursday and was accepted on Friday.

See you in Las Vegas!