2011 Annual Meeting

How can you squander even one more day not taking advantage of the greatest shifts of our generation? How dare you settle for less when the world has made it so easy for you to be remarkable?
     — Seth Godin, Seth’s Blogs

I am the bridge between the bleeding edge and the dead center. I stand between the Wizard of Oz and the man behind the curtain. I am the curtain.
     — Peter Watts (author, Blindsight)

There’s no need to re-create everything from scratch … look at some of the early adopters, see what they’ve done and see if it makes sense for your organization. And then think about what you need to do to customize it.
     — Dave Fletcher, Utah chief technology officer

Privacy is dead, and social media hold the smoking gun.
     — Pete Cashmore, Mashable CEO

 
It’s one thing to want to stay on the cutting edge—on the forefront or in the leading position. But these days the changes keep coming faster and faster, and influencers like social media and the internet in general have dramatically and drastically changed customers’ expectations and how everyone does business. Some of these changes have felt so intense that you may be worried that you are falling behind and confused about how you can remain relevant.

“Bleeding edge” refers to a maneuver, product, or strategy that is so far ahead of its time, it may actually create a competitive disadvantage or failure. For example, first adopters of a particular technology may find it actually sets them back because of the bugs and problems. For purposes of this meeting, we're using it to describe a world where you feel like you have to be on top of everything, but without a specific strategy and priorities, you're just going to hurt yourself on that cutting edge and bleed to death.

The following programs are designed to address the realities of today’s marketplace—and what it will take for you to prosper tomorrow. The concept of remaining relevant applies to your customers, employees, and the industry at large. It goes way beyond technology to encompass the changing needs, wants, interests, and expectations of each of those audiences. Demographic shifts, rapidly-changing technology, customers’ increased desire for personalization, and the economic crash have challenged every aspect of the way we work and do business. From the way we communicate to the way companies reward employees, the benefits they give, and the talent the industry attracts will make a difference in whether or not your company—and the entire industry—will survive.

Program
 

Maximizing Capacity and Productivity to Ward Off Irrelevance
Panelists: Rick Putch, Dicar (Moderator); Steve Biller, MarquipWardUnited; John Dickison, Bobst Group North America; Representatives from Folding Carton, Corrugated and Other OEMs To Be Announced
This session kicks off an ongoing discussion on matching tooling, technical skill in the workforce, workflow procedures, and ancillary equipment to high-speed diecutting machinery in an effort to maximize capacity and productivity. Machinery is getting faster; customer demands and turnaround times are getting tighter; yet some statistics (and numerous diemaking, folding carton, and corrugated box plant observations) show that productivity and throughput is not keeping up and, in fact, remains stagnant overall, despite advances in automation and machine speeds. Is it the tooling? Raw materials types and qualities? Craftsmanship, skill or training opportunities? Is it poorly managed plant layout, workflow, or misalignment of SOPs and machine capabilities in the converting plants? Starting from today’s high-speed diecutting machinery and working backward, we’ll take a look at how we can reach the level of optimum productivity by maximizing resources and machine capacity throughout the diecutting process. If we do not take these steps before someone else does, our companies, our plants, our workers, and our individual careers may quickly become “irrelevant.”

Security for IT Systems
Thought Leader: John Straughan, CMIT Solutions of San Antonio NW
Even though IT security awareness is at an all-time high, the potential for disruption from malicious or accidental threats is growing, and our ability to manage risk has never been more uncertain. Network security is becoming increasingly complex, as new Internet threats appear daily or even hourly, such as from viruses, worms, Trojan horses, spyware, zero-day attacks, and more. Learn some of the ways you can protect your business against these and other threats, including disaster recovery from both hardware failures and natural disasters and the devastating threat posed by data theft or sabotage by employees or ex-employees. Learn how to recognize the pitfalls and take steps to address the issues.

Case Study—Lessons Learned on the Front Lines
Thought Leaders: Tom Spitz, Exacta Packaging; Darrel Griffin, Stafford Cutting Dies, Inc.
Hear the adventures of a real-life company and join in a conversation about how you can avoid—or encourage—these results in your own company. Among other things, they lost a huge customer due to price wars (and then—too late—the customer wanted to come back after the business had been dismantled); they beat themselves up trying to compete on a local scale so they switched to another (national) market which now is booming and for which they are the leader; they bought equipment for the express purpose of converting a certain material but then realized they could do so much more, and that portion of their business is now 80% of their sales; despite the recession, they recently expanded their operations to a building three times the previous size; and much more. You’ll learn lessons about creating a strategic plan, and deviating from that plan, to ultimately prevail.

SPARK!
Thought Leaders: Ken Smott, Atlas Die, LLC; Craig Pepper, Pace Punches, Inc.; Clint Medlock, Stafford Cutting Dies, Inc.; Kevin B. Carey, Die-Cutting Works, Inc.; Shaun Larson, Jonco Die Co. Inc.; Connie Adams, Adams Technologies, Inc.
This learning format has been spreading across the world—here’s your chance to learn about a wildly diverse number of topics and make an emotional connection with peers who are speaking. This will be a series of 5-8 presentations that are only 5 minutes in length each. SPARK presenters share their personal and professional passions, using 20 PowerPoint slides that auto-advance every 15 seconds. The speakers are asked to talk on any topic they wish—the result is an energetic, thought-provoking, exciting and engaging presentation that you won’t want to miss.

Put Some GREEN in Your Pocket
Thought Leader: Reg Cunningham, Walter G. Anderson, Inc.
No doubt almost anyone has heard the “altruistic” reasons for recycling and repurposing, such as to prevent air pollution, to reduce global warming, to solve the problem of scarcity of landfills, to prevent water pollution, to save energy. But did you know that even small companies can make a few changes that will actually help them save money bottom line? Learn how just minor changes and a little research can reduce your expensive trash hauls, pay you for waste, and save you money on energy costs. We’ll provide an opportunity for group idea sharing as well as lists of resources, contacts, and ideas that are guaranteed to improve your bottom line.

The Selling Revolution: Social Media Marketing and the New Rules of Business Development
Thought Leader: Landy Chase, The Sales Revolutionist™
Enormous opportunities now exist for sales people to develop relationships and gain new customers through social media marketing. The growth of social media resources such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, and the mass migration of business professionals to these venues, will soon bring an end to old-school methods, such as cold-calling, for finding new customers. Traditional marketers are being replaced by value generators who attract new customers by utilizing the power of social media. These thought-leader sales professionals will dominate their markets by using the power of the internet to reverse the client acquisition process. At this point in time, the benefits of this technological shift for sales organizations are new and poorly understood – but they are game-changing. A completely different mindset is required to embrace this change and initiate new customer relationships in the Selling Revolution. In this ground-breaking presentation, author and Sales Revolutionist Landy Chase will provide a complete blueprint for sales professionals to identify and develop relationships with new customers in the online marketplace. You will learn:

• Why “cold-calling” is an extinct job function for sales people
• Why, and how, social media marketing works to generate business
• The role of timing, branding, and social media in the new marketplace
• The new role of the sales professional as Value Generator
• How to use LinkedIn as a prospect identification tool
• How to market effectively using social media marketing resources
• The new success skills that sales organizations must master to succeed

 
Technology Mash-Up
Are you LinkedOut? Scared of Skype? Think tweets come from Tweety Bird? Visit our technology tables and learn how to set up a Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook account; see tablet technology in action; play Angry Birds; set up and use Skype; learn the pros and cons of blogging; and ask questions about Constant Contact, posting YouTube videos, and much more. We’ll provide the wi-fi access and you’ll bring your laptop, iPad, smart phone or other portable technology for hands-on participation and personal instruction. Be the student, be the teacher, release your inner geek—we’ll demystify all the buzzwords and learn from each other.

Slow Your Roll: Step Away From Technology & Take Back Your Life
Thought Leader: Dr. Patricia Adams, Zeitgeist Wellness Group
It’s a fact: texting while driving can kill you. But what happens when your quest to “Remain Relevant” demands that you stay too connected to your smart phone/laptop/iPad? Don’t you risk being left behind if you step away from those tweets, texts, emails, and instant messages? Won’t someone steal your customers if you’re not on duty 24/7? Our presenter will show you how reclaiming some personal downtime actually increases your effectiveness. In recent studies, single-taskers have outperformed those who take on many tasks at a time, suggesting that multitaskers are less efficient, have heavier workloads, and set themselves up for elevated stress and its related problems, like weight gain, sleep loss, and elevated blood pressure. You’ll learn ways to unplug from the gushing infostream, how to stop spamming yourself, and tricks to hit the pause button on technology in order to minimize self-created distractions that seriously hamper your focus.

Other Valuable Annual Meeting Takeaways
Landy Chase’s latest game-changer book, “The Social Media Sales Revolution” will be available for sale at a special attendee discount. Handout materials will include “Free Killer Apps and Online Tools,” a list of industry-related blogs, your colleagues’ favorite apps for work and fun, and much more.

Who Will Receive the IADD PEAK and Unsung Achievement Awards?
Saturday night’s dinner will feature the presentation of the IADD PEAK Award, which recognizes someone who has made a unique, meaningful or emerging contribution to our industry during the past few years, clearly demonstrating Passion, Excellence, Achievement and Knowledge (PEAK). While the recipient is kept secret until the time of the presentation, we know you will want to join us in applauding this year’s innovator and popular leader. Who will it be?

In addition to the coveted PEAK Award, IADD Emperor Greg Zimmer will present the IADD Unsung Achievement Award.This award posthumously recognizes leaders within our association who have gone unrewarded for their significant contributions to the diemaking, diecutting and converting industry. The award is given to deceased individuals who have contributed significantly to the advancement or recognition of the industry throughout their professional lives in service to the IADD or related organizations; been a frequent contributor or organizer for presentations, workshops, publications or related events; and openly shared valuable experience with other industry members. Although they are no longer with us, their contributions live on.

The IADD is pleased to announce that this year’s recipient of the Unsung Achievement Award is John Veres of SuperDie. John helped establish the then-DDA’s first chapter, and he served as the Midwest Chapter’s first president. He and the other officers established a culture of giving back to the membership, making sure the meetings were informative and inclusive. John also served as the first DDA Regional Vice President and was instrumental in enhancing association-chapter communications. John’s mantra was, “Let’s be friends, learning from each other.” John continued to meet bi-monthly with the IADD Alumni members until his death. Hear more about John’s accomplishments when you join us on Saturday to celebrate his many contributions.

Schedule

Hotel

The IADD headquarters hotel is the Hyatt Regency San Antonio, where you can experience the heart of the famous River Walk, the most popular tourist attraction in Texas. The Hyatt is the only San Antonio River Walk hotel directly overlooking the historic Alamo and connecting two of San Antonio's top destinations through their 16 story atrium lobby. You’ll find yourself at an unequaled location to take advantage of the many local dining and entertainment venues. All IADD programs and events listed in the Meeting Schedule above will take place at the Hyatt.

Other Information

All registrants will be emailed a link to download program materials and meeting information, including sites to see, things to do, dining recommendations, airport and ground transportation info and general travel tips to help you enjoy your stay.