On May 23, 2023, CTDO Next members and invited guests gathered in San Diego, CA, during the ATD International Conference and Exposition. Priya Parker, author of The Art of Gathering, and executive producer and host of the New York Times podcast, Together Apart, explained the purpose of gathering and the importance of determining the “why” behind meetings. Rocki Basel, Head of ATD Research, invited attendees to offer advice about ATD’s State of the Industry Report. And CTDO Next Catalyst John Cone’ led a discussion about the new employee experience; attendees shared how TD can positively impact the obvious, opaque, and invisible moments that matter to employees.

On May 15 and 16 CTDO Next members gathered in Orlando for two days of idea of sharing with fellow talent development executives and learning from thought leaders. The keynote session featured Loran Nordgren, Professor of Management and Organizations at the Kellogg School of Management and co-author of The Human Element.

Nordgren presented the major sources of friction that oppose innovation and change and suggested practical ways to overcome these forces to bring new ideas into the world.

On August 30 CTDO Next members gathered in Salt Lake City, UT for two days of idea sharing, action planning and learning from innovative leaders. The keynote session featured Aaron Dignan—founder of The Ready and author of Brave New Work .

Aaron Dignan sees the same phenomenon everywhere he looks. He sees that our most trusted and important institutions—in business, healthcare, government, philanthropy, and beyond—are struggling. They’re confronted with the fact that the scale and bureaucracy that once made them strong are liabilities in an era of constant change. For the past 10 years, Aaron has studied organizations and teams with a new way of working that prioritizes adaptivity and autonomy over efficiency and control.

During the CTDO Next program, Aaron discussed this phenomenon with members, as well possible futures our organizations are approaching.

"Micro Socialization matters. Recreate the novelty of meeting new people or engaging with those you don't normally interact with on a day-to-day basis."

During a virtual presentation on February 17th, 2021, Chris Yeh, writer, investor, and entrepreneur, explains how to build world-changing companies like Amazon, Alibaba, and Airbnb in record time. CTDO Next members were able to discuss with Chris about what the future of returning to work would look like and how companies can be better prepared for a hybrid workforce.

“Institutions, communities, and organizations are led by policy makers and policies. Those people can change and those policies can change. What a corporation needs to be thinking about is what effect are we having on the people within our organization and the people without? Are we driving and producing more inequity or are we driving and producing more equity?”

During a virtual presentation on October 19th, 2020, Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, founding director of Boston University Center for Antiracist Research, named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2020, discussed how to create organizational cultures of antiracism and inclusivity and answered CTDO Next members questions about these critical issues.

“We learn who we are in practice, not in theory.”

During a virtual presentation on July 30, 2020, David Epstein, New York Times best-selling author of Range, shared leading research about the need for talent development to focus on generalization in a world that is becoming increasingly more specialized. Epstein and attendees discussed unexpected opportunities and invisible pitfalls in times of crisis, and participants learned future-forward applications to apply immediately to their companies.

"There’s no point in leaders having a clear vision if they don’t give people the freedom to pursue it."

On May 20, 2019, CTDO Next members and special guests gathered in Washington, DC, for a rousing conversation with Chef José Andrés about how to better empower their people. Attendees discussed that, when it comes to empowering people, encouraging ideas is easy and safe, but encouraging decisions is hard. And Andrés shared his experiences and takeaways from serving survivors of natural disasters through his nonprofit, ThinkFoodGroup. Most notably, he has learned that adaptability and planning are not mutually exclusive; if not careful, a leader can easily optimize planning at the expense of adaptability.

"If we weren't already doing it this way, is this the way we would start?"

On May 7, 2018, 30 talent development executives gathered in San Diego to explore how this question, coined by Peter Drucker decades ago, applies today to a profession facing significant disruption and change. Paul DePodesta, chief strategy officer for the National Football League's Cleveland Browns, led the learning leaders in a fireside chat. DePodesta, subject of the popular 2003 book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game and the 2011 sports film of the same name, described how his unique approach to sabermetrics—guided by Drucker's question—revolutionized Major League Baseball data and analytics two decades ago.

"We became absolutely relentless in asking that naïve question," DePodesta said. "It became part of our DNA. We were constantly questioning our core beliefs and all of the decisions we had made."

On October 4 through October 6, 2023, CTDO Next members gathered for their Fall Retreat at The Hermosa Inn in Scottsdale, Arizona, for a mix of learning, sharing, discussion, and experiences. They explored topics like disrupting talent development, putting learning in the flow of work, and driving the adoption of artificial intelligence for learning.

On October 19 through 21, 2022, CTDO Next members gathered at Miraval Resort & Spa in Austin, Texas, to learn from one another within a wellness-focused environment. The future of work was the theme of the program, and members discussed how the talent development function might become future-ready. Keynote Heather McGowan, future-of-work strategist, and author of The Adaptation Advantage asserted that we are in the human value era, and that the most valuable players in the organization today are talent development professionals.

“Don’t be afraid of the robots.”

On October 17, 2019, CTDO Next members gathered at Viceroy Santa Monica to discuss the state of robotics and implications for the workplace. Grant Imahara—electrical engineer, roboticist, and former television host of MythBusters—offered a refreshing take on the limitations of the current state of the art. From animatronics to self-driving vehicles, he counseled that robots aren’t quite as advanced as we tend to think they are. Robots will take some jobs—those that are dull, dirty, and dangerous. They will not take others that require creativity, empathy, innovation, and problem solving. The most likely scenario in the next decade will be humans and robots working together; robots will be more aware of and compliant with humans and humans more comfortable with robots.

“In the long run, we have to help people become better humans.”

On October 10, 2018, CTDO Next members convened in Miami, Florida, for the network’s second-annual retreat. Featured keynotes included Kevin Mitnick, world-famous hacker turned white-hat security consultant and Stuart Russell, professor at UC Berkeley and pioneer in the field of artificial intelligence. Members began exploring several transformations in talent development, including the future of measurement and analytics, cybersecurity training, and artificial intelligence.

"It's all about finesse."

On November 4, 2017, eight talent development executives gathered for the first inaugural CTDO Next event in Napa, California to hear from renowned Chef Thomas Keller and his thoughts on developing people. We explored Keller's six guiding principles that helped him throughout his career, his perspective on when talent leaves the organization, and more.

"Success is built on all the people who came before us who paved the way," Keller said.