While our conference doesn't officially begin until 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 6, we will host an early arrivals dinner for those coming in early enough to participate in optional Saturday activities.

7:00 p.m.

Early Arrivals Dinner (optional)

During the day, we will offer optional activities for those who arrive early and wish to meet fellow participants.

7:00 p.m.

Welcome Reception and Dinner


The DiamondExchange will officially kick off with a welcome reception and buffet dinner. Families are welcome and encouraged to attend.

8:00 - 9:00 a.m.

Breakfast

9:00 - 9:30 a.m.

Designing For Growth: Welcome and Introductory Remarks


John Sviokla, vice chairman, Diamond

In today's era of complexity, growth involves more than staffing up the back office, or even the front office, to deal with additional volume. It requires scaling of complex, specialized tasks done by knowledge workers. Doing it right requires managing and providing different tools and support to those at every level who drive the profitability of the company. John will share how we plan to build our discussion over the next few days.

9:30 - 11:00 a.m.

The Opportunity and Challenges Ahead

Marvin Zonis, Diamond fellow and Professor Emeritus, University of Chicago Booth School of Business

Marvin, the man who correctly predicted many of the problems we now face–economic, political, and environmental–will share his well–considered observations on what is in store for U.S. businesses in the years ahead.

11:00 - 11:30 a.m.

Break

11:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Networking Activities with Fellow Participants

7:00 p.m.

Awards Dinner

Awards for the afternoon's activities will be presented over a buffet dinner. Families and guests are encouraged to attend.

8:00 - 9:00 a.m.

Breakfast

9:00 - 10:15 a.m.

Designing and Managing High-Value Knowledge Work

John Sviokla, vice chairman, Diamond

Knowledge workers have the greatest impact on a firm's profitability, and knowledge workers at all levels require different support systems and structures. But few firms have developed a formalized approach to serving these diverse needs. Most companies remain focused on automation of routine tasks. That is the key finding of Diamond's recent research on "High–Value Knowledge Work." John will discuss the results of this recent ground–breaking study and how you can enhance the productivity of knowledge workers at your company to drive growth and profitability.

10:15 - 10:45 a.m.

Break

10:45 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Providing the Right Tools: The State of the USA

Chris Hoenig, president and chief executive officer, The State of the USA

Knowing what is out there gives us a tremendous advantage in preparing for the future. Imagine what would be possible if all your suppliers and business partners had the same vision of the emerging market. This is what Chris is trying to accomplish by creating a mash–up of government statistics across health, economics, environment, education, crime, demographics, and more. The objective is to provide a single frame of reference, using scientifically credible statistics, about how society is changing–a sort of open source intelligence for the business community. Business leaders can use it to feed their forecasts, to track shifts in aggregate demand–even to minimize corporate healthcare costs and absenteeism by selecting areas with low obesity rates. You can't manage something you can't measure, and The State of the USA is taking the first step toward better management of our collective well–being.

12:00 - 1:30 p.m.

Working Lunch

1:30 - 2:30 p.m.

Turning Information into Knowledge...and Acting upon It: Kaiser Permanente

Phil Fasano, senior vice president and chief information officer, Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser Permanente has secured its spot as one of the nation's most innovative healthcare providers, in part because of its unique role as both a payer and a provider. This structure gives Kaiser a distinctive view of information that has helped the firm improve the quality of care while keeping costs in check. Phil will discuss how the company derives a competitive advantage from information.

2:30 - 3:00 p.m.

Break

3:00 - 4:15 p.m.

Managing Creativity and Innovation with Knowledge Workers

Linda Hill, Diamond fellow, Wallace Brett Donham Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School

Linda has spent considerable time studying Pixar–a company that serves as an exemplary model of collaboration and creativity. She will share her findings and how organizations and leaders need to adapt to thrive in a collaborative environment that runs counter to the hierarchical structures in which many of us have grown up. She'll also provide insights on how to inspire and harness the creativity of knowledge workers in our organizations.

4:15 - 4:30 p.m.

Recap: Designing For Growth

John Sviokla, vice chairman, Diamond

John will briefly summarize the highlights of the day's discussions to prepare us for tomorrow's discussion on next steps.

7:00 p.m.

Reception and Dinner

Seating will be assigned, so please let Talia Weidberg know by Sunday, March 7 if you cannot attend.

8:00 - 9:00 a.m.

Breakfast

9:00 - 10:30 a.m.

Becoming the Rabbit

Steve Spear, senior lecturer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, senior fellow at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, and author of Chasing the Rabbit: How Market Leaders Outdistance the Competition

As our businesses become more complex, everyone has to play the part of knowledge worker at some level. A company's ability to tap into the creative potential of the entire workforce is a huge competitive advantage–allowing it to perform reliably in the short term, and to be adaptive and innovative over the long haul. Steve will discuss what leaders can do to generate and sustain broad–based, high speed innovation of knowledge work.

10:30 - 11:00 a.m.

Summary and Next Steps

John Sviokla, vice chairman, Diamond

John will summarize the most important insights from our discussions over the past few days to prepare you to bring change back to your organization.

11:00 a.m.

Departure Lunch Buffet

Please plan to remain on the property until 11:00 a.m., when our session ends. We will have packed lunch containers available for you if you need to dash to the airport.