GSD
April 23-25, 1999

PRELIMINARY PROGRAM - CONFIDENTIAL
FOR COMMUNICATION PURPOSES ONLY
 

PROGRAM

This conference flows from the premise that information technology - and more specifically, Internet technology - are rapidly and radically transforming the character of life and work.  The changes driven by the Internet will have an enormous impact on the conduct of every aspect of our society - business, government, education, and private life.  The impact on the design and construction industry will be no less dramatic.  It is imperative, therefore, that industry leaders prepare themselves to evaluate opportunities and challenges they will face. This conference will give leaders a forum in which to exchange ideas, become more conversant with the broader issues surrounding the coming of the Internet, expand their working knowledge of the technology itself, and perfect the personal, professional, and organizational strategies that will be necessary for guiding positive change.
 

Conference Format and Topics

We expect about 120 participants.  We want to create a format that will allow participants to get directly involved with one another to discuss and exchange ideas.  The conference topics move from the general to the specific:

• Impact of the Internet on business
• Impact of the Internet on society 
• Description of industry specific Internet technology
• Case studies in the AEC, other industry, and government
• Discussion groups focusing on topics specific to the Internet in the AEC

Friday Night

Conferees have a chance to get acquainted over cocktails and dinner.  Keynote Richard Nolan gives a compelling view of how successive waves of information technology have transformed entire industries. 
 

Saturday Morning

The Big Picture: Structural Change - Charles Nesson opens Saturday morning by outlining the broader implications of the Internet in society and its impact on how we live and work. 

Enabling Technology - The second half of the morning will introduce 3 areas of Internet related technologies that will play an increasingly important role in design and construction - models, markets, and linkages.  Six speakers - 2 from each category - will make brief 15 minute presentations of their particular breed of technology.  Following this introduction of  that will be followed by a panel discussion with questions and answers from the audience.
 

Lunch
Lunch includes a presentation and discussion with Scott Cook, CEO of Intuit, makers of Quicken and Quickbooks financial software.  This is just a look at interesting technology and a vast plan for sweeping changes in personal and small business finance.
 

Saturday Afternoon
Benchmarking - Three case studies that focus on examples of organizations that have implemented strong interorganizational approaches to value chain management, although none of them are specifically Internet related.  They are offered more as benchmarks for the kind of interorganizational behavior that will characterize networked organizations. 
 

Sunday morning
Internet Strategy Workshops - are is intended to provide more focused discussions of industry specific topics related to the Internet with the intent of developing recommendations for further investigation at subsequent industry forums.