CraigMichaels Blog

Nolan Bushnell Reflects on the State of Retail Technology and What’s Next

2011-11-21T12:50:00.009-05:00

StoreTech 2012 Keynote Speaker Chats with Producer Amber Oldfield
By Amber Oldfield

In June of 2012 we will be launching a new event for senior retail technology executives called StoreTech. We are excited to announce that Nolan Bushnell, founder of both Atari and Chuck E. Cheese Restaurants will be joining us as a keynote speaker at this inaugural event. Throughout the past 30 years, Bushnell has created a name for himself as an innovator in retail technology. Bushnell has seen ideas flop and new technologies soar. It’s with this insight that Bushnell sat down with Amber Oldfield, producer of StoreTech, to weigh in on the future of the retail experience.

Amber Oldfield: Given the buzz around technologies in the retail industry such as RFID and mobile payments; what do you think brick and mortar stores will look like in the next 10 years?

Nolan Bushnell: The brick and mortar stores needs to focus on the elements of shopping … I believe that shopping and purchasing is an entertainment form and it is no longer really about the acquisition of goods. If you want to do that, the internet does it well. Right now providing a customer service experience is really where it is. We can talk about secure payments and a lot of the boring stuff but I don’t think the real power comes from the marketing idea… the stores that provide the most enjoyable experience will continue to prosper and the ones that don’t won’t.

AO: With more and more communication occurring through the use of technology; what benefits do you believe can still be gained from shopping “brick and mortar”?

NB: Like I say, the big space gives “try before you buy”, gives texture and gives things that you cannot transmit through online medium… I think [online] browsing is not the same as shopping. Shopping is an enjoyable experience when you are looking for the right gift. Online shopping can be a muted experience. The initial bandwidth that you have in a physical location is about 1000x times higher than what you would have in an online window and until we have complete immersive virtual reality gear that limitation will still be there.

AO: Outside the retail world, even meeting with colleagues, do you believe there are still tangible benefits to these face-to-face meetings over doing business via email?

NB: Absolutely, I think that we see this all the time… people get real cabin fever! They talk about nesting and all that, but at the same time most people that work at home do not like it. They do it but they don’t like it. There are exceptions all over the place but they want to hang out with the guys in the office. You see that both on the TV show and in physical life.

AO: You took some risks at Atari - one of which was hiring a described “hippie” named Steve Jobs. Given his recent passing, what kind of legacy and impression do you think he will leave on the world of technology?

NB: I think that Steve had a world dominant sense of style… a single minded vision of a simple computing environment in which he controlled everything and therefore made sure that it fit a very, very narrow demographic of usability and simplicity… What he did was make computing simple and I felt that one of the biggest mistakes that the board of directors made was when they let him go. I think Apple would have been a very different company; but who knows back to the future is a scary game to play.

AO: Do you believe this simplicity in design is something that clearly started with Apple?

NB: I would hate to think what the state of computing would be without the Macintosh [computer]. The Macintosh was such a dynamic move, even Microsoft was so dominant at the time nobody paid attention until it was Windows 3.0. What happened to Windows 1, 2, 2.5 and 2.4 - they were God awful! … totally unusable.

It’s clear from this conversation that there has been a shift in recent years regarding retail technology in both consumer product offerings and the presentation of these products to the public. But the driving force behind both product and presentation is the rapidly evolving consumer expectation.

“One of the things that retailers of all sizes need to understand is that nobody is staying in their box anymore,” says Bushnell, “ We are going to be dealing more and more with this concept of trans-media and increasingly retailers will be woven into the fabric of the media landscape. And the retailers need to understand how they play a part in the evolving media landscape. Books now are integrated with movies and television, video games, and Twitter & Facebook. Retail establishments need to really start to understand the social dynamic of how people consume information today… I really think increasingly, retail is going to be about how you package those little bits in new ways and build them into the brand.”

Nolan Bushnell presents on this topic and more as Keynote Speaker of the first annual StoreTech, June 10-12 in Henderson, NV. For more information on this event, please visit www.storetechsummit.com. To learn more about other CraigMichaels events, visit www.craigmichaelsinc.com.

First Time Is The Charm!

2011-11-16T10:50:00.013-05:00

For the inaugural Restaurant Development Summit, it was a touchdown! Kicking off the summit at the Turnberry Isle & Resort in Miami we had the winningest coach in NFL history, Don Shula, address the national delegation of restaurant executives on how “Everyone’s a Coach”. Shula shared insights from his historic career as well as candid thoughts on the state of professional sports and leadership today.

As a spin-off of the highly successful Retail Facilities Summit, the Restaurant Development Summit was met with great enthusiasm and attendees were engaged from the second they arrived. Delegates, Speakers, and Suppliers alike were able to network and exchange effective information in the relaxed setting of the resort. Many were able to find solutions to some of the critical issues facing their organizations as well as discover new approaches to better their business. It’s one thing for us to tell you, but quite another to hear it from the attendees:

“Overall a great experience. Talented, knowledgeable people…very useful information that we can apply” Bill O’Keefe – Applebee’s
“Overall very positive experience. Great venue, good scheduling balance of the meetings and sessions. Very good content in sessions. Keep[s] the atmosphere intimate so you can have informal discussions during breaks.” Bobby Speir – Krispy Kreme
“Wonderful networking event! Interesting & relevant speakers” Lauren Taliaferro – Focus Design/Moe’s
“This was the best CraigMichaels event I have attended. I’ve made some great connections with potential clients” Laura Hodge – Glidden Professional

If you couldn’t quite make it to this year’s summit, check out pictures from the event to see just how engaging it was at our SmugMug page.

As always, we want to extend a very special thank you for everyone taking the time out of their busy schedules to join us this year. We couldn’t have done it without each and every single one of you and we hope to see you at the 2012 Restaurant Development Summit which will take place October 28-30^th at the Hyatt Grand Champions Resort & Spa in beautiful Palm Springs, CA.

Also we are excited to be launching another new event called StoreTech which will take place June 10-12th at the Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort & Spa in Henderson, NV. This summit is geared specifically for CIOs and VPs of Information Technology at the nation’s leading retail companies. If anyone is interested in perhaps sharing the information with your peers in IT, you can direct them over to our minisite at storetechsummit.com.

So Many People, So Many Devices

2011-11-15T11:31:00.006-05:00

The trials and tribulations of making a site work across multiple devices seamlessly, all while converting our guides from paper into a digital format at the same time.

For our annual K12 Technology Summit we dared to do something that we had never done before. Something that would truly take us out of our comfort zone yet also set us apart from our competitors. We wanted to go paperless for a summit, what better time than now.

Before we dive into the nitty gritty details about this event, here is a bit of a back story. Early this year we experimented with our first event ever by having an unannounced launch of a mobile site by only telling people verbally at the event. We decided to use our Sustainable Operations Summit as the event to do this with. The first iteration of the site was definitely one that was in alpha version. The site had some bugs, performance was slow, a few incompatibility issues, and honestly it just didn't look that great even by mobile standards. However though people definitely loved the ability to take their program guide with them and it was straightforward and easy to use.

To address the primary concerns/bugs that presented themselves at the Sustainable Operations Summit we had to decide whether to make the app fully native on the device or make a web based application. We had gone back and forth on whether a native application would have seemed more logical fit instead of the mobile website, however in order to do that we would have to create and maintain an app for at least the 3 primary platforms (iOS, Android, and Blackberry). In the end we decided to go the web based route and to look at the JQuery Mobile Platform for the next summit.

So while the site had to be largely changed the results were vastly improved and we were thrilled. Loading time on site was now tremendously improved. With the old platform we used it was taking users up to a half a minute to load all the elements on their device. With the enhanced structure of the site users were able to load any page in only a few short seconds. The second benefit of the new platform was device compatibility. This is imperative if you are running an event and expect hundreds of users to be able to access it no problem.

So after the subsequent events we tested the mobile site further, we used the Retail Facilities Summit, Research Facilities Forum, and Healthcare Facilities Summit as test events. Each event was better than the last in regards to mobile performance and feedback from our attendees.

It was decided that since the site had been proven time and time again of being a strong mobile platform for past events we were going to let it fly solo and rid ourselves of the on-site guide and go paperless. We thought what better event to try this on than a tech event where there is a topic on “Bring Your Own Device”? Many of the CIOs at the event have been or are planning on implementing this strategy of having student’s use their own devices to enhance the learning curriculum. This is exactly what we wanted to do with the mobile site this year, enhance the learning experience through easy knowledge exchange that is both fun and useful.

As with any sudden changes there was definitely hesitation in-house on how we can make sure we do this with very little to no errors since it is the primary form of communication between us and our attendees. To error on the side of caution, we decided that the personalized agendas still be distributed through paper form, that way even if there were any outages, internet hiccups in the resort, and so on, we would still be covered.

The site for K12 Tech was created for this event was actually a hybrid of meshing both JQM and Wordpress together. While not everything was done through the Wordpress backend, the heavy lifting of the photostream, additional mobile optimization, iPad detection, and chat functionality was.

To help with the overall process, communication was key. We made sure to send communication materials to all attendees that the guide would be completely mobile. On Sunday we further reinforced this by sending another email of the site link along with the ability for them to ask questions if they had any technical issues at all with the site. Also during registration, we had an iPad on site to give a thorough demonstration if any attendees had any questions about the site and its functionality.

Overall looking back at the site as it performed at the event, there were only 2 very minor errors/bugs that happened and had staggering statistics for the event considering the number of people that had attended. On site for the K12 Tech summit we had 145 attendees; we had 215 unique visitors to the site! Therefore we had people using multiple devices to access the site. The most popular device used for the site was the iPad followed closely by the iPhone. Another impressive statistic was time on site, which came in at a staggering 4:55!

Given the feedback from the attendees, we are anxiously looking forward to our next summit that will also feature an integrated mobile site, the StoreTech Summit in June, 2012. For this event, we look to improve an already a great platform and take it to the next level with it being fully integrated into Wordpress along with giving users additional features that will be announced in the coming months.

Shawn Burns is the Web Services Manager with CraigMichaels. He has acted in the role since July of this year and started with the company in October 2010. For any questions regarding the mobile site feel free to contact him – sburns AT craigmichaelsinc.com

Healthcare Wrap Up and a Gift From Mark Kelly!

2011-10-26T09:37:00.005-04:00

The 2011 Healthcare Facilities Summit was quite literally out of this world! This year we had Captain Mark Kelly join us to discuss the story of his life and the challenges that he faced. Truly a captivating speech that won a standing ovation from our national delegation of healthcare facilities executives and supplier companies.

Over the two and a half days, reviews of the Healthcare Facilities Summit were stellar! Some executives shared that “the focused vendor meetings were a welcome change from the harried pace of large convention floors of other conferences” and that “the Healthcare Facilities Summit is a unique and effective way of bringing together healthcare facility experts to share their experiences, network with peers and have targeted productive business discussions with suppliers needed in support of our facilities.”

Some of the attendees may say that the Chili cook-off on Monday night may have stolen the show. Our judges were up to the challenge (with a bottle of Pepto Bismol of course) of tasting over 12 different types of chili made from all the event attendees!

You can see pictures from the event, including the chili cook-off, at our SmugMug site.

We want to extend a very special thank you for everyone taking the time out of their busy schedules to join us this year. We couldn’t have done it without each and every single one of you and we hope to see you next year at the 2012 Healthcare Facilities Summit which will take place September 30 - October 2nd at the Naples Grande Resort in Naples, FL.

Lastly on a personal note, Capt. Mark Kelly sent us a signed space shuttle! Thank you from all of us here at CraigMichaels as we have it proudly on display!

Another Year. Another Magical Retail Facilities Summit.

2011-08-03T13:25:00.010-04:00

Miami in July? You bet!
The gorgeous Fontainebleau Miami Beach provided the backdrop for this year’s Retail Facilities Summit. Combine 120 of the leading minds in retail store development with Caribbean blue ocean views and the outcome is a truly magical networking experience.

To kick off the summit, old friends connected and new partners met for 18 holes at the Miami Beach Golf Club. The day continued with world-renowned magician and endurance artist David Blaine, who took his inspirational chat from the stage to the tables and joined attendees for a hands-on demonstration of his mind-bending magic tricks.

Monday and Tuesday were jam-packed with scheduled meetings, presentations, and open opportunities to learn more about the most exciting projects and planning underway at the nation’s leading retail organizations. But along with this hard work, came opportunities to enjoy good company and the luxurious location. Crockett and Tubbs joined us in spirit for a Miami Vice-themed evening overlooking the Atlantic, full of white linen and Ray-Ban® sunglasses.

Another year - another successful event for all!

Click here to check out the RFS 2011 picture gallery.
And visit www.retailfacilitiessummit.com for a full recap of the event and an introduction to next year’s Summit!

The Man Behind “The Princess’ Speech” to Share Communication Strategy with Attendees at SOS 2011

2011-03-02T10:37:00.014-05:00

World-renowned communication coach, Richard Greene, joins an already impressive lineup of presenters at the 2011 Sustainable Operations Summit being held May 15-18^th at the Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena, CA.

From Heads of State and Royalty to CEOs, Greene has earned a reputation as one of the leading speech coaches in the world. Stories of Greene’s work coaching Princess Diana through a fear of public speaking, evokes a modern-day version of “The King’s Speech”.

Greene will lead a workshop focusing on effective communication skills for top sustainable executives. “I will encourage the participants to think beyond their own sustainability projects and issues,” says Greene, “and join to help sell the larger vision beyond the specific issues of green building, climate change, air pollution, water pollution, energy, etc.” The goal of this session is to arm attendees with the skills necessary to communicate lessons learned and new ideas in a way that not only commands the attention of a room, but motivates an audience to act.

Much like fellow keynote Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Greene uses his unique professional expertise to champion initiatives of personal passion, including sustainable projects and politics. He recently moderated a panel called “The Economics of Sustainability” which featured prominent voices such as James Cameron, Thomas Friedman and Joe Scarborough. During this discussion, Greene helped to frame the argument at hand toward what he calls “true cost factoring” - the act of incorporating the negative effects of all products and services provided into their total cost.

Learn more about this dynamic presenter at his website: www.richardgreene.org and his exciting session at www.sustainableoperationssummit.com.

Join the conversation online on Twitter by following @SustainableOS.

Keynote's Dramatic Story Finds Big Screen Success

2011-01-27T16:23:00.013-05:00

We are honored to host Aron Ralston at this year's Campus Development and Campus Technology Summits, April 3-5 at the Hyatt Regency Bonaventure Resort & Spa in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Ralston's real-life story inspired millions as news broke of his brave ordeal in 2003. He's since become a New York Times best-selling author with the autobiography Between a Rock and a Hard Place.
But now almost eight years later, his story still resonates and has found its way to the big screen. Actor James Franco stars as Ralston in the critically acclaimed film 127 Hours. For this performance Franco has been nominated for a Golden Globe, Academy Award and a Screen Actor's Guild award, among others. Ralston worked closely with Director Danny Boyle and Franco on the film and no-doubt inspired both cast and crew with his incredible perspective.

Congrats to both Franco and Ralston and we look forward to seeing you in April!

For more information on how you can attend this event or any of our exciting programs, please visit: www.craigmichaelsinc.com

What Do Hospital Executives Think About Healthcare Reform?

2010-10-20T12:56:00.013-04:00

At the 2010 Healthcare Facilities Summit we asked a number of executives from some of the nation's largest health systems: "How Do You Think Healthcare Reform will Impact Your Organization?"

Featured in this clip are (in order of appearance):
Michael P. Owens- Producer- HEALTHCARE FACILITIES SUMMIT (CraigMichaels, Inc.)
Mark Loukides- Executive Director of Facilities Development- GREENSVILLE HOSPITAL SYSTEM
Mike Chihoski- Senior Vice President, Corporate Engineering- OSF HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
Brian Weldy- Vice President of Facilities and Engineering- HCA, INC.
Fritz Reuter- Senior Vice President of Facilities Development & Real Estate- NEW YORK- PRESBYTERIAN HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
Charles Weinster- Vice President of Real Estate Planning & Development- CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL BOSTON
Steve Cockerham- Vice President of Facilities Planning, Design & Construction- BJC HEALTHCARE
Zeke Triana- Director of Facilities Planning, Design & Construction- CEDARS- SINAI MEDICAL CENTER

For additional information about the Healthcare Facilities Summit please visit:
http://www.healthcarefacilitiessummit.com/

Thinking Outside the Glass Box: Kevin Surace Speaks at SOS 2010

2010-07-12T15:47:00.007-04:00

Kevin Surace, Chairman & CEO of Serious Materials was the kickoff speaker at the 2010 Sustainable Operations Summit giving a very energetic and inspiring presentation titled: THINKING OUTSIDE THE GLASS BOX

As CEO of Serious Materials, Kevin leads the company in its mission to reduce energy usage and CO2 generation of the world’s largest contributor, our buildings. In his talk, Kevin shared how Serious Materials is building a great company based on sustainability…and how EVERYONE can benefit.

We are happy to share the full video of Kevin's presentation with you here!

Kevin Surace Speaks at the 2010 Sustainable Operations Summit from CraigMichaels, Inc. on Vimeo.

Inside the Carbon War Room

2010-06-10T18:24:00.008-04:00

Prior to President Clinton's inspiring speech at the 2010 Sustainable Operations Summit we were fortunate to have Jigar Shah, CEO of the Carbon War Room (and Founder of SunEdison) give a talk about the business case for combating climate change.

It was one of the highlights of this year's summit and we are happy to be able to share it with all who were not fortunate to be in attendance.

The Passing of Art Linkletter

2010-05-26T15:55:00.011-04:00

America has lost one of its true remaining icons with today's passing of Art Linkletter. Since the launch of CraigMichaels in 2002, we had been fortunate to have Mr. Linkletter speak at six of our events over the years, with the last one being just short of a year ago (May 31, 2009). Art's speeches were always a genuine combination of inspiration, motivation and humor that deeply moved our audiences time and time again.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Art's family, especially his wonderful wife Lois of over 70 years. Below is a brief interview I recorded with Art just prior to his speech at last year's Campus Summit in April where he reflected on the challenges facing America.

We will miss you Art...

2010 Sustainable Operations Summit a Huge Success!

2010-05-20T15:43:00.014-04:00

Five years ago at the conclusion of the inaugural Sustainable Operations Summit, I knew we had a special event that would only get stronger with each annual installment. This past Tuesday at the conclusion of the 5th Annual summit, I found myself worrying if we would be able to make this event any stronger than it was this year?

Over the past five years some of the world's leading green minds have spoken at the Sustainable Operations Summit: Al Gore, RFK Jr., Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins, Ray Anderson, David Suzuki and dozens more. We have brought all of these visionairies to educate and inspire our intimate summit audiences with great results.

This past Tuesday we were honored to have President Bill Clinton as our closing keynote speaker at the 2010 Sustainable Operations Summit. President Clinton, as expected, stole the show and perfectly tied together all of the issues that were discussed during the previous 2 days of the summit. With an audience of just under 250 people this was truly a once in a lifetime experience for everyone in the room and set the bar high for us to top next year!

In addition to President Clinton, the summit program included thought provoking and informative presentations by Kevin Surace- CEO- Serious Materials, Jigar Shah- CEO- The Carbon War Room, Michelle Moore- Federal Environmental Executive, Stephen Ayers- Architect of the Capitol, San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro and dozens more. We would like to thank everyone who made this summit such a great success (suppliers, sponsors, speakers and delegates) and we hope to see you all again next year!

Oz Pearlman...The Devil!

2010-03-25T17:55:00.021-04:00

One of the many benefits of living in New York City is the daily access to world-class arts & entertainment. As a life long New Yorker, I would have to say this is the best thing about our city. Of course you can go see a show on Broadway or catch an upcoming band at a small club on the Lower East Side, but you can also find amazing entertainment in the most unsuspecting of places as well. Like last year when I was indulging in some necessary winter carbs at the wonderful Park Side restaurant in Corona and had the good fortune of meeting Oz Pearlman.

While waiting for our food, the owner of the restaurant dropped by our table to say hello and told us that there was a magician in the house that he was convinced was "the devil" because his tricks were "just not right!!". Later that night, the magician Oz (pronounced "Ohs") dropped by our table and we quickly understood what Tony was talking about as he began to freak us out with his magic and mind reading.

I was so impressed after meeting Oz that I booked him to fly out and entertain the delegation at CraigMichaels' Retail Facilities Summit and he blew them away...and we are excited to announce that Oz will be now joining us for the third time at the 2010 Campus Development Summit and Campus Technology Summits next month at the Arizona Biltmore Resort, to entertain and mesmerize!

Oz just launched a new website which you can check out here: www.magicofozpearlman.com

Ray Anderson joins President Bill Clinton as a 2010 Sustainable Operations Summit Headliner

2010-03-04T14:53:00.012-05:00

Following up on the recent announcement that President Bill Clinton will be speaking at this year’s Sustainable Operations Summit, we are excited to confirm that Interface Founder & Chairman Ray Anderson will also be joining us as the Opening Keynote speaker! Often referred to as the “greenest chief executive in America”, Anderson will be sharing insights from his new book ‘Confessions of a Radical Industrialist’ which provides practical ideas that every business can use to improve their bottom lines and do right by the earth.

For those of you who may have missed the incredible news, we are honored to confirm that President Bill Clinton will be joining us as the Closing Keynote speaker at the summit taking place May 16-18th at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort in San Antonio, TX. With an attendance of less than 300 people this will be a very exciting and unforgettable experience for all involved!

We are also very pleased to announce that we have confirmed a diverse and impressive list of panelists to round out the conference program for this year’s summit.

Additional confirmed speakers include:
Kevin Surace- Chairman and CEO- SERIOUS MATERIALS
Stephen Ayers- Acting Architect and Chief Operating Officer- ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL
Daniel Wallach- Executive Director and Founder- GREENSBURG GREENTOWN
Suzanne Malec- McKenna- Commissioner, Department of Environment- CITY OF CHICAGO
Mert Livingstone- Vice President, Global Site Operations- JOHNSON & JOHNSON
Kevin Kampschroer- Director, Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings- US GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION (GSA)
Doug Gatlin- Vice President, Market Development- US GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL (USGBC)
Brenna Walraven- Executive Managing Director, National Property Management- USAA
Chris Brophy- Vice President of Energy & Environmental Services- MGM MIRAGE
David Haft- Vice President of Operations Sustainability- FRITO-LAY
Ariella Maron- Deputy Commissioner of Energy Management- CITY OF NEW YORK
Tim Cole- Director of Sustainability- FORBO/ Chair- USGBC BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Jim Hunt- Chief, Environmental & Energy Services- CITY OF BOSTON
Brian Weldy- Vice President of Facilities & Engineering- HCA, INC
Carl Kernodle- Vice President of Architecture & Design- HYATT CORPORATION
Rob Rolfsen- Director of Sustainable Development- CISCO SYSTEMS
Dane Parker- Director of Global Environment, Health, Safety & Facilities Sustainability- DELL
Dave Newport- Director, Environmental Center- UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO
Emma Stewart- Senior Program Lead, Sustainable Operations- AUTODESK
John Davies- Vice President, Intelligence- GREENER WORLD MEDIA
Shana Weber- Director, Office of Sustainability- PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
Bill Triplett- Vice President of Design & Construction- H-E-B
Scott Shippey- Director of Design- CHIPOTLE
…and many more to be announced shortly!

Bill Gates on Energy at TED

2010-02-23T16:58:00.008-05:00

For a person who produces conferences for a living (Hello Me!) the annual TED conference is the Superbowl of the conference industry. If you are not familar with TED here is a description lifted from their website:

Each year, the world's leading thinkers and doers gather in for an event many describe as the highlight of their year. Attendees have called it "The ultimate brain spa," "Davos for optimists" and "A four-day journey into the future, in the company of those creating it."

Less than two weeks ago Bill Gates gave a very thought provoking speech on energy at the 2010 TED conference. The people at TED have since uploaded video of Mr. Gate's speech that some are calling the "Most Important Climate Speech of the Year". Watch the speech below to come to your own conclusion. Anybody know how I could convince Bill Gates to come on board the 2010 Sustainable Operations Summit?

Brick City's Cory Booker Set To Inspire Campus Summit!

2010-02-17T18:17:00.021-05:00

It's been a busy week here in the production department at CraigMichaels! Following the announcement that President Clinton will be joining us at the Sustainable Operations Summit, we are thrilled to inform you that Newark Mayor Cory Booker will be the Opening Keynote Speaker at the 2010 Campus Development & Campus Technology Summits.

If the name Cory Booker is foreign to you now...I promise it won't be for long! As the Mayor of Newark, NJ since 2006; Booker has been leading the troubled city in a direction that many thought would have been impossible. He has greatly reduced crime, convinced businesses to once again return to the Newark area and, most importantly, inspired the city's people to achieve and expect more from life.

Mayor Booker brings his passion for social change to the podium. Sharing stories informed by real life, he demonstrates the need for everyone to take responsibility in helping this nation live up to its promise. Cory Booker is destined to become a BIG player in national politics, so having him at our summit is a real privilege.

Below is a somewhat recent interview with Mayor Booker where he discusses Sundance Channel's reality mini-series 'Brick City' which follows his herculean efforts in Newark.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

President Bill Clinton at SOS 2010!

2010-02-12T15:47:00.017-05:00

It's been a little while since I updated this blog. Been working on a few things...like shoveling snow, working out the logistics for our Sports & Entertainment Facilities Forum...and confirming BILL CLINTON to speak at the 2010 Sustainable Operations Summit!

That's right! President Bill Clinton will be closing out the summit which is taking place May 16-18th at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort in San Antonio, TX. We at CraigMichaels are beyond excited and are now counting the days (94 to be exact!) to the start of the summit.

Since we launched the Sustainable Operations Summit in 2006 we have been fortunate to have welcomed some of the world's most engaging thought leaders. President Clinton not only continues this tradition but once again solidifies this summit as one of the most respected environmental conferences today. Previous speakers at the summit have included: Al Gore, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., David Suzuki, Paul Hawken, Ray Anderson, Amory Lovins, Dan Esty, and Andrew Winston to name but a few.

Catch Him If You Can! Frank Abagnale Speaking at our K12 Summit

2010-01-28T11:37:00.007-05:00

We recently had Frank Abagnale, former con artist extraordinaire whose crimes inspired the memoir and movie Catch Me If You Can, as the opening Keynote speaker at the co-located K12 Facilities Summit and K12 Technology Summit on October 18th, 2009 in Austin, TX.

When we first announced Frank Abagnale as the Opening Dinner Speaker we had a number of people questioning why we invited a convicted criminal to speak. Well in just over 30 years, Frank Abagnale has gone from a man in hiding to a man very much in the public eye. At the summit he took our audience on a hilarious and poignant journey of his time as a criminal being pursued, but the message was about his personal transformation. His story is a true morality tale that takes you from the depths of despair to the triumph of personal redemption.

Frank actually encouraged us to record his speech...so we are happy to share it with you here.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Is There an Appropriate Age to Grant Internet Access to Students?

2010-01-25T15:25:00.005-05:00

A very interesting (and sometimes controversial) question that is brought up by parents and school administrators is: "At what age should children be given internet access?". I posed this question to some of the nation's leading school district CIOs at the 2009 K12 Technology Summit and recieved a lot of interesting responses.

What is your take on this question?

Sustainability at Arizona State University

2010-01-13T17:58:00.008-05:00

We are really excited to confirm that we will be closing out the 2010 Campus Development Summit with a Sustainability tour of Arizona State University. I took some time to wander around the ASU campus while attending Greenbuild this fall and was truly amazed at what they are doing there. We have been fortunate to have a number of leaders from ASU speak at our summits over the past few years (Bonny Bentzin, Jonathan Fink and Jim Buizer to name a few) and their knowledge and commitment to the environment has always been a highlight of our programs.

Below is a video that gives some insight into the innovation happening at ASU these days. Full details about the campus tour will be revealed shortly.

Kick off the New Decade with Profitable Solutions to Climate Change (Courtesy of Amory Lovins)

2010-01-06T16:35:00.006-05:00

First and foremost Happy New Year! Not only the start of another year but the start of a fresh decade! Reflecting on this past decade, I am sure that most would agree that we as a country are eager to start a new chapter...one that is both positive and profitable!

At the 2009 Sustainable Operations Summit we were very fortunate to have, Hero of the Environment, Amory Lovins speak at our opening dinner reception about Profitable Solutions to Climate, Oil and Proliferation. As always, Amory came equipped with wonderful data and numerous scenarios that truly opened up the minds of our delegation resulting in an inspiring kickoff to the summit. We are now happy to share Amory's presentation with you here on SummitUp!

Oh...and before I forget. The program for the 2010 Sustainable Operations Summit is currently under development and we will be announcing the first round of speakers in the next 2 weeks! We have a great lineup in the works for you this year. So don't forget to mark your calendar for May 16-18th at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort in San Antonio, TX.

PART 1:

Part 2:

Tis the Season!

2009-12-18T10:46:00.009-05:00

With 2009 winding down, we at CraigMichaels wanted to take the time to wish all of our friends and clients a very Joyous Holiday Season and a Healthy New Year! Keep on an eye on this blog in 2010 for more exclusive content from our Summits and Forums!

Christine Malcolm on Building Great Hospitals for Less at HFS09

2009-12-11T16:27:00.012-05:00

We have been very fortunate over the years to have Christine Malcolm speak at numerous CraigMichaels summits. Christine is currently an independent consultant, but from 2004 until the summer of 2009 she lead Kaiser Permanente’s National Facilities Services department, and was responsible for managing the company’s real estate portfolio, facility operations, and the design and construction of their medical facilities. During Christine’s tenure at KP she oversaw a $24 billion capital development and replacement program, making it the largest hospital construction program in the nation.

At the 2009 Healthcare Facilities Summit Christine gave a great presentation titled: How to Build Great Hospitals for Less: Proven Methods that Deliver Value. At a time when construction costs were soaring and the cost of green buildings was described as 20-50% higher than conventional design, Kaiser Permanente delivered 5 hospitals that an independent benchmarking organization showed cost 13% less than the prevailing standard. The presentation unveiled the key success factors that made this all possible and why all of these ideas can be implemented at health systems large and small.

Check it out!

Part 1:

Part 2:

What are the Upsides to a Down Economy?

2009-12-07T18:15:00.005-05:00

At the 2009 Retail Facilities Summit we presented a number of questions to some of the industries leading minds. The question asked in this clip was "Have you Seen Any Upsides to the Down Economy"?

This video was recorded on June 9th, 2009 at the Retail Facilities Summit in Carlsbad, CA

Getting your Sustainability Strategy off the Ground

2009-12-07T17:29:00.001-05:00

Rohit Aggarwala the Director of Long Term Planning & Sustainability for the City of New York and Suzanne Malec- McKenna the Commissioner of the Environment for the City of Chicago were both featured speakers at the 2009 Sustainable Operations Summit.

In this video, Rit and Suzanne share some pointers on How to Get A Sustainable Initiative Off the Ground.

A Tale of 2 Green Cities (NYC & Chicago)- Where Do You Start? from CraigMichaels, Inc. on Vimeo.

The Sustainable Operations Summit is an annual invitation-only event produced by CraigMichaels, Inc. These interviews were recorded between June 8-9th, 2009 in Austin, TX.

Howard Dean Predicts that a Public Option will be Included in the Healthcare Reform Bill

2009-10-01T11:28:00.001-04:00

At our Healthcare Facilities Summit, Governor Howard Dean MD predicted that a Healthcare Reform Bill will pass and that it will include a public option. Watch the clip below: