Deep Thoughts...not by Jack Handy

(This is a duplicate of what I sent in email)

I am sure some of you are wondering...What exactly are we doing on Thursday? Is there homework? How should we prep for this?

First, I fully expect the day will be interesting and fun. Yes - there is a mechanism in place to help us identify common themes and focus our thinking on these themes - and some of you may roll your eyes at this. But when it comes right down to it, we are all going to get to talk about what we like to do, what we want to do, and what we should be doing!

In short, the purpose of the day is to try to identify the issues and opportunities that are in front of us. Where do we want to go and how do we get there? What's important on the horizon to our world?

Will we walk away with answers? Maybe. Maybe not. That's not necessarily the goal of the day. But at a minimum I hope to walk away with a better understanding of the issues and a set of ideas/projects/problems for us to focus on. If we actually solve problems at the same time - all the better.

So, to prepare for this, you simply need to be thinking about these types of questions. What do we do? What holds us back? What do we want to do?

If you have looked at the blog, you will see a wide variety of concerns, issues, questions...they are all fair game for Thursday. The limitation on the discussion is simply: is it relevant to what we do? So talking about existing projects or policies or practices (or lack thereof!) is appropriate. So are new ideas for technologies and services we could or should provide.

We are all smart people - who are confronted daily with challenges and opportunities. Here's a chance for us, as a group, to work together to identify what is important to us and to our users.

Looking forward to this discussion!

Dave