Demand for creative thinking is currently outpacing supply. Despite that need, creative thinking is one of the skills most lacking in job candidates. The good news is that creative thinking is a trainable skill. 

In the September 2025 issue of TD at Work, Gerard J. Puccio and Pamela A Szalay explain the nature of creativity and present six strategies to enhance creative thinking.

We're facilitating this session using a virtual roundtable approach.

During this discussion, we'll:

Join us September 23, 2026 to share your thoughts and connect with your L&D peers as you discuss methods for enhancing your instructional design capability!

PowerTable Format:

For each PowerTable session, ATD-Orange County Board members will facilitate the discussion around a designated TD at Work issue.

During our roundtable discussion, each attendee will be encouraged to share their insights on the given TD at Work topic. 

All ideas are welcome. Your thoughts are encouraged.  

Do you need to be a Power Member to attend?

Not really. But it helps. The TD at Work issue being discussed is $19.95 without an ATD National membership.  

What is "TD at Work?"

Order the issue HERE, and remember to use our Chapter Code CH8091 at checkout!

Or join ATD National, and get access to the entire library of TD at Work issues for free! And if you are an OC chapter member, you save $40 off membership. Call ATD National at 1.800.628.2783 and tell them you are an Orange County chapter member to get the discount. And give them our Chapter Code CH8091.

Rates:

	Reg thru 9/19	Just in Time
Members	Free	$5
Members of Other Chapters	Free	$5
Non-Members	$5	$10

ATD Capability Model

Each ATD-OC Learning Event will be aligned to at least one Talent Development  Capability, as identified by ATD National.

This program aligns with:

To find out more about the ATD Capability Model for the Training and Development Profession, visit http://tdcapability.org.

Earn Professional Professional Development Points

This program is worth .5 Professional Development points.
Find out more about APTD/CPTD Certifications here.

Return to Top

Accessibility

ATDOC events are accessible to all participants. If you have questions or require special accommodations or auxiliary aid related to a disability for you to participate in the event, please notify us at least three weeks in advance by message to ocoffice@atdoc.org, with subject line "ADA Accommodations," outlining your needs and request for accommodation.

We will make every effort to work with you to accommodate your need.

Return to Top

PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEO RELEASE

By registering for this event, I hereby give the Association for Talent Development, Orange County Chapter, its clients, agents, and assigns, full permission to use, publish and copyright photographic images, film images, video images, sound recordings, and any reproductions from these materials of me and/or my property or any part thereof, either in conjunction with or without using my name, and make changes or alterations therein and/or alterations thereto Worldwide in perpetuity. Some places these images and recordings may be used and posted include, but are not limited to, the Internet, emails, social media, etc.

If I do not provide permission, I understand I will not activate my web camera during the session.

Artificial intelligence is transforming the workplace, prompting organizations to rethink everything from learning and leadership development to talent strategies and organizational design. Yet when one disruption dominates our attention, our perspective can unintentionally narrow.

As learning and talent leaders race to help their organizations adopt new technologies, other powerful shifts are unfolding at the same time. Expectations around leadership, trust, human connection, decision making, workforce dynamics, and continuous learning are evolving alongside technological change. Preparing people for the future requires more than keeping pace with new tools. It requires helping them develop the capacity to think differently in the face of uncertainty.

In this thought provoking keynote, Katie Rucker challenges participants to step beyond the "AI tunnel" and explore a broader view of what it truly means to be future ready. Drawing from the discipline of strategic foresight, she introduces practical ways to expand perspective, question assumptions, recognize patterns across seemingly unrelated trends, and make more intentional decisions in an increasingly interconnected world.

Rather than focusing on predicting the future, this session explores how learning and talent professionals can cultivate the adaptive ways of thinking that enable individuals, teams, and organizations to navigate whatever comes next.

Attendees will leave with practical ways to widen their perspective, navigate complexity with greater confidence, and help build a culture that is prepared for more than just the next technological advancement.

After this session, participants will be able to:

• Recognize how dominant disruptions can unintentionally narrow strategic thinking.

• Identify emerging shifts unfolding alongside technological change.

• Explore five adaptive leadership capabilities that support long term navigation of uncertainty.

• Use practical reflection questions to widen perspective before making strategic decisions.

• Reframe future readiness as a disciplined way of thinking, not simply a response to the latest trend.

Agenda:

6:00 PM — Welcome / Informal Networking 

6:10 PM — Trick or Treating (?)

6:25 PM — A Little Chapter Business

6:30 PM — Main Event

7:30 PM — Closing/Informal Networking

What To Bring

The Administrivia

Do your employees complete the training... and then go right back to doing things the way they always have?

You're not alone. And the problem might not be the employees.

Join us for a live, open conversation where L&D peers come together to tackle one of our profession's most persistent challenges: training that gets completed but doesn't actually change anything.

We'll kick things off by walking through a real-world case study to get us talking. It's the spark for an open, unscripted discussion where your experience, your frustrations, and your ideas are exactly what we're there to hear.

Here's what we'll be talking through together:

Cameras on, mics open, real talk welcome.

Think of it less like a webinar and more like a roundtable with your peers.  No slides to sit through. No chat-box-only participation. Just a genuine back-and-forth among people who are asking the same questions you are.

Come ready to talk, listen, and leave with ideas you didn't walk in with.

About Your Facilitator

Diksha Carron has over 10 years of experience in talent acquisition, partnering with leaders to support employee development and create meaningful learning experiences. She is passionate about bringing professionals together to connect, share ideas, and learn from one another. Diksha is excited to facilitate this discussion on microlearning and other engaging, bite-sized training strategies, and looks forward to exploring new ideas and best practices with the group.

ATD Capability Model

Each ATD-OC Learning Event will be aligned to at least one Talent Development  Capability, as identified by ATD National.

This program aligns with:

Developing Professional Capability:

Talent development professionals must have the ability to identify, select, and implement the right learning and talent technologies that serve the best interests of the organization and its people. Practitioners should be able to identify opportunities to adapt and leverage the right technologies at the right time to meet organizational goals.

To find out more about the ATD Capability Model for the Training and Development Profession, visit http://tdcapability.org.

MEDIA RELEASE

As part of your registration, you will be required to indicate your acceptance or rejection of the statement below:

By registering for this event, I hereby give the Association for Talent Development, Orange County Chapter, its clients, agents, and assigns, full permission to use, publish and copyright photographic images, film images, video images, sound recordings, and any reproductions from these materials of me and/or my property or any part thereof, either in conjunction with or without using my name, and make changes or alterations therein and/or alterations thereto Worldwide in perpetuity. Some places these images and recordings may be used and posted include, but are not limited to, the Internet, emails, social media, etc.

If I do not provide permission, I understand I will be seated outside of the field of video.

We invite all of our Learning Community to be a part of this culminating event! Celebrate your successes, connect with your peers, and set a vision for the future with us!

During this winter get-together, we will:

We will also take a few moments to have our Annual Membership Meeting, giving you an overview of the coming year.

And guess what? A delicious meal, door prizes, and parking are included!

Come share in the festivities, connect with fellow members, and let’s make some great memories together.

We can't wait to see all of you there—let's celebrate what we've achieved and look forward to what's ahead!

The Schedule for the Evening:

Menu:

Things to Bring:

Parking: Free parking in the lot

Deadlines: 

Monday, December 1

Cancellation/refund deadline is Monday, December 1 at 5 pm. No shows will be charged in full.

Earn Professional Professional Development Points

This program is worth .5 Professional Development points.
Find out more about APTD/CPTD Certifications here.

ATD Capability Model

Each ATD-OC Learning Event will be aligned to at least one Talent Development  Capability, as identified by ATD National.

This program aligns with:

To find out more about the ATD Capability Model for the Training and Development Profession, visit http://tdcapability.org.

PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEO RELEASE

By registering for this event, I hereby give the Association for Talent Development, Orange County Chapter, its clients, agents, and assigns, full permission to use, publish and copyright photographic images, film images, video images, sound recordings, and any reproductions from these materials of me and/or my property or any part thereof, either in conjunction with or without using my name, and make changes or alterations therein and/or alterations thereto Worldwide in perpetuity. Some places these images and recordings may be used and posted include, but are not limited to, the Internet, emails, social media, etc.

If I do not provide permission, I understand I will not activate my web camera during the session.

Under the backdrop of ATD's recent State of the Industry report, we discuss the Learning and Development trends that impact the strategic focus of local L&D leaders.

Each year, ATD's State of the Industry establishes consistent baselines for key performance indicators, including direct learning expenditure per employee, total formal learning hours, delivery channels, and trainer-to-employee staffing ratios.

But national L&D benchmarking reports rely heavily on data from large enterprise organizations with dedicated training budgets. Our local panelists bring clear visibility into what Orange County business owners actually invest in employee growth relative to operational overhead.

This month, our panelists will explore the latest trends that are reshaping L&D strategies. But more than that, we'll discuss how these trends are shaping their organization's strategies for the coming year.  

You'll hear how they align learning initiatives with business goals, ensuring their organizations thrive in an ever-changing environment.

Discover Insights from Industry Leaders

Panelists:

Crystal Brown Chief People Officer, Essential HR Partners

Agenda

Register Early, Save with a Friend!

When You Register...	Member Only	Member & First Time Guest	Non Member Only
More than 2 weeks early	FREE	Member FREE  &  Guest $5.00	$10.00
2 weeks early	$5.00	Member FREE  &  Guest $10.00	$15.00
2 days early	$10.00	Member $5.00 &  Guest $15.00	$20.00

To take advantage of this offer, contact Denise at ocoffice@atdoc.org or 714.527.4785.

Deadlines: 

Early bird -Friday, February 7 

Regular - Monday, February 24

Cancellation/refund deadline is noon on the Monday before the meeting. No shows will be charged in full.

Earn Professional Professional Development Points

This program is worth 1 Professional Development points.
Find out more about APTD/CPTD Certifications here.

ATD Capability Model

Each ATD-OC Learning Event will be aligned to at least one Talent Development  Capability, as identified by ATD National.

This program aligns with:

To find out more about the ATD Capability Model for the Training and Development Profession, visit http://tdcapability.org.

PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEO RELEASE

By registering for this event, I hereby give the Association for Talent Development, Orange County Chapter, its clients, agents, and assigns, full permission to use, publish and copyright photographic images, film images, video images, sound recordings, and any reproductions from these materials of me and/or my property or any part thereof, either in conjunction with or without using my name, and make changes or alterations therein and/or alterations thereto Worldwide in perpetuity. Some places these images and recordings may be used and posted include, but are not limited to, the Internet, emails, social media, etc.

If I do not provide permission, I understand I will not activate my web camera during the session.