NBS {re]ocon 2010


In this talk, Menlo Innovations' co-founder and CEO will trace the history of Menlo's unique "agile" culture to Edison's original Menlo Park, New Jersey "Invention Factory" and engage the audience in a lively dialogue in how an open and collaborative workspace combined with a highly engaged team can revolutionize the approach to creativity and invention. You will see how Sheridan's team uses organizational development techniques from many sources to create the type of Learning Organization that Peter Senge describes in his book The Fifth Discipline - "The Art and Practice of Learning Organizations."		Richard Sheridan Co-Founder and CEO, Menlo Innovations, LLC After only two years in business, Rich Sheridan, CEO of Menlo Innovations, became the Forbes "Hire Yourself" cover story for all those choosing entrepreneurship over unemployment. The next year, it was a Wall Street Journal article on the unique office Menlo uses for software design and development. Within six years, Menlo had become one of Inc. 500's fastest growing privately held firms in the US. What makes this story truly remarkable is that it occurred against the backdrop of an IT industry that everyone assumed was leaving the US for offshore. Sheridan's team at Menlo breaks all the rules and, in doing so, produces phenomenal results for its customers. No walls, offices, doors or cubes -- one big open room, a la Edison's original invention factory in Menlo Park, New Jersey. In this noisy, fun atmosphere Menlo has produced software for all walks of industry from healthcare, to scientific equipment, to high-fashion ecommerce, to diesel motor vehicle diagnostics, and many more. Software developed by Menlo for its clients is designed for everyday people by Menlo's High-tech Anthropologists(r), built to last by Menlo's world-class agile software development team, and managed by a set of professional project managers listed among the nation's 50 Most Prolific by the Project Management Institute. Sheridan and Menlo have won numerous awards and honors, and he and his team are regularly invited to present nationally and internationally sharing the secrets of the Menlo Software Factory™ with all who wish to learn how to build a Learning Organization that can keep pace with today's advances in software and design.


When employees have collaboration tools that are easy to use and allow on-demand interactions, a company experiences two fundamental changes: 1) The business can "sense and respond" more quickly; and 2) The quality of business decisions improves with "anywhere access" to vital information and key personnel. In this talk, Mr. Preston will discuss best practices for ensuring the successful integration of collaboration applications in your business and the power of leveraging technology. He will explain the importance of creating a user experience for audio, video, web and data collaboration that breaks all distance, time, and media barriers, and allows people to communicate with one another anywhere and anytime. Dispelling common myths around video conferencing, Mr. Preston will explain how remote collaboration can be achieved effectively and efficiently, and without eating up all your bandwidth — AND he'll explain it in a way non-techies will appreciate and understand.		Bob Preston Vice President, Industry Solutions and Chief Collaboration Officer, Polycom, Inc. Bob Preston is the Chief Collaboration Officer at Polycom, Inc. His role at the company is to help organizations understand the application and benefits of voice, video, and telepresence collaboration solutions within industries and vertical markets such as healthcare, education, government, and enterprise. Bob is an expert resource in the area of increasing productivity and efficiency through collaboration solutions. He also leads the Industry Solutions group on a global basis - a team of industry experts developing strategic initiatives in targeted industries. Bob is a blogger and frequent public speaker on the topic of business value of collaboration solutions.