Retreat and Reunion

HERSHEY, PA.-Every autumn, big-name players from the companies that sell billions of dollars of technology to government and senior executives from the agencies that buy it gather in this rural Pennsylvania town for three of the most important flesh-pressing days of the year.

The Executive Leadership Conference (ELC), held by the Industry Advisory Council, a consortium of more than 450 technology firms, is billed as an opportunity for public and private sector decision-makers to congregate outside Washington in an informal setting where frank discussion rules the agenda.

But the conference also is a reunion of sorts, the one time each year where the movers and shakers-and some wannabes-can meet in one place. "Like the swallows returning to Capistrano," as one industry executive put it.

The obligatory list of attendees includes senior officials from the General Services Administration, the military services and a host of law enforcement and other civilian agencies; executives from the nation's biggest technology contractors, such as Lockheed Martin, Unisys and Computer Sciences Corp.; and a host of small businesses.

What exactly are all these people here to do? It was a fair question asked by one first-time attendee, who had noticed that the real action happens not in the conference sessions-the content of which is sometimes so broad as to be of little real use-but in the cocktail receptions, the sideline meetings, the private lunches and in the after-hours hospitality suite, where frank discussion often flows as fast as the bourbon and the chocolate martinis can be poured.

As conference co-chair Tim Long, an executive with data analysis firm ChoicePoint, put it, "I like to think of 'ELC' as a verb...as something that must be experienced actively." The distinguishing aspect of this conference, compared with the dozens of private-public pow-wows that litter the calendar, is that socializing is its hallmark. It's just as common to see friends sitting on a couch, cackling over old stories, as it is to overhear two people strike a business deal while waiting in the buffet line for crab claws.

The chumminess of ELC is its biggest strength. But it also may be an Achilles heel. After three days of this event, one is left with the impression that its attendees really aren't saying anything terribly new, or innovative, about the problems the government faces managing technology. They're also not reaching a broader audience. The imperatives brought up at every government-industry conference to "improve collaboration," "break down barriers," and "foster innovation" abound. But no one seems to know precisely how to do those things, or at least how to make the people they work with appreciate why they have to happen.

A useful lens through which to view this conundrum was offered in the form of a parable by Sunday night's keynote speaker, former Labor Secretary Robert Reich.

Reich said when a frog is thrown into boiling water, it leaps out of the pan for fear of being scalded. But if you put the frog in lukewarm water and gradually bring it to a boil, it will stay in the pan through the whole process.

For federal managers and corporate executives, the dilemma is how to turn up the heat on the frogs-those who are resistant to the collaboration and innovation ELC is meant to encourage-such that their surroundings force them to take action, Reich said. But given that ELC itself hasn't changed much in recent years, and remains an exclusive gathering, one wonders if the conference and its parent organization couldn't use some additional heat, as well.

There may be some coming. The Industry Advisory Council, ELC's sponsor, is part of a larger association of advisory groups, 14 in all, called the American Council for Technology. Recognizing that all its groups must do more to include not just technology executives in their events, but also legislators, academics, nonprofit leaders and the government officials who actually use technology rather than buy it, the council is gearing up a new "liaison program" to go after the groups and raise awareness about what they do, Joiwind Ronen, the council's executive director, said Monday. Of particular importance are members of Congress, council members said.

Details are still being worked out, Ronen said, but as part of the new strategy, the council will sponsor "education forums" for various groups, set up a certification program for federal technology workers and open the council's membership to state and local governments.

"We are changing the fundamental model of this organization," Ronen said.

It remains to be seen, though, if the fundamental nature of ELC will change. It remains one of the most colorful, informal and fraternal events of the year. And in the end, that probably suits many frogs in Hershey just fine.