Leaders routinely make and implement decisions - some of such importance they impact a whole organization and extend beyond its boundaries.

How do the best of the best leaders make decisions?  Business, industry and academic experts will discuss the essentials of leadership development during a conference at Bowling Green State University on "Mind Your Leadership:  Cutting Edge Practices for Strengthening and Stretching Your Organization's Intellectual Expertise".

Sponsored by the University's Master of Organization Development (MOD) Program, the 2006 Organization Development Best Practices Conference will be held from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.  March 24 at the Bowen-Thompson Student Union on campus.

Dr. Gary Klein, chief scientist of the Klein Division of Applied Research Associates, will give the keynote address, titled "The Cognitive Dimension of Leadership."  He will discuss his groundbreaking work on recognitional decision-making, which has been influential in the design of new systems and interfaces, and the development of decision training programs.

Klein earned his doctorate in experimental psychology at the University of Pittsburgh.  He has written more than 70 papers and co-edited three books.

Other speakers include:  Dr. Bernard Bass, a professor emeritus of management from the State University of New York (SUNY); Philip Clinard, a BGSU graduate and senior vice president and director of the Change Management Office at Sky Financial Group; Dr. Karen M. Cowan, manager of Leadership Development at DaimlerChrysler Services, and Dr. Marguerite Foxon, principal performer technologist at Motorola.

BGSU College of Business Administration faculty leading concurrent sessions are:  Dr. Steven H. Cady, an associate professor of management; Dr. Senthil K. Muthusamy, an assistant professor of strategic management, and Dr. Jane V. Wheeler, director of the Master of Organization Development program and the Institute for Organizational Effectiveness.

Field-experience competition winners and MOD students will also give presentations.

A pre-conference workshop from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 23 will also feature Klein.  "The Cognitive Dimension of Leadership:  A Practitioner's Toolkit" will focus on one facet of leadership - the ability of leaders to think on their feet and to direct the thinking of their teams.

The fee for the pre-conference is $50 with a conference registration, or $99 for the pre-conference only.  The conference fee is $299.  Those who register on or before February 10 pay $279, which is also the per-person fee for three or more registrants from the same organization.  A special discount is available to BGSU MOD alumni.

For more information, contact Ann Betts at 419-372-8181 or 1-877-650-8165, email abetts@bgsu.edu or visit http://pace.bgsu.edu.  To register, call Continuing & Extended Education at 1-877-650-8165 or log on to http://pace.bgsu.edu.