I love large-scale, in-person events. Not for the content but for the people and the opportunities. Let’s wrap 2024 and talk about the importance and ramifications of connection.
transcript
Last week, I lamented about 30 years of Las Vegas tradeshows – and one particular downer of a memory. But I also want to give THANKS because I love large-scale, in-person events.
You can complain about Vegas, but there aren’t that many cities that can take multiple multiple groups of thousands people each and give them walkable access to a hotel, an expo hall, a variety of tasty food, and a globally accessible airport; in a location that folks don’t mind going to.
Frankly, you get a more motivated attendee in Vegas than you do in some inconvenient suburb.
- That means a higher quality event venue and logistics
- Which brings bigger thought leaders to the main stage and the sessions
- Which delivers better learning for the attendees
But to me, the best part is the networking
That week, I randomly met up with:
- Sarah, a client from 7 years ago. She’s now in a different part of the industry but we had a fantastic conversation on career development – which likely will be a future two-minute monday.
- Rob who had been both a colleague 4 years ago and a client 12 years ago. He was instrumental in my early analyst days.
- Patrick who was a colleague 15 years ago … and now just a friend that I’m inspired by each time we cross paths, which isn’t often enough.
- And Danielle, a colleague that 20 years ago, helped start my Marketing adventures. She enabled many of my first speaking sessions … and that was a pivotal shift in my career. So sincerely, thank you Dani.
There were others, including current customers and colleagues – and who knows which of them will be the next one to significant blessing in my life … or whom I hopefully will have an impact on … and that is the point.
These events, whether a public trade show … or an internal company meeting … or any other professional gathering … are opportunities:
- Opportunities to learn from each other – on whatever the topics are that you share
- Opportunities to learn more about each other – not just about the tech or the company, but what makes them human; what actually matters
- Opportunities to shake hands … hug necks … laugh during a meal … or maybe find a quiet corner to pour into each in a mentoring or coachable moment.
You just don’t get that stuff from a Zoom or Teams meeting … and we all need that.
So, take an extra dose of vitamin C … wash your hands frequently … wear a mask on the plane if you want … but when parts of your world are all gathering in a single spot – GO.
Cuz you never know whom you’ll look back and think, I knew them back then … and what a difference that made!
See you next Monday
Leave a Reply