Musicians call it dynamics. Most of the conferences that I have attended contained accented notes, a few well placed rests, and heightened emotional crescendos followed by equally moving decrescendos. Dynamics! After any concert when the musicians stop playing those who were immersed in the moment will carry that experience away and relive it for a while afterward. Without the external accompaniment to sustain the emotion life’s volume and tempo can begin to drown out even the memory of the experience. How many people moved by speakers and key networking moments return to real life only to find that the lessons they learned don’t fit nicely into their usual routine. The culture of most organizations is not very receptive to revolution from the ranks and a longer evolutionary tactic involving detailed planning, buy-in, and allocation of assets is required to make real change happen.
- Organizational immovability requires missionaries to effect change. In some cases, the inertia of the ongoing process cannot be stopped or even slowed down. Words alone will not cause a change in direction, but repeating the message at every opportunity has an eventual impact. This will not just be a series of five-second sound bites that eventually causes change to happen. The lessons learned need to be adapted to the current real world environment, fine tuned, and refined. Don’t expect lightbulb moments, gasps of recognition, and spontaneous applause when you suggest a plan that thrilled you when an expert presented it to you. Only the true believers and those who hone their skills to approach the level of the conference presenters will cut through the fog of an immovable culture.
- Even receptive cultures require catalysts to implement change. The role of the few moved by their passion can turn thoughts and processes in a new direction. Some attendees are sent by their employers to bring back the latest best practices in order to give them a competitive edge. Influence by those few can ignite the flame of change to make new things happen. Working within current boundaries can be deflating if pushing the envelope of current practices is not acceptable. Best practices do not fit all circumstances and most are are examples of how to move forward and challenge the status quo. If you keep doing what you are doing you will always get what you already have.
- Personal education and edification is always a permanent change. The change that happens within an individual can be challenged by the environment, but lasting personal improvement can never be stripped away. The tips, tricks, and tactics absorbed formally from the session presenters and informally from colleagues during breaks set an individual’s expertise above the rest and improve company results through individual professional excellence. Even if there is no immediate pat-on-the-back for the personal improvement gained there will always be the self-satisfying knowledge that there is value added by personal efforts. Everybody’s parents probably told them that “nobody can take away your education†meaning formal education, but the lessons we learn as adults that are of our choosing and in our profession are priceless.
- Trying to overcome post-conference malaise is due to poorly formed expectations. If you get home from any mind-blowing conference and find yourself in the blahs, this is for a good reason. It is difficult to plan a one-size-fits all experience for all attendees. The points that were pitched from a strategic point of view in any presentation are frustrating to the rank-and-file because they alone are unable to implement these ideas. At the other extreme, the excitement of tactical everyday life in the trenches is lost to those trapped in a corner office. The expectations for any conference needs to be set before attending and the expectations for bringing back useful knowledge is necessary to keep you sane. Otherwise, it was just for the parties and if that is the reason you attended you missed the whole point… save your money and go to a circus and then to a bar.
Everyone heard the same music but took away different memories. Grown-ups should and do have fun, but they never let the kid in them keep them from getting back to work. The total experience of the event is the thing that is of value, not just the isolated bits and pieces. Hold on to the memories and use them to rekindle the passion for excellence.
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