After my attendance in the Global Peter Drucker Forum 2014 event in Vienna, I reflected on what I can do to keep the spirit and the outcomes of the conference alive in my business moving forward. Many professionals struggle in doing so as it requires self-discipline and commitment to turn the event into something more than just a great event in itself.

One thing that has proven really helpful is to think of conference attendance as a game. In the game, I am learning new things, challenging myself and making bold decisions.

The moves in the conference attendance game could be introducing yourself to people you normally would not approach, sharing insights with strangers and following up with attendees and non-attendees via social media. There are many things to follow-up with, including sharing ideas, book recommendations and new contacts.

As a livestream attendee, you can still play the game, although the possibilities for engagement and new opportunities will appear more distant. Attending a conference live will always provide a more intimate experience with plenty of opportunities to challenge yourself. If the livestream event is supported by a live forum you may use that to enhance your learning, challenge yourself and make bold decisions to keep the momentum from the event.

The point is that the game does not end after the conference. Social media and forums allow it to continue. It can even help you define the new board for your next conference game.

By following others, you can continue to be inspired by people from the event. When posting your thoughts and learning points, you will also be in a position to inspire others who are attracted to the same areas of interest as you. By doing this, and leveraging the contacts and opportunities from the conference, you can build your own following as an advancing leader. This occurs as an obvious, yet often overlooked and under-utilized opportunity to nurture long term relationships that support your ambitions as a leader.

As an advancing leader, you have the opportunity to use the conference game approach to make an impact on matters of importance to you:

1. Stay connected to the conference community of speakers, participants and followers via social media and communities offered.
2. Share ideas, search for collaboration and integrate new learning in your daily life.
3. Look for opportunities to co-create with people in the community and make note to yourself of any ripple effects.

In order to embrace the notion of a game for any conference attendance in the future, you should ask yourself some key questions to make the most out of your game:

• When is your next conference coming up? Can you build on any of the ideas from the last event?
• What would you do differently next time? Which opportunity did you miss this time that you would like to seize next time?
• What can you do in the mean time to prepare and improve your own experience for a great conference outcome?

On a personal note, I am levelling up my game for my next conference and have already joined communities to prepare for a great outcome. After attending the recent Global Peter Drucker Forum, I have decided to nurture my new contacts in both the event forum as well as social media in general. As soon as the conference admission board sends out the invitation, I will submit my contribution to an article expanding on the learning points from the conference and including my ideas for next year’s conference. I expect nothing less than the unexpected from the contributors and attendees.

Let me know which reflections and comments you have on the conference attendance game approach below. Game on!

The post How Well Are You Playing The Conference Attendance Game? appeared first on Katy Caroan.

The Hall of Sciences in Vienna has been an important meeting place to share knowledge since the 17th century. Over the last few days, the impressive, early baroque building has served as the venue for the 6th Global Peter Drucker Forum, bringing more than 30 intriguing speakers to inspire 400 onsite attendees and thousands of livestream participants from all over the world on the topic of the “The Great Transformation.”

The organizer has made it easy for the participants to network onsite as well as online. The coffee break and lunch area is organized around small tables without chairs, the participants mingle seamlessly through the room, and the large name badges make introductions easy. The speakers, many of whom are authors as well, are located in the same area, passionately sharing samples of their books and discussing with attendees.

The online conversation does not stop among the onsite attendees. Beyond focusing on the in-person experience, a significant number of the participants use Twitter to share observations and reflections important to them.

The conference Twitter hashtag #GPDF14 was established in the period leading up the event. During the event, the hashtag serves as the glue between the speakers, as well as the onsite and online participants, allowing everyone to tune into the conversation. It is easy to ping other people on Twitter, livestreamers or not, when something of special interest shows up:

As a tweeting attendee, you may use Twitter to suggest a spontaneous meet-up in the next break with other attendees to discuss a certain topic. Why not approach your favorite speakers and ask them which book they recommend given where you are in the business? If you can’t make it in person, use Twitter or LinkedIn if they have an open profile. You will be surprised to see how easy it is to connect with your key inspirational sources and start building relationships.

All in all, it is possible for attendees as well as online followers not only to maximize their own conference experience, but also to facilitate the learning for other people not following the conference. Non-attendees may get prompted to engage and learn, using Twitter as a wonderful university for new opportunities. Everybody wins: the organizer, the speakers, the attendees and the non-attendees.

On a personal note, these are the 7 key results of my #GPDF14 experience:

1. In-depth understanding of complex topics which are vital to the development of new offerings
2. Personal relationships initiated with 3 speakers of special interest
3. Clarity on which conference authors I want to prioritize over the next months
4. Unexpected learning on macro level topics which helps me put my own stories into perspective
5. A handful of long term nurture leads, emerging out of coffee breaks
6. Dramatic reduction of requests for business cards. We are finding each other on Twitter instead.
7. Facilitation of key learning points and inspiration to several business partners not attending the conference via Twitter

What is your game plan to get the most out of your next conference attendance? Or do you find yourself inspired to search for the conferences you can’t join in-person and follow the conversation via Twitter instead? I would love to get your comments and learn more about your experiences of what makes a conference valuable to you in the digital age.

The post The Ultimate, Blended Conference Experience In The Digital Age appeared first on Katy Caroan.

When looking back at the conferences you attended over the last few years, how many of them resulted in long lasting business relationships, led to exciting business opportunities or initiated a totally new direction in your business? While some of us have the intention of obtaining these results prior to an event, I find that many fail to turn the initial excitement and ambition into something that could last. We struggle to leverage the investment made in time and money.

There is nothing wrong in attending a conference for inspiration and entertainment in the moment only. However, I believe there is a way to set yourself up for longer lasting results through your preparations as an attendee.

Imagine if you could initiate new connections before you enter the conference. It would allow you to better prioritize the sessions and meetings and increase the possibility of spontaneous meet-ups within your area of interest.

Here is how I prepare and build connections before attending an event:

Get Connected

• Visit the conference website to learn who will present as speakers and other stakeholders.
• Subscribe to the organizer’s Twitter list of all speakers. If no such list exists, create your own and inspire your Twitter followers to listen into the buzz.
• Monitor the conference Twitter handle and relevant hashtags to learn as much as possible about the speakers and topics in advance.
• Read the speakers’ blog articles or books that interest you before the event.
• Respond quickly to anyone following back or reaching out on other social media platforms such as LinkedIn.
• If the conference offers a livestream option, make sure to sign up and join the community or forum well in advance to see who else will join.

Stay Connected

• Follow the event-related conversation on Twitter, blogs and forums daily.
• Post occasional content with a clear indication of your purpose for reaching out.
• Retweet, share and use the content on your favorite social media platforms to inspire your surroundings. The closer it is to the event, the higher the intensity.

Engage, Learn & Target

• Look a second time at the conference agenda. Can you learn in a different way? Make sure to make educated choices about parallel conference tracks.
• Do some research on your favourite conference topics: The more you know in advance, the easier you can prioritize your time at the conference.
• Are some speakers or attendees of special interest to you? Make sure to connect and let them know that you are looking forward to engaging prior to the event! Why not intrigue them with a question or an idea, and check if there is an interest to meet during the event?

The future is here, and this is a new and changing aspect of how conferences can be so much more than just an inspiring couple of days and a few cold business cards.

Modern conference organizers are making it easy for us as the attendees by providing all the information we need to prepare ourselves for long lasting relationships. But many people are not engaging fully or are using the available tools in an immature way. It’s not enough to simply connect, you need to reach out via social media and invite people to engage in the conversation you want.

Previously, we could prepare ourselves for a conference by finding out key information about the conference topics and the speakers. Now we have the opportunity to participate in a two-way engagement: We can become part of the conversation even before the event starts by listening via social media and engaging more fully in selected parts. In other words, we can set ourselves up for successful long-term business relationships.

One great example of an organizer who has made it easy for me and the other participants is The Global Peter Drucker Forum 2014 in Vienna, November 13-14 (#GPDF14). I have followed my normal event preparations, and I find myself connected to some of the contributing speakers already. I can’t wait to see what the event will bring longer term.

If you are interested in topics around the #GPDF14 event “The Great Transformation”, make sure to follow the buzz before, during and after the event via the links below!

The conference organizer:
https://twitter.com/druckereurope

Twitter list of speakers:
https://twitter.com/GDruckerForum/lists/gpdf14

Link to sign up for livestream:
http://www.druckerforum.org/2014/special-pages/registration-live-stream/

The post Warm Connections Boost Conference Experience And Impact appeared first on Katy Caroan.

Characteristics of Advancing Leaders

Many of us have been asked about the characteristics of a great manager. What did he or she do to make you feel motivated, recognized and valued as a team member? Transferring the question to address the qualities of a great leader in every area of life might be helpful if you are lacking motivation in your current job or assignment.

What comes to mind when reflecting on people around you who you consider to be characterized as Advancing Leaders, inspiring you to follow and take action?

When I look back at my own career in corporate, I was influenced by a number of great leaders. One of them I never met in person, I just interacted with him via telephone conferences and email. Reflecting back on what made him such a great leader to me, made me realize that there were certain qualities that inspired me to challenge myself beyond expectations and advance in my own leadership.

The characteristics below might help you as well when recalling the qualities of formal and informal Advancing Leaders in your own various environments:

Qualities of Advancing Leaders

An Advancing Leader always wants to learn more

You will recognize them constantly pursuing new skills and perspectives, striving for new insights and continuous development. They are inspiring their followers by teaching what they learn. The teaching is often spontaneous and comprehensive, adding tremendous value to their followers.

An Advancing Leader shares with others

The most inspiring leaders share other professionals’ content with credit as well as their own content in a personal way. They are frequent sharers, aiming at attracting new opportunities for others and themselves through abundance. They are successful in combining online and offline forums when sharing their content, and their followers see them as consistent across the forums.

An Advancing Leader demonstrates courage

Their confidence in managing the circumstances whilst focused on their mission goals, means they do not need all the answers nor any guarantees for success before kicking off their journey.  Taking imperfect action is their method of reducing risk when making progress. The followers are inspired even if the leader is just a few steps ahead of them.

An Advancing Leader makes a difference

Their BIG WHY in business is more visible to themselves and others than for most, and this is contagious to their surroundings. The best of them are successful at relating their short-term priorities with their long-term vision in a trustworthy way. Their followers perceive them as highly inspirational when sharing the overall purpose.

An Advancing Leader never settles

They seem to miss the limiting belief of “I was not meant to stand out in a bigger way than what I was taught or told when younger.” There is no age limit to these leaders when making a bold, new move in their career or personal lives, as they are actively looking for what is still undone. Their followers see them as unorthodox and challenging, leaving important thoughts and ideas behind to explore.

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As a coach, mentor and consultant, I always look for answers to why I am passionate about working with some professionals and organizations more than others. This has nothing to do with traditional segmentation in terms of industry, geography or demographic. It has everything to do with their behavior. It has to do with their attitudes, response and ambition to make a difference as Advancing Leaders.

In which areas are you perceived as an Advancing Leader yourself? And more importantly, what is your potential when unleashing even more of the Advancing Leader in you? Pay attention to what drives your motivation to continuously learn more, improve and share content with others. When people around you see you as a professional on a certain mission, you know you are on the Advancing Leader path.

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If you like this topic, you will love the Virtual Leader Conference coming up September 15-21, 2014 where more than 20 Advancing Leaders and experts are sharing their success strategies to empower other Advancing Leaders. You are welcome to join us on demand and free of charge via http://vlc14.katycaroan.com

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