Another seminar bites the dust….

Another year passes and another seminar has been and gone ….and what have we learnt???

Well this year the main thing we have learnt … is that its bloody difficult to get people to come to a seminar.

We have advertised the day in plenty of time, we had some fantastic speakers, we had a great venue, we had car parking, we had food …. we had everything sorted – and on top of all the basic good stuff there were also ‘freebies’ and entertainment – BUT – we just couldn’t get people to sign on the dotted line?

Why was this?

Was it because we were charging for tickets? …are people really so hard up that 85 quid was going to put a hole in their company finances??

Was it because we had some controversial speakers? …maybe Mark Avery can be a little forthright in his opinions but surely not so much as to put people off??

Was it because it was Japanese Knotweed Solutions Ltd that were running the conference? …. have people been ‘over knotweeded…’ ???? It wasn’t a conference about ‘knotweed’ as such – it was a conference about invasive species and environmental issues.

Or …is it a sign that we are all becoming too ‘virtual’ in our approach to life? Are we happier with our i-pads and our smart phones but NOT quite so happy meeting people face to face – one on one?? Is this a sign that we will simply become holographs in the future and never attend anything that requires us to move from our nice insulated offices???

Are we all just way tooooo busy to actually leave the office and attend a function? Are we concerned that if WE leave the office WE will be perceived as ‘slacking’ in some way??

I think continued professional education is vital within a company. It is key for the office team to feel challenged and motivated – vital to make them think, vital to make them see other points of view. This can only be done by getting out of the office and out of your comfort zone. Listen to people with different opinions to yours, you don’t have to agree with them…but just listen and think about why they have arrived at their conclusions – it’s a stimulating experience.

Personally, I love these seminars – I love the preparation and the imagination that is required to make the day a bit ‘different’ and a more ‘memorable’ …but to be honest by the time we had got to the day of the ‘do’ it had been far too draining getting people to join us for the day – and my clearly voiced opinion was…. ‘I’m never doing this again….’

But then dear reader – you get to the actual day of the seminar – the room is full – the speakers are blasting out music, the videos are playing…the jungle plants at the entrance to the hall look amazing….and the day kicks off.

It’s a fantastic buzz to see people enjoying the show.

The presentations were well received the audience loved the day.

Nobody left early…and the feedback has been amazing…

So ….the big question….will we be doing this again next year??

OF COURSE WE WILL.

 Mike C