The Conference: Mission Accomplished

 

There's no other way to say this: conference days are long.

They're long in London and San Francisco when we're staying just minutes from the venue or in the same building as the site of the conference.

They're longer at home when we have to be up at 4 a.m. and on a 5:17 a.m. train out of Greenwich.

But the payoff is getting to work in places like the Plaza Hotel. I mean, so many famous faces have made their way there but I smile wider because The Beatles stayed at the Plaza before the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964.

I've written about the Hunt Scanlon conferences before. It's a day of clock management and massaging personalities and putting the best face (and sore feet) forward.

Today's conference was on the important topic of workplace culture. I will repeat that: the important topic of workplace culture. The idea of making sure every employee is valued and diversity and equity are a way of life. The speakers were a wide-ranging collection of experts that dazzled the audience.

To that end, attendees were wonderfully engaged which is a blessing. As a moderator, it's a juggling act because I have to keep things on time, and "one more question" isn't always viable. Yet, somehow, one more question kept happening today.

Believe me, nobody was more aware of the conference agenda than the guy that stood at the mic off and on between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Oh, I knew when the presentation needed to finish and when the luncheon began, and when the networking break was to happen. I'll further add that few people felt more pressure on hitting those times than I did, though I know Chris Hunt and Mike Hawkins both felt it.

So I had to be what I don't like to be. The last thing I want to be is the guy with the hook in the old Vaudeville shows but, sometimes, I have to play the villain.

I keep things on schedule.

And I think that's the compliment I hear the most: I keep things on time.

Of course, I also pride myself on getting names right but, yes, mistakes happen. One attendee corrected me today and when I apologized to her she could not have been more gracious. 

I'll sleep tonight but it still bothers me. At this point, after 15 (!) Hunt Scanlon conferences, I have a reputation to uphold. My integrity matters on this so of course, I beat myself up. You know this. I have standards I try to live up to.

After being in the venue since 6:30 a.m. and doing the juggling involved, that last paragraph of the script -- the one that ends the conference -- is a welcome sign.

With that, it's time to head for a train or grab a beverage. I opted for the latter tonight. The guys I work with are also my friends and I don't get to spend enough time with them so a few minutes to blow off steam was enjoyable.

Then came the train ride home. While roughly an hour, it feels like we're traversing cross-country because I just can't wait to be home. That hour is endless. Or it just feels like that.

Then the walk. It's an uphill battle literally to get back home but it finishes with a downhill stroll as the lights of our humble abode come into view.

Upon stepping inside, I feel the pride of the job well done combined with the relief of a successful day.

The next conference is in May in New York.

Then London in June.

Long days, especially for my colleagues who make it all happen.

I read the words and keep us on schedule.

That's my job.