I was recently preparing for a workshop and included a concept I learned at Brand Camp -- in 2007. I think it is the only thing I consciously remember from the multi-day conference, but it perfectly illustrated my point.
As I reflected on the fact I only had one takeaway from that event, it occurred to me that I have followed the same pattern for much of my career, but over the years have assembled quite an arsenal of tools, one concept at a time. I rip one page out of a magazine, take one lesson from each conference, remember an idea from a webinar and adopt a training technique from a speaker. By putting them together, I have amassed quite a repertoire of metaphors and exercises from which I can draw to make my teaching more powerful. Instead of being disappointed that I "only" remembered one concept, I should embrace the idea that one idea I repeatedly use is a valuable ROI for attendance.
How can you process your intakes and post-event reflection to capture that "one thing" you hope to take forward and apply? We often come away from a book, a sojourn on social media or a conference with a multitude of ideas that get lost in the background. Be intentional about pulling out the one concept that can add to your thinking, maybe for decades to come.
Many years ago a local business owner who I became friends with shared his “one nugget” philosophy.
ReplyDeleteWe where both active in the Chamber of Commerce.
His comment was regarding attending meetings, conferences, seminars, etc.
Look for one new nugget, one new idea, one new way to do something, etc.
Instead of wanting to leave an experience with a bunch of new “whatever’s” focus on finding one valuable piece of information.
Yesterday, I was reading an article in the Twin Cities Business magazine about Bill Cooper, the long time CEO of TCF Banks (Twin City Federal). He passed away last year. Bill focused the bank on finding lots of ‘one-up’ accounts (think about the person or business with one or maybe 2 small accounts) instead of looking for the BIG accounts, etc. TCF has been one of the most financially sound banks around for many years including through bank scandals, the Great recession, bank failures, etc. Focusing on the power of one nugget at a time.
Thank you for re-enforcing this Beth.
We need lots of reminders.
Mark Geller