A few thoughts on our industry from IMEX 2018 on Smart Monday

There are a million cliche comparisons that I might reach for to describe how I spent my morning here in Las Vegas, but I’ll just settle for saying that it’s already feeling a lot like coming home.

I’ve not made any secret out of having a few challenging years dealing with surgeries and such. It’s been difficult sometimes to focus on the greater industry, on the technology, or to write and podcast about it. I’d follow along as my friends did their events and vicariously try to experience being more involved. But, more often then not I’d have another priority like physical therapy pull me away with greater priorities.

Coming back to IMEX is really the first opportunity I’ve had in quite a while to connect on a national (and international) level with a circle of friends that I’ve made over the years. I’ve been in this business 30+ years, but in some ways today I feel like I’m starting out fresh again. It’s a bit like when you show up on the first day of school and start looking for your friends from last year that you haven’t seen all summer. Do they remember me? Have they changed? Have I changed?

I’ve already seen so many familiar faces, and been greeted like a long-lost relative by a number of people whose work I deeply respect and admire. The folks from IMEX itself are truly some of the best in the world at what they do, and I can already see some of the changes that they’ve made this year in their constant effort to continue evolving and refining this amazing FREE event.. Couple that with people coming in to town from nearly any group or association that you could name and it’s really the one massive tent that can put all of us together under one roof for a few days. Even as I’m writing this I’ve seen folks I haven’t seen in at least a year and reconnected.

Julis Solaris did the opening keynote today. He runs the Event Manager Blog and has a passion for our business that just bursts forth whenever I’ve chatted with him. His presentation on legacy far exceeded my expectations and most importantly did what we hope that any presenter can do. It connected squarely with some very deep emotions. Imagine taking something as simple as sponsorship and finding a way to impact (and save) thousands of lives...wouldn’t we all like to leave that sort of mark on the world? His example did in a very unique and powerful way.

I’m not going to try and recreate his words to tell that story, because he has already created a free ebook that you can download which will better tell those stories in his voice and in his way. You can find that on his blog: https://www.eventmanagerblog.com/the-power-of-events-free-report (The story that I’m referencing aboveis about a Brazilian soccer club, and at the end there were a lot of folks reaching for a tissue.)

THAT kind of impact and connection is the amazing power that we all get to harness in doing our jobs.
As MPI says...”When we meet, we change the world”...

I’m feeling ready again to dive in and help be part of making those changes.