Professional Conference - Yay?

Sunday, October 11, 2009
I'm off to points east this morning to take part in my company's annual professional conference. I didn't have to attend last year, since the company decided my "inside engineering" job didn't warrant the expense, but now that I'm in a customer facing job, my attendance is required. I have mixed feelings about these types of events.

On the plus side is the opportunity to see members of my team who live in other parts of the country. We're a virtual team, and we don't get many chances to see one another, so I usually enjoy that. The technical breakout sessions are also usually helpful and informative. Since I'm a technical resource, taking advantage of opportunities to stay current is always in my best interest.

On the negative side is the issue of over scheduling. I understand the company's desire to get the most value for their money, but is it really necessary to schedule every day from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.? There's very little time available for answering e:mail, doing revenue generating work, or (heaven forfend) exercising. That would be just great if customers didn't insist on having access to their account teams during the week, but we all know customers typically aren't excited about waiting a week for their deliverables because their entire team is off at a conference. Based on the current schedule, this year is more flexible in terms of scheduling than years past, so maybe it won't be that bad. Hope springs eternal.

There's also the whole "pep rally" aspect of these events. While I can recognize the value in getting your customer-facing employees all on the same page in terms of company direction, do you have to be so cheesy about it? Maybe that's a sales thing - while I get excited and motivated by cool, effective technology, I have no idea what motivates sales people. Besides money, I mean.

So I'll be a bit scarce this week while I go learn new things, spend time with my team-mates, and snicker behind my hand. Don't burn the place down while I'm gone.

8 comments:

Stacey said...

I know how you feel. These are always a mixed bag. You haven't seen cheesy until you've gone to a Tupperware conference. Hope you get what you need out of it. Where pray tell is the event?

Jeri said...

I have a pep rally type event next month, where my CIO pretends to be Steve Jobs. Attendance is mandatory. I sit in the back, make snarky comments with my friends, and pass notes, just like I did in high school, 'cause it sure takes me back!

Nathan said...

An artfully concealed shaker of martinis makes one of these things infinitely more enjoyable.

Just sayin'.

Anne C. said...

Or a flask of rum/whiskey/vodka/whathaveyou. Makes lass noise...

Anne C. said...

That'd be LESS noise. Lass noises are something else altogether.

WendyB_09 said...

Ah, yes, one of the great joys of a New Orleans conference a while back was discovering the slushie stand in the mall ajoining the conference center was actually selling tasty, frozen adult beverages in generic foam cups. Yum.

Made the mandatory conference business sessions much more interesting

Janiece said...

I'm in Nashville for this one.

Y'All.

Nathan said...

Thanks for the text message today. It took me a minute to figure out who from (you or anne or a wrong number), but once I did, I got a good laugh.