Sep 16 2020 05:56 AM
Microsoft Ignite is the largest IT conference in the world and this year it comes to you as a free online event. With 520 speakers showcasing Microsoft’s enterprise products and services you are presented with a valuable learning opportunity.
Seven hundred sessions comfortably accessible from your living room or office can propel your career to new heights.
Regrettably, most of us fail to transform a conference learning into a new hands-on skill. This is because after the conference we return to hectic schedules and we get so caught up in being busy that we start to push the conference experience aside.
Think about your past conference experiences. How many times did you leave the conference feeling excited, fired-up, and eager to further explore something you’ve discovered at the conference, but then fail to create the much-needed margin and opportunities to delve into the details?
We live in a fast-paced, ever-changing, and complex world that demands the very best from us while constantly throwing new challenges at us, so there is a ceaseless conflict between the things you have to do and the things you want to do. We tend to rank our post-conference goals low terms of urgency and priority so over time the enthusiasm wears off - until the next conference comes along – and the cycle repeats itself.
Don’t let Microsoft Ignite 2020 be just another conference. Don’t let it be a spectacular three-day event that sparks something inside of you that again fades over time.
A mountain bike race revolutionized my conference experience
I once paid an expensive entry fee for a mountain bike race and at the time I did not even own a bike. I had three months to buy a bike, learn the essential skills, and get fit. I’ve set a goal, I’ve made a commitment, and I then had to work towards it. Not wanting to waste the money helped me remain dedicated. The event day was a lot of fun and I was amazed by how much I was able to accomplish.
The lessons learned from the unusual approach to my first mountain bike race was the breakthrough I needed to now get the absolute most from any conference experience.
I realized that too many of us think we need to wait for the ideal opportunity to learn and practice a new skill in the workplace. This is not true. Why wait for someone else or something outside of us to change for something inside of us to change? You must choose to create opportunities and time that allow you to go after your goals. Take control. Dedicate your personal time and energy toward it.
I implore you to try the following approach to help you get incredible value from the Microsoft Ignite 2020 conference;
I implore you to try this approach. Don’t let years of your valuable career go by without grabbing everything you can from amazing conferences.
Have fun!
Sep 17 2020 03:01 PM
Sep 17 2020 11:48 PM
Thanks Shona for the kind words. The tactic worked well for me and a number of my peers. I wish I could help more people with it. If you have any ideas on how I can reach more people with my message I will appreciate it. (perhaps a guest blog?)
Thanks, Johan
Sep 18 2020 09:49 AM