Mash Media MD Julian Agostini says it’s those that make the effort to attend events that are generally the most progressive and able to reap the real rewards as a result:
Have you ever honestly done your best at anything? I doubt it, but that’s not an insult; quite the reverse in fact. People often underestimate their own potential and put themselves down unnecessarily. If you really think about it, is there a single time in your life where if you look back, you couldn’t have done a little better? Even 0.5%? There’s nothing wrong with that, of course because completely fulfilling our own potential is nigh on impossible. We don’t know our limits until they are fully tested, which is extremely rare.
All we can do is strive to do a bit better each time and pack a little more into our lives even if we think they are already too full; they’re not. We are all guilty of saying we’ve been ‘so busy’ as an excuse for not doing something. We all know it’s a lame remark (especially when saying it to our mums for not calling!) But we can’t say the truth, which is, you just weren’t priority for me this week and I couldn’t quite be bothered to make the time – ouch. It’s the same in business; ‘too busy’ just means you weren’t priority and we’ve probably all been on both ends of that.
The problem is that the busy excuse is becoming more prevalent because it seems to be widely assumed that we all operate at 100 mph so, ‘I can’t make it’ via text, WhatsApp, email, Facebook, phone (dangerous), voice note, voicemail (apparently no-one listens to those anymore) is ever more accepted… but is that OK?
It’s certainly a problem for event organisers. We continually strive to persuade our audiences to attend a well thought out, fulfilling day which, to all parties concerned, is not just relevant but will enhance and improve their business. The potential visitor even agrees with this and signs up to attend on that basis but we all know what happens next.
Anyone who has worked in our industry knows that if you go to an event with an open mind, you will return with a full one. However, these aren’t tangibles and therefore an unknown quantity. Moreover, going to an event requires an effort that we don’t have to make and therein lies the problem.What is the consequence of not attending? Unfortunately, this is almost impossible to quantify in most cases and so, inevitably, something else on the To Do list takes over. It’s easy to justify to oneself and to our peers, not going to an event. Too busy isn’t even questioned.
Yet, I’d wager that the most progressive people in any organisation are those that are the event goers because we all know that if you want something done, give it to a genuinely busy person. Event attendees have a natural desire to expand their minds but also a responsibility to the fact that they have said they’d go. People who do what they say they are going to do are exactly what every business wants to invest in because we trust them.
So, let’s make 2023 a year where we improve our own attendance at events; if we register, then let’s go and achieve our own personal best.
We invite all to resolve to take that ‘progressive’ route and sign up to join us at Confex and EPS at ExCeL London soon.
