In April, we held our 18th Executive Conference, which this year took place in Puerto Rico. With 496 attendees, we got very close to the record set at our San Diego conference in 2014. We had our usual “high school reunion” atmosphere; presentations and panels where SIs shared their experiences as company owners, such as Lessons from Touching a Hot Stove and Strategic and Exit Options Available to CSIA Business Owners; and plenty of time for networking. We tried a few new things that proved successful for the most part, including a Fun Run and Walk, a Women in Industry Breakfast and unConferences.
We experienced some shortcomings, too, and we have learned valuable lessons from them.
I carefully reviewed the feedback you provided after the event and have drawn the following conclusions:
- Our association has grown over the years and this has brought diversity, which is a wonderful thing to have. We have representation from small, medium, and large companies. We have a growing global component. And, because we have been in existence since 1994, we are also witnessing the broadening of the generational range as newer members join the “founding fathers.”
- System integrator attendance at our conference seems to be split between those who attend on a yearly basis and those who either joined us for the first time or attend on an intermittent basis, often in search of knowledge and/or motivation to get on board with Best Practices (BP) adoption and, ultimately, certification.
- To provide value for the first group we need to provide new content or new twists on evergreen topics, delivered by new presenters.
- For the latter group, we need to keep the focus on BP and the Certification process, even if we have to repeat what we have presented in previous conferences.
With this insight, we have started to sketch out plans for the 2017 Conference. We will provide two tracks. One will offer traditional (for lack of a better term) programming with fresh material for the annual attendees, such as Business Models for Sis. The other will be a BP/Certification track.
I am open to your feedback and look forward to welcoming you to the 2017 Executive Conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, May 2 - 5.