Remember when we talked about getting ‘back to normal’? Yes, I did too, and here we are.
This week I have attended a large conference, courtesy of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development, in Manchester. Billed as a hybrid conference, their CEO, Peter Cheese, freely admitted this was an experiment to see how things worked and what people thought of it.
There was plenty of learning available, yet one of my main reflections was on the nature of hybrid conferences. This first struck me when Peter Cheese – live on stage – introduced the first key note speaker, Prof. Lynda Gratton, a renowned academic and management writer.
She appeared via Zoom on the big screen.
Great input from her, I especially liked her forthright suggestion that if we were not thinking about long term development of organisations within the next 3 months, we were not doing our jobs.
And yet…
I felt short changed because she was not physically there. Maybe a shortcoming in my own expectations?
The event continued and by lunchtime on the first day I had listened to 2 speakers ‘live’ – Peter Cheese as mentioned, plus one of the event sponsors. The rest came in online. More than once I found myself thinking ‘why do I have to be in Manchester to listen to this?’ – even though what I was listening to was interesting stuff.
The rest of the event was truly hybrid, a mix of online and live-in person contributions, and in person delegates like me and those joining online. The live input by Marga Hoek on Sustainability and David Lammy MP on Equality, Equity & Liberation was truly inspirational, as was the interview with journalist & writer Caitlin Moran.
But I think it was more than just room or zoom. I was reminded of the recent death of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (Mike C.) best known as the ‘father of flow’, with flow sometimes described as being ‘in the zone’. His work is frequently discussed in the context of sport and high performance, with stories of athletes who are oblivious to their surroundings because of their state – being in the zone.
My Manchester experience this week showed me in a variety of states and zones. Listening to David Lammy MP I was oblivious to time, space, everything but equality, equity and liberation. I was not high performing or running a race, but totally absorbed and in ‘the’, or ‘a’, zone. With some on the online contributions, my expectation of a live presentation overshadowed some of the input, as I was not in the zone for listening as much.
And amidst all the talk of mindfulness, I once caught myself in that zone too: it was just after lunch , and the room was dark, …and I went into a different zone entirely.
My understanding of Mike C’s work is that flow can exist in more ways than just high performance, and good outcomes come when you match your state to the situation. In short, focus on what you are doing in the moment. If you are watching TV, watch it. If driving, then just drive. If writing my Financial Thoughts, do not stop to read email.
That could extend to being in Manchester and thinking “I don’t need to be here; I could watch this at home” – I was out of flow. Which I hope sparks the debate about how the format of events (and training sessions) can influence the mindset of those attending, and thereby influence the desired outcome.
I am looking forward to the overall conference feedback, as my informal discussions with other delegates (my favourite bit) found others share my views on the nature of hybrid events like this one.
Well done to the CIPD for experimenting, and we know that feedback can sometimes tell us things we do not look forward to hearing.
Which means either:
- The overall feedback will say the event format was great and everyone enjoyed the presentations whether live or online: so, feedback for me, or
- Hybrid could refer to the audience being physically there or joining online, but the input is physically there.
I enjoyed being back ‘in the room’, but the online genie is not going back in it’s bottle – back to normal?
For your week, wherever you are, be in the room, or the zoom, but in the zone that works best for you.
Buzzword of the Week – Net Present Value (NPV)
Definition – (NPV) is the difference between the present value of future cash inflows and the present value of future cash outflows over a period of time. NPV is used in capital budgeting and investment planning – a surplus NPV is usually a positive signal.
Alternate View – Key part of investment appraisal. But crucially dependent on the discount rate used when calculating the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF, see above). Small differences in rate and length of time have huge differences in NPV. Should be viewed alongside the Internal Rate of Return (IRR, again see above) – where an NPV of zero shows the rate for that project.
Coming Up…
BIPC Worcestershire Start Up Day – I will be part of a panel helping new businesses on this online event between 1-2.30pm Thursday 11th November https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/thinking-of-going-it-alone-hear-from-local-new-businesses-and-advisors-tickets-193711786167?aff=Partners
HR Hot Topics is Friday 12th November at 1.00pm – when Florajane Lynch from CIPD Coventry & Warwickshire will facilitate a discussion on the hottest HR Student issues. Qualifications, CIPD membership, and the future of work. To join – it’s free – by signing up here https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/online-cipd-cov-warks-hr-hot-topics-networking-meeting-tickets-174104590517?aff=ebdsoporgprofile
CIPD L&D and the future of work: varied discussion about future trends in learning & development, November 23rd https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/leading-change-through-learning-development-tickets-187876763457?aff=ebdsoporgprofile