Sunday, April 27, 2008

GEL2008 - making time for special moments

There are a pile of posts just waiting to be written about my experience at the GEL conference. They will be coming shortly. There are a few points that I think are worth making in a separate post.

I have never been to this type of conference - it's not focused on a particular industry, but a particular aspect of every industry. Good (G) Experience (E) Live (L). From the first female film maker in the UAE to the Chief Innovation Officer at the Cleveland Clinic to a Brew Master, this conference was filled with speakers and participants that are all interested in making time for and creating special moments for employees, for customers, and inspiring others by reaching out and sharing the stories. This is particularly interesting to me because of my early career in theatre, which was very much focused on experience and taking people out of their element by sharing a story with them.

The first day of GEL2008 was filled with different activities to choose from - I chose the game of Werewolf and a trip to a farmstead cheese farm in NJ. And then Day 2 had a slate of speakers, most of whom I had never heard of. I walked away inspired and energized. I felt like the creativity of the world was buzzing all around me. It was empowering, and made me believe that there is no end to the extent of the work and impact that impassioned people can have.

Posts to come on the speakers...stay tuned.

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