Shelly Kramer speaks at Y’all Connect 2013.
With 3 weeks passed since Y’all Connect Presented by Alabama Power, I bet many of you have burned off your post-conference high. I know the first 19 or 20 days were a nonstop adrenaline rush of new ideas and tactics.
Now that you’ve hit the wall, we have a few suggestions on making the most of what you learned at the different seminars.
(I’ve been there myself, having traveled all over the country to various conferences, workshops and talks.)
Start by organizing your notes from all the sessions. Read through them, fill in any blanks, perhaps ask followup questions of our speakers. What concepts and ideas still stand out? Which ones should your share with colleagues, or discuss with your boss?
Urgency can help you divide up your ideas for implementation. Use three piles: Do Right Now; Start on Jan. 1, 2014; and Someday/Maybe.
- “Do Right Now” are the ideas that might be the easiest or cheapest to implement, or will likely bring the best results.
- “Start on Jan. 1, 2014” gives you time to work it into a budget, or plan ahead to have the time and resources to launch it properly.
- “Someday/Maybe” are the blue sky projects, given unlimited funding and all the time in the world.
Keep the best three to five ideas and set aside the rest. A handful of best prospects will easily carry you through the next 12 months. A couple will fail, but two or three will likely succeed, often in unexpected ways.
Focusing on those top prospects will pull you out of any paralysis from too many options and directions. It will make the next steps manageable, whether getting buy-in from key players in your organization, training yourself and others, or figuring out a budget and timeline.
We have plenty of ideas on how to grow Y’all Connect throughout the year, including preparing the seminar videos for purchase, researching an online forum to keep us connected beyond this blog, and looking ahead to themes and speakers for 2014. We’ll work hard to incorporate your needs and suggestions into the master plan — don’t hesitate to ask questions or share your thoughts.
Y’all Connect was the first step for many of you. Keep pushing forward. We can’t wait to see your grand successes!
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