Conference Magic

I attended the 12th annual gathering of innovation practitioners at InnovationConvergence in La Jolla this past week. As the promotional material for the conference promised, attendees were delighted by presentations from dynamic innovation gurus, rich networking opportunities, and the beauty of the La Jolla coastline.

Over the course of the next few days, I will write separate posts detailing the three workshops that inspired me the most: Barbara Perry's Inspiring Innovation Through Team Ethnography, BJ McCabe's Innovation Stories, and Ben Jacobson's Consumer Experience lab. Interestingly, each shares the power of stories as the driver of innovation.

For now, I'd like to talk about the essence of conference magic:  new friendships.

I was fortunate in being able to share dinners and walks on the beach with new friends who graciously told me their stories, their hopes, and their passions. As I listened, I found simple, tangible beauty, not unlike the lovely, smooth stones that dotted the California shore.

When we engage with each other in an honest and vulnerable way, something happens to us that transcends the here and now. We travel to another place that is at once quiet and teeming with thoughts and emotions. When the conversation ends, we return to where we began, but with completely new eyes.

I realized that creating an opportunity for such an experience is the very charge of all enterprises.

Whether your venture or nonprofit organization is marketing products or services, fostering an authentic conversation among your customers is truly where the magic happens.