Last week two great conferences took place: Exponential and Orange. After I attend challenging and empowering conferences like these, I can’ t wait to get home and implement what I’ve learned. Conferences are creativity catalysts that help me “work on” ministry and not just “work in” ministry.
But I have to be careful once at home to not allow great conference content to become “productivity porn”. Vivek Haldar says productivity porn is when we confuse activity for progress. It often happens after conferences when I busy myself with infatuating new ideas rather than committing to intentional progress. Haldar says, “Don’t confuse activity for progress. Sometimes blind activity can be…a false reassurance that we are moving forward.”[pullquote]Productivity porn is when I confuse activity for progress.[/pullquote]
These few steps can help you avoid productivity porn by discovering if you are flirting or committed to conference ideas:
1. Limit your takeaways.
Before going to a conference accept that you are not looking to takeaway everything. It’s not possible to absorb all the innovative ideas at one good conference. If you could, then your post-conference job description would expand 10 fold. In reality, you only want to discover 2 or 3 takeaways that you can bring home and effectively implement. If just a few ideas result in needed culture change or process improvements within your organization, then the conference was productive.
2. Don’t contemplate alone.
Try to share your post-conference thoughts with someone who can help you process. Too often, we process on the way home with fellow attendees who are just as euphoric as we are. If possible, share you post-conference ideas with someone who did not experience the conference. Allow this person to ask you the hard questions based on what they know about your leadership style. I came home from a conference one-time wanting to implement an elaborate system of growth metrics. I was fortunate to have a processing-friend ask me “Do you have the energy or drive to maintain such a system?” I had to admit that once the newness of the system wore off, I would feel burdened by it’s maintenance. Hearing my colleague ask this honest question, brought me to the acceptance that I was more infatuated than committed.
3. Implement with commitment
If you decide a conference idea needs to become a reality in your organization, don’t quietly begin implementation. Go public with planning. Invite people to the table for discussion. Let them know what you are envisioning. Give them permission to object. Sometimes voicing your plans out loud to stake-holders helps you discern if you are just infatuated with an idea.
Join the Conversation: What actions help you avoid infatuation with conference-content? Leave a comment.
