A True Tale of Fear and Loathing in Professional Development

Hello, my name is Will and I’m an introvert. It literally pains me to be in a large crowd of people for too long. In the association management industry, this can be a real liability. Almost everything we do involves directly interacting with other people.

The first five years of my career were spent in the meetings department. I liked working with our members to get them registered, creating the detailed plan of the flow of the meeting, and being on-site problem solving. I did not, however, enjoy the forced relationships with my hotel contacts. This wasn’t because I didn’t like my hotel contacts – I couldn’t understand why I dreaded the interaction, honestly. Looking around at my peers, all I was sure of was that something must be wrong with me.

Fast forward another four or five years and I finally realized the truth of what being an introvert meant. For an excellent overview of extrovert behavior, please read this article from Huffington Post. Are you an introvert, too? If so, there are ways you can still advance your career and make important contacts! 

Preparing for #FSAE 2014 Annual Conference

“Planting the Seeds of Innovation”

The Florida Society for Association Executives (FSAE) is having their 2014 annual conference this week down in Orlando, FL. I’m really looking forward to attending this year! Last year was my first year at this annual event and I had a pretty good time. This year promises to be even better! The theme is “Planting the Seeds of Innovation” and I’m excited to learn some new tips and tricks for wrangling members.

For networking this year I will be bringing my personal “calling” cards in addition to my traditional business cards. Here’s what my “calling” cards look like:

I created these calling cards so that I could share more direct means of contacting me for the new folks I hope to meet at this year’s meeting. While my regular business cards are also very helpful in networking, these calling cards showcase ways to reach me online where so many of us interact these days.

The Gala

This year’s big social event is a gala on Thursday night. The dress for this event is “classy with an International flair!” I’ll be honest with you; when I read that description I had no idea what it meant. In fact, I still may not have it right! Regardless, I have found my attire. It took some crafting on my part and a friend has loaned me a brooch to complete it. I’ll be sporting a tartan sash pinned at the shoulder with this lovely:

I’ll be sure and get a picture taken so I can share!

You can monitor all the fun on Twitter with the hashtag: #FSAE14

I hope to be able to share some of the great things I learn when I return next week.