You may have seen from my live blog yesterday that CIPD CEO Peter Cheese opened the event. Peter has to be one of the most authentic and charismatic leaders of a professional body in the UK today. His opening pitch was honest, open and engaging. Many of the audience wishing that he stayed on and shared more of his view of the world of HR, Management and leadership.
This was following by a session on Authentic Leadership (Creating the best place to work on earth), which whilst useful, the authors (Rob Goffee and Garreth Jones) were knowledgeable, but the whole thing seemed to lack passion, a trait that you will see is a theme of mine from yesterday. Sure the presenters are without doubt the leaders of “gurus” of this topic, but the low energy, banter just seems to lack a little something in terms of overall presentation.
The other session that stood out for me was Andy Lancaster. A humble professional that can only be himself. Passionate, knowledgeable and willing to share the good and bad.
For me Peter and Andy were the conference highlights.
Some other sessions were good, too, but whilst they had passion, they either over sold their company and its products (ok if ther sessions were free, not so good for a premium session)
Exhibition floor
The same could be said about passion on the exhibition floor. We had a bunch of people in Orange Onezies, that really stood out, and better than that they engaged in conversations without over selling. The exhibition space has changed over the years with the mega stands all but gone, but at the same time a diversity of suppliers with varying levels of presentation ranging from the very slick through to the lone person almost wishing you would not approach them!
I was pleased to see one stand promoting #Movember (as I am this year), They had a false mustache and a photo frame, which is a great idea… but none of the men on the stand were sporting a Mo… ?authentic?
It seems that after a few years of few freebies, that pens, soft toys, sweets and a range of the “swag” is available for the die-hard collectors.
I always find it interesting to see who of the “older” more established suppliers are here… and not here, who has downsized their stand, not only in area, but visual impact. It says a lot about the economics of the profession and business as a whole.
Being an overseas visitor to the UK now, its interesting how few suppliers push their international credentials… missed opportunities?
Certainly something here for everyone.
Bloggers
Yes this year there was a swarm of them, 20 in all, so if you could not make the event, the great news is that most of the event has been covered somewhere. A great bunch of people that just want to share. They all have a passion for learning, and sharing their learning. They all deserve a mention individually, but that is an article on its own!
Summary
A great first day, some real insights for me not in terms of “new and shiny” (I was not expecting that), but a useful set of case studies, both planned and unplanned on a range of change and authenticity based learning experiences.
I am sure I have missed a lot, but will cover later. Please excuse any typos, as this was typed quickly over breakfast on a phone, I will edit fully later.
See you all either in #cipd13 Live.. or online.
Please feel free to link to any event related blogs in the comments.
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