The Closing Keynote

Growing up, I used to watch my father speak at professional events. And sometimes, I would be the slide carousel operator. "Next slide please, Miss Kelly," he would say throughout his speech and I would dutifully press the button and the project would make a comforting "ker-chunk" sound as it operated. And the next image would pop up on the screen.

Little did we know then that:

1. Slide projectors & carousels would largely disappear.
2. That I would myself one day be a keynote speaker.
3. Or that the world would look like this!

I never imagined being a speaker because standing up in front of others seemed so daunting. But another thing my father taught me was, "it is not about you it is about the audience" and that we have to "get comfortable with being uncomfortable." He knew that sometimes feeling awkward, sad, distressed and other unpleasant emotions are... well... appropriate for the occasion.

More than twenty years after my father shuffled off this mortal coil, I still think of him each day that I stand on stage or do into a zoom room.

The purpose of keynotes

When I first started attending conferences, the keynote speaker's role was clear. The opening keynote set the tone, emphasized the theme of the conference and provided guideposts for the attendees to use in navigating the event.

The closing keynote would tie a bow on it, bringing together the event's themes, messages, speakers and takeaways. This does two things - it makes the event more actionable for the attendees AND helps people get a sense of what they can learn from the sessions they were not able to attend in person.

The trend

It is understandable that the keynote's role has changed over time. More and more the keynote is an energizer, a motivational speaker or entertainer. If they speak about the conference at all, it is usually fleeting, they are generally there to get people energized, excited and engaged. An exception to this model is Jamil Qureshi who I saw speak in person in 2019 at the PMI Global event in Dublin. Jamil, who is a Ted speaker, performance coach and has worked with some top sportspeople, stood on the stage, smartly but casually dressed with nothing but a flipchart and a pen and engaged the audience speaking about how we think feel and act and how to create behavior change. His talk set a tone of consideration, exploration, and enquiry for the conference. His comments even tee'd up my own breakout session really well. (Jamil even sat in the back of my session and later wrote me a review that you can see on my profile here: https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/ruth-pearce/details/recommendations/?detailScreenTabIndex=0

The theme of the EMEA event, hosted brilliantly by Ireland Chapter of PMI was "Innovation Made Possible by a Project Manager".

Before you look at the review a couple of reminders...

This was BEFORE covid, before the advent of the huge growth in online meetings, conferences and more. And our statistics on project success and failure were not much better or worse than they are now!

This is a review of the event by some of the attendees at the time: https://www.projectmanagement.com/blog-post/53888/final-summary-of-pmi-emea-congress-2019---my-3-top-lesson-s-learned#_=_

In this article, the writers identified the following three priorities:

• We need to identify and dismantle belief systems that hold us back.
• The future in Project Management ... lies in hybrid projects and virtual teams.
• There is evidence of successful project management everywhere.

April 11th, 2024

So yesterday, at the end of a busy day, I got the chance to put a bow on the conference. It was not easy with such a wealth of ideas, talent and engagement. But here is what we as a group put together as key takeaways;

• From Scott Welle, Keynote Speaker, Peak Performance Trainer we heard about what we need to reach peak performance and Outperform The Norm . He focused on Mental Readiness, Owning the Day before it owns you, and being ready to adapt and thrive.
• Scott in his breakout, also introduced us to one version of DUMB goals - Dream based, Unrealistic, Meaningful and Benefiting others.
• @Courtney Smock encouraged us to rethink our attitude to change. We are not managing change - we are managing loss. This reminded me of the saying, "when one door closes another door opens," which often turns out to be true, but what is also true is that we usually long for what is behind that closed door - if only because we prefer familiarity over uncertainty.
• Courtney's business partner, Jackie Pelland in Slingshot25 reminded us that there are many ways to lead, and that it is about being sensitive to and paying attention to our people. "The only thing leaders have in common," she said to me in the break, "is that they have followers".
• Denise Thompson who filled in for a speaker who was unable to attend, appealed to me when she said that "success is whatever you define it to be," and it is in the eye of the beholder. We judge success, not by data but by emotions. Yet another reason to focus our much of our #projectmanagement efforts on the people, how they feel, what they need, and what ideas to they have?
• SCOTT SAVOR explored the 5Ps of Present, Presence, Purpose, Prepare and Plan. I loved his reminder that being present is not 24/7 availability at work, it is about being 100% committed to where you are, who you are with and what you are doing in the moment. His comments hit home after my trip the day prior which I posted about here: Being Present
• Nyamka Reese, PMP, MPM wants us to remember that getting trainings, doing courses and acquiring certifications is not about checking a box or just adding more knowledge. The key is integration. When we experiment with what we learn and integrate it into our everyday practices, we develop and grow and so does out contribution.
• Tom Colosimo CPPM talked about networking. When he asked the audience why we network, there were many ideas. Finding a job, learning from experts, identifying mentors, feeling connection and more. Research shows us that one of the biggest predictors of longevity and health is connection. People who are members of churches and other communities, gain from meeting with people with whom they feel connected and safe. It is not the focus of the community or its practices that matter most, it is the sense of coming together and belonging. Networking is not just a way to acquire resources, it is a way to feel you belong.
• And Jean Seely, PMP, MSPM, A-CSM, SSM, DASM, CIPM walked her session through ways to use AI in project management to enhance our effectiveness, and strengthen our contribution. Whether you embrace AI, are terrified by it or are somewhere in between, this session provided a great opportunity for participants to understand it instead of just "know about it".

The organization of the event was great. And my thanks go out in particular to Matt Durand who invited me to speak, LuAnn Buechler - Joyful Business Coach, Culture Creator and the team who made sure we were all where we were meant to be, doing what we were meant to be doing. Chris Coulson, PMP, CSM was a moderator in both my sessions and did a great job making sure that the people online were able to share their ideas and feedback. The AV team was great too.

Thank you for inviting me and for making the day great!

To find out more about what you missed! Here is the link:

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