How to make it easy, risk-free & fun?

So I’m enjoying the sweet smell of hops from the flowers tied to the wooden beam overhead. I’m sitting in the window of the oldest pub in England, The Royal Standard, with one of the smarter Emeritus Professors from LBS. He’s telling me how the school had been visited by one of the biggest business gurus of the 90’s who had bemoaned how, after four decades of teaching strategy, so little had been taken all the way to successful implementation and even less had changed in the culture of organisations.

The guru seemed surprised that helping organisations figure out ‘Why’ and ‘What’ and the process component of ‘How’ was not enough. I thought, but didn’t say out loud to the professor, ‘The guru need not have waited forty years to find that out—he could just have asked Eddie.’

Fast-Forward to a Zoom Call

Later that week I was on a zoom call with the leader of one of the biggest associations in the country. Since lockdowns, they had done little to bring the people together physically.

They had relied on webinars which were cheap to arrange and deliver but now after four years of trying to build their community that way they had come to the conclusion that they needed to organise a big event. The 'virtual approach just hadn't lived up the promise in the way the mainstream offers had promised.

Now, despite their excitement about a live, in-person event they were terrified and filled with worries:

• Would attendees feel comfortable meeting face-to-face again?
• What if speakers went off-topic or spent too much time plugging their books?
• Would the networking sessions be awkward and not help people make new connections?
• And the big one—would the event leave attendees with a lasting sense of positive vibes toward the association?

I was to close the event. I was their insurance policy. I was being placed at the end in case the other session missed the mark. I was to erase any slips and glitches from memory. It was my job to create the long-lasting memory of the event that members would carry into the future. They were asking me to create and deliver a 25 minute keynote on '#Leadership in an Uncertain World' to knock everyone's socks off.

Listening to their concerns about the rest of the event, I thought again, ‘Before designing and planning their event—they could just have asked Eddie.

A Different Approach to Events

Last month I decided to spearhead “The Eddie Obeng Experience." “The Eddie Obeng Experience.” is going to be a simple way to ‘just ask Eddie’.

I’m combining my three decades of understanding the How of change—especially the human aspect—with my skills at public speaking—and ability to coach and guide other speakers—with my long experience of designing training courses, workshops, and events—and enabling participants to work together virtually together for results.

I was their insurance policy.

It’s not just about turning up for a keynote and disappearing. I immerse myself in the full event experience, working behind the scenes to design emotionally resonant journeys for participants and helping create events that spark meaningful action.

Last fortnight, instead of my usual ‘Hit and Run approach, where I turn up at a break for my technical check, deliver my keynote or session, and then scarper, I decided to sit through the full event that I was contributing to. I analysed everything. I wanted to check if my predictions of what would occur based on the agenda, physical layout, and other key drivers of success:

I mapped out the emotional journey of each session using my Mood-o-Gram Process Explanation Tool (PET). – I’ve described this in a previous article here.

• I noted how speakers structured their presentations, especially how they derailed themselves.
• I recorded the physical movement around the venue and seating selection patterns of attendees.
• I observed the ease of networking and interaction during coffee breaks, including how many people stood alone versus forming huddles and how easily the huddles reformed.

Creating Inclusion in Real Time

During one coffee break, I noticed a tightly packed group deep in conversation. Using my CircleOfInclusion People Engagement Tool (PET), I joined them and casually asked if they’d met most of the attendees. The answer was 'No' and one person said, “I like how you joined our group; I wouldn’t have a clue how to do that, and I’m scared to be embarrassed.”

I explained how to break into groups effectively. Where to stand. Who to address your first question to and more. Then I invited them to join me in gate-crashing another group. They were hesitant at first, but once the first person I dragged away was welcomed warmly, the others followed suit, proving that skill plus excellent technique solves many problems of human engagement.

I said as we parted. You could have been stuck in your bubbles forever or you could just ask Eddie.

Lessons from the Experience

By the end of the event, I had confirmed many of my predictions about how the key drivers- like the agenda, process, and layout - would play out:.

I also talked to participants about previous events they had attended and how much and what got put into action. As expected, the results were woeful. Often, the obstacles weren’t the content itself but the difficulty to follow-through once they left and dispersed.

They also complained about the change management challenges of overcoming not-invented-here mindsets within their organisations.

What’s Next?

You can help me sharpen my idea. If you recognise any of this, message me or comment. It will help me know what to share as a priority.

Now instead of worrying about your next even or losing sleep over your strategy, which seems doomed never to be delivered, you could just ask Eddie.

you could just ask Eddie.

[email protected] +441494678555