Should I Stay or Should I Go?

If you’re like me, there is no shortage of events, conferences, trade shows, and meet-ups vying for your time. You obviously can’t attend all of them, so prioritization of where to best spend your time and money is a must.

Businesses typically go to events to generate leads, gain knowledge about industry trends and competitors, network, improve their brand through participation, and speak with the press. As an individual attendee, I typically go to events for the networking/relationship building, the unique content, to make an impact, and to have fun. Let’s look more closely at each of these potential benefits.

Networking. What I look for here is both the quality of attendees and whether I’ll have ample opportunity to connect with them. The best networking events have many relevant attendees at the same place at the same time, at least most of whom are also eager to connect with each other. Not only does a good networking event make meeting with people convenient and efficient, but it also helps to facilitate the serendipitous meetings that would not take place otherwise. At a good conference, I have accomplished more in a day and a half than I could have during months of one-off meetings. 

Content. Quality conferences are an opportunity to gain wisdom from those who have learned by experience and, hopefully, to pick up on industry trends. Besides being thought leaders who impart unique, compelling information, great speakers are inspirational, motivating you and your employees. True, you can consume much of a conference’s content online after the event, but hearing the best speakers live is often an energizing, even galvanizing experience.

Fun. Okay, I admit it: I appreciate an event in a great location, especially when there are some fun activities to take part in beyond the show itself. A team-building activity—even a round of golf—in a paradisiacal locale can be incredibly productive, with benefits lasting well beyond the event.

Impact. A conference can be an opportunity to give back to the community at large. I have often been asked to speak or moderate a panel where the material return on investment was likely to be skewed, and not in my favor. It didn’t matter. I personally find this to be very rewarding. These opportunities can be a great way to contribute in a leveraged, one-to-many way, as opposed to one-off mentoring sessions.

Figuring out your objectives before committing to an event can help you not only prioritize but also set appropriate expectations to save disappointment after the fact. To determine whether an event will yield a good return on my investment of time and money, I assess it by divvying up 100 points among each of the categories mentioned above.

As an example, here’s how I would personally allocate my 100 points for Recode’s upcoming Code Conference:  

Networking: 50 - The caliber of attendees is world-class, and there are ample opportunities to have meaningful conversations that would be difficult otherwise. 

 Content: 40 - The relevancy of the content and the quality of the speakers is fantastic, and Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg do an exceptional job of getting the scoop. The content covers the spectrum from macro trends presented by Mary Meeker to what will surely be highly inspirational content from Elon Musk.

Fun: 10 - The Code Conference will be held at Terranea Resort, on the coast in Southern California. Beyond the hotel’s excellent food and hospitality, the setting is spectacular, with glorious hiking trails. BTW, this conference also has an amazing swag bag!

For comparison, the Lobby Conference, held in Hawaii, is off the charts for networking (50) and fun (40), although the content (10) is a bit less structured than Code.

It is important to remember that you get as much out of events as you put into them. If you go and don’t make the most of your time, you’re probably better off applying your resources elsewhere.

What are your favorite events and how would you allocate these points?