Its already hard to believe that the main conference portion of the 2008 PDMA International Conference is already over...

So let me admit right up front that I did indeed sneak out again in the afternoon and head over to EPCOT to ride the attractions, see the sights and stroll with an adult beverage.  I am not sure how all of you feel about this, but one of the most appealing aspects of attending a conference is the location.  Most of the time, I try to work in a family vacation to the better conference destinations.  This time...that plan didn't work out...but since it is Disney...it didn't stop me from taking advantage of the great location. 

Before leaving the conference a little early, however, I did attend the first afternoon session within the "Inside the Guru's Studio" and am I ever glad that I did!  The session was jointly hosted by Kim McEachron of Medtronic and Jeffrey Phillips of OVO.  Many of you blog readers may know Jeffrey via his "Innovate on Purpose" blog and it was great finally meeting him in person!  Their topic was "Innovation: People-Centric Business Process" and again, it was great hearing real-world practitioner success/war stories.  In fact, this appears to be the session in which I took the most notes all week...so that must prove that even I learned a ton of new information.

Anyway, Kim and Jeffrey explored the difficult people-centric aspects of innovation like key behaviors, skill sets, roles/responsibilities, rewards and recognition, performance/compensation and employee engagement.  Great examples were shared of ways Kim attacked the challenges from a corporate perspective along with hands-on examples of ways Jeffrey assisted his clients from a consulting perspective. 

Thanks again to Kim and Jeffrey for an incredibly informative session!

So...that's it...until next year.  I know in these financially challenging times that it can be tough personally saving for faraway trips to conferences or convincing your employer that there is a benefit/return on investment in coughing up the cash to attend. 

But think about this...you are only as good as what and who you know.  If you really want to grow...to improve yourself...to find the narrow path to success...to make the connections with people from whom you can learn or to which you can share your skills...its worth the sacrifice of finding a way to get here.  I can tell you that I have been to many, many conferences...and this is really one of the few gems where you can mix with academics, industry leaders, innovation consultants, new product developers and thought leaders.  Its a place where you can learn, improve, share, make connections and escape to a great destination.  Remember...Disneyland next year...

Thanks again to Sabina, Anne, Robin and all of the PDMA Conference Advisory Committee for allowing me to have the opportunity to share my conference experience with all of my loyal blog readers!!!