Be Our Guest

Last month I provided a few tips for those planning to attend our upcoming CSMFO 2020 annual conference, taking place January 28-31 at the Disneyland Hotel.  I’d like to take this opportunity to expand on Tip 5 – Be in the Moment.   Here’s what I said in December:

Since you’ve done your advance prep and you’ll have your game plan, you’ll be prepared to take full advantage of the conference experience.  Be present in the moment, especially during training sessions.  If you’re able, disconnect from your office and resist the temptation to use your device for other than conference purposes, except during breaks and off times, of course.

How many times have you gone to a seminar, training session or conference and witnessed attendees breaking out their phones, tablets or laptops, during the presentation, often times as soon as they sit down?  How many times has that distracted meeting attendee been you?  I know I’ve been guilty of this at least a time or two, or perhaps more often than that if I’m honest.

In this day and age of almost mandatory multi-tasking for busy finance professionals and the strong pull of technology distraction, are you able to effectively be in the moment during a presentation if you’re focused on your technology?  I know that I’m not.

And speaking of being in the moment, one of the things I look most forward to at our annual conferences is seeing old friends and making new ones too.  Networking is an important part of my annual CSMFO conference experience. The exhibit hall, conference social activities, keynote speaker luncheons and before and after sessions provide great opportunities for interacting with colleagues.  We have an Exhibitor Reception planned for the Exhibit Hall on conference Wednesday from 4:45 to 6:30 pm, which will be a great chance to mix and mingle.

I’m also looking forward to the First-Time Attendee Welcome Breakfast we’ll be hosting in the Mark Twain room (Frontier Tower) at the Disneyland Hotel on conference Wednesday at 7:30 am.  We’re expecting nearly 300 first-timers at this conference, a number of them being students, which is great.  CSMFO will be connecting first-time attendees to conference mentors at the breakfast and I’m excited to see these connections and mentorship happen.  We hope to significantly enhance the first-time attendee conference experience through these efforts.

I’m eager to hear from our great keynote and general session speakers, and especially from Jeffrey Barnes, who will provide our opening keynote address at the Wednesday Luncheon.  Jeffrey is the author of The Wisdom of Walt: Leadership Lessons from the Happiest Place on Earth and Beyond the Wisdom of Walt: Life Lessons from the Most Magical Place on Earth.  His opening remarks will no doubt set tone for a magical conference experience.

To quote Lumiere, from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, “Be our guest! Be our guest! Put our service to the test. Tie your napkin ’round your neck, cherie.  And we’ll provide the rest.  Soup du jour, hot hors d’oeuvres, why, we only live to serve.”

Hope you’ll be our guest at CSMFO’s 60^th Annual Conference – Yesterday, Tomorrow and Finance – taking place January 28-31, 2020 at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim.