Even though our priorities should flow from our values, when I help clients articulate their values, I don’t start there. I’d rather get to know them a bit first, individually or as an organization, and then reflect back to them what seems to be important to them so that their values are highly personalized to them. (Otherwise, if you ask folks what they value right up front, they’ll always say “integrity, accountability and respect.” Who doesn’t??)
So, I was pleased recently when a client said to me, “It’s clear from working with you that you highly value learning.” It’s true — I do — and I was grateful they noticed.
Which is why a couple of posts in my social media feed caught my eye recently. One asked, “Which conferences are you attending in 2025?” and the other asked, “What are you doing to hone your craft in 2025?”
I’ll capture my responses here, in this last blog post of 2024, in the form of two shoutouts and two favours.
- Not quite in 2025, but one way I invested in honing my craft in late 2024 was by attending Chad Littlefield’s first Connectors Summit last week. I love not just what Chad does, but how he shows up. I learned a lot from his magical combination of solid preparation and real-time experimentation, and I also appreciate his way with words. For example, he talked about how powerful questions can “edit the future” — which aligns beautifully with my work on reimagining your next chapter. Sometimes a well-placed question is all it takes to kickstart exploration of a new, inspiring path forward that we couldn’t even picture until someone else put words to the possibility. (I also love that Chad thanked us for attending “the worst Connectors Summit ever” because it will only get better next year!)
- One conference I’m excited to attend next year is the Fast Company Innovation Festival in New York in September. My Australian friends Alex Hagan and Meredith Wilson put me onto it, and the shoutout is extra loud for Meredith because I’ve been so inspired by her invitation to register for this conference independently, then to plug into some extra curated experiences she’s planning around it.
- So, in the spirit of “I’m going, who else wants to come along?” I wanted to let you know that I have registered for the Aspen Festival of Ideas in June 2025. It’s been on my radar for years, and I’m very excited to experience it. Here’s where the first favour comes in. My dream is not just to attend the Festival, but to speak at it. The idea I’d like to unpack is that “imagination is something we grow into, not out of.” Speakers are chosen from nominations submitted by others. Might you consider recommending me as a speaker? If so, you can do so here, and you can see possibilities of how to fill in those blanks here.
- The final favour? I’d love to hear your answers to the questions. Which conferences are you attending in 2025 and how are you honing your craft?
Thank you for reading my work and for learning along with me! Wishing you and yours increasing measures of curiosity, adaptability and imagination in the coming year.
