Pecan-crusted Chicken and the Recession
By Dwayne Butcher, TWI Summit Organizer

Attending a conference is the most important thing you can do during an economic downturn (says the guy who organizes conferences). Sure, I’m biased, but I’m also right.

Before I go on, let me clarify that this article is not meant for a company facing imminent collapse. And many of those unfortunately exist. Rather, it is for those companies who are struggling (like everyone), but will likely survive this economic storm. I’ve heard from many of these companies that their training and travel budgets have been frozen. Outside of my Hungry-Man pot pie, is frozen “anything” in business a good idea? What happened to agility?

What if – just IF – you learned something at a conference that led directly to a savings of $200,000 or more? Impossible? Many examples prove otherwise. Any well organized event, attended by someone aggressively seeking a return, will produce positive results. It's what they are designed to do.

When I attend an event, there’s several unique things I know I’ll get. The “soft” take-away is inspiration. I leave conferences motivated, excited, and ready to make improvements in me, my team, and my company. Admit it… a little inspiration would go a long way right now. 

Second, I look for connections. Often times I learn more by talking with someone over pecan-crusted chicken at lunch than by the conference presenters. The value I get from those connections is enormous as I walk away with a Rolodex of names and numbers (does anyone actually have a Rolodex these days?). When I face a challenge a few months after the conference, I’ll remember that “pecan-crusted chicken Darrell” ran into something similar. Perhaps he could give me some insight and guidance.

Third, I strive for action. I aggressively look for ideas that will translate to improvements, cost saving, and revenue generation. The problem is picking the top ten out of 50 great ideas. Idea generation is accentuated when you attend events with others from your company. A daily wrap-up and collaborative meeting with your team will greatly increase the impact of collective thinking. 

So, what’s my point? If you don’t come to one of my conferences (please do), go somewhere! AME, SME, LEI, and the Shingo Prize all put on outstanding events that will do what I outlined above. Just remember, the companies that emerged successfully from the Great Depression were those that invested in the future. 

So, you can have your frozen Hungry-Man pot pie for lunch, but why not try some pecan-crusted chicken at an upcoming conference? It might just be the meal that saves you and your company significant dollars and perhaps lead to a unique competitive advantage. Now that’s a power lunch!

Dwayne A. Butcher
VP, Lean Frontiers
Producers of cutting-edge,
lean-inspired events.