I’m in Chicago, hanging with my buddy Erika Napoletano, of Redheadwriting getting ready for Day 1 of Liz Strauss and Terry Starbucker’s signature event, SOBCon.
For those of you who don’t really know what SOBCon is, rest assured, you’re not alone. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve run into during the course of the past day that say “I’m not sure why I’m here, but Liz told me to be here, so I am.” She’s just that good. She says to do something, and people do. They don’t question, they just do. Goodness, but I adore this woman.
Here’s the deal. SOBCon isn’t a conference about Twitter. It’s not a conference about blogging and it’s not a conference about how freakin’ wonderful social media is. SOBCon is a business retreat. It’s an intensive think tank of a weekend that is devoted to just one thing: you and your business. Sure, there’s talk of online business and social mediums and the like, but it’s really a chance for the attendees to get away, spend time with a group of 150 really, really smart people, and learn until their brains hurt.
And Liz and Terry make sure that everyone understands a few key points: everyone likes to learn and someone has to present the content. So the presenters aren’t there to preen and prance like they do at so many other events, and they’re not here to pat themselves on the backs about how “big” they are and be drooled over by groupies. They are there to present the content, to a group of people who are all at least as smart as they are. Talk about a daunting assignment.
Challenging, exhilarating, mind-expanding. You get my drift. If you’re not here this year, make sure you make it a point to get here next year. You won’t be sorry. I’ll be here, that’s for sure.
Shelly Kramer is a Principal Analyst and Founding Partner at Futurum Research. A serial entrepreneur with a technology centric focus, she has worked alongside some of the world’s largest brands to embrace disruption and spur innovation, understand and address the realities of the connected customer, and help navigate the process of digital transformation. She brings 20 years’ experience as a brand strategist to her work at Futurum, and has deep experience helping global companies with marketing challenges, GTM strategies, messaging develoment, and driving strategy and digital transformation for B2B brands across multiple verticals. Shelly’s coverage areas include Collaboration/CX/SaaS, platforms, ESG, and Cybersecurity, as well as topics and trends related to the Future of Work, the transformation of the workplace and how people and technology are driving that transformation. A transplanted New Yorker, she has learned to love life in the Midwest, and has firsthand experience that some of the most innovative minds and most successful companies in the world also happen to live in “flyover country.”