INDUSTRY INTELLIGENCE POWERED BY THE DCA
Industry events offer opportunities to make new
contacts, share best practices and grow your business.
Steve Hone, CEO, DCA, tells us about the power of
attending industry events and why choosing not to
participate could be consequential.
t is often thought that simply joining a
trade association is enough to promote
a business but, to capitalise on the
return on investment made, organisations
need to get involved and actively engage
with their industry associations.
In this busy social media crazy world, we
forget the importance of being in a live
face-to-face setting with others from the
business community. Actively supporting
and working with your industry trade
association can bring many benefits both
for you and your business. There is great
value in being connected to other people
who are operating in your line of work.
With the continual pressure to achieve
results, the thought of taking time out of
the office to participate in a conference,
trade show, convention or seminar can
seem like a waste of time.
However, live meetings might be just what
you need to uncover new ways to growing
your business.
Many people believe that being around
competitors can also be a waste of time,
or worse, a chance for ideas to be stolen.
However, not everyone in your line of
business will be a competitor, many can
be allies and friends, a competitor one day
may well turn out to be a lucrative partner
the next.
www.intelligentdatacentres.com
You might quickly discover you have
more in common than you think as a
mutual problem shared is often easier to
solve through collaboration, irrespective
of your organisation’s size. The mindset
you choose to have about how you
interact and participate both with your
trade association and with others at
events will have a major impact on the
value you can extract.
These days there seems to be dozens of
ways to learn and sharpen one’s skills
without even leaving the comfort of your
office recliner. Through social media you
can read blogs, listen to podcasts, watch
videos clips and dial into webinars at a
click of a mouse – so why bother with the
expense and time involved in attending a
conference or workshop in person?
By sitting behind your desk every day,
you are slowly becoming more and more
disconnected and isolated. By breaking out
of your comfort zone and getting out of the
office to attend events you are expanding
both your knowledge and horizons.
Robin Williams’ character in The Dead
Poet’s Society made all his students
stand on their desks to give them a fresh
perspective on life; conferences can do the
same thing, by providing a unique learning
and networking experience that can’t be
found anywhere else.
Issue 04
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