It’s March: a month full of anticipation.  January and February I always feel, are bounce-back months with the year-end often having been frantic and all the holiday festivities still clear in the mind - and obvious on the waistline.  But March is the time when we all start to look forward to the year ahead and anticipate what might be – good or bad. 

For me it’s also the time when I begin to focus on the spring conference season. Now I know that this can be a bit of a yawn for those who do not have the opportunity to go or don’t see the value.  But those meetings are, as far as I can see, the best opportunity we all have to meet new people, generate new business, learn something useful and make a contribution, however modest, to the wider industry.  

Our ability to secure new business is largely dependent on our product knowledge: not just how to pack and move things but our trust in our overseas partners, our understanding of other cultures and our familiarity with the global human condition.  If we aspire to handle our customers’ possessions, we must first gain their trust.  Part of that process is the development of ‘reserve power’: having knowledge and skills that we don’t necessarily need every day but are there for when we do.  Customers recognise that. Attending conferences is a very good way of developing that asset. 

I have heard all the excuses. Chief among them is that it’s too expensive.  Too expensive for what, I wonder?  Yes, it might cost the equivalent of a family holiday on the Costas, but you stand a good chance of coming back with more than a suntan and an upset stomach.  I have never attended a conference and not come back a little wiser, better informed, and with the kind of prospects that are likely to offset the cost -  eventually.  Oh and yes, it is tax deductible, which the fortnight on the beach is not.  

So, this is my plea.  If you are a member of an organisation that holds a conference this spring, and you have never been – go.  When you get back, write to me and let me know how you got on.  I will be astounded if you feel it to have been a waste of time. But, don’t forget, you get out what you put in.  If you spend most of your time in your room, you won’t gain much.  You have to talk to people.  You have to join in.  That, I know, can be challenging. But, the good news, is that it does get easier over time.  If, as you become more comfortable working in that environment, you can bring yourself to ask a question at a meeting, join a panel discussion, deliver a presentation on stage, join a committee, get elected to a board, become president – so much the better. 

But before I leave this topic, I wanted to release once again a bee that has been buzzing around my ears for a very long time; that of behaviour at conferences.  Some of you will know that I have written about this before. Most people behave impeccably, but some don’t. My particular obsession is when bad behaviour means people who feel they have power, intimidate those who don’t.  Often, this involves young women being made to feel uncomfortable or, worse, being expected to ‘befriend’ the people their bosses think have the business.  If you are guilty of this, from whatever perspective, you know who you are. Don’t do it.  It’s abhorrent. 

On a slightly lesser scale, young women often have to distance themselves from unwanted advances when the alcohol starts flowing and the jinks gets high.  I am not the fun police.  Anything that’s consensual is fine by me.  But please chaps, learn the difference. 

Every conference season I hear new reports of how someone has gone over the top.  It’s really not cool. It makes the perpetrators look stupid and, in an industry where we have to work hard to be trusted by our partners, destroys any credibility that might otherwise have been accrued.   

There are also more direct consequences.  IAM has recently barred one attendee at the New York conference from attending for the next two years.  It’s quite clear that IAM intends to take a strong line on this in the future – and not before time may I say.  I am also confident that we will now see similar responses from other groups who also take a dim view of this sort of thing.  It seems to me that we might just be at the start of seeing this kind of bad behaviour outlawed and viewed by the majority as being foolish as well as repugnant.   

So, when we all meet this year, let’s play nice. 

An interesting thought 
As acknowledged in the above piece, talking to strangers at a conference or business meeting can be hard.  Walk into a room full of people that you don’t know, all standing around in groups of four balancing wine glasses and plates of curly sandwiches, and it’s hard to break in.  It’s odd but they all appear so relaxed, well dressed, funny, accomplished, affluent – all the things that, at that moment, you do not feel yourself to be.  Ever had that feeling?  Hmmm!  So have I.  I’ll let you into a secret, so has everyone.  So, if everyone feels that everyone looks better than them, it can’t be true – can it? 

I have a suggestion.  If you are not a natural extrovert, and do feel uncomfortable imposing yourself on a group of strangers, he’s a great first line.  Just approach a happy looking bunch and say: “Hello, I don’t know anyone here, and you look like friendly people, can I talk to you for a bit.”  I guarantee you’ll be sorted for the rest of the evening.  

Photo: Delegates at the FIDI Conference in Edinburgh, July 2024.