Talent Unconference

Hank's Take

Posted by JJ for Hank Stringer:

Great to see old friends and make new…the passion for our industry has always run high and I am very happy to see that it continues with new players…

Enjoyed the format though I wish we could have had more time. We discussed, blowing up the model to discover new opportunities and ways to accomplish talent results but I'm afraid we only got around the edges. A number, including myself likely stayed in the comfort zone of what we know. As a result, some of the same old, same old was offered.

I would like to see a session on dream scenarios…call it 2050 and paint the picture for what our industry looks like then…work backwards and speed up the solution clock.

Call it Jules Verne predicts….

My favorite discussion was The Big Pipe. We like to attack BIG problems and this is one that is quietly getting worse. Why can't we get vouchers in this country? Why don't the CEOs sign up to attack the problem? They can and I believe Jeff when he states they will… I would like to see a statement from this group that poses the problem and leads a group of interested folks to solve. Interesting and would give something to report next time.

Thanks Cindy, thanks Jeff,  thanks EA…hope to see you next year!

H. Stringer

Sumser's Take - "Less Time for Networking"

At least I think that is what he is trying to get across. Posted by JJ for John Sumser:

Things I loved:

• Seeing lots of old friends
• Making new acquaintances
• Watching the awkward blend between Vendors, Analysts, 3rd Party People and HR based Recruiters
• The facilities, the hosts, the food, the setting
• Raghav Singh
• The people who participated in the Value of Talent track
• Putting faces on online personalities

Things I hated:

• Not enough time for networking
• Schedule too full
• People who came together sticking together
• Axe grinding by some vendors
• Not enough time for networking
• Too much content, too little time for networking

Things I’d change:

• Name tags that will stick to my shirt
• Much nicer schwag and more free goodies (all you can grab in ½ hour in the EA store would be nice)
• High paying job offers with large signing bonuses for all attendees (at least me)
• Personal assistants for all attendees (at least me)
• Helpers,  budget and paid vacations for the hardworking folks who threw the event
• Add more time for networking

Things I meant to say earlier:

• Thanks Jeff, Cindy and EA
• Thanks Track Leaders
• Thanks Jason Davis
• We didn’t get enough time to network

Second Annual Taluncon

Don't yet know when, don't yet know where, but the Second Annual Taluncon will be a reality at some point in the future. I will have the date decided in about two weeks (giving people plenty of time to mark it on their calendar), and I will be making some exciting announcements about the next one in the next couple of months.

In a fevered state this past weekend, delirious, as the room was spinning, I realized what we have to do next. Time to take this to the next gear.

Thanks post up next.

Back On Your Heads

The title comes from a great joke and it's a phrase my business partner and I often use when signing off from a really fun blue-sky discussion and need to resume our focus on more quotidian things. This points to my first complaint which is that the TalUnCon felt like it could have easily gone another day without losing steam. Some of the group presentations (especially the Value of Talent track) could have easily gone on much longer than they did.

Second, I think the Future Tech track proved to be insufficiently specified. This is partly a reflection on the track leaders, though Sean tried heroically to steer the group onto the original subject. I also tried, but wasn't sure whether I pushed back too hard. A facilitator's job is to be sort of like a late-night TV talk-show host's: you're there to keep the show moving, but not outshine the guests. The whole point of an unconference is to not have a rigid agenda, and the discussions that did happen meandered in and out of many fascinating subjects thanks to the great group of attendees. I will be posting more later on what i think were some of the most interesting sub-discussions which occurred. Still, it was clear that some of the other tracks were able to stay relatively more focused, leading to more concentrated output. If I were to suggest any changes, it would be to perhaps focus the subject a little more tightly, perhaps by voting amongst the intended track attendees in the weeks prior to the show.

Last, I would have liked to see a lot more of many individuals. The attendees comprised an all-star cast, with an impressive number of company founders and top-notch practitioners, and I really only got to see a relative handful of them. I would love to see a series of maybe 10-20 minute sessions where any attendee can sign up to do a 5-minute presentation on any subject  they want, sort of a talent-focused version of the DEMO conference. Or perhaps if we want to get really social and decentralized, we could have people make these presentations on video a month or so before the show, post them all on YouTube, and then have Digg-style voting to determine which ones get promoted to full tracks.

Still, I think it's important to couch all of this in the statement that it was a fantastic event and that I am already looking forward to the next one.

That Thing you Do - first impressions from a track leader

Jeff asked us all to comment on the blog about our thoughts regarding the unconference. In fact, he specifically asked us to write up at least one critical comment. This kind of introspective is what drives success. His open requested on behalf of everyone who helped put the Unconference together exhibits the spirit of why we came together.

Unconferences have no rules and this appealed to my anarchistic tendencies. The ensuing chaos may have been uncomfortable for some who prefer structure and rules. To be fair the folks at EA did an incredible job organizing that which could be organized, droving groups and keeping us on track. Speaking of tracks, I think the size of the groups was great. In my experience facilitating groups, I am of the opinion that teams under 10 are best.

First Impressions

• I had no expectations so when I was greeted with a gift and a pre-printed name badge, I was already impressed.
• The locaiton was amazing - but then I'm a total geek and video game fan so they had me at hello :)
• It took me a minute to fill out my "dossier" and quite a bit longer to tape it to the wall and draw some lines. I got there early so I had plenty fo time, but I bet the those who arrived "on time" barely had time. Perhaps there's a digital solution?
• Nice spread. Fruit, bagles, coffee. I wanted for nothing. Well, except to break away and go play all the free video games :)
• WAY more people thank I though would show up, showed up. Cool.
• Some people who promised to be there, weren't. Dissapointing.
• Quite a few consultants and vendors, not enough production recruiters. 

Lasting Impressions

• We should do this again. And again. We should do it until everyone notices, and then we should keep doing it some more. This kind of event can make a difference in ways no single voice can.
• Jeff, Krisit, Cindy, the whole EA team is awesome. 
• There are far more people with passion for our industry than I thought possible.
• I started out being a big fan of many people who came through the doors, but my respect for them grew because I saw a side of them I had not ever seen "out in public."  As a result I'm going to go out of my way to get to know these leaders "off stage" so we can discuss their many incubation ideas. 
• I met some legendary people I had never had the honor to meet. I won't be surprised if a few new ventures or even entire companies result from these meetings.
• It was incredibly difficult to bite my tounge and not stand up to present. Kristi and I decided that as facilitators we would encourage track participants to present and not monopolize the stage. Other track leaders did this as well and I think the result was very positive.
• There are too many big issues affecting our industry, and each should probably have their very on full day unconference.
• We asked more questions than we answered so I hope that others will pick up where we left off and start formulating some answers we can propose at the next Unconference.

I caught a bad cold at the uncoference, and I got bronchitis on top of that.  Apparently I am not alone. I think a few superconnectors showed up with superbugs the night before and when we all went out to dinner we passed the bugs around to each other. I think mine came from Argentina though, but I didn't get sick until the day of the conference, so I can't be sure.

In any case, I want to be very clear-headed when I put together my notes from the Sustainable Sourcing track so its going to take me a few days but I promise they will be up this week. I took picture of all the flipboard pages. If any track participants have notes typed up please send them over, or put them up on the blog. I'll also post a couple of photos. If you can't wait, and must see the pictures I took, check out: http://picasaweb.google.com/shally/Taluncon.

Quick Thanks

A quick post to say "thanks!" to everyone who participated in Taluncon and to all those who helped make it a reality.Unfortunately I came off the high of the Unconference and immediately got sick , so I have failed to post my thoughts and the numerous individual thanks that are due. But rest assured, that will happen soon.

Back to bed.

Jeff's Requested Feedback

At the end of the Unconference, Jeff asked each of us to throw down with negatives and positives about the event on this conference blog- So here we go-- 

Positives:

There was a palpable buzz in the entry hall when I arrived.  Everyone was pumped up to be there and it was great to finally meet people I had only known thru words on a page.   It was fun and interesting to have the “wall of fame” with photos, and the networking opportunities at the conference and poker event were truly excellent. 

Nobody could have any excuse for not getting to know a bunch of interesting people at this Unconference.  The lack of vendor B.S. and commercial imperative was also utterly refreshing.   

EA has a great location- parking, traffic, and finding one’s way around the campus were no problem at all.  SFO is a helluva nice airport.  The light rail system tying SFO together works really well – while many airports have hundreds of shuttles for rental car, parking, and inter-terminal movements, SFO is now clean, quiet, and uncongested around the whole area.  All things considered, the travel aspect of this conference was one of the easiest possible. 

I did not stay at Sofitel- rather the mucho cheaper ( Main Sequence way) Marriot at the San Carlos Airport a few minutes away, (the Hiller Aviation Institute at the San Carlos field is one of the finest private museums I have experienced-  a must for aviation buffs) and it was a nice stay. 

The value ratio of the whole thing was outstanding.  I’ve been to events with multi-thousand dollar registration fees that could not touch this one for quality of participants and physical production.  EA spent some considerable resources on it .  In general, EA (and not just thru Jeff and Cindy, and the other great EA employees who attended) showed itself in a great light as one of our leading corporations.  The place actually makes you proud to be an American, as corny as that sounds.

Negatives: a little too much “Un” in the “Unconference” 

The tracks were too undifferentiated (quite a bit of apparent overlap) and the goals too diffuse (finding problems is easy and takes up lots of time while real solutions don’t often arise from mere jawboning).   

My suggestions:

Narrow the tracks and run four separate one hour sessions, grouped by domain and expertise.  Four tracks would be plenty, with 2 groups per track/ per session.  That would use the same footprint in terms of conference space and time, but offer more focus for each participant.   

Reorient the track goals to simply provide excellent mutual education on subjects of great interest or knowledge to track participants, including reading/resource lists for individuals to use after the event.   

I think that’s a meaningful result because I notice an effect from individual blogging whereby the concentration required for writing and the need for a logical viewpoint on a topic forces me to think a more formally.

With the great enhancement of other people’s experiences and knowledge, these types of tracks may not foster direct solutions, but they may form the kind of nurseries that can lead to better ideas.  For instance, with business software / technology 102; I would consider myself nearly an expert.  On the other hand, I’m fascinated with identifying and measuring talent in multiple dimensions- but not very expert in doing so.  In one session, with other experts, we could talk inside baseball.  In a second, I could share key insights with non-experts, and enjoy the reverse in the other two sessions in another domain.

This kind of format would give experts a chance to huddle together for one session, and to spend time with non-experts in the same domain in another session, while everyone can still hit two of the four topics that most interest them.  Many times, non-expert views put expert views to the test- and an Unconference is a great place for that kind of exercise, but also, especially when time is tight, we have to recognize that real value may require focus and advanced knowledge. 
      
And of course, being an Unconference, everyone would self-assess their own expertise for the purposes of picking the A or B session on each topic. 

I would also suggest that everyone get a few copies of their wall of fame sheet to pass around at the start of sessions.  Otherwise, simple introductions and background chats take up too much time, and become redundant for many in later sessions as the groups remix.   I think also that one leader per session is adequate for fifteen to twenty people, especially when education is the goal.

With fifty-two weeks rather than twelve to prepare, and the experience of 2007, I think Talent Unconference 2008 could easily be one of the premier events in the talent space, if Jeff and company decide to take the plunge again.

It’s a big job, and could surely be a full-time job, which is all the more reason to thank Jeff, Cindy,  Sean, EA and the leaders and everyone else who made 2007 happen- it was a big bite to benefit of lot of people, and I think it was a great achievement. 

I would go again without hesitation and I hope the event does enjoy a future life; it was a good start and the potential is there in both format and the crowd to create a positive impact beyond our limited everyday workspaces and connections. 

What more can you ask ?

It's Still Going

The group sessions have been wonderful. Each of the track leaders (or, more often than not, their delegates) are getting up and talking about what they discussed and their ideas and innovations. Of course I am biased, but there seems to be a real buzz, with people searching each other out at the breaks and getting into passionate conversations instead of sneaking a look at the Blackberry.

Most of the participants went on a tour of EA and ended up in our company store. I don't think it has ever had 60 people flood it at once. Everyone came out with bags packed with different stuff. I thought maybe 5 people tops would want to shop instead of eat (it was a quick trip during a quick lunch).

Gerry posted a comment on the blog while he was sitting in the big session. That is really cool, especially since getting the wireless arrangements set up was such a pain. I hope more people take advantage of that.

And I love Julian's post over at EXCELER8ion about Open Source. We miss you Julian, and hope that you and Shannon can make it to the next one (whenever that may happen). And I have to tell you... I don't think anybody is holding back. Competitors seem to be sharing their deepest insights. Everyone seems to  more focused on how to bring value to the group than on how to get advantage for their employer. Of course I'm not exactly an unbiased source. Thanks for your virtual support!

It's Happening

70 people have showed up. We just had the group greeting and now everyone is in their first sessions.

Observations so far:

• I should have told people that tape was in the big room (for them to tape up their Wall of Fame pictures). Most common question.
• Second most common question... "Will we get to shop in the EA store?" Luckily we have that covered.
• Third most common question... "Where do I put my luggage?" It's always the little (but obvious in hindsight) things that surprise you. Took a while to get that covered.
• Seeing everyone out in the group meeting area catching up on old times, making new friends, filling out their "Wall of Fame" papers and having their pictures taken by Linda and Christine (how cool to have the head of recruiting for Starbucks running around taking pictures of everyone)... it's all a little overwhelming to see it all come together.

The Wall of Fame looks fantastic. 70 bios and pictures with lots of brightly colored lines connecting everyone. I have no idea how I am going to get this all on this blog, but the visual is truly inspiring.

Lots of people snapping pictures and taking video. Should have some interesting stuff to share with everyone by early next week.

Being Dave Lefkow

Great article this morning by Dave Lefkow about the Unconference. I have to say that if I entered some strange world where everyone looked like me and replied "Hunter" to every question, I would beef up the meds and take a long rest (which I am going to need by tomorrow regardless of the occurrence of this odd parallel world). But it's nice of Dave to believe that I could star opposite Clint Eastwood in a political thriller, or square-off against Glen Close (that's what you were inferring, right Dave? That I am as talented and bald as John Malkovich?)

I am looking forward to a lot of great posts on this and other blogs as the Unconference unfolds. My friend Dave's writing will be at the top of my reading list.