Inspired!

Today I attended an event called Marketing Innovation Forum, here in Sofia. The conference was sponsored by Capital Weekly (my favorite Bulgarian publication) and featured 3 BIG-TIME Marketing Rock-stars: Larry Hochman, Sergio Zyman and Guy Kawasaki.

To me, the forum was an amazing opportunity to take a break from my daily focus on tasks and project plans and to-do lists and minutiae and really think about the larger scheme of things. I didn't think that the speakers would teach me how to transform the company I work for or make a million dollars or suddenly become the most sought-after professional there is out there. That is obviously a task that could in no way be tackled at such a large, cross-industry event. What I hoped for was a reminder that what sometimes seems like yet another day at the office is connected to bigger things both within and above my control. I was hoping I would be able to leave the event with just one thing that I could take back to my boss tomorrow and tell her: HERE'S WHAT WE MUST DO! Most importantly, however, I was hoping to be inspired...to think more, and do more, and ultimately be more, both for myself and for my company.

That's EXACTLY what I got at the event. The speakers were insightful and generous in sharing their experiences. They were smart, and eloquent, and relatable and FUNNY! They were an inspiration! And, believe me, I am DEFINITELY going to my boss tomorrow and telling her HERE'S WHAT WE MUST DO!!! [Lucky me, I work for the kind of company where it's perfectly OK to share your (not-always-so-brilliant) brilliant ideas with highest of management].

The reason why I am writing about this here [even though I know that many of my readers are not at all interested in marketing or management or whatever it is that I am involved in professionally] is that I just wanted to share with you how damn good it felt to be in the presence of great minds. Those people have not only done much with their lives, but are also SO good at conceptualizing their experiences and making them available to others in such accessible ways. Maybe it's some residue from my now-past life in academia, but I just get a huge kick out of people who not only know much but love to share their knowledge with others. Kudos to Capital and Intellecta (Christina Vlahova rocks my socks!) for putting together such an awesome event and bringing in such inspirational speakers!

To those of you who did not attend...who are the people that you read and trust? Who are the people that inspire you professionally? Who would you like to have as your personal career mentor? Who would you happily entrust with the management of your professional development? And...well...WHY?