Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Illinois SHRM state conference – that’s #ILSHRM11 to the Twitterati. This well-attended and enthusiastic gathering in the Chicago area featured 3 keynotes: Talent Anarchy (the team of Jason Laurisen and Joe Gerstandt), Ryan Estis, and China Gorman.
As I was driving back to Detroit, I spent a lot of time reflecting on these three keynotes, so I could develop and implement some real plans based on what I had heard and learned. After all, professional and personal development (Profersonal™, per Jason Seiden), is one of the main reasons I attend conferences.
I’m pretty certain the keynotes didn’t plan on this in advance, but I found it especially interesting that all of their speeches, while highly different in style and delivery, had, at their heart and soul, the same message. I call it the “Know It, Own It, Use It” message:
Know It: HR business practitioners have and bring a lot of value to their organizations. This value comes from many sources, but the value is tangible. We have to know and understand our value so we can share it with our organization.
Own It: After we recognize our value, we have to make sure we nurture and take care of it. It belongs to us, and we have to tend it like a garden, or it will not grow and thrive.
Use It: Show your organization, and the world, that value. You are unique – make sure the world knows and can see it. Fly your freak flag, as Joe Gerstandt repeatedly tells us.
Congrats to the Illinois State Council of SHRM for putting on a great conference!
Joan we were honored to have you in attendance at our conference. The volunteers at ILSHRM work very hard to present a great conference. Along with HR Florida, and some other state councils of SHRM, we have been trying to stretch the boundaries of state conferences. It is quite rewarding to see when other state look to see what we are doing.
We will join you in Ohio and see how Mr. Brown and his crew press the envelope with their state conference. See you soon.