I was recently preparing for a workshop and included a concept I learned at Brand Camp — in 2007. I think it is the only thing I consciously remember from the multi-day conference, but it perfectly illustrated my point.
As I reflected on the fact I only had one takeaway from that event, it occurred to me that I have followed the same pattern for much of my career, but over the years have assembled quite an arsenal of tools, one concept at a time. I rip one page out of a magazine, take one lesson from each conference, remember an idea from a webinar and adopt a training technique from a speaker. By putting them together, I have amassed quite a repertoire of metaphors and exercises from which I can draw to make my teaching more powerful. Instead of being disappointed that I “only” remembered one concept, I should embrace the idea that one idea I repeatedly use is a valuable ROI for attendance.
How can you process your intakes and post-event reflection to capture that “one thing” you hope to take forward and apply? We often come away from a book, a sojourn on social media or a conference with a multitude of ideas that get lost in the background. Be intentional about pulling out the one concept that can add to your thinking, maybe for decades to come.