SHRM – Day Three and Four

I  really should have posted half of this last night but Tuesday was packed from start to finish.  NOLA was great, wasn’t as hot as I was expecting; being from Birmingham I’m used to the humidity.

So, let’s get on with the review of the days three and four.

Day Three

John Kotter was the general session speaker.  Kotter differed from the other general sessions speakers.  He has a dry sense of humor; he’s a bit cynical and a great story teller.  I enjoyed listening to Kotters initial introduction to Mary Kay Cosmetics.  And on behalf of the other Southern people, not everyone has the fake southern accent Kotter gave the Mary Kay CEO (you had to be there).  What struck me as odd was the overhead projector; so far out of place it’s not funny.  Brand For Talent has an interest take on the session here.

Sharlyn Laubys’, our local HRBartender, session on Strategic Management was my next stop on my Tuesday schedule.  Sharlyn, as expected, gave a great presentation on how to prepare your companys Strategic Plan and use it well rather than as a paper weight.

I skipped the Sheryl Crow concert last night, not my cup of tea.  Instead I attended the HR Tweetup at Ruth’s Chris.  It was great putting names to Twitter names.  I wish I had some pictures to share; I was too overwhelmed to remember the camera.

Day Four

Today was check out day so no time for the closing session.

Today was all about the HR Blogging session.  I knew it was going to be great when the first words spoken on a live mic were “dammit” by Laurie Ruetimann.  The panel of Kris Dunn, Laurie, Jessica Lee and Lance Haun shared their thoughts on blogging from the closet, blogging commitments, offline/online personalities and so much more.  The group shared advice on starting an internal blog, being authentic in your writing and so many other things.  If you are interested in learning more about the HRBlogger session, check out the #SHRM09 search on Twitter.  I’ll post a link if someone has an archived version of the session.

Closing thoughts

SHRM09 was my second SHRM conference in my six year HR career.  This conference was different and better for me for many reasons.  It seemed to me, and again this was my own perception, that there was real energy at SHRM09 – maybe it was just the company I was keeping.  The speakers were better than 2007, the entertainment was a better choice, and the sessions were more relevant.

I could live without the heat that SHRM seems fond of for a conference.

The highlight for me has been, without a doubt, the networking opportunities.  Without social media and the HR conference I would not have had the opportunity to meet, offline, some of the wonderful HR people I met this week.

If you’ve never been to a SHRM conference, go.