The 80-20 Rule of Conferences

For some time now I’ve been slowly telling people about the underlying value of conferences and workshops. In having that conversation, I’ll often relate to people my 80-20 Rule. It goes something like this:

Conferences are: 80% people (the networking) 20% presentations (the actual content)

It’s hard for anyone to really argue with this, though they sometimes want to tweak the numbers. The folks that have a vested interest in the content are willing to pump up the value of the presentations. The people that are shy also tend to align with this thinking. The extroverts don’t even go to the sessions!

Generalizations aside, meeting people face to face is not just desirable, it’s necessary for most things that are going to really stick (IMHO). Fortunately, I’m not alone in this thinking. I came across this link from Dave Taylor (via Business Opportunities Weblog):

The Critical Business Value of Attending Conferences

I definitely recommend you give it a read.