Seth Godin on attendance versus participation.
“My philosophy is that it doesn’t pay to go to a conference unless you’re prepared to be vulnerable and meet people, and it doesn’t pay to go to a Q&A session unless you’re willing to sit in the front row…
There are more chances than ever to attend, but all of them require participation if you expect them to work.“
—Seth Godin, On doing the work
“My philosophy is that it doesn’t pay to go to a conference unless you’re prepared to be vulnerable and meet people, and it doesn’t pay to go to a Q&A session unless you’re willing to sit in the front row…Attendance versus participation. Attendance is easy. But to do the work, you need to participate.
As a meeting designer, one of my most important jobs is to create meeting designs that encourage and support meaningful participation for every attendee. I try to make this as easy as possible for everyone: from the grizzled veteran who’s seen it all to the newbie who’s just entered the profession.
But ultimately, I can’t make anyone participate if they arrive with an attending-only mindset.
Ultimately, the attendee chooses, either consciously or unconsciously, whether they will do the work.
Seth, I couldn’t have said it better.