Tag: Ohio

You’re Welcome

It’s the final day of the Ohio SHRM conference and I’m looking forward to it. When I get to New York I’ll write about the event and my experiences in more detail. For now, I just want to share my first and what will likely be my most abiding memory of the whole thing.

I’ve been made so very welcome by everyone I’ve met. I’ve been high fived and hugged, had great conversations and great laughs and been given loads of encouragement. If I had to sum it up in one word – I’d call it friendship.

And this mood has pervaded the whole experience – there’s simply a great vibe here in Ohio – I’m so glad I came to visit. The organising committee is doing a fantastic job to ensure that all of us guests have the best experience possible.

‘The guy with the accent’ just wants to say thank you.

The Longest Time

This time tomorrow I’ll be airborne and on my way to Ohio for some useful fun. I’m very excited and a little nervous too, you gotta love the adrenaline rush right šŸ™‚

Carole and I took the time to go for coffee earlier today and we were talking about the fact that we’ve not yet spent more than a couple of nights apart in just over twenty years of marriage. All that is about to change – after tomorrow morning the next time I’ll see Carole and Keira will be Saturday 29th September when they meet me at Heathrow Airport.

The girls are planning all kinds of fun stuff for while I’m away, meals with friends, play dates, you name it – it’s going on. And we’ve had our Skype practice run too – them downstairs, me upstairs – there’s something quite surreal about video conferencing with people you currently share the same house with – lots of fun.

The Ohio State HR conference promises to be a great experience and once I’ve given my talk (conveniently planned in for the first afternoon – thank you to a wonderful team of organisers and schedulers!)Ā I’m sure the first few days of my trip will pass in a blur, before I head towards New York City on Saturday 22nd September.

I’ll then be in The Big Apple until I leave Friday 28th. I’ve some good fun things planned, like the Thomson Reuters unconference on the 26th and I will visit the High Line and take a look at that too. Maybe I’ll take a trip out to a baseball game – both the New York Yankees and the Mets are in action. I won’t have a clue what’s going on – but it could be a fun way to spend an afternoon.

My default position is a social one and I currently have quite a lot of time to myself. So – if you’re based in New York City and you read this, please get in touch – it would be fun to meet up if you can spare the time. And if you’re not in New York City but you’ve got some good tips on stuff to see and do, I’d appreciate that too.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

My trip is still over a month away but I’ve booked my planeĀ ticket to Ohio. I’ve known I’ll be going out to the USA to join in and speak at Ohio SHRM for a while now – and there’s something very definite and exciting about knowing you’ve got a seat on the plane.Ā I’m looking forward to meeting Steve Browne, Dwane Lay, Jason Lauritsen and a whole bunch of other people too. I’ll have a camera with me and I hope to get some great pics and some video of my trip.

I’m a little nervous and very excited to be speaking at the conference. I’ll be telling a few stories about the importance and benefits of conversation, about how to use transparency to make a difference, not just for the sake if it, and about how vulnerability makes usĀ betterĀ people. I plan to fit TeamGB cycling, Rush, The Clash, my family and a bunch of other stuff too. There’s even a rumour that the good people of Ohio are planning to lend me a guitar – well it is the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame State after all eh šŸ˜‰

If you’re going to Ohio in September then I look forward to seeing you there. And if you’re not, what could I do for you to try and share my experiences in the moment?

photo credit