SLA Leadership Summit

Yesterday was a LONG day as I traveled from Syracuse, NY to the SLA Leadership Summit in Reno.  Interesting to note that the airport in Syracuse had free wifi, but neither O'Hara in Chicago or the airport in San Francisco had free wifi.  Bummer.  And the hotel here in Reno charges $11 per 24 hours for wifi.  (I've already asked the people who are here from Denver to let us know where there is free wiki there, close to the convention center.) 

I will note rant (complain) about how long it took me to get to Reno yesterday.  I think I have vented enough to airport personnel as well as other conference attendees!  I will tell you that the most interesting conversation I overhead at an airport was a gentleman talking loudy on his cell phone about giving expert testimony at a trial for which he was going to charge $7000 plus travel.  Wow -- I know our salaries have gone up overall, but that is a pay scale we need to strive for!

From our site here in Reno, we can look out at the barren landscape off in the distance.  Some of the hills seem to be totally bare while others (more north) are snow-topped.

There are 200 - 300 people here for the Leadership Summit, including people from outside North America.  This is an event geared towards leadership development for those in Association leadership positions, but is open for anyone to attend.  This is my first Leadership Summit and I am enjoying it AND finding it useful.  Our day today was filled with sessions, including an excellent keynote by Chip Heath.  This evening, there was a reception held in one of the restaurants sponsored by SLA and the Sierra Nevada Chapter. 

Chip Heath was excellent in talking about creating "sticky messages"!  Listening to him, you would never guess that he is a PhD.  Great content and relevant examples.  (BTW a couple of us wondered what his real name is.  It is not "Chip."  He would not tell us, but we reminded him that we ARE information people and could find out.  A quick search, though, shows that he has been "Chip" for a long time and really has protected whatever his real first name is.)

Oh...the formula to remember for creating sticky messages is:

S -- Simple
U -- Unexpected
C -- Concrete
C -- Credible
E -- Emotional
S -- Stories

To undestand this more, read the book that he and his brother (Dan) wrote (Made to Stick).

BTW I have met a few IT Division people whom I had not met before.  Our division board meeting is Saturday morning, so we'll all get acquainted then!

More later...