Since before my time at the Open Space Council - since 1999 to be exact - the Open Space Conference was held at the Golden Gate Club in the Presidio. Between 200-300 people attended and it was casual and great. I joined the Open Space Council in 2010 and I loved the collegial atmosphere, the positive energy, and how fun it was. And I started making a few changes.
The biggest change was for the 16th annual conference on May 14, 2015. We moved from the pristine grounds and familiar scene of the Presidio to the Craneway Pavilion in Richmond. There was a clear need to do this... in 2014 we had an overflowing overflow room. People were crammed into every inch of the Golden Gate Club. It wasn't optimal, but it was very clear to everyone there that we needed a bigger space. I looked all over the Bay Area for a space that could hold 400-500 people, and that had the right vibe. The Craneway was the answer.
Before I get to the lessons I learned, here's the run down of what actually happened at the 2015 Open Space Conference:
- 400 people attended (just about the same in 2014)
- 30 organizations were exhibitors (capacity was 15 in 2014)
- $140,000 was raised in sponsorships, exhibitors and ticket sales ($90k in 2014)
- $90,000 was raised in sponsorships alone ($54k in 2014)
- Registration was pretty slow until the last month before the conference (registration peaked much earlier in 2014)
I learned a lot from this year's conference. Including:
Change the ingredients carefully.
We changed a lot of the ingredients in 2015. The location was new, the field trip the day before was new, the 25th anniversary party the night before was new, the ticket prices increased, and the number of ticket options increased. Registration was slow until the final weeks before the conference, and I think part of it was due to so many changes. People weren't sure if this was the Open Space Conference they knew, and they weren't sure if it was worth the time or cost.
Make it easy.
The registration page used to be very straight forward with just two options - a ticket for members and a ticket for non-members. This year's had quite a few options and was visually overwhelming. I'm not sure what we could have done to prevent this, but it's something I want to keep in mind for future years. Make it as easy as possible to register.
What sells a ticket isn't what makes for an interactive experience.
What people really want, I believe, is a chance to talk with friends, meet new people, and interact. Even the introverts amongst us don't want to sit passively all day and listen. But I have a theory that if we marketed the conference as a day-long networking session, no one would buy a ticket. While people want to do it, they wouldn't be able to justify the cost or the time away from the office. Big name speakers, topics directly related to your line of work, and skill-building opportunities are what sell tickets. So going forward, I want to find a balance between what sells tickets and what people really want.
Fewer speakers, more facilitated conversations
I packed this year's agenda. I tried to squeeze in speakers on a wide array of topics. And I really don't want to do that again. One reason is what I said above... we need more time in conversation and less time passively listening. Another reason is that it makes for a stressful day of managing time. If everything is planned down to 5 minute increments, then you spend the day watching every minute and hurrying everything along. A more relaxed agenda makes for a more relaxed day. What I'd like to do next year is have 3-4 topics that we cover over the course of the day. There will be a speaker on each topic, and then 30 minutes of table discussions on that topic. I will also have pop-up speakers or experiences that roam the room during breaks and at lunch. They will provide some sort of relevant content, and provide another way that people can learn and interact.
Space makes a big difference.
This isn't a new or original idea. There are thousands of architects and urban planners who can get all academic and scientific about this. But I see it over and over again, so I can't help but say it. The Craneway is big and light and airy. You can see people around you, and over on the other side of the room. Conference attendees were standing up straight, looking around with eyes wide open, and moving around. I keep thinking about a conference I attended at a Marriott - window-less rooms, a series of florescent-lit hallways - where the posture and behavior was the exact opposite. Space matters.
Music and art!
Let's talk about serious stuff, and let's also have some fun. This year we had a Create with Nature zone facilitated by Zach Pine and I'm so glad we did. I want more of it. I want more art and let's have some live musicians playing at breaks and lunch. Let's sing and dance, play and create.
How you sit directly affects how you interact.
At past conferences we had the room arranged with theater-style seating. Rows of chairs, all facing the same way. There must be some psychological training that happens to us all when we sit down in that arrangement. We turn off. We prepare ourselves to be bored. Because of the large space and the availability of beautifully reclaimed oak tables, conference attendees sat at tables. They laid out their stuff, engaged in conversations, and leaned in. The body language was completely different, and I think resulted in much more meaningful experience.
Who you put on the stage gets reflected in the audience.
I'm very proud of the diversity we had on the stage this year. There were men and women of all kinds, colors, and backgrounds. While there is a long way to go to diversify the audience, I believe that we inched our way towards that goal with a diverse group of speakers. I'll continue to do this, and continue to push myself and us as a movement towards inclusion and diversity.
At 4pm the day before the conference I said that I was excited already for next year's conference. I can't wait to take what I learned and apply it. I can't wait to make the tweaks and adjustments. It's always a challenge and a really fun one at that.
