In reading Daniel Shatzkes’ recent column about in-person vs. virtual events, it reminded me that it was about a year ago that I last was on a plane — to go to/come back from Amsterdam, for ISE, no less. Our industry was talking (actually, squabbling) about COVID-19 before most people in the U.S. even knew what it was, mainly because of ISE and everyone having an opinion on whether it should be held and if it was, who should be allowed to go. At ISE, which saw a drastic reduction in attendance, we fretted about cleaning off surfaces and washing our hands; we touched elbows, rather than shook hands, if we touched at all. But very few people wore masks. I don’t think a single case of COVID was transmitted at the show, though it’s hard to know for sure. What a difference a year makes.
This might be a controversial opinion, but: I have not missed trade shows. Or work travel. I have definitely missed seeing (and drinking with) my industry friends. Relationships like that are hard to build virtually. My sense of humor is best enjoyed in person. I think the closest friends I have in the industry I actually made at smaller conferences, like AVEC, or the NSCA BLC, or Almo’s E4 in-person events. I’m also sad that I have lost most of my statuses on the various airlines (I think. I haven’t actually bothered to check.) But after 17 years of attending InfoComm, and CEDIA, and nearly as many DSEs and ISEs, which I know is basically half as long most of you have been going, not to mention press events, training and client visits, it should have come as less of a surprise to me that staying home for a full 12 months would actually be an unexpected upside of COVID. I’ll admit that I don’t have kids at home to get through virtual school, and 12 months later, I still like my roommates. One of them is even now my fiancé! I figure if you live with someone for a year, and literally don’t see any other humans, and still like them, then you may as well get married. The other roommates are pets. I have one fewer than I did a year ago, but the others are OK, aside from the ongoing interruptions because of barking at mail/UPS/FedEx/Amazon delivery people (and there are MANY delivery persons these days, since online shopping is one form of COVID stress relief, at least, apparently, for my cul-de-sac).
Anyway, it’s for that reason that I hope the lessons we’ve learned during COVID about work, remote and in-person, as well as work events, last beyond the pandemic. I’ve learned that working from home can be more efficient from a deep work point of view. Before, however, I thought the open work environment I worked in, in which employees could talk freely and ask questions of me was fun, but also inefficient and detrimental to everyone’s total productivity — although I still think it’s inefficient, I realize that I drastically undervalued serendipitous interactions with colleagues, and how many ideas came out of it, and how much easier it made pivoting on collaborative projects. I hope virtual events are here to stay (not just selfishly) and that they continue to improve. Virtual events should remain a staple, even after we can travel freely again, because they are more efficient for a lot of things, better for families and better for the planet. I honestly think now that we should all aspire to travel less for work. I do of course hope in-person events return, but that they are ultimately more thoughtful about the experience, with less waste, and a critical focus on human connection and relationship building. I guess I just hope that we are more thoughtful about how and when we do work, making choices about what’s best for our people, and not just our company’s bottom lines.
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