The ‘worst’ Unconference ever proved to be highly inspirational

Over a four-decade career, I have attended hundreds of conventions and conferences. But, none of them compared to The Unconference, which took place last week in Sarasota, Fla.

The brainchild of Vincent Pugliese, who founded Total Life Freedom and Membership Freedom, the event was created to connect content producers for inspiration and mutual help. By the way, Vincent was instrumental in helping me develop the concept for Forward From 50.

Other conferences are marked by attendees dutifully sitting in classroom settings. They take part in a variety of closely-scheduled sessions led by industry experts providing instruction or advice. Not The Unconference.

Vincent realized he got the most out of conferences he attended by networking with people in the hallways between sessions. So he and his wife, Elizabeth, designed The Unconference primarily to forge those kind of connections.

Being the first Unconference for his organization, Vincent set expectations by reminding participants this year’s event will be the worse one ever because future conferences will only get better.

Excellent schedule

Here are the things I liked the most about The Unconference:

• No selling – There were no vendor booths and participants were expressly prohibited from pitching their products and services to other attendees. What a relief!
• Inviting conversations – If I walked up to two or three people chatting together, they always extended an invitation to join them. The brainstorming was phenomenal.
• Lots of connections – The online conference program featured a brief profile of each attendee as well as links to their websites and social media accounts. That encouraged people to stay connected long after The Unconference was over.
• Secret dinners – Some members were invited to join a small group of participants for a secret dinner at a nearby restaurant. The identities of the restaurants and group members were revealed an hour before.
• No agenda – Over the two-day event, there was only one official speaker, John Miller, the author of “QBQ!” who talked about the need for personal accountability. Most of each day was devoted to small group gatherings around specific topics, like podcasting, storytelling, memberships, starting a membership, writing books, running a business or just hanging out.
• Roundtable discussions – The schedule called for 25 topic-specific discussions focused on business concerns and quality of life issues. Designated leaders posed questions and guided discussion to gather a variety of opinions and ideas.
• Generosity – The hallmark of The Unconference was the generosity exhibited by participants. They were willing to share their own expertise to benefit others through free one-on-one coaching sessions and simple question-and-answer conversations.
• Faith-based activities – The conference kicked off with a voluntary prayer session orchestrated by a few members. There was also a roundtable discussion just for faith-based entrepreneurs to meet each other and discuss common problems.

Ideal location

The event took place at the Embassy Suites in downtown Sarasota. It was a nice facility centrally-located to beach activities and restaurants. While the rooms were pricey, the guest rooms were large and the facility’s amenities were above average.

For example, the food offered for every meal was delicious with a variety of healthy choices and comfort foods. The staff was attentive to the needs of guests and the hotel was super clean all the time.

If there were any notable problems with the facility it was the mandatory $25 per night, per room “destination charge.” It gave guests high-speed internet and use of a hotel-owned bicycle for two hours as well as a $25 food and beverage credit.

That ensured guests ate at the hotel. But, we cheated by visiting nearby restaurants for dinner and returning to the hotel to use the credit for dessert.

The irritating mandatory extra charges originated at Las Vegas casinos 20 years ago, but have since spread to almost every major hotel chain.

For some reasons the hotel’s elevators were excruciatingly slow in shuttling the guests around the 18-floor facility. People joked they needed reservations for the elevators to ensure they arrived for gatherings on time.

Great ideas, better connections

By the end of this year’s Unconference, I had accumulated an array of excellent ideas I will use to promote Forward From 50 as well as my new venture, Life Story School.

More importantly, I personally connected with nearly 100 other entrepreneurs each on a mission to improve the lives of others.

I do not know if The Unconference would work for every industry because the foundation for its success was in the established online relationships among members. We had interacted in Zoom meetings for years, and this was the first opportunity for many participants to connect in person.

For what was billed as “the worst Unconference ever,” this year’s event exceeded my expectations. I truly believe other industries would be wise to incorporate many Unconference-type activities into their meeting plans.

To learn more about The Unconference and to apply for admission to next year’s event, visit www.theunconference.live.