The 30-minute rule at conferences O PI N I O N During the FIDI Conference, some people are proud of the number of meetings they hold. However, they often miss the perfect opportunity to talk to more of the 550 other attendees. By Jesse van Sas, Secretary General of FIDI Global Alliance D JESSE VAN SAS, SECRETARY GENERAL OF FIDI GLOBAL ALLIANCE Working the room: networking at the FIDI Conference in Amsterdam W W W. F ID I. O R G FF292 AugSep19 pp16-17 Jesse opinion.indd 17 uring the FIDI Conference in Amsterdam, someone came up to me and asked: Whats with this new 30-minute rule? Where did that come from? I had no idea what he was talking about, but apparently, there is an unwritten rule for one-on-one meetings to last no longer than one hour which has now been downgraded to half that time. This is no doubt a sign of the pace of business today; where productivity is key, and time must be used to reach the maximum number of people. If this is right, why on earth do we want to hold so many one-on-one meetings during a conference? Realistically, you cannot do much more than 12 in a day and even 12 would be a stretch. Surely it is more productive to network during a function, talking to lots of people in a few hours, while casually walking from table to table. This was, and still is, the whole idea of the FIDI Conference. A combination of networking, learning and some light entertainment, to get people relaxed, away from their daily business, to enjoy conversations, forge lasting relationships that go beyond tonnage negotiations, and learn about new trends in the industry. Some years back, this whole concept appeared to change - and people started coming to the FIDI Conference with an overloaded agenda of meetings, at rst in the lobby or lounge, and now A considerable amount of effort, time and money go into these sessions, and we have been really happy to see an increasing number of attendees making time for them very often in separate meeting rooms. I think this defeats the whole purpose of having a conference! Perhaps this has to do with a change of demographics of the average conference attendee. The conference is no longer the exclusive domain of the CEO, but now also attended by middle management, who will need to prove their productivity and ROI of being at the conference, by reporting every encounter. Understandable, but this certainly doesnt t with our original idea of the FIDI Conference. In the past ve years, FIDI has paid particular attention to making sure high-level and relevant content is provided during the event, through workshops, keynote speeches, panel discussions and informative meetings. A considerable amount of effort, time and money go into these sessions, and we have been really happy to see an increasing number of attendees making time for them. However, we would love to see even more conference attendees turning their attention to these educational sessions - and spending perhaps a bit less time inside those one-on-one meetings. There are other conferences and events throughout the year, which are more suited to holding such individualised meetings. The FIDI Conference is the right size to allow true networking and delivery of valuable content that is benecial to everyone there. When we meet again in Osaka next year, I have a request: please avoid overscheduling, and particularly scheduling against FIDI programming. We want everyone to enjoy the conference to the fullest and get more out of what FIDI has to offer. FIDI will continue to do its utmost to make the content programme interesting and thought provoking, and to ensure ample time and lounge space to really connect with colleagues and enjoy true business conversations. 17 15/07/2019 14:42