by Paul Carder @WorkAndPlace
Yes, I know, I am a little biased. We all try not to have our favourites. We all try to be impartial. But, over the years, CoreNet Summits around the world have become the place where I know that I will meet most of the people I want to meet. Many of those people are now good friends, and some even business partners in Occupiers Journal….
In fact, there were three of us at CoreNet London this year. Our Spanish, Portuguese & LatAm partner, Francisco Vazquez Medem, President of 3g-office, flew in from Madrid. And our Swiss partner, Niklaus (Nick) Arn, Managing Director of RBSgroup, flew in from Zurich. We don’t get chance to meet often, so this is another good excuse.
I did pen a few blogs last week, around the London Summit activity, as you can follow here if you wish:
Monday: Communities & Parties: if you want to read more about CoreNet Communities, see this link
Tuesday night: customer service – the small things that make a big difference; a late night rant!
Wednesday: a word in support of CoreNet and RICS working together; a great step for the industry.
Sunday eve: 100 tweeters @ CoreNet London: with link to a register of twitter names for you!
So, what more can I say? Well, as usual, quite a bit if you let me……
The paperless Summit
Remember the ‘paperless office’ – I don’t really, as I think I was still at school. Anyway, it didn’t happen, as we all know!
But, the ‘paperless summit’ arrived (almost) last week, with the Summit App. Registration only had a pocket-sized brochure/agenda for the 2.5 days. Everything else was on the App. Great! Well, great for those with iPads, iPhones and other advanced gadgets. But London isn’t #CNGSanDiego…! Some of us old Brits still have BlackBerry and other gadgets that don’t like Apps quite as much. So, it didn’t quite work straight away, but most people got there in the end.
Session evaluation forms were on the App….no more of those paper forms sitting on every chair. So were all the session details, and “peer connections” so one could ping a colleague on the App and arrange to meet. I never did get the thing to work on my old BlackBerry, which I’m waiting to exchange for an iPhone! I had to laugh at the irony of the last General Session 2: how technology is changing work, which culminated in a real-time survey of participants using the App. The vastly experienced Michael Creamer, of Cushman&Wakefield, had to think on his feet, and see the funny side as we answered different questions from those he had on his screen!
Thought Leader Series
The Thought Leader Series was a first for CoreNet London. It was described as follows:
Topics of direct relevance to you based on Corporate Real Estate 2020 research findings highlighting some of your biggest challenges: Become a better communicator/collaborator. Improve your ability to influence. Think strategically. Manage change. Get direct access to top-level experts in highly interactive breakout sessions designed with CRE in mind. Work alongside professional peers to develop soft skills needed to lead and succeed in your highly specialized field
The idea, from CRE2020 (see more below), is that we tend to focus on the technical/professional challenges and knowledge needed for CRE, FM, & Workplace. But, of course, as managers, we need a range of leadership and ‘soft’ skills. This programme starts to address this.
Summit Connect
This is an excellent feature for people who cannot attend in person, but want to watch some of the highlights online. The General Sessions were screened live, and a few other bits over the two days. It is now online at the link
Follow the twitter discussion at #CNGLondon…