So, now the dust has settled from another amazing SoDA Global Member Meeting (GMM), I thought I’d give you a quick wrap up of the event and what we took out of it.
Unlike any other industry conferences, the SoDA GMM is strictly by invite only and open to only SoDA approved agencies. The aim of the meeting is to get together the Founders, CEO’s and Senior Executive leaders within the member organisations to talk about the nuts and bolts of running their business; digital businesses in fact. The format of the meeting is a two day, session-based discussion forum that individuals attend where they listen, as much as they contribute. The typical conference format it thrown out the window and members are there to discuss openly their successes and failures in running their business in the digital agency landscape. ‘Scaling for Growth’, ‘Establishing Partner Relationships’, ‘Creating a World Class Organisation’ and ‘Developing Staff into Management Postions’ are just some of the topics discussed and debated.
The discussions were well lubricated with an openness inherent in being part of a small, (80 agency) group, some great friendships built from previous years, and willingness to give as much as you take within the format of the 2 day meeting. The take-outs were shared and tangible.
As the days grew longer and the beers begin to be passed around the peer sessions are suplimented by a number of TED styled talks from a small number of agenices showcasing the ‘best of breed’ ideas that have been successfully implemented within their organisations. Rain gave a great talk on their innovation program called “Rainnovation” enabling staff to pitch new ideas to the company for the chance of a significant start-up fund. Fluid’s Tamir Scheinok talked about transforming his business and the battles (and successes) of running a hybrid agency/product development company in the changing landscape.
The GMM, being held in Vegas also had it’s share of after dark activities and of course discussions carried on well into the night.
A really great experience for all those involved and I know we are all looking forward to the next installment.
For more information on SoDA and what it provides its members, please check out their website at http://sodaspeaks.com/
NOTE: Unfortunately due to the confidential nature of the discussions at the GMM, I’ve had to limit the detail in what was actually discussed and kept the article general in nature.
