Information sparks ideas. Learning sparks ideas.
But how do you capture these sparks?
Any time I attend a conference, event, talk, workshop, course I find myself taking both notes on what the speaker is saying and the ideas sparked in my own mind from what they’re discussing.
Currently I’m a participant on the CIME (pronounced chime) project, an EU part-funded project under the Ireland-Wales 2007-2013 Programme (INTERREG 4A).
At the first workshop we were given handouts where we were encouraged to take notes in two separate columns under the headings what I hear and what I think.
Finding appropriate events to attend shouldn’t be too difficult. Apart from getting on your local enterprise board or chamber of commerce email list, you can find out about events by picking up a newspaper on the days that something relevant to your business area is published. For example, The Irish Times on a Friday for business or The Guardian on a Monday for the Media Guardian section. Don’t forget the Irish Internet Association either.
Or it might be by signing up to an email newsletter or ezine that provides such industry news or updates, or maybe you need to ‘Like’ the right Facebook accounts or follow certain accounts on Twitter to be kept in the know.
The next two weeks I think are two of the busiest for events out of the whole year. And I am delighted to see that there are a number of events in the coming weeks that are directed at those in the writing industry.
On Tuesday, 16 November the RDS in Dublin plays host to a day-long conference entitled Content is King, on Friday, 19 November a day-long workshop for advertising copywriters takes place in the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin.
Both of these bring experts from outside of Ireland as well as professionals working here together. And it has to be said a mix of outside influences is vital in staying innovative.
Though it can be difficult to find the time or the money, getting out and about to events is worthwhile no matter what business you are in or what level you are at in an organisation. Stay alert and awake while the event is taking place, take notes, review them at some stage, get chatting to people, you never know inspiration you will get from a day out of your business, a day away from the desk.
Other events to watch out for in Ireland in coming weeks include:
- November 11 and 12 – the National Enterprise Conference
- November 18 and 19 – National Women’s Enterprise Day Conference
- November 11 to 22 – the Innovation Dublin festival
Anything else worth mentioning, please add a comment!
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