Top Ten Reasons to Attend T3 Seattle

As a longtime CHART member and presenter, I’d like to share my Top Ten Reasons to attend CHART’s T3 Conference in Seattle this February…

10. Be where your colleagues are. Don’t let that brand across the street or that chain down the block get a monopoly on good ideas, new product expertise and thought leadership because they went to T3 Seattle and you didn’t. Go to Seattle and experience first-hand the newest trends and developments in training, development, operations, social media, and ideas. If you don’t go, and they do, what happens if they get better, and you don’t? That would stink.

9. Be where your colleagues are not. Let’s face it, you’re smarter than they are. That’s why you’re you and they’re them. So if they’re deciding to skip T3 Seattle this year, it’s the perfect time for you to swoop in and discover what they didn’t and learn what they’ll remain ignorant of.

8. Get out in front of change. Two things to remember about customers and change: don’t get too far ahead of your customers or you’ll confuse them. Don’t get too far behind them or you’ll lose them. What better place than T3 Seattle to see the future, one educational session or vendor booth at a time? Be among the first to see what’s coming and how your company can leverage that opportunity to build business and sales.

7. Learn more in a few days than you might in a year. The breadth of content and speaker and attendee expertise at a CHART conference is like a Hospitality University Degree in a Box, without the post-frat-party-sticky-beer floor! (Don’t worry, the Hospitality Suite is carpeted ;-)

6. Learn how your job will change by 2020. Selfishly, I gotta say that my session on Training 3.1: How the Internet of Things Will Transform Your Job by 2020 is a must-hear-and-see presentation. Learn the best demonstrated practices of over 100 high-performing Training Directors, VPs and Executives across the foodservice, hotel, retail, and tech industries PLUS learn which companies are leveraging technology to get the best results in training and development.

5. Eat. Drink. Be Merry. The conference (and Seattle) is a great place to remind yourself that this industry is fun and frenetic for a reason: it’s the restaurant and hotel business! So enjoy yourself. Relax. Have some fun. I’ve traveled around the world—three times over—and I’ll tell you this: Seattle has some of the best bars and restaurants in the USA.

4. Learning in the Hallways. Sometimes the most educational parts of the conference occur in the hallway, hospitality suite, lobby, or at the bars and receptions when you run into fellow CHART members. These side conversations are always chockablock full of insight, ideas, and innovation. The informal education you get--and friendships you form--while attending a CHART conference is worth ten times the price of attending.

3. The hospitality industry is the original social media. Sure, you could follow a tweetstream from the conference instead, “experiencing” it via hashtags and updates and postings, but…seriously? That’s not the same as being with your peers in a shared learning environment? Ain’t nothing like the real thing, baby.

2. Share it while you’re there. On the other hand, once you’re at T3 Seattle, feel free to tweet, post, blog, Instagram, and pin till your thumbs turn blue. Let the people who had to stay home learn from your experience and besides, the more you share it, the more you benefit. (If you teach, you learn twice.)

1. Recharge. Rejuvenate. Refocus. T3 Seattle is one of the first and one of the best idea exchanges in our industry in 2016. What better way to re-focus your New Year with great ideas, insight, expertise, and fellowship. Get it on your calendar now, book it, and we’ll see you there.

Jim Sullivan is the CEO & Founder of Sullivision.com and a long-time CHART member. He will be one of the keynote speakers at #CHARTSeattle. You can visit his website at www.sullivision.com and follow him daily on Twitter @Sullivision