"KCDC is the best and everyone should go" - Me, every day
For the VERY FIRST Harden Hijinks Newsletter, I want to talk about last week's Kansas City Developer Conference! From my own speaking experience, attending experience, and the overall feel of the conference and the city, let's dive in!
My first night in Kansas City, I checked out a new (to me) restaurant, Clay and Fire, which featured some delicious food, including some great mezze and a delicious pizza. (With Geoffrey Harden and Ben Sands )
Throughout the week, walking around the city, I enjoyed the genuinely positive energy everywhere (except the temperature, though it was still cooler than Tulsa!). The rainbow crosswalks were a highlight as I explored the city.
i LOVE the KCDC conference. Am i biased because I've spoken there the past couple years? I mean, maybe. But I know I will come back regardless of if I am accepted speaking because the people of this conference are truly unmatched. I love being able to walk up to anyone, ask what they do, and chat about lunch or the last session.
Walking into KCDC, I have to admit, I tried to enter the wrong side of the conference center, so by the time I saw the main entrance, I was VERY grateful for the AC. When I went upstairs (escalator, let's be real), I was greeted by some of the wonderful team of KCDC, namely Jonathan Mills and Billy Korando who made me feel excited to speak... but more on that later!
My first session I attended was From Ideas to Action: A Hands-On Innovation Workshop led by Brian Zimmer and Bill Udell and while I could never figure out how I met them before (probably just my brain playing tricks on me) I walked out with a better understanding of my own business, Harden Consulting due to their thoughtful workflow they took us through.
In the afternoon, I had a lot of fun in Teamwork Games – Unlocking Safe, Innovative, and High-Performing Teams by JL Heather, MBA, CPCC, PCC and Preston Chandler ! (Credit to JL Heather, MBA, CPCC, PCC for this photo I stole). It's also where i met a new friend, Jordan Thayer who I continued to run into/hang out with like 5,342 times.
Thursday afternoon I tried to attend Fred Deichler 's talk Amplifying Your Leadership Impact: Coaching with Triggers and Hooks but ended up with a crazy coughing fit so snuck out so I wouldn't distract anyone. I am sure he did great in that packed room!
Am I a UX person? Nope. But later on Thursday I HAD to attend How to do half-assed UX by Ash Banaszek, a great (and funny) speaker/friend.
Thursday night was the attendee party, which had a ton of board games so... if you know me at all, I was in heaven. I played all sorts of games with tons of new friends.
Friday was finally my turn to speak... see below. Then I tried to attend The Art of Focus: Managing Productivity with an ADHD Brain (And Why It Matters for Everyone) with Alyssa Nicoll but her session was so packed, even 5 minutes before it started, there was absolutely no way. (Ended up meeting with the fellow Tulsan later for lunch though!) Thanks Kathryn Grayson Nanz for the intro to Alyssa, and to another Tulsan, Brad McAlister !
So instead, I hung out in the Kansas City Women in Technology room, a great place to just connect with others (and work on a puzzle!) In addition, they had a chance to create NFC business cards and I definitely didn't rick roll multiple people.
Later, I attended Managing for Failure with Amy Norris (another great speaker/friend), and she told me how I need to just remember to say "Good Job Me!" after failing. Because failure leads to learning. She says it better, but it was great.
"Good job, me!" -Amy Norris
Lastly, I attended Catchy Title: Conference Speaking for the Rest of Us with Bill Parrott which featured some great tips for newbie (and veteran) speakers!
I've been fortunate to speak at a few conferences, and I have to say that KCDC is, by far, one of the best speaker experiences I have ever had. They welcome speakers by name, even if they are new! They recognize the need for multiple venues to reset. There's a "talking" speaker room and a "quiet" speaker room, because... well if you've ever spoken at a conference you know that most of us make changes to our slides up until the very last minute.
Not to mention, when you walk into your room, there’s an AV tech check from the conference center and a volunteer for any other random needs. After my talk (whew!), I found out they even have a volunteer who goes to each room and counts attendees at the beginning and end. That’s how I learned I spoke to the most people I ever have, 101 attendees (not counting high school plays, but that’s a whole different story—maybe I’ll write about that someday?).
If you didn’t know, my session was called The Art of Asking for Help: Why Smart People Struggle With It. I might write a post on it later, but I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who might catch the same talk in Tulsa later this year.
I've been toying with the idea of newsletter for a while. I feel like I have a ton of ideas that I need to get out of my brain. So this newsletter will be covering all sorts of things; from attending/speaking at conferences, ideas to help your small business, and ideas to help your mind. Hope you enjoy!
Let me know if there's something you want to hear about!
What's your favorite conference to attend? Or your best conference memory! Let me know in the comments!