After the Love Is Gone…

After watching this "Look Back at the AIIM Conference 2017" video, it’s hard to believe that more than a month has passed since we were in Orlando. And yet, the keynotes, sessions, festivities and fireworks feel like they took place ages ago. The sheer energy rush and euphoria that characterizes a gathering of the tribe like ours has already been replaced with a “back-to-work” resoluteness. After all, we’ve got work to do, to develop the ideas exchanged and the promises made.

Lest we lose "that loving feeling" just yet, it’s important to remember and celebrate the “firsts” that were achieved:

• First-timers to the AIIM conference represented the highest percentage (47%) to date of total attendees. And the majority of these folks work in organizations without prior AIIM engagement
• The first AIIM women’s-only special interest group (Women in Information Management) was launched with nearly 100 supporters who pledged to take part in ongoing education, networking, and scholarship programs
• Our Net Promoter Score (58) that gauges customer delight was the highest ever received for the conference
• The first-ever “Buddy Match” connected attendees challenged by specific business issues with industry experts who offered their mentorship and advice
• AIIM17 was the first time in fifteen years that a new term (Intelligent Information Management) for what we stand for was introduced

So, what happens between now and when the love fest reoccurs at the AIIM Conference 2018 in San Antonio?

• We launch a series of short-form learning resources for the new entrants to our space; tools that focus on resolving project- and process-specific issues
• We aggregate and act on the results obtained from research conducted with a broader swathe of AIIM female members to put new Women in Information Management (WIIM) programming in place
• We analyze attendee feedback to rework the AIIM conference agenda around more relevant and intuitive learning paths, driven by user-defined needs. And, we emulate the annual conference on a smaller and more focused scale with new local solution workshops in select cities worldwide
• We automate a member connection process for year-round collaboration between those with an issue and those with a resolution
• We form an industry task group to articulate the label, story, and vision for Intelligent Information Management, beginning with a collaborative paper published in May

And so, with apologies to Earth, Wind & Fire, I believe that “something happened along the way”. But, “yesterday is [NOT] all we had”. You are an important ingredient in our post-conference journey. Here’s to an exciting tomorrow.