I received the save the date e-mail for 7x24 Exchange, and plan on attending my 2nd conference, and have much bigger plans.
#1 I have been working with David Schirmacher, VP of 7x24 on a panel discussion with some big names to discuss an interesting topic for the attendees. One of the things that feels good is the people we hope to have on the panel are two executives who knew of each other, but never really chatted until I got them together at Data Center Social 1..0 at Uptime Symposium. If all goes well, the specifics of who and what will be discussed will be firmed up in the next month.
One of the things that is refreshing is the session slot is assigned at 7x24 based on the audience interest, not on sponsorship package purchased by the speaker.
#2 We'll have another version of Data Center Social with thought leaders in the data center industry. At past events we had tried to have the rule no vendors at the data center social, but with any rule there was an exception. So modifying the rule, thought leaders who work at companies that are considered vendors can attend, but that brings up one of the other rules. If the ego is too big, we in general don't want to invite them why? Consider this post for some reasons why a big ego is bad karma.
While people with big egos seem confident and even intimidating on the outside, they're most often driven by low self-esteem and a lack of confidence inside.
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Note the fact that it's their way or the highway. They equate compromise with loss. Egotistical people also feel that they have to be the center of attention to validate themselves. They often neglect the needs of those around them and think only in terms of what will suit them.
Just because everyone knows you doesn't mean you are a thought leader. Thought leaders are not necessarily well known.
For Data Center Social 3.0 at 7x24 Exchange Fall Conference, we'll continue with what we know has worked in the past, but also try some different ideas to bring in new people. Keep in mind this is not necessary an exclusive club, but a group of people who enjoy meeting others who are not satisfied with the past. A group who are thought leaders.
Thought leader is business jargon for an entity that is recognized for having innovative ideas.
The term was coined in 1994, by Joel Kurtzman, editor-in-chief of the Booz, Allen & Hamilton magazine, Strategy & Business. "Thought leader" was used to designate interview subjects for that magazine who had business ideas that merited attention.[1] Among the first designated "thought leaders," were British management thinker, Charles Handy, who advanced the idea of a "portfolio worker" and the "Shamrock Organization", Stanford economist Paul Romer, Mitsubishi president, Minoru Makihara, and University of Michigan strategist, C.K. Prahalad, author of a number of well known works in corporate strategy including "The Core Competence of the Corporation" (Harvard Business Review, May-June, 1990); and his co-author, Gary Hamel, a professor at the London Business School. And at the turn of the millennium Chris Harris in his trend leading insight book Hyperinnovation, the first treatise to begin to address a rapidly interconnecting, growing, technologically innovative world.