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You Never Step Into The Same Conference Twice

by Ruth Ann Harnisch on 02/06/10 at 5:54 am

Day 37

If I hadn’t already signed up, I might have decided to skip the TED Conference. 

This might shock those who know I love the annual gathering, that it is the one thing that is on my calendar in indelible ink, that I am paid up until 2017.

I’ve been attending in my role as president of The Harnisch Foundation , and we have a number of philanthropic investments including grantees  and projects  that are TED-related.  So, while it’s extremely stimulating and pleasurable, TED is also “work.”

I’ve decided to deviate only slightly from sabbatical – I will continue to make and deepen personal connections with grantees. Seeing the return on our philanthropic investment firsthand is meaningful.  This is hands-on work and I am pleased to do it.

However, I’m going to attend the rest of the TED Conference as a person who is on sabbatical.  That person has never been to TED.  I wonder how different it will be if I’m not constantly on the lookout for ways to apply what I’m learning, and the connections I’m making, to my philanthropic work and my circle of associates?

What if I just go as a person with an open mind and no agenda? 

 (I’m thinking this is probably the way to show up every day, sabbatical or not.)