Generation X Shows Boomers How to Throw a Party (Conference)
-Free massages
-Video game station with a Nintendo Wii
-Flowers and grass displays creating a virtual arboretum
-Young energetic staff
-Great Chicago food
-The man in charge with his shirt un-tucked.
(see a video of the conference hall here)
Does this sound like a nice place to hang out?
If you paid any attention to my tweets last week, than you know I wasn’t hanging out. I actually spent this last week in Chicago at the “Get-A-Life” Conference (#GAL09 for those of you on Twitter).
Why was this conference so different? The real difference was the man in charge-The CEO and Founder of Total Attorneys Edmund Scanlan. Not only is he a generation X-er, but he started the conference off with a few profound words:
“When I started Total Attorneys, I had two goals: 1. Ski more days next year than I did this year, and 2. Make sure everyone that works for me comes to work smiling.”
It has served Edmund pretty well. In fact, his company had almost $24 Million dollars in revenue in a recent year according to Inc.com. He takes life balance seriously, and it seems to have paid off for him. He is number 2 on the list of hottest companies in Chicago.
Sorry Scott Greenfield, but that type of success story is just far too appealing to Generation X and Y. And to reply to your post, the issue is not that Generation Y has a problem showing up for work; we just have a problem showing up to work for people like you.
I wasn’t just impressed by Edmund Scanlan as a person, but by his unique conference that was highly informative. There were awesome speakers like Stephen Fairley who besides being a really nice guy also taught how to build a 7 figure law practice, Kevin O’keefe who gave away some great tips on legal marketing, and Ross Fishman who had an entertaining presentation, but is also leading the way when it comes to online legal marketing strategy. You can catch all of the amazing content for free here on Ustream.
In wasn’t all good however. There was one speaker whose unprovoked criticism of Twitter as a marketing tool caused audible gasps in the audience. His recommendation to get free publicity? Use the telephone and just call newspapers. How 1970’s can you get? Actually, the unnamed person was Larry Bodine, and besides ragging on Twitter he actually had a pretty good presentation about PR.
For those of you following my blog regularly, you know that I have written a book called “The Year of 12 Virtues” and that each month I challenge my Virtue Volunteers to set a personal goal to work on a single virtue for an entire month.
So far we have been through the Months of Integrity, Courage, and Gratitude and so I think it is fitting that this month, in honor of Ed Scanlan and to spite Scott Greenfireld, that we have June be the Month of Balance.
Set a goal to make this the Month of Balance. Choose a goal that helps you put what is very most important in your life first. Feel free to share with us how it goes!
7 Comments. Leave new
Adrian, thanks for coming to Get A Life ’09. We worked hard to create a conference that walked the walk. I’m not sure it matters what generation you are from. The key is to find ways to achieve success while having fun and enjoying life. Eddie and I have found ways to do that and we are trying to ‘pass it forward’. Remember that it is not always about drawing strict lines between work and personal life, but about finding balance between the two. Go home at 3pm and be with your kids, then work on some email after they go to sleep. Block out spots in your calendar to do something during the day that reduces your stress. Hire a virtual assistant. There are things you can do to be successful and make more money at the same time.
Kevin, I totally agree that it doesn’t matter what generation you are from, I only pointed that out to highlight an earlier discussion over the differences between generation X, Y and baby boomers. I do believe that anybody would have enjoyed the great conference you guys put on. Thanks for you comment, I firmly believe there is a way to give 100% to your clients, and still be there for your family. Total Attorneys provides some great help for attorneys hoping to do just that.
Impressive, Adrian!