I spent the end of last week in Toronto at Recruitfest. A one (plus) day get together for members of the recruiting industry, the conference was designed as a networking event. Jason Davis’ brainchild, Recruitfest tackled

1. The day started at a reasonable time.
Every industry event I have ever been to makes a point of starting early. It seems like the days at those things are getting longer and starting earlier. While that’s perfect if you are trying to give as many vendors as possible the opportunity to present, it’s not so good if you are trying to meet adult education objectives. With registration and breakfast at 900 and the first event at 1000, no one felt rushed, jet lagged or groggy for the first parts of the day.

2. A Drumming Circle
Yes, a drumming circle. During the first hour of the day, we banged on drums together. Jason found an enthusiastic leader for the circle who provided lots of instruments and entertaining guidance. The important thing was that we all got physical together. The drumming was a good way to communicate that work is sometimes best done by doing a few right things at the right time. It’s not always about who can be the busiest.

3. Engaging conversations with thought leaders
Each four conversation leaders held three sessions of an hour each. The design anticipated the fact that the conversation would build through the day. While everyone had access to everything, participants were forced to choose and prioritize among sessions. This put a grounding of commitment and energy into the structure. The presentations themselves were highly interactive and intimate.

4. Some great food, a magician, Jason’s home and family
You could tell that Jason (really, his wife Michelle) had a good time pulling the details together. There 5.

5. A really good party with a charity poker game
It’s interesting to consider the possibility that the party is the most important part of the conference. The design of Recruitfest allowed all participants to have roughly the same grounding so that the talk at the party could easily move through the content from the day.

Imagine a conference where everyone in attendance liked each other. Imagine that they got to know each other better in the process. Imagine that having fun is the foundation of great work and real effectiveness.

Imagine that people will talk about this one for a long time.

My takeaways?

– Less is more. Learning depends on negative space, not fullness.
– Busy is not better. Limited input and simple choices build big results.
– Size is not everything. You better believe that the sponsors of this event got their money’s worth.