I’m in New York this week attending the World Business Forum.  It’s been a few years since I’ve attended the conference, and I have to say that I regret that it’s taken me this long to go back.  The WBF subject matter and location is like no other.

“Learning is not about confirming what I already know.”

There’s a vibe and buzz to New York which is unique.  You can feel the difference as soon as you disembark the plane.  It’s difficult to articulate other than to say the energy level is almost palatable.  Everyone seems to do things quicker.  It doesn’t matter if it’s customer service or something as simple as walking down the street.  I get this sense that a New Yorker’s brain is wired to think “let’s go, let’s go, let’s go”.  No time for niceties because that may take an extra 1.67 seconds.  They’re not rude but they do have an edge.  New Yorker’s are pragmatists and they’re constantly calculating on the fly.  True story, I jumped into a town car to take me to the hotel.  I’m in the back seat, reading my emails when I feel this jolt.  Nothing significant, meaning no law suit was possible, but a jolt none the less.  I looked through the back window and clearly the cab behind us, hit us.  To my surprise my driver kept on driving as if nothing happened.  I said, “you do realize the cab behind you clipped us”.  His answer, “that was just a tap, not serious enough to stop”.  Okay then, I’ll close my eyes and recite the Lord’s Prayer, and enjoy the rest of the ride to the hotel.

I made it safe and sound to the to the hotel, and now I can turn my attention to the World Business Forum.  The line up of speakers, to say the least, is impressive.  I must confess that I used the WBF as model to improve the CAAMP Mortgage Forum.  I challenged myself, and the staff at CAAMP, to try to emulate the WFB in terms of value and overall experience. Our conference is being hosted in a great city, plenty of things to do, and as for content, let’s give attendees two full days of learning opportunities.  Slowly but surely we’re getting there.  Two of the speakers at the WBF will be speaking at the CAAMP Mortgage Forum this November, Seth Godin and Barbara Corcoran.  All of our speakers scheduled for the Tuesday of our conference have the qualifications to speak at the WBF.

What I’m really looking forward to at the WBF is that the content and subject matter will have nothing to do with mortgages.  Not a single speaker is from the mortgage industry.  I eat, drink, sleep and work mortgages every day.  I learn about mortgages voluntarily, and in some cases involuntarily.  It’s a part of my day-to-day responsibility to educate myself about our industry.  Which is why I relish the opportunity to learn about other industries, management theories and business from a global perspective.  We all have to be careful not get too locked into our own world.  We don’t work in a vacuum, and nor should we take that approach from an educational standpoint.  Learning should be about expanding horizons.   The WBF speakers will talk about Leadership and Purpose, Management Innovation, Mega-trends, Managing Teams and Talents and the New Economic Order.  I’m thinking that individuals such as Jack Welch, Seth Godin, Howard Schultz and Bill Clinton might have something of value to say.  Besides, if I wanted to come the WBF or the CAAMP Mortgage Forum in November, to learn about GDS/TDS, I should have stayed home.  Learning is not about confirming what I already know.

Until next time

Cheers