How can we convert a “great tradeshow” into a great business year.? There are three things that effective leaders do to maximize the true success of any tradeshow…. And two they absolutely don’t.

This happens to be that time of year with lots of global tradeshows. Creative World in Frankfurt, Toy Fair in Nuremberg, Toy/Gift Shows in Hong Kong, Atlanta, New York and Dallas, and more shows to follow in the coming months. It’s always great to hear the optimism that accompanies the conclusion of a tradeshow. The wonderful mix of exhaustion, community, reconnection and inspiration. Kind of like the feeling at the end of a long run.

“We really had a great show. Great vibe. Great response to the new product. Saw a ton of people. Everyone was so upbeat…”

Yet, if we are truly honest, the long road of very mediocre (under-performing?) business years is paved with “great Shows” to begin the year.

How do we ensure that those “great Shows” translate into “great years”?

First ! Here are two actions not to take once the show is over and you have returned to whatever your version of the office is:

Do NOT:

  • Call a meeting the first day back and delegate all of the follow up items to teams of people who were not at the Show even as your team tells stories of the fun, food and adventure everyone else missed at the Fair. Epically bad idea.
  • Take your combined lists of 50 follow-up items and begin plans to chase all of them. This is where teams who are “way too busy” “swamped” “overworked” and “stressed out” are born.

Instead, what if you did these three things immediately upon your return “to the office”:

  • Lead with Gratitude and Empathy. Share. Be intentional about thanking everyone who made the Show a success especially those who didn’t travel to the event. Share the most important takeaways, discussions and meetings that took place.
  • Lead by Connecting the Dots. Reflect upon what you saw, heard and learned. Try to identify central themes, trends and big ideas.
  • Lead by Discerning and Deciding You can do anything but you cant do everything—at least not very well.  Ask which opportunities are consistent with your overall strategy (oh, that’s right we did that strategy doc a few months ago)? How do the opportunities link to your Purpose and Culture– what you believe and how you behave.

Finally ,now that you have reflected and decided, once again communicate the plan to the rest of the team making sure they know how important their contribution is to our success. Can you say “Clarity” !

You absolutely can leverage a great early year tradeshow into an outstanding year, but it does require gratitude, being able to read the room, see the synergies and allocate resources in a strategic manner.

Great Show… Great Results… Stronger Team.