The inaugural Business Agility – Midwest conference in Columbus, OH was a resounding success and I’m so glad I got to be a part of it! Bart Weaver, Brian Link, and Charles Kennedy did an amazing job – you’d never know this conference was in its first year. I only attended half a day due to a business commitment in DC the next day, but that was long enough for me to hear some engaging talks, meet many wonderful people, and realize that I should have worn my Badger shirt during the presentation because there is far too much Ohio State in that town. 🙂
Opening Keynote & Slides
Sanjiv Augustine of Lithespeed and I gave the opening keynote: Shift-left: 3 Sparks for Business Success. You can view our slides from the link below. I understand it may have been recorded, so I will post the recording when I get a copy. I was very pleased with the interaction we got from the audience and the feedback we got afterwards. There are a lot of smart businesses in Ohio that have gotten pretty far in their agility journey.
Other Highlights
I think my favorite talk of the morning was one by Dan Manges, Co-founder and CTO of Root Insurance Co, a car insurance company they built from scratch with the philosophy that you should pay according to how you drive. They built the entire business around an app that measures a ton of data points like how quickly you stop on average, then quotes you based on your actual driving habits. For the past 130-some weeks, they have been releasing versions of their app each week, again and again and again. It was an interesting case study in how far you could push Business Agility if you start from scratch. Of course, many of us don’t have that luxury, so if you want to learn how to improve the agility of the business you already have, check out the slides linked above.
I also enjoyed TED-style talks from a handful of other executives: Maureen Metcalf, Founder of the Innovative Leadership Institute, Tamar Williamson, VP at Nationwide Insurance, and Sam Rassekh, Senior VP at Huntington National Bank.
Next Year
I have to hand it to the organizers: even in the middle of the stress of kicking off the first day, Bart, Brian, and Charles were already talking about what to do next year to accommodate a crowd that, likely, is going to be well over the 300 who bought tickets this year. Kudos to them for putting on a wonderful conference right here in the Midwest. I can’t wait to check it out next year!
