I often hear administrative professionals say they don’t have time to attend training.  My response to that is you must find the time, and it’s never too late in our careers. I agree we are all busy, integrating (not balancing) our professional and personal lives, but we must continue to invest in ourselves and grow professionally.  There are many organizations that offer training for administrative professionals.  Because we are so busy, we must be selective about the type and the organization we use for that training.

I have been an administrative professional for more than 35 years and found Office Dynamics about five years ago. During this time, I have observed Joan Burge grow this organization.  She is a former administrative professional, and a current CEO, author, trainer, consultant, and entrepreneur. It is her first two listed careers that really appeal to me.  She is personally invested in our profession, and it shows.  She brings knowledge and understanding from both sides of the desk to all her educational materials– something you don’t always find with the other training organizations.

We may be “seasoned” professionals, but we must continue to stay cutting edge.  There are several ways to get training; you only need to determine what works for you and your schedule. Office Dynamics has a website where you can read blogs and articles or obtain one of Joan’s books (my personal favorites are Who Took My Pen…Again?, Underneath It ALL, and Give Yourself Permission to Live a BIG Life^TM ).  You can take courses such as World Class Assistant or the STAR Achievement Public Course (both great, because they have a limited number of participants to ensure that you receive personalized training), or attend the Annual Conference for Administrative Excellence. (This September, Joan Burge and Office Dynamics will host their 20^th conference. This will be my fifth.)  I really enjoy the conference because topics are timely and relevant, and participation is limited to 300 professionals. Diverse, yet small enough to absorb the training as well as meeting, networking, and sharing best practices with other high-level administrative professionals.

The administrative profession is constantly evolving. We owe it to ourselves to grow with it. Just take a few minutes to discover what type of training works best for your schedule, and go get it!

Laura Suchocki, CWCA, has more than 35 years of Administrative Professional experience.  Since 2004 she has been employed by Shure Incorporated, where she supports the Chairman, and the President and CEO. Before joining Shure, she supported high-level executives at three other well-known companies in the travel, venture capital, and insurance industries.

In addition to running the Offices of the Chairman and the President and CEO, she also manages the Company’s charitable contribution program, corporate calendar, company-wide and global events.

Laura is a strong proponent of continuing education for administrative professionals; she is currently working on her CEAP (Certified Executive Administrative Professional) designation, taking the STAR Achievement Public Course, and she earned her CWCA (Certified World Class Assistant) designation from Office Dynamics International. She has earned a Certificate of Administrative Excellence from the American Management Associa

tion and a Professional Diploma from Robert Morris College.

She has been happily married for 33 years and is the mother of two beautiful children.

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What are you doing September 17-20, 2013?

Have you considered attending Office Dynamics’s Bold and Balanced Annual Conference for Administrative Excellence?

If you are still on the fence, I highly recommend you make the choice to attend. While this is Joan Burge’s and Office Dynamics International’s 20^th Annual Conference for Administrative Excellence, this will be the fifth Office Dynamics conference I have attended. There are several reasons that keep me coming back. Following are the top five motives on my list:

First, Joan Burge, the host of the event. She is a well-known expert and visionary in the administrative profession. In addition to the books she has written, the training courses she has designed and teaches, and the company she operates (Office Dynamics International), she actually spent 20 years as an administrative professional. Knowing that she is so personally invested in us and in our profession, that she understands what we need and want (from both sides of the desk), and compiles and directly presents this knowledge to us, makes this a one-of-a-kind conference event.

Second, the number of attendees is limited. Office Dynamics keeps the attendance confined to 300, which provides for a greater educational and networking experience.

Third, the topics are relevant and current. This is the only conference to offer an Executive Perspective, where attendees can hear first-hand from a top-level executive what is and isn’t important to them as they interact with their assistants and manage their companies.

Fourth, there are only a limited number of concurrent sessions. From my perspective, this is important, because it enables me to stay connected with the energy of the entire group, and requires me to make only a couple of choices to attend separate sessions. I prefer this rather than having to choose and follow a separate track and interact only with those participants and learn that material.

Last, but certainly not least, this conference provides so many opportunities to network, share best practices, and establish business connections with high-level administrative professionals from all over the map.

These are my main reasons that make attending this conference the highlight of my annual professional development. I am confident that if you choose to spend a few days this fall at this conference, you will return to your office highly energized, educated, and even more committed to your “career of choice”.

Laura Suchocki, CWCA, has more than 35 years of Administrative Professional experience.  Since 2004 she has been employed by Shure Incorporated, where she supports the Chairman, and the President and CEO. Before joining Shure, she supported high-level executives at three other well-known companies in the travel, venture capital, and insurance industries.

In addition to running the Offices of the Chairman and the President and CEO, she also manages the Company’s charitable contribution program, corporate calendar, company-wide and global events.

Laura is a strong proponent of continuing education for administrative professionals; she is currently working on her CEAP (Certified Executive Administrative Professional) designation, taking the STAR Achievement Public Course, and she earned her CWCA (Certified World Class Assistant) designation from Office Dynamics International. She has earned a Certificate of Administrative Excellence from the American Management Association and a Professional Diploma from Robert Morris College.

She has been happily married for 33 years and is the mother of two beautiful children.

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This made me think about why don’t more administrative and executive assistants attend conferences specifically related to their career of choice. There are 4 million administrative professionals in the United States and yet it is a very small percentage who attend any type of administrative-focused conference. The largest attendance number I’ve read at a conference for admins is about 1,800!  That is a mere fraction of 4 million. Our conference is specifically limited to 300 attendees because we have numerous benefits from hosting an intimate event.

• Is it that assistants don’t take their career seriously enough?
• Or that they think they don’t need to continue their education?
• Maybe their executive won’t let them travel?
• Maybe their company has a policy that says not out-of-out state travel.

More than those reasons, I think assistants don’t ask for it! And even if they do ask and are told “no,” they give up. I know from training administrative professionals for 22+ years, they do not see themselves as sales people or figuring out how to negotiate. For example, “I will pay for my travel expenses, if the company will pay for my registration.” I have also read very recently in industry magazines that other executive assistants are frustrated with their administrative peers that don’t care enough to continue learning. They bring the profession down and cause executives to cut dollars from their learning budgets. Stay on your professional edge – no matter what your age is! I’ve heard it too many times “I’m going to retire in 2-5 years so there’s no point in spending the money.” Are you kidding me? Once you retire the learning doesn’t stay at the office – you take knowledge with you for the rest of your life!

When I was an assistant, I often had to persuade my executives to support my professional development or to change a process. One time, I persuaded my executive to upgrade my job title and give me a $1,500.00 salary increase after six months of being on the job. I got both.

If assistants are so integral to their executive’s success, then they should be allowed to continue their education through conferences, workshops, online classes and joining professional associations.

The first step, though, is an assistant has to be 100% convinced that he or she deserves to attend a conference based on the administrative profession. Then show the ROI (return on investment) to their leader. We have numerous documents on this conference web site for assistants to use to demonstrate the benefits of attending our event, including a personal note from me. Be sure to check them out.

Joan Burge

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The Beauty of Diversity at Conferences or Benefits of Conference Networking!

One of the great benefits of attending a conference is the diversity of attendees and the networking opportunities that creates. At our Annual Conference for Administrative Excellence, we have administrative professionals with a variety of position titles, jobs, size companies and industries. We have many assistants who come from across the United States but have had assistants who travel from around the world and an extra flavor to our event. I’m going to talk to you today about the benefits of conference networking because it’s really important!

Do you take advantage of this differentiation when attending a conference or does it hold you back from meeting new people? Sometimes when you attend a conference by yourself, it is easy to feel intimated and keep to yourself. Personally, I love to meet people and learn about them and what they do. I often get answers to my questions or roadblocks in my thinking by talking to complete strangers. They offer a completely fresh, objective perspective.

For example, I have been struggling with some details of hiring a sales person for Office Dynamics. I was at the training and development conference in May for my professional development and hooked up with a great young lady who is the Director of Sales for GetControl. I actually hired the owner of her company who is an author, speaker and subject matter expert, Mike Song, to speak at our conference in September. She invited me to breakfast one morning and spent an hour giving me all kinds of valuable information as to what I need to do to find the right person for my company.  Invaluable!!!

When you attend a conference, soak up the diversity. Purposely sit with new people. If you are attending the conference with assistants from your own company, this is especially important.  I notice most people who attend a conference with their peers, stick with their peers. That is normal. But we won’t be learning or stretching as much when we spend all our time with our buddies. We need to reach out and make the most of being around interesting people who have different experiences and backgrounds. One huge benefit to conference networking is making new friends and expanding your administrative network!

What do you think about this? Are you afraid to meet new people or to join a group of assistants who work together? What do you do at a conference to feel comfortable meeting new attendees?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject. What benefits have you discovered through conference networking? Share your stories below.

Joan Burge

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Life was simple years ago when a person just carried a pen and note pad to a conference for capturing notes. Now, there are many different devices conference attendees use for capturing notes. And the beauty of the devices is we can do much more than just take speaker notes.

Conference attendees are carrying everything today from iPads to iPhones, Blackberries and small laptops. It’s actually the power of the software that is so magnificent. We can take pictures, access speaker PowerPoint presentations and read the latest conference happenings via tweets. We can see convention hall layouts, speaker bios, and read what other attendees think about the speakers’ presentations.  I am fascinated when I think about all the capabilities we have today.

There is only one reservation I have about ‘event’ software. It happened to me last year when I was attending the American Society for Training and Development conference. It was the first time I decided to use the conference-event software to pull up the speakers’ slide presentations, handouts and to take notes. I had two days of notes and contact information when the software program crashed on me (and several other attendees). Much to my dismay, I lost all the great ideas I had captured for two days. Ugh!!! Fortunately, many of the sessions were recorded and I was able to watch the speakers again after I got back home.

So this year, I am taking notes with pen and paper but using the event software for the handouts and PowerPoint slides; to look at the program schedule (even though they provided a fat book for attendees). By the way, that reminds me of one thing I’ve noticed and that is many conferences do not provide a hard copy of handouts any more. If you want the handouts, you have to print them out ahead of time or access them online.

At the Office Dynamics Annual Conference for Administrative Excellence, we still provide a hard copy participant booklet. But it will be interesting to see if we continue the trend in 2014 and beyond.

What do you prefer as a conference attendee? Would you feel lost without a hard-copy conference booklet with handouts? What do you think about the paperless idea?

I would love to hear your thoughts about your preferred note-taking method at conferences.

Thank you

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Here are 10 quick tips to get the most out of your next conference experience.

These are 10 must-dos!

1. Introduce yourself to other attendees. (Don’t wait until they extend their hand.)
2. Immediately hand the person you are extending a handshake to, your business card. Be sure to get their business card. Take a moment to look at their card; don’t just throw it in your purse.
3. Be sincerely interested in the other person. Aside from asking them the basic questions like where they work, find out what they love most about their job? What is the most frustrating thing about their job? Do they see the administrative profession as a career of choice? You can ask them about how they liked the different speakers at the conference, but more importantly, what did they glean from a particular speaker’s presentation. Find out what stood out the most for them and how they are going to apply to their job.
4. Take excellent notes.
5. Listen. (Put your cell phone aside and do not glance at it when anyone is speaking on stage.)
6. Exercise. Whether you go to the gym or take a walk outside, do something aside from walking the conference halls.
7. Drink plenty of water throughout the day. Travel can be rough on the body. Snack on healthy foods like almonds instead of stocking up on cookies and bags of chips.
8. Have some quiet time to revisit your notes while at the conference. Write little notes about features of a person you just met that will help you remember them later.
9. Go to dinner with someone you just met at the event or meet for breakfast.
10. Use all the social media tools available. 

Remember, you only will get out of the event, what you put into it. So make it really worth your time and money. What are your favorite ways to to get the most out of a conference or other learning event? Share in the comments below. This is an unprecedented learning investment! Here are more tips on how to maximize your learning experience at the Annual Conference for Administrative Excellence.

Joan Burge

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There are over 350 exhibitors and more than 240 concurrent sessions. Yes, lots and lots of choices. Many of the exhibitors host their own little presentations to give conference attendees a flavor of their product or service. There are numerous forums, chat areas and speed mentoring. I am always overwhelmed when I attend this event. I had a good first day but as my day winds down, I realized I only spent 4 hours on actual learning. I have been at the convention area 9 hours today. What did I do with the other 5 hours? Wait! I waited in many, long lines. I waited in line to get into and exit the opening session, book store, for coffee, the exhibit halls, the bathroom, and lunch. Walking from one meeting room to the other could take more than a half hour. I spent about a half hour eating lunch and networking.

This all made me greatly appreciate the Office Dynamics Event of Distinction, an intimate conference of 300 attendees; no exhibitors; no long lines; minimal concurrent sessions. Since I started the Office Dynamics conference for administrative and executive assistants 20 years ago, I’ve always believed less is better. I purposely kept our conference small. In fact, for years, I would not go over 100 attendees. Good things come in small packages. An intimate event is better. Attendees really get to know each other and form life-long bonds. My staff and I get personal time with most of our attendees. While there are 9,000 people at this convention, I hardly get to know any of them. I feel like I am in a sea of people swarming around, trying to get to the next session.

I also believe in keeping concurrent sessions limited. I always hated it when I was an attendee and wanted to see several speakers but they were presenting at the same time. At our event, all attendees get to hear the same great speakers 85% of the 2 ½ days. Because we don’t have long convention halls for attendees to walk through, they get more time for education and networking.

Yes, less is better! Good things can and do come in small packages. It’s about quality . . . not quantity.

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Learning is a life-long journey. Always continue to learn!

I have been in the training and development profession for 22 years. I have owned my own training company that entire time. I not only present workshops and am a keynote speaker, but I am an instructional designer and author of 8 books. I create learning activities for adults and write objectives, outcomes, and curricula. In other words, education and learning are my business!

Even though I am considered a subject matter expert in training administrative assistants, executive assistants and support staff, I am always hungry to learn more—to become better at what I do. I look for ways to take the good skills I already possess as a trainer and speaker and want to polish them; make them shine like a fine diamond. Then I look for new ideas, concepts and ways to streamline my processes. I have always loved to learn and use every tool and person available to me.

This week, I am the student at the 9,000 attendee training and development conference. While I often feel overwhelmed and do not like such a huge event for many reasons which I will discuss in another blog, I am eager to learn. I am a sponge that soaks up every bit of information, tips, and even capture unique words I hear speakers say. It is easy to think, “I know that” and not attend a particular session but I have found that even when I think I know a topic or have “nailed” a skill, I still learn at least one new thing! As the saying goes, the teacher will show up when the student is ready. Basically, there are no bad teachers . . . just students who aren’t engaged.

An offshoot from hearing a good idea is that it sparks my creativity.  I often find myself using that one idea for several other purposes. So I get a double or triple benefit from each presenter’s information. I love the keynote speakers. While they are not “jazzy” in their presentation style . . . some just stand in one place for an hour . . . I find that their information is so good, that I am mesmerized. I want more!

I think the key to feeling like the time and money you spend for a conference is valuable, is your engagement in the conference. Are you paying full attention to the speaker or checking emails? Are you listening to capture gems of wisdom? Do you write good ideas down? I find writing helps with my retention. Do you take full advantage of your time at a conference by focusing on the event rather than worrying about what’s going on at home or the office? You will get as much out of an educational conference as you put into it.

It has been one year since I attended the ASTD convention and I am happy to be here. This is my first morning and I can’t wait to take in all the wonderful speakers. The difficult part about a big conference is there are too many sessions and therefore I always feel like I’m missing out. Like today, there are 3 great concurrent sessions I wanted to attend and found it very hard to choose.

But I will take in whatever I can. I just finished hearing the first keynote speaker of the opening day. He said so many wonderful things that I filled 3 pages with notes. Here is one quote I will share: “A strong passion with moderate aptitude will take you much farther than aptitude with moderate passion.”  — Sir Ken Robinson, Professor Emeritus, University of Warwick, UK and author of Finding Your Element: How to Discover Your Talents and passions and Transform Your Life (Viking May 2013).  He also talked about life is a process of improvisation and said, “You earn your resume. You are not born with a resume. Life unfolds as you live it.”

Joan Burge

Event of Distinction Founder & Host

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