Though my kids are young, I’ve gotten pretty good at the whole “mother knows best” shtick. I’m not a gentle parent; I’m a gently-bore-them parent. I pepper their little lives with lessons in the form of random proverbs and quotes I’ve picked up over the years.
Things like: “Do what you have to do so you can do what you want to do.” Or: “Learn from others’ mistakes; you can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.” And, of course: “Vision without action is a daydream; action without vision is a nightmare.”
My three-year-old? She doesn’t get it. But come on, there’s gold in them mines! And more importantly—and relevant to you—all three of these sayings apply to Relativity Fest … and specifically what happens after Relativity Fest.
Picture it: You’ve just returned from Chicago. You’re tired but alive with ideas. The sessions were insightful. The people were smart. The vibe was … festive. Now, you stand in your office and feel it: no one cares. Your post-show high plummets as your coworkers look at you like my three-year-old looks at me (confused, disinterested, a little annoyed).
So, how do you keep that Relativity Fest energy alive? Here are some tips to help you get your coworkers excited and keep that Fest buzz buzzin’.
Before Fest: Do what you have to do, so you can do what you want to do.
Your time in Chicago isn’t just for you; it’s for the benefit of your entire team. Involving them in the planning process will help them feel connected and invested.
Plan your agenda together.
Share the full agenda with the team, highlight the sessions you were planning to attend, and ask for their feedback. Think about things like:
- What challenges do we need to solve?
- What new features or products do we want to learn more about?
- Which speakers are we dying to meet?
Prep for all the action.
Beyond sessions, talk to your team about other aspects of Fest, like The Grove, the Demo Village, Learning Labs, the Fest Stage. Last week’s blog post has a full rundown to help you out.
Create a Relativity Fest Slack channel.
Or a shared folder. Or a group text. The point is: create a space where you can share real-time updates and where your team can ask questions and make requests on the fly. They’ll feel more connected to what’s happening in Chicago—and more invested in the takeaways you bring home.
Schedule a debrief. Today.
I know. Nothing screams “excitement” like a post-conference debrief. But hear me out: Lock in that meeting now to hold yourself accountable and show your team your commitment to making the most of your investment in the event.
During Fest: Learn from others’ mistakes. You can’t make them all yourself.
We’ve all been there—you attend a great session, nod along enthusiastically, and then get back home only to realize that your notes consist of unhelpful bullet points like “data volumes are big” and “AI is good.” With three jam-packed days, it’s easy to forget all the great nuggets of wisdom. Two little tips can help:
Take strategic notes and review them nightly.
Be intentional about your notetaking. Jot down specific takeaways, actionable ideas, and follow-up steps for your team. Spend 10 minutes each evening reviewing and annotating your notes while they’re fresh. But don’t stress too much if you miss something; session recordings will be waiting for you in the Attendee Hub when you get home.
Create a conversation cheat sheet.
Make it a habit to jot down names and key details about your conversations (e.g., “Jim Smith; loves the Bears and has tips for using Relativity aiR”). As you review your notes at night, send out those LinkedIn invitations. Then, when you’re back at work, you can continue nurturing those budding relationships, without worrying about remembering who’s who.
After Fest: Turn your vision into action.
Relativity Fest is an investment, and we want you to return to Chicago with a big payoff. Here are a few ways you can take all the things you learned and act on them.
Start small, win big.
You’ll leave Fest with some big picture ideas—ideas so big they might overwhelm you and your team. Rather than tackling the mountain, start with the mole hill. What can your team implement right away? Identify workflow improvements, create action items during your debrief, and assign tasks to your team to get stuff done.
Go beyond the to-do list.
If you’re like me, you come back from conferences—or heck, even exciting meetings—with grand plans. But then … other priorities take over and suddenly that big idea slips farther down your to-do list, never to be seen again. Instead of making your own to-dos, share your goals with a coworker and set calendar prompts like, “Follow up with Jim from Fest,” or “Schedule a Relativity aiR demo.” Encourage your coworker to hold you accountable.
Keep the learning going.
Almost everything at Relativity Fest is recorded, so you can share the keynote recording with your team and watch sessions you didn’t have time for the first time around. You can also continue learning and networking throughout the year via things like Relativity User Groups, Community Groups, and instructor-led or self-paced trainings.
One final piece of (motherly) advice? “Don’t dissect the bird to find the song.”
Yes, plan ahead. Yes, debrief when you get home. But while you’re there, in the room? Take a breath. Soak it all in. Enjoy yourself. Relativity Fest Chicago only comes around once a year—don’t let the fun pass you by.
Wondering how you can make the most of your week in Chicago? Tune in next week—we’ll move past the planning and focus instead on how to make Fest the best.
Kristy Esparza is a member of the marketing team at Relativity, specializing in content creation and copywriting.
