The Release

As a follow-up to yesterday’s post about “The Panic” of conference organisation, I thought I should write a bit about the other side of it: The Release.

The Release is the reward that you get for dancing with The Panic. When something you thought would be impossible turns out to be quite easy. When someone whose work you admire more than anything agrees to be a speaker. When things just fall in to place after weeks of conversations that seem to have been going nowhere.

The Panic is what helps to filter the crap. The Release is what you get when, out of that clarity, the great idea finally bubbles to the top. The thing or person shows up that really ties everything together.

Every conference I’ve organised has been a series of panic followed by release, and every year there is always one major panic, and one major release. It’s this rhythm that helps keep things fresh and exciting for attendees, and creatively rewarding for me as an organiser.