As this post goes live, we are in the process of kicking off #Q4Live Seattle 2021.

Yes, most of us will be eating and enjoying plenty of seafood. 🦀   🦐   🐟

Yes, the coffee is abundant. ☕️

But, no, it isn’t raining today. 😎

To borrow from Jimmy Buffett, “The weather is here; wish you were beautiful.”

JK, you’re all beautiful to us!! Well, there’s a couple of you who have an occasional off day, but who doesn’t?! 😏. We love ya anyway!!

This one is a bit MORE special

This is the 16th time we have held this event and assembled some of the great industry leaders – that’s kind of crazy to us. What a privilege, a privilege we don’t take lightly!

Our last Q4Live was January 2020. What an unbelievable 18 months it’s been. 😳 We are all so tired of the disruption that has found every aspect of our lives.

But, as much as we’d all like to have it all be behind us, we know it isn’t. We may not be coming together under the most ideal of circumstances, but we’re going to celebrate being together, nonetheless.

Q4Live is often described as a “family reunion.” It’s so true! Those with whom we’re spending time this week are among our most favorite people. Many we already know; many we’ll be meeting for the first time. But, because of what draws people to this event, we already know we’ll be adding the newbies to our list of favorite people.

We take this privilege seriously

When we have people take time out of their busy lives to spend time with us, we set some very basic goals.

  • We are committed to sending everyone home more confident and better prepared for success than they arrived.
  • We are going to strengthen old friendships.
  • We’ll make new friends.

For those who haven’t attended before, Q4Live is likely different from other conferences you've experienced. We don't create multiple tracks, don't have an exhibit hall, and intentionally limit the number of attendees. We know that we can host the most impactful event when we keep everyone together and focused on the same topics and allow space for discussion around each one.

We also have Q4i member agencies in the room, guest agencies, and Friendor guests (others may call them vendors). Everyone who attends is expected to use their voice and be an active participant in every conversation.

We all have successes and failures to share; we all have sources of confidence and insecurities. We ask everyone not to be so humble that they don't share their victories. But we also ask them not to be so arrogant that they don’t share their insecurities as well.

It's only when we open up and share it all, the good and the bad, that we're able to ensure we each leave more confident and better prepared for success.

The source of the FOMO you’re feeling

We may never get back to what we refer to as “normal.” But that doesn’t excuse us from actively preparing for our respective “next normal.” For our attendees, some of that will take shape this week at Q4Live. We have built our agenda with our next normal in mind.

  • Our opening keynote speaker, Bill Stainton, will share breakthrough thinking in a marketing world.
  • Several successful companies will share stories of how they have found meaningful impact in the critical growth areas of marketing, sales, service, and leadership.
  • We’ll hear from other attendees as to what they have learned over the last 18 months in a series of iTalks (thanks, TED!).
  • Some of the most exciting vendors in the industry are educating the room on opportunities for Friendors and agencies to work more collaboratively on behalf of the employers.
  • We’ll learn what recruiting and hiring look like as we move into a post-COVID environment.
  • Our keynote speaker, Marshall Allen, will help us understand how to equip and empower employees to be savvy healthcare consumers.
  • We’ll hear the raw reality of what no one tells you about managing self-funding accounts.

And that’s just the sharing and learning that is built into the formal agenda. I promise you many of the most impactful ideas will be shared over a meal, beverage of choice, or spontaneously during a networking break.

Knowledge is power

So, for those of you who couldn’t join us, we apologize in advance when you have to compete against anyone who was here this week. We are all leaving more confident and better prepared for success than we arrived. #SorryNotSorry

But we are a sharing bunch! Follow #Q4Live this week for the play-by-play of knowledge bombs being dropped. It won’t be the same as being here with us, but we're certain you will end the week more confident and better prepared for success than you started.

If you are feeling an overwhelming sense of FOMO, stay tuned. Our plan is to announce the dates and location of our next Q4Live reunion very shortly.

 

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