15,113 attendees – which explains why I have seen very few familiar faces

Yes, this is a big conference.  I’m sitting here in a football field sized group of our HR tribe, and I can’t see the edge of the room.

A bigger message – there don’t appear to be a huge bunch of Hoosiers up here.  Not that I have a great way to sample the number, just not seeing a lot of familiar faces;  Will keep looking.

You would think with the proximity it would be easy to get here, but I think there is a deeper reason.  It’s our State Conference. Simply put, the Indiana State Conference is almost as good, but mostly closer to home (unless you live in the region) and a heck of a lot cheaper.  I have asked several attendees how much their total bill is for coming, and the answers have all been over $2000.

The Indiana conference is less than $400, and many of us can get a hotel room in Indy for the cost of valet parking and a hot dog in Chicago. The quality of the speakers?  About the same.

I’m sitting here to listen to Daniel Pink (can’t wait!).  I’m excited because I got to meet him last year, in a wonderful executive event with a few hundred thought leaders.  Where?  The Indiana State Conference. I love the Annual Meeting, but we’re very lucky to have the success of the Indiana State Conference.  Find it a www.indianashrm.org.

The crowds have been huge…

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