Administrative Professionals Conference 2014 - It's a Wrap! On to 2015...

Hello again!

Hopefully everyone had non-eventful travel back to their home offices and are reading this with a nice cup of tea or coffee...and that work isn't too crazy after being away for a conference. 

As promised, I want to provide you with a final conference recap before we shift gears and start planning the 23rd Annual Administrative Professionals Conference kicking off next October 4th (2015) in Grapevine, Texas!

I had the great pleasure of meeting many of you at this year's conference and chatting with you about your key takeaways from APC 2014.  I've combined those with my own observations and outlined all of that below.  

Is there anything I missed? If so, let me know in the comments below.

Key Theme: Getting Out In Front of Technology

For many of you, sessions focusing on technology were key to your Conference experience. Sessions on office applications such as PowerPoint, Word, and Outlook were well-attended and many folks mentioned that they learned new tips and tricks for each of those applications. Others needed a quick ramp-up on technologies they've been asked to use, such as SharePoint. Sessions such as The Accidental SharePoint Owner were geared specifically to those who had SharePoint assigned to them...sometimes without their input! 

There's lots of chatter about social media (did you know we covered the conference via Twitter and Instagram? Search #apc14nationalharbor!) and sessions focusing on social media platforms were important for those who wanted to "get out in front of" what their bosses are doing on social media...especially when you're the one being asked to help manage their social media accounts. From what I heard, it's less about being a "super-user" of these social media platforms, but rather it's about an overall better understanding of them...such as what was shared in Kemetia Foley's Social Media Fundamentals session. I heard a few requests for webinars specifically on Twitter (essentially a "how-to"). If that's of interest, let us know in the comments below.

Many who attended Corinne Hoisington's The Mobile Tech Scene of 2014 left marveling that "the future is now" and there are a lot of new technologies emerging that may fundamentally change how business is done...and it's good to get a head start in understanding those.   

Key Theme: Now Is The Time! 

This was a key theme of the keynotes especially: there's no time like the present to go for your dreams! As Diana Nyad said, "If you want to make it across to whatever it is you desire, you'll find a way to make it happen."  Life (and lost bathing suits) will happen, but you'll succeed if you persevere. 

I know that many left each keynote invigorated and inspired, and I heard from at least one attendee that she was inspired by the keynotes and the session Get the Recognition You Deserve session led by Pamela Green to have a frank discussion with her boss about wanting to take on more responsibility...but only if it comes with more pay!

Others mentioned to me that they had put training "on hold" for a long time because "real work" took priority...but they were so very happy to have attended the APC...and put themselves first for once!  

Key Theme: Banish "Just a" From Your Vocabulary
They theme of banishing "just a" from your vocabulary arose on the very first day of the Conference, with keynoter Jon Petz telling us never to use "Just a..." as an excuse. Never say "I'm just an assistant/just a new hire/just a wife/husband, etc." 

This theme resonated throughout the following days at the conference. In many of the sessions, it was highlighted that administrative professionals bring a unique set of skills to the table and are needed in the workplace...thus "just a secretary" shouldn't be in our vocabulary.

As one attendee mentioned to me at the Tuesday night party: "I love this Conference as I'm treated as a professional with something legitimate to add to the conversation...not 'just a' secretary or admin." 

Key Theme: Connections
It was clear throughout the conference that connections were happening. Business cards were being traded, many geographical connections were being made, and even folks who work in different divisions of the same company (but who had never met in person) were connecting. One of the powerful things about an in-person event is connecting with your peers at different companies, finding commonalities and support! 

To that end, we'd love to stay connected with YOU and ensure you have ways to connect with each other!

Here are a couple of ideas (and yes, some shameless plugs!):

Join the American Society of Administrative Professionals (ASAP) 

Connect up with folks in the ASAP LinkedIn group

"Like" APC on Facebook and ASAP on Facebook
  Check out photos from the event! 

Join the ASAP Power Panel! Share your opinion and earn rewards.  

Finally - did you enjoy the event coverage here on the blog and on Twitter and Instagram? If so, let us know in the comments below! 

See you next year in Texas (and our social media hashtag is #APC15TX)!

Thanks from me (Katie) and all the APC team, it was a pleasure to meet, connect, train, and chat with you in DC!

Administrative Professionals Conference 2014 - Wednesday Recap - Engage!

Whew – what a conference! It’s the evening of the last day of APC, and many of you are on planes, in trains or cars on the way back home. First, let me say, it has been an honor and a privilege to have met, chatted with, laughed and learned with you all! I hope that you have found the blog and Twitter coverage helpful in recapping the conference.

So let’s dive into Wednesday’s goings-on at the Administrative Professionals Conference. Everyone looked surprisingly bright-eyed in sessions this morning after last night’s great party! It was such fun to see so many of you at the session I moderated, Tricks of the Trade: The Mobile Assistant, with panelists Amelia Maxwell from Microsoft and Christopher Whibley of Elsevier.

If you attended any of the Tricks of the Trade sessions during the conference, you’ll know that they are slightly different from the other sessions. They are meant to be peer exchanges, so our panelists weren’t’ professional speakers, but professional assistants! Our audience consisted of folks who manage bosses who are in different locations, travel a lot, admins who telecommute and others wanting to learn about becoming more mobile. And our session wasn’t all about remote locations, but also about finding efficiencies (even if you're in the same office!) through mobile and cloud technology.

We talked through a variety of topics from technology to data security to “the admin of the future”, starting with what the catalysts were for prompting Christopher and Amelia to become more mobile (from bosses leaving paper documents behind to creating efficiencies), and what some of their best practices are (always have charging devices!). The audience shared a number of tips and tricks and tech tools. Our favorite moment was having one audience member share a tech tip about an expense tracking app, and within 15 minutes another audience member had contacted her boss and had him downloading it while she sat in the session! From Evernote and Todoist to taking calls from your boss in Beijing who wants you to get him a cab…when you’re in the US, we covered it all!

Our high-energy day continued with Vernice “FlyGirl” Armour, America’s first African-American female combat pilot. Having faced many obstacles in her climb to the cockpit, Armour reminded the audience to “acknowledge the obstacles…don’t give them power” and to cultivate a “breakthrough mentality” of refusing to settle, even in the smallest of moments. As she switched from flightsuit to business suit, Armour lifted the crowd with a message of inspiration, to engage fully with life, and wherever you find yourself in life to “lift off” from there. I was lucky enough to meet her in person after the keynote and snap a quick photo!

Then after a quick lunch it was off to the final workshops of the conference. Rhonda Scharf led a fantastic workshop on The Amazing Assistant – Charisma, Credibility & Confidence. After instructor-led roundtable discussions about each of those aspects, Scharf led us through a deep-dive into each area. Did you know that body language can really feed into your credibility? And that talking to someone in from the distance of the “social zone” (4+ feet) indicates disinterest on your part? Or that if someone is hearing your name incorrectly means you actually could be speaking too quickly?

Scharf cautioned the audience against overuse of the “that’s so easy I could do it in my sleep” commentary as that actually diminishes your skill set and the power of your work…don't take your credibility away by making it look so easy that you're not needed.

And with that, the 22nd Annual Administrative Professionals Conference came to a close…But we’re not done yet! Stay tuned because on Monday I’ll be doing a final recap of some of the themes and key observations of the conference, and sharing how we can all continue to stay connected until next year’s Administrative Professionals Conference in in Grapevine, Texas.

Safe travels home or to your next destination, and I’ll be chatting with you Monday!