Episode 179: Stop Wasting Conferences: How to Get Real Value from Every Event
It’s conference season—and calendars are filling up fast. Flights are getting booked, hotels are getting reserved, registration fees are getting approved, and calendars are getting blocked off for a few days away from the practice.
And if you’re like most physicians and practice leaders, there’s a mix of emotions. Maybe a little excitement. Maybe a little overwhelm. Maybe even a quiet question in the back of your mind…
Is this actually worth it?
Because when you really step back and look at it, attending a conference is not a small decision. It’s not just the registration fee. It’s the travel. The hotel. The meals. The time away from patients. The disruption to your team. The mental energy.
This is not a $2,000 decision.
For most people, this is a $5,000 to $10,000 investment… sometimes more.
And yet, what I see over and over again is that people treat conferences almost like a passive experience. You show up. You sit in sessions. You take a few notes. You maybe talk to a couple of people. And then you come home… and within a week or two, it’s like it never happened.
Nothing really changes.
So today, I want to challenge that.
Because conferences can be one of the highest ROI investments you make in your practice, your career, and your network… or they can be one of the biggest missed opportunities.
And the difference is not the conference.
The difference is how you show up.
If you’re going to invest that kind of time and money, it’s worth being intentional. It’s worth designing the experience so that you actually get a return.
And that starts before you even get on the plane.
One of the biggest reasons conferences under deliver is that people don’t go in with a clear goal. They go in with a vague sense of “I should learn something” or “I should network,” but there’s no clarity.
And when everything is a priority, nothing is.
So before you go, I want you to get very simple and very specific. What are the one to three things that would make this conference worth it for you?
Maybe there’s a specific operational problem in your practice that you’ve been trying to solve. Maybe it’s around revenue cycle. Maybe it’s staffing. Maybe it’s workflows. Maybe it’s coding. Whatever it is—name it.
Or maybe your goal is connection. You want to meet other administrators who are dealing with the same challenges. You want to find physicians who are thinking differently. You want to expand your network in a meaningful way.
Or maybe you’re evaluating solutions. You want to explore vendors. You want to understand what’s out there. You want to see what could actually move the needle in your organization.
All of those are valid goals. But pick one to three. Not ten. Because that clarity will shape everything else. It will shape which sessions you attend. It will shape who you talk to. It will shape how you spend your time.
And speaking of sessions, this is another place where a little intention goes a long way. There’s a tendency to try to pack the schedule. To go from session to session to session because you feel like you should get your money’s worth. But the reality is, more is not better.
In fact, trying to attend everything often leads to cognitive overload. You hear a lot of information, but very little of it sticks. And by the end of the day, you’re tired, you’re full, and you can’t really remember what you learned.
So instead of trying to do everything, be selective. Choose the sessions that are most aligned with your goals. Choose the speakers who you really want to hear from. And give yourself some space.
Because some of the most valuable moments at a conference don’t happen in the sessions. They happen in the hallway.
They happen in between sessions. They happen at coffee. They happen when you sit down next to someone and just start talking.
Those are the moments where real connection happens. Where you hear how someone else solved a problem. Where you realize you’re not the only one dealing with something. Where ideas start to form that are actually applicable to your world.
And this is also where I want to encourage you to be proactive before the conference even starts.
Think about who you want to meet.
Are there speakers whose work you admire? Are there colleagues you’ve connected with online but never met in person? Are there people in your network who you know are going to be there?
Reach out ahead of time.
A simple message – “Hey, I’m going to be at the conference. I’d love to connect if you have a few minutes”- goes a long way.
And also, look for us. If you see us there, come say hello. These conferences are one of the best opportunities to turn virtual connections into real relationships. And the more you lean into that, the more value you’ll get.
Once you’re actually at the conference, the biggest shift you can make is from passive to active.
Instead of just listening, start asking yourself, “How does this apply to my practice?”
Instead of just taking notes, ask, “What is the one thing I could actually do with this?”
You don’t need twenty takeaways from a session. You need one.
One idea that you can bring back and implement. One insight that changes how you think about something. One connection that opens a door. That’s where the ROI comes from.
And when it comes to networking, I want to simplify this, because I know for a lot of people, this is the part that feels uncomfortable. You don’t have to work the room. You don’t have to be the most outgoing person there. You don’t have to collect a stack of business cards. You just have to have a few real conversations.
It can be as simple as turning to the person next to you and saying, “What brought you to this session?” Or “What are you hoping to get out of the conference?” People are there for a reason. They’re thinking about their practices, their challenges, their goals. And most people are actually very open to having a conversation. So focus on curiosity.
Ask questions. Listen. Share a little bit about what you’re working on. And if you have three to five meaningful conversations over the course of a conference, that can be more valuable than anything you hear on stage.
Now, let’s talk about something that often gets overlooked, which is everything that happens around the conference. The agenda is important. The sessions are important. But the edges of the conference—the dinners, the receptions, the informal meetups—that’s where a lot of the real value lives. Those are the environments where people are more relaxed. Where conversations go deeper. Where relationships start to form.
So if there are events surrounding the conference, consider going. Even if it’s just one. Even if you only stay for an hour. Because again, this is where connection happens.
And if you know people who are attending, reach out and make a plan. “Let’s grab coffee.” “Let’s meet for dinner.” “Let’s connect between sessions.” Be intentional about it.
Another area where I see people miss opportunity is the exhibit hall. There’s a tendency to either avoid it entirely or to walk through it quickly without really engaging. But the exhibit hall is actually a really valuable part of the conference. It’s market research. It’s exposure to what’s new. What’s evolving. What’s possible. And even if you’re not actively looking to buy something, it’s an opportunity to learn.
But the key is to approach it strategically. Instead of just collecting brochures or doing quick demos, ask better questions. Ask, “What type of practices benefit most from this?” Ask, “Where does this not work well?” Ask, “What does implementation actually look like?”
Because the goal is not to be sold to. The goal is to understand.
Now, I want to pause for a moment and talk specifically to the introverts listening, because this environment can be a lot. Conferences are high-energy. There’s a lot of noise. A lot of people. A lot of interaction. And it can be exhausting and draining.
So here’s the reframe. You don’t have to be “on” all the time. You just have to be intentional with your energy. Give yourself permission to take breaks. Step outside. Go for a walk. Have a quiet meal by yourself if you need to reset. Set small, realistic goals. Maybe it’s, “I’m going to have three meaningful conversations today.” Not thirty. Three.
And redefine networking. It’s not about volume. It’s about depth. It’s about connecting with a few people in a real way. And that is absolutely doable, even if you’re not naturally outgoing.
Now let’s talk about what happens after the conference, because this is where most of the ROI is either realized… or lost. The reality is, most people forget the majority of what they learned within days. So if you don’t have a system to capture and retain what you’ve gained, it fades quickly. A simple approach is to take a few minutes at the end of each day of the conference and write down your top three insights.
Not everything. Just the top three. And then identify one action that you might take based on those insights. That’s it. Keep it simple.
Then, when you get back, give yourself a short window—ideally within 72 hours—to review your notes. Look at those insights again. Ask yourself, “What actually matters here? What is worth acting on?” And then pick one to three things. Not ten. One to three. And bring those back to your team. Share what you learned. Share why it matters. Share what you’re thinking about doing differently.
But also be clear about what you’re not doing. Because one of the fastest ways to overwhelm a team is to come back from a conference with a long list of ideas and try to implement everything at once. That’s not how change happens. Change happens through focus. Through testing one idea. Piloting one change. Seeing what works. Adjusting. And over time, those small changes add up.
That’s where the ROI comes from. Not from attendance. From implementation. So when you think about whether a conference was worth it, don’t just ask, “Did I enjoy it?” or “Did I learn something?” Ask, “Did I do something differently because of it?” “Did I solve a problem?” “Did I make a connection that matters?” “Did I avoid a mistake because of something I learned?”
Because sometimes the ROI is not immediate. Sometimes it’s something you implement months later. Sometimes it’s a relationship that turns into an opportunity down the line. But there should be a through line. There should be a connection between the investment you made and the outcomes you see over time. And when you approach conferences this way—as leverage points, as intentional investments—you start to see them differently. They’re not just events. They’re opportunities to compress learning, exposure, and connection into a very short period of time.
And that’s powerful. But only if you use it that way.
So as you head into conference season, take a few minutes and decide what success looks like for you. Be selective about how you spend your time. Be present in the moments that matter. Look for the people you already know—and be open to meeting new ones.
Look for us too—we love those in-person conversations that start with, “I’ve been listening,” and turn into something much more meaningful. And most importantly, follow through. Because that’s where everything changes.
Until next time…