Why I’m going to #AIAcon16 – and why you should too

In my interactions over the last month on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram I’ve witnessed both people really excited to go to #AIAcon16 and people very unenthusiastic borderline anti-AIA about this year’s convention. I have one word for both camps: Go.

I’m reading Start with why right now and just came across this passage that Simon Sinek referenced from Dr Seuss:

The point he makes is that it’s important for brands to know and live into their why because it helps people recognize a potential similarity in lifestyle and then want to invest in your brand. The quote that stuck out to me:

“Like the sneetches, we want to be around people and organizations who are like us and share our beliefs”

This is what #AIAcon16 is for me. And AIA Conventions of the past only reinforce that. I joined the AIA in Feb of 2014 – so this time two years ago. I was still in the process of licensure and excited to learn more about my profession. I wanted to soak up as much as I could from other awesome architects kicking a$$ in the profession and so…I went to convention in Chicago. It did not disappoint. I got to meet awesome people like Bob, Mark, Marica, Emily, Evelyn, what would become the ArchiTalks crew, etc; put faces to names of people I had been interacting with on Twitter; and learn more about our profession than I had in the last year. I came back to Indy invigorated to help, volunteer, and continue learning and sharing knowledge.

That experience encompasses that quote in Simon’s book for me. At the time I was working for the Department of Homeland Security doing building plan review while I got my feet in the Indianapolis economy. While I learned a great deal that helped towards getting licensed, it did not leave me with a fire wanting to learn more – perhaps if only to make up for some of the lackluster (and sometimes downright horrifying) “architecture” I was reviewing daily…so getting to travel to Chicago and listen to people pushing the edge of design and questioning why we aren’t doing more flamed a fire I always knew was there but didn’t know how to put a name to. I felt at home among like-minded people and ready to take on the world. My recap of it was actually one of my first writings as I waded back into the blogging pool.

When I returned to Indianapolis I took not only those tools, but also those relationships with me. They helped and guided me over the next year as I changed jobs, joined the local AIA board, took on a local YAF chair position, and worked to grow L² as I continued to take my tests towards licensure. When I got licensed (this time last year), I had that group of local and national friends to celebrate with and signed up for #AIAcon15 in Atlanta as soon as I could. This group of friends and mentors fed my fire at every turn and left me wanting more. I wanted to do as much as I could. I wanted to see progress in our profession. I wanted to BE progress.

At #AIAcon15 I still went to a sizable amount of seminars, but admittedly missed a few. When you create that band of brothers in the AIA, you want to hang out with them and keep talking/debating…which sometimes leads to not getting back to the hotel until the wee hours of the morning. Maintaining those relationships for me was more valuable than the 7am session. I also found myself walking the expo floor and chatting more than I was sitting in lunch and learns (without the lunch) from product reps…again it was a priority shift. I had materials to search down or people to see…and being active in my local AIA meant I was already earning 12 of my 18 CEUs on the year without the help of convention. It was about the relationships and the learning. It was about continuing to feed the fire as I worked to find a better professional home for me in Indianapolis.

This year, maintaining those relationships has taken a forefront. I’ve signed up for interesting sessions but don’t feel obliged to sign up for every time slot (wisdom with age?). I’m still looking for the things that feed my fire and I know that doesn’t always happen in a classroom. I want to meet peers and hear what they’re doing to move our profession forward. I want to meet Associates and hear how their test-taking process is going. I want to go have some philly cheese steaks (sans onion please) and beer and catch up with national peers that have quickly become friends. Celebrate their accomplishments. Brainstorm their growth. Share some laughs.

Because that’s what #AIAcon16 is about. Grow, laugh, and meet some friends. We better this profession together.

I’ll see you in May,