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 I have great interest in attending the London conference with one of my directs and have been in contact with Dani about this.

She is unable to say if Mark will be leading the conference although this is considered likely. Apparently it is never announced in advance who will be at the conference.

Without wishing to diminish whomever would replace Mark I think that it is clear that those of us who have followed this site for years (I have been a member over 3 years) would find it to be a substantial difference if the conference was led by someone else. This is a result of our respect and admiration earned by Mark over this time and not a negative reflection on other members of the Manager Tools staff. In other words, Mark cannot be cloned :)).

Am I alone in thinking this way? Is there any experience out there from participants in conferences where they were led by others?

Thanks in advance for any comments!

 

 

maura's picture
Training Badge

I attended an EMC conference led by someone else and it was fabulous.  While I did go into it thinking it would be cool to meet Mark and Mike face to face and have that interaction, the presenter did a great job, knew the stuff inside and out, and kept the energy up throughout the day.  The real value in these conferences is the hands on practice you get, and you will get it even if Mark or Mike aren't in attendance.  Go, it's worth it. 

naraa's picture
Training Badge

 I attended the Toronto Conference in June last year.  Mark and Dani did the conference.  Having been a MT follower for years, I was very please to meet Mark and to put a face to a voice.  In terms of content and presentation Dani did a fabulous job and I would have learned just the same and felt my trip from Santiago to Toronto was worthy even if I hadn´t met Mark and it had been just Dani.   The main skill I learned at the conference was that the tools I already knew from listening to MT for many years became more automatic and straight forward to implement once I was back at work.  The Q&A during breaks and at the end of the conference is also very valuable.  There were management and career issues going around in circles in my head, and by talking to them, the path of action became clear and straightforward.  The back and forth arguments in my head ceased.  

Nara

stenya's picture
Licensee BadgeTraining Badge

Butrico, I had a similar feeling when I walked into the conference last February and saw Dani's smiling face: "Oh... I thought Mark would be here. Huh." I've been a listener since 2007 and kind of felt like I was "owed" an appearance by The Big Guy. :-) 

Let me tell you, though - it doesn't matter whether Mark or Dani is standing at the front of the room. Two reasons: one, the agenda and content is rock solid, and two, Mark & Mike chose and trained that presenter! Throughout my day at the EMC, it was absolutely clear that Dani is "speaking with Mark's mouth." She knows the material inside and out, she's used the tools with great success as an executive, and she's more than qualified to represent Manager Tools. I have no doubt that any new presenters will have the same enthusiasm and commitment, too. Please don't talk yourself out of attending the EMC because you don't know who'll be standing in front of the room - it's an amazing day. I agree with Nara & Maura that the practice and interaction with other managers was just invaluable.

To me, the truth is this: for Manager Tools to expand and reach as many people as possible, Mark can't be the only presenter. It's just too limiting. It's not just that he "can't be cloned," he doesn't NEED to be cloned. What he needs to do is develop an amazing team of presenters with real-world, hands-on manager experience with the Trinity, who can stand in front of a group of jaded or skeptical managers and confidently speak for the company and brand that he and Mike have built. That's effective management right there, isn't it? What better testament to MT principles than to have someone ELSE be the public face of your brand?

Hope that helps. You should go ahead and sign up. :-) 

Best,

Chris

Butrico's picture

Thanks to all for the very helpful comments.

Please do not misunderstand, I am as much of a Manager Tools booster as any of you and I will probably attend the conference. However, I have been both a participant and a speaker at dozens and dozens of professional conferences organized by leading organizations of great prestige and not one has simply handed out an agenda and basically said trust us on the speakers. It is normal practice to indicate who the speaker is, her current position as well as a brief biography including past experience.

I understand that Mark cannot be at all conferences and that it is difficult to commit in advance to a future date as things come up, but, on the other hand, we are asked to pay for this event in advance so an advance commitment to a conference leader would seem to be fair.

As I stated, I will more than likely attend the conference with one of my directs, but if I were the management of Manager Tools I would give some thought to the future organization of conferences.

Best regards to all,

J.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DaniMartin's picture
Licensee Badge

Butrico -- Thank you so much for your comments. I apologize for giving you the impression that we never announce who the presenter is. We don't indicate the presenter on our conference registration materials, however, I regularly answer emails from folks asking who will be the presenter at a specific conference. In the case of our upcoming conference in London, I was unable to tell you for certain because Mark and I had not yet determined the schedule for 2014 due to internal business operations. We completed the schedule last Friday and Mark is indeed scheduled to deliver in London.

All our conferences are delivered by either Mark or myself. I have been responsible for the majority of conferences for the past 18 months. Hopefully additional presenters will be added as we continue to grow and reach more managers! :-)

Thank you again for your input. I'll certainly share your thoughts with Mark and Mike.

Best,
Dani

Dani Martin's picture
Licensee Badge

I also meant to say thank you to Maura, Nara and Chris for sharing your experience. To know that you found value in my work is so meaningful and special. It's a privilege to serve and an honor to know you.

Gratefully,
Dani

Butrico's picture

 Dani,

No reason to apologize, you have always been helpful so thanks for the patience and I very much look forward to attending the London conference with at least one of my directs! Will share the experience on the forum afterwards as well.

Best regards,

J.

 

 

 

 

amanchauhan's picture

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I had a similar feeling when I went for the conference last year & this was a bang experience. Every time you visit such conference, gives you a new experience to learn better. I took my time & resolve the quarries relates to management and career issues. I got great results.   

viveks's picture
Training Badge

I attended the feb 2nd and 3rd conference in san diego. Like others I expected to meet the legendary management ;M&M ;( Mark and Mike ) . But was surprised to see Dani and Sara ( trainee ) . I was infact sort of well ..thats a ..lets see how it goes ..mentality . But trust me by 9 am ( 1 hour past ...) I was like WOW !! they rocked . Dani did a fantastic job and I assure you may miss M&Ms voice but definitely not the content and knowledge . The trainers are definitely trained by Mark and it shows in the quality of content and delivery ..so dont worry about who trains but just focus on what and how they train in which case you wont be disappointed. Nice Job Dani . Being a high S myself ..went into work and told my boss ..hey boss start monitoring me ( he said monitor you !!) and tell me if there is a difference in my managerial approach . he was like in mikes words " is this guy smoking crack "? !!! in a positive way ) ..so here i am after the conference putting myself up for challenge to increase my I quotient ..which is what i want.
Also In future there should be a refresher conference ( business idea ..manager tools ) catering to previous conference attendees to remind and refresh if they are staying on course of the techniques that were learnt in both manager and communication conference ...just my 2 cents idea

mauzenne's picture
Admin Role Badge

Thanks for sharing your experience ... Dani and Sarah are top notch and Mark and I are extremely proud of them. Manager Tools is not a cult of personality.

Effective management is achievable by everyone ... And we (and you ;) are fortunate to have such high quality and experienced associates sharing the "how to". :) 

Mike

A proud member of the MT team