A Different NAB than I had Planned
Andy Beach
Tradeshow setup....I'm happy to say I don't have to do anything this year....
It's April and so I of course find myself in Las Vegas yet again. For those not in my line of work, there is an annual tradeshow known as NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) that occurs every April. I have been attending this show now for 15 years (though this is not my 15th show, I missed a few years here and there) and I would say its like a High School reunion, but frankly I know these people way better than most the folks I went to school with. Jobs may change, but the faces tend to stay the same. In fact, changing jobs might as well be the theme of this NAB, especially for me.
As you I wrote about last week, I recently left my role at SeaWell Networks. I already had this trip planned with them, but 10 days ago,my schedule freed up quite a bit. It absolutely made sense to attend asI'm meeting with several people I would have spent weeks tracking down for meetings otherwise, but not having booth duty or some greater responsibility to answer for is almost unnerving. The last time I attended this show with so little agenda was 1998 I think when I went to help represent the college I was working for (and had graduated from two years before that). I really just needed to drop by a set of booths and verify that we were in fact ordering the right cameras, lighting kits, etc for my film department. That left me 3 days of free time to wander unheeded.
more setup I thankfully don't have to do....
And this week is not dissimilar to that. I mean, sure, I need to decide what I'm going to be doing soon and the meetings I have lined up here are important to that end. But those meetings add up to a sum total of about 10 hours over the five days I'm here. When I'm not in those meetings, I get to actually go to peoples booths and look at the technologies that until last week were either considered my competitor or tangential to my work. It's a unique position to have so little agenda and yet be here at the epicenter of the industry for a whole week.
Hey Look! My book is still in the NAB store - my royalty check thanks you!
I'm definitely trying to make the most of it - despite having no plans, I did still have an exhibitor badge, so i cruised the unopened show floor today and said hi to all my friends before they are in pitch mode. It was great to catch with them too as it helps me answer that question of "What's next?" thats hanging around me. What do I really want to do? I feel like at this point its very important to figure that out before i tackle the where i work question - too often I've wound up in companies that either aren't really the job i thought i was taking or have shifted strategies so dramatically that my talents are helpful. So this one has to be right - it won't be a decision made quickly. And in the meantime, I get to say hi to all my friends, hear their ideas about what i should be doing and let them buy the drinks, since I'm currently in between expense budgets. :-)
