A strange way to open a blog, but that was the resounding feeling I had when our annual conference closed off for the year.
It never ceases to amaze me how many people we get on these things—and at all times of the day! The day before we started, I flew back from a week in Barbados, grumbling about the 4-hour time difference and subsequent lack of sleep. Two hours into the day, I was hosting my first session—joined by plenty of fellow Europeans and a smattering of half-awake New Zealanders, Americans, and Australians too! That quickly put my grumbling into perspective…
And it’s why I want to say thank you.
The fact that we have so many people willing to join the conference outside of working hours is a reminder of what a great community we have at TAB. It was lovely to see so many smiling faces at every hour of the day. And frankly – as I regularly am – I was blown away by the level of support everyone showed.
The team in India deserve a shout-out here for participating and presenting at some “unusual” hours. The best bit about the different time zones for me is spotting the difference in what people drink. We had cups of tea and glasses of wine on the same calls. And a few people dialling in in their pyjamas, too!
This sense of camaraderie helped to tie in nicely to the theme of the conference – looking forward to a positive year.
There was plenty of conversation about encouraging a growth mindset.
I’ve spoken about this a lot in other blogs, and for me, it’s one of the most important elements for progression and development. As business leaders, we need to look ahead to the next quarter constantly, the next year, and the next milestone. And we need to be looking ahead positively.
This feeling was really echoed throughout the TAB community. We’ve had some tough years in business since COVID-19, but 2024 already feels like it has the potential to be a much better year.
So, let’s recap a few of the things we discussed:
First – our community is growing. I can’t wait to see so many of the new faces in person in Denver later this year. But having a virtual conference really makes me appreciate how many people are now a part of TAB.
We’ve now got over 400 facilitators in a community where everyone feels like a friend. I know I’m likely to be biased, but it’s got to be one of the best business networks across the globe. Another reason to say thank you, I guess.
Secondly, 2024 is going to be a better one. Staggering advancements are happening in technology at the moment. We’ve started talking about AI a lot, and I know that’s going to remain a hot topic for the next twelve months, too. Despite the recent news about us dipping into a recession in the UK at the end of 2023, the economy is clearly in better shape than it was this time 12 months ago, with more stability and expectations of interest rates falling from the summer onwards. All this provides businesses with an opportunity to improve and thrive this year.
And finally, the best takeaway from the 48 hours of global collaboration was that we need to make the same thing come true for our international network of members. Business owners worldwide deserve to be plugged into other similarly forward-thinking business owners in other countries. It’s up to us to make it happen!