Following on from last week’s Nudge Festival (18th October 2019), my weekly Samphire Club newsletter focused on the vision of the man behind the festival, Like Minds’ founder and event curator, Drew Ellis.
In a networking landscape where we see events come and go, how do you start with one event in Devon in 2009, translate the thinking behind it to make it relevant to diverse global audiences (Like Minds has run events in London, Helsinki, Dubai and New York City) and find yourself celebrating the tenth anniversary in your home city last week?
Talking to Drew, it’s obvious that the impetus behind Like Minds is a strong belief in the power of what can happen when you bring people together to share, not sell. Getting away from the idea of this being a conference and instead, calling it a festival, further reflects Like Minds’ values of promoting curiosity and personal development. It’s where competition is set aside in favour of learning from one another and where, unlike my school days, we’re encouraged to copy each others’ work!
It’s an ethos so firmly embedded in the festival DNA that first-time speaker, Adah Parris commented that she found it:
“one of the most exciting events she’d ever spoken at because it managed to accommodate an astounding diversity of people, perspectives and experience, yet have a synergy running through it.”
Audience member, Sarah Hughes summed it up beautifully as having,
“the fab three: inspiring, educational, fun.” – Sarah Hughes
We can all, in our own careers, draw on the point Drew has made of constantly evolving the offering. Living proof of some of the content of this year’s keynotes (particularly on developing creativity and creating your own luck), he and his team perform a delicate balancing act of responding to feedback, capturing the zeitgeist, not being afraid of experimenting and going with their gut-feel.
And the overarching vision of the Nudge Festival is one that’s shared with The Samphire Club, a passion for promoting Devon as a great place to do business, and have a wonderful weekend in beautiful surroundings, after!
With so much learning taken on board and a reading list I’m looking forward to getting stuck into, here are some of my favourite, possibly slightly paraphrased, quotes from Nudge’s keynotes:
Something to remember:
“The illiterate of the 21st Century will not be those that cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.” – Daniele Fiandaca
Something to worry about (but only so you can do something about it):
“The world is going to become our browser. We will become the cursor.” – Manoj Saxema as quoted in Suki Fuller’s keynote
Something to think about:
“All of us are trying to bridge the gap between our external story, the way we project ourselves and our internal behaviour, who we really are.” – Adah Parris
The Samphire Club is a private members’ club that offers business owners and professionals valuable networking opportunities through a programme of events, introductions and strategic business development support. It covers the whole of the South West region, from Bath to Truro, and beyond.
