I’m in San Francisco meeting people all week.
There’s no agenda for any of these meetings.
I do this about 2 to 3 times a year. I book a flight, stay in a hotel, and meet as many interesting people in our community as possible. It’s not cheap, but the results are invaluable.
Every single meeting yields something valuable; a future blog post, a resource idea, a feature idea, a connection to make with another member. At the very least, they confirm or refute ideas we’ve held about community building.
The idea from my last book, the training courses we create, the events we’ve hosted, and many potential clients, have all come from in-person meetings with no agenda.
I’m surprised organizations investing hundreds of thousands of dollars per year in a community don’t invest just $2k more to have their staff meet their members on their own turf.
Try it, you might be surprised a) just how many members are happy to meet and b) the incredible information they give you. 3 to 5 meetings a day really adds up.