I’m having a great time at #CIPD13 and I’m getting lots of value from the sessions, the exhibition, and the networking. Whilst there are some new discoveries, I am reminded that the majority of the things we’re talking about are not new. That isn’t a criticism in any way at all because, despite knowing a lot about how to make this work, the reality is that many organisations aren’t where they need to be. We do need to key an eye on the new, emerging discoveries but I believe we need to focus a lot of our efforts on helping people implement what we already (collectively) know.

So, what do I want to see at #CIPD14?

I want to see some new emerging thinking and I want to see it coming from the CIPD. I’d love to hear more about what is emerging from CIPD research and it would give great opportunities to see more of the talent at CIPD and in the CIPD branches.

I’d love to have a much deeper dive into case studies. I think that the war stories from the trenches of success are invaluable in helping us all to raise our game. Case studies are really helpful but they can often comprise the business challenge, the successes, then the business outcome. I’d love to see that covered off in the first 15 minutes and then I’d love to hear about the battles, the war stories, and the failures. I’d love to learn from the case studies of cancelled and failed projects. It takes a bit of bravery to do this, but I really believe that this is where we will learn the most.

I’m loving #CIPD13 and I’m already looking forward to #CIPD14 and hoping that we can raise the bar even further.