Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1098973
26 SMT007 MAGAZINE I APRIL 2019 As a more experienced person, sometimes, you give guidance; other times, you have to learn to shut your mouth and let the young professionals work through the challenges, which is an exciting metamorphosis. We've watched many young professionals grow considerably over the past few years. They take the leadership on very well and seriously; it's fun. We do one new thing every year. If you understand IEEE conferences, and almost any conference, you have to build a surplus in it. Last year, they built in the surplus, but forgot to include the complimentary registration fee for the speakers. If you're comping attendance, there's a cost, and you have to build that cost into your budget development process because it's going to drive ultimately what you have to charge for the registration fee. This year, they have accounted for that and are on track for a higher profit. Johnson: There are multiple layers of oppor- tunity to mentor, teach, and bring somebody new into something that gives them a very capable job skill, such as project management. Andrews: Absolutely, and the little things make all the difference. There are huge screens in the big room. But if you had been here early yester- day morning, you would have seen a 12x14-foot screen in there, which is the same size as the other breakout rooms. When I walked into the room with the young professionals, they said, "Those screens are small." I responded, "Well, we made the decision to cut back because you were saving a few hundred dollars, but you forgot the audience experience." It was an uh-oh moment, so we went back to the big screens almost immediately. Again, it's one of those teachable moments that we, as teachers and mentors, love the opportunity to be able to do. It's all about creating the opportunity to grow their leadership capabilities and aspirations. Johnson: I used to talk to my kids about how a situation was an opportunity to fail safely. Do this to succeed, but if you fail, it's going to be safe as opposed to having it be a project that is on the profit and loss statement for your employer. That's awesome. I get the sense that some of the other IEEE Regions are studying this conference and determining how they can bring into their territory. Andrews: Yes, because this conference has been successful; we've had to work at it, and it isn't an easy thing to do. It's like any other great conference; we have weekly meetings and teleconferences that start in February. They took a few holidays off, but we have processes that we're happy to share. This conference is repeatable and valuable. And we'll never forget the lessons learned after organizing the first conference. We had two parallel tracks with some keynote speakers, but overall, we had about 42 speakers, so it was busy. It kept us working, but we launched it, and it gave us some confidence to make it happen. What's important now is growth. More and more attendees are figuring out ways to fund Industry executives take an active role in mentoring students throughout the conference.