You can’t grow in isolation

Tech North came to Sheffield last week for their Summer Showcase — hosted by Sheffield Digital. I’ve not engaged much with Tech North before apart from following them on Twitter, reading a few articles on their website or responding to surveys.

What I saw that night I liked.

I could write about the schemes Tech North are running (there’s plenty on their website) or the great work happening locally (take a look at Sheffield Digital). Instead I want to first write about what happened when I arrived.

The host, Kane Fulton, came over to say hi and introduced himself. After a few minutes of chat I moved on to get my free drink. As more people arrived I saw him do his best to say hi. He made a real effort to provide a warm welcome.

I’ve spoken before about that sinking feeling when you attend one of those workshop/meetup/event things and everyone seems to know everyone and nobody wants to get to know anybody new. I’ve spoken to someone since last week who told me they stopped attending a meetup after a few attempts as they couldn’t break into the cliques that seemed to exist in the room.

Now there’s still a chance that some people may have experienced those feelings that night though Kane was working the room as efficiently as he could and finding out about people (as were lots of others).

Am I writing this to just ask people to be friendly and look out for each other when attending digital or tech events? Or is it about networking and finding out about new opportunities? I am self-employed after all..

It’s more than that. As I’ve done many times before, I’ll quote a couple of Ackoff f-Laws to help me.

An Ackoff f-Law. Replace ‘managers’ with ‘busy tech folk’.

It’s about being open, maintaining that desire to improve, wanting to learn from and with others.

Another Ackoff f-Law. Saying hi to someone can move you outside your box.

It’s about being aware of your own environment, perceptions and assessing things from the perspectives of new people you meet. That’s kind of what ‘digital’ is partly about — isn’t it?

Now I’m sure when Kane said hello to people arriving at the Showcase he wasn’t thinking about all this. But when I see people actively engaging and listening I’m hopeful that my perception will be at least a little right.

So yeah it was an evening with Tech North and, just as importantly, it was an evening about people of the North getting together to share and learn more from each other.

I’ll give the last word to Sam Chapman from The Floow who said during the Q&A, it’s because ‘you can’t grow in isolation’.