Hello everyone, here’s a quick update on what’s coming up in the autumn including a number of seminars and speaking engagements you may be interested in, plus news of how the consultancy is developing.
- Marketing and Business Development in the Digital Era – 28 September
- BE2CampOxon – 10 October
- Workplace Trends Conference – 18 October
- Speaking at Digital Construction Week – 19 October
- Social Media Engagement with Construction
- Consultancy News
Marketing and Business Development in the Digital Era
28 September 2017 2-7pm BOOK HERE
I’ve been invited to participate in a seminar this September which will be of particular interest to professionals who want to learn about modern ways to grow their business.
The seminar is called Business Growth: Marketing and Business Development in the Digital Era and features five speakers from across a range of professions with a variety of specialist expertise.
- Mike Ames of Flair Business Growth Consultancy, a successful IT business owner,
- Stuart Wilks, former director at Hill International, one of the world’s largest construction consultancies,
- Sarah Richardson, Editor of Building Magazine, the UK’s leading magazine for construction professionals,
- David Wright, data specialist for Barristers and Chambers,
- And me, with my background in Architecture and communications.
We’ll be looking at
- How to guarantee consistent revenue growth in your company and turn clients into advocates;
- Why seminars are so important to professional services businesses and how to organise your own successful events;
- How to take a strategic approach to social media both as a business and as an individual, and
- How to develop a thought leadership relationship with the traditional media outlets.
There will also be a panel discussion with plenty of time for questions, with drinks and networking afterwards.
The event will be taking place at the beautiful Brewer’s Hall – home of the Worshipful Company of Brewers, so we’ll be having our conversations in very luxurious surroundings. You can guarantee we’ll be well cared for and have an enjoyable as well as an educational afternoon.
You can find out more by downloading the event pdf or reading my article on LinkedIn
More information and booking details here.
#Be2CampOxon
10 October 2017, 1.30-7pm, Didcot BOOK HERE
Be2camp is for people interested in how the latest web and mobile applications and web design techniques (Web 2.0 – blogs, Twitter, Wikis) can help build a better, more sustainable built environment – planning, design, construction, occupation and management of buildings, services and landscape.
In October 2008 the first Be2camp was held in London. Since then, independently and in partnership with others, we’ve held over 40 further events (sharing literally 100s of presentations) – in Birmingham, Colchester, Dundee, Leeds, Liverpool, London and Manchester – and in 2011 we held the first Be2Awards.
I’ve been going to Be2Camp events either in person or virtually since they began.
This October’s event in Didcot is about Open Data. As an Unconference, everyone who attends can also volunteer to speak. If you’ve got an interest in open data, and especially if you also like cake, you’d be most welcome.
You can see the highlights of the 2016 event here
Workplace Trends Conference
18th October 2017 10-5.30 The British Library
I’ve been live blogging Workplace Trends conferences for six years now and these days I do two a year. This flagship conference aims to highlight the key trends in workplace design and analysis and routinely attracts a dedicated audience of architects and designers along with workplace consultants and other professionals working in office design.
The theme of this year’s autumn conference at The British Library is The Changing Nature of Work. Speakers include:
- Paul Miller of Digital Workplace Group on the ethos of work,
- Jane Miller of GSK about their SmartLab project,
- Brhmie Balaram of the RSA on the Gig Economy,
- Neil Usher of Sky on the Elemental Workplace,
- Tony Grimes of Investec Bank and Farrol Goldblatt of tpbennet on Agile Working and
- An after lunch ‘mock trial’ all about banning home working! How things change…
Click on the link below to find out more. Whilst I’m live blogging there’s nothing like being there and the conference is always oversubscribed. A must if you’re into workplace design.
Digital Construction Week: Why Don’t we Collaborate?
19th October 2017 2.40pm – BIM Village, DCW at Excel, London
As you may be aware I’ve been advising the UK BIM Alliance on their communications – both internal and external. They have invited me to speak at the BIM Village on a topic that is close to their heart and mine – collaboration in construction.
BIM isn’t just about technology, it is about people and communications, and its successful implementation requires cultural change. I’ll be doing an interactive presentation using the ‘butcherboard’ which first appeared at the AEC Hackathon (pictured) before having a starring role in my #SocialBIM videos. We’ll look at our attitudes to collaborative working and try to identify initiatives which can help get both industry and individuals collaborating.
Digital Construction Week is moving to the Excel in London this year and there will be six separate stages with dozens of speakers. Come to my talk for something a bit different. I also promise not to wear a suit!
Social Media Engagement Within Construction
28th October 2017 2pm-4.30pm, Saint-Gobain Multi Comfort Visitor Centre, London
I’ll be chairing this event which is being run by CIMCIG, the Chartered Institute of Marketing’s Construction Industry Group.
I’ll be giving a short presentation on the role of social media in construction and then we have the following speakers:
- Angelo Morella of Linkedin to talk about the LinkedIn Construction Network,
- Paul Fryer of Kier on the Construction Blogger,
- Anna Hearn of Ridgemount PR on a CMA award winning project, and
- Chris Ashworth of Competitive Advantage will present their latest research on the use of social media by construction professionals.
Consultancy News
No business ever stays still – and Just Practising Limited is no exception. As the business matures I’m working with smaller numbers of clients in a more focused and ongoing way to help them find their way through the digital landscape.
Training: At the end of June I bade farewell to the Building Centre and have stopped ticketed events for the time being, as the consultancy focuses its training activities more to in-house, team based learning, and carries out more in house strategic work.
BIM: Whilst I’m still involved on the periphery of BIM4M2, BIM4SME and Women in BIM, I’ve stepped back from those organisations a little, to give more of my time to support the UK BIM Alliance in their work since the spring. I’m now serving as a non-executive, advising on communications strategy both internal and external.
Live Blogging has established itself as an interesting aspect of our work and I have residency as live blogger for Workplace Trends and COMIT conferences, and routinely blog for the Single Ply Roofing Association and FIS as well as one-off events for clients.
Chairing Events: I’m increasingly asked to chair events, and earlier this year chaired one auditorium of the IET/BRE BIM Prospects Conference. I’m looking for more opportunities to act as chair and facilitator.
Consultancy Advice: The major part of my work is increasingly internal consultancy, advising companies on their digital strategy at a director or senior level, mostly on an ongoing basis.
- Helping companies understand how to sell to Architects
- Putting together virtual digital teams to work with or even wholly replace agencies
- Advising on crisis management, HR issues and internal communications
- Organising effective content marketing strategies and execution from market research and persona profiling, to writing high quality targeted copy.
The website is gradually evolving to reflect the changes in the consultancy. If you’d like to know more about what we do and how we can help your digital strategy, do get in touch.
Image Credits: Ross Vernal and Pantone Mugs by ardenswayoflife (creative commons)
[…] I mentioned in my newsletter in the summer, the type of work that Just Practising carries out is changing. As the business matures I’m […]