3 Reasons why small can actually be bigger

I attended a CEO conference this week.  Only 25 people attended.  Only 25 were invited.  It was a “closed door” conference in the form of a series of dialogues around issues that are pertinent to the CEO’s of Christian ministries. The smallness of this conference was immensely beneficial and turned out to be much bigger in impact than most large conferences I have attended.  Here are reasons why you should consider peer input in a small group setting.

Attending large conferences with hundreds or thousands of delegates has a certain buzz about it.  Large conferences attract well-known speakers so you get to hear good communicators impart great messages – most of the time.As good as large conferences can be, the immense value of small conferences should not be under-estimated.  Here are 3 reasons why:

• You learn from great leaders in an intimate, one-on-one way. With Jesus and his disciples, there was the teaching of the crowd and then there was the in-depth explanation of the teaching to his disciples.  At the CEO conference I attended there were some amazing leaders, some with very large ministries, some with mid-size ministries.  One leader was 80 years old, strong, vital and wondering whether he should start thinking of succession management.  It was awesome listing and learning from those who have gone before me.
• You discover what you know and what you don’t.  There were CEO’s with more and some with less experience than me.  During our dialogues I found it fascinating to discover how much I actually know.  I was able to hold my own and give intelligent input.  I was also able to discover some things I didn’t know and in a safe environment ask questions and learn.
• You get to give input to those who are coming behind.  Attending the conference were some who were fairly new at the job of CEO leadership.   Along with the rest of my peers, I was able to give encouragement, share good ideas and give strategic input.

The organizers of this CEO conference did an outstanding job of putting people with healthy ministries, all at different places in their growth, in the same room and then letting them loose to talk.  This small conference has made a very big impact on me.  I highly recommend you find a similar small group of peers.  It may be a parenting group, a group of artists, a professional group, a marriage group or any kind of group in an area where you want to learn.  The benefit of small conferences can be much bigger than you may think.Where there is no guidance the people fall, But in abundance of counselors there is victory. Proverbs 14:11