IPMA 2007: Beyond the Numbers
When I attended my first IPMA conference in 1995, more than 650 people packed the Nashville convention center—and I knew none of them.
Having just returned from my 13th conference, I can tell you that a few things have changed. For one thing, I know a lot more people now. That’s a little misleading, though, because with about 100 in attendance this year, the task was a lot easier.
Yes, that was quite a drop in numbers from the pre-Internet glory days, when conferences and chapter meetings were the only ways managers could find one another, chew the fat and get advice.
The lower head count certainly didn’t diminish the experience of those who took part this year, though; spirited discussions filled the air between sessions and during breaks as managers compared equipment and problems. The whole affair had a more intimate feel than the larger gatherings of yore, when a newcomer could feel lost in a sea of faces.
Still, many of us “old timers” (ugh, did I just say that?) pined for the crowds of the past, as if the numbers alone made the industry appear stronger.
The decrease in attendance, though, is not simply a reflection of the decline in overall in-plants; many past attendees are still as busy as ever. But that’s the problem, too; they feel they’re too busy to get away.
I think this increasing reluctance to leave the office is part of an overall trend among Americans. The importance of education is overshadowed by the concern that “the shop can’t run without me” (or that “my boss may realize it can run without me”).
This inability to leave work behind is also responsible for the fact that Americans take fewer vacation days than workers in any other industrialized country (we also get fewer, but that’s another story). Most of us end the year with vacation time to spare. And taking a full week off to travel somewhere (sans laptop)? Forget it.
So conference attendance may be down this year, but believe me, in-plants are still busy and still strong. My hope is that next year more of them will acknowledge the benefits of leaving the office for just a couple days so they can learn from their fellow managers, and then go back and make their in-plants even better.
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- Places:
- Nashville
Bob has served as editor of In-plant Impressions since October of 1994. Prior to that he served for three years as managing editor of Printing Impressions, a commercial printing publication. Mr. Neubauer is very active in the U.S. in-plant industry. He attends all the major in-plant conferences and has visited more than 180 in-plant operations around the world. He has given presentations to numerous in-plant groups in the U.S., Canada and Australia, including the Association of College and University Printers and the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association. He also coordinates the annual In-Print contest, co-sponsored by IPMA and In-plant Impressions.
