Future of Field Service provides leaders across industries, and spanning geographies, both information and inspiration on how to differentiate their businesses through service and lead through change. The weekly articles and podcasts are focused on sharing the voice of the industry to share how service leaders are tackling today’s trends, challenges, and opportunities. This Spring, Future of Field Service went beyond the realm of digital content and out into the world with its first-ever global Live Tour.
The Live Tour sessions, which took place in Paris, London, Frankfurt, Stockholm, and Austin, Texas, featured a curated set of service leaders and guest speakers to come and share their stories in interview format. We focused less on PowerPoints and more on discussion, giving attendees an opportunity to really engage and interact. Every city was unique and special in its own way, and the feedback we received from those who participated in the events was overwhelmingly positive.
I’ve spent almost 15 years in this space and in that time have become very adept at having meaningful conversations remotely and creating content that I believe helps the industry feel connected to one another from afar. That said, there is absolutely nothing like coming together face-to-face to share experiences, brainstorm ideas, and build collective knowledge. While we’ll be sharing a variety of content from the events at Future of Field Service and would love for you to follow along, what I want to focus on here is sharing my own top lessons learned:
- In service, there are many common bonds. It’s so interesting to see, from city to city, leaders come together from companies in different industries, of different sizes, and from different functions and have so much in common. You can actually see the relief when shared challenges arise in conversation from a leader who has most certainly wondered if they are the only one facing that particular issue (they’re not!). You witness lightbulb moments of organizations learning something new or thinking of something differently that they can take home and put to work. And you can literally feel the energy increase and the inspiration that comes from being surrounded by others that really get it. Yes, every business is different – but when it comes to service transformation, there’s so much that is universal when it comes to the potential, the opportunities, and the challenges.
- There’s no rule book for service success. While there are many common bonds, that doesn’t mean that everyone is doing things the same way – or that they need to be. In service, there’s no rule book for success. There are considerations and best practices and lessons learned, but there’s no one way to transform and seize the potential of service. That’s one reason that events like these are so powerful, because each individual leader often gets caught up in their own day-to-day. A day away from their typical surroundings and the experience of hearing a different perspective on their objective or roadblock is all it takes to send them on to their next wave of accomplishment.
- There’s incredible power in community. To see Future of Field Service evolve from a content platform to a basis for community with these events has been such a fulfilling experience. I’ve had so many of the speakers and attendees reach out to me to thank me for the day and share how much it had an impact on them, and I can’t tell you what that means to me. We are all human and humans need connection. The work of service transformation can be very hard at times and feeling the camaraderie of a room full of peers who understand your challenges in a very personal way is comforting and empowering. Not to mention, in a room full of diverse participants having discussions on the common themes of service, you see a wealth of knowledge from each mind shared in a way that can positively impact the others in the room. It’s a reciprocal experience that everyone benefits from and reinforces the power of community.
Stay tuned for information on what the 2023 Future of Field Service Live Tour will look like, and in the meantime be sure to join all of IFS at Unleashed in Miami this October!
