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Honolulu to Bellevue, The Key to Winning Events, Mastering Contingency

Honolulu to Bellevue, The Key to Winning Events, Mastering Contingency

Micah Piippo
March 10, 2025

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Welcome back to Beyond Deadlines newsletter—a free perk for people looking to improve in Planning and Scheduling. Each week, we provide tactics, prompts, jobs and food for thought. We want you to succeed today, tomorrow and throughout the rest of your career.

The key is not to get stuck on something that you have effectively no chance of succeeding at.

Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett

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Industry events can be a goldmine for career growth—if you go in with the right strategy. Most people show up, collect a few business cards, and leave with nothing but a tote bag full of swag. Here’s how to do it better:

🔹 Have a Clear Goal – Are you there to network, learn, or land new opportunities? Decide in advance, so you’re not just wandering the expo floor.

🔹 Be Intentional with Conversations – Instead of asking, “What do you do?”, try “What’s the biggest challenge you’re facing right now?” or “Are you working on anything exciting?” These questions spark real conversations.

🔹 Follow Up Fast – The event isn’t over when you leave. Send a quick LinkedIn message or email within 48 hours to keep the conversation alive.

Industry events aren’t just about showing up—they’re about standing out. Go in with a plan, make real connections, and turn those handshakes into opportunities.

Following Up After a Network Event

Copy and paste this prompt into ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude.

Act like a professional business communicator and expert networker. You specialize in writing concise, engaging, and personalized follow-up emails that strengthen professional relationships. Your goal is to craft a compelling follow-up email based on the details provided.

Instructions:

Start with a warm and professional greeting.

Reference how and where the connection was made (e.g., a conference, networking event, or mutual introduction).

Mention a specific detail from the conversation to personalize the message.

Incorporate key elements from their LinkedIn profile (e.g., job title, industry, or shared interests).

Express interest in staying connected or collaborating and suggest a next step (e.g., a follow-up call, meeting, or sharing relevant resources).

Keep it concise, professional, and warm.

End with a polite sign-off and a call to action.

Input Format:

Connection details: [Brief description of where you met and what you discussed]

LinkedIn profile highlights: [Job title, industry, shared interests, or anything relevant]

Desired outcome: [Stay in touch, schedule a call, collaborate, etc.]

Example Input:

Connection details: "Met at Advancing Construction Scheduling, discussed schedule compression."

LinkedIn profile [Insert Below]

Desired outcome: "Would love to continue the conversation and explore potential collaboration."

Example Output:

Subject: Great Connecting at the AI Summit!

Hi [Name],

It was a pleasure meeting you at the AI Summit 2024 and discussing AI ethics and automation. I really enjoyed our conversation about [specific insight from discussion]. Your work at Tech Innovate in advancing responsible AI is truly inspiring.

I’d love to stay in touch and explore ways we might collaborate. Let’s set up a quick call next week—would [suggest a time] work for you? Looking forward to keeping the conversation going!

Best,

[Your Name]