Those Left at Home

If things in your organization are anything like things are here at Wireless Review, you're absurdly consumed by preparations for next week's Wireless 1999 show in New Orleans.

Then again, maybe not.

The vendor side of this industry would like to think that your focus is locked on mega-events like the one that CTIA holds each year. Actually, tens of thousands of attendees at the public wireless network industry's troika of trade shows -- CTIA's Wireless, PCIA's Personal Communications Showcase and TIA's Supercomm -- don't prove them wrong. But something is still missing: about half of you.

Last year, we asked our subscribers which industry trade shows -- if any -- they had attended in the previous 12 months. It was no surprise that the two association-sponsored events led the pack. What we least expected was how many of you had not attended any industry trade shows in that time frame. What a shock. If you maneuvered last year's CTIA show floor on the afternoon of the first day, you could believe that the entire universe of wireless carrier employees had traveled to Atlanta -- with friends in tow. The reality is that the majority of employees at any one carrier organization never leave their offices for this kind of field trip.

Wireless service providers employ more than 120,000. Even if 40,000 people show up in New Orleans next week (including exhibitor personnel), at least two-thirds of you -- including professionals who engineer the networks, guarantee customer care and design new products -- will have been left at home for one reason or another. (My phrase is "left at home" because what majority of employees would voluntarily miss an educational opportunity like this?)

So you're the manager of some of these leave-behinds. Do any of these excuses sound familiar?

"There's no way I'm sending my operations staff. Do you know what good engineers are worth in an open market like that?" A perspective: Those same engineers are worth just as much stewing back in their cubicles. And their value is dropping because of the blinders you've slapped on them; now that you've guarded them from recruitment, it's your organization that will suffer for it.

"My CSRs turn over so fast, what's the point of paying for a plane ticket and a registration pass for someone who's headed out the door in a few months?" Another perspective: These are the people on your front lines. Maybe it's time to foster some loyalty toward you and this industry. Trade-show attendance is a compelling reward for your best employees, and it has the added benefit of providing a little education and a lot of excitement about the industry in which they operate.

"Someone needs to stay home and run the network!" A final perspective: That's a tough one to argue with, so rotate attendance. The associations have done us the favor (or not) this year of locating both events in the same city. In 1999, all your employees should be headed to New Orleans, whether it be next week or next September.

As a 12-year veteran of wireless industry trade shows -- and someone who has experienced the cyclical burnout that too many of them can cause -- I've stunned myself by admitting that industry events like next week's Wireless 1999 get a bum rap. Nowhere else can you -- and your entire staff -- experience such ado about something, all in less than 72 hours.