Brighton Summit blog: 7 amazing things I learnt at Brighton Summit

Brighton photographer and blogger (and recent Brighton Summit attendee) Lauren Psyk shares her takeaways from the day.

It sure has been hard to whittle this down to just seven, but here are some of the top things I took away from last week’s Brighton Summit. How many of them ring true for you?

Networking is about more than exchanging business cards

Brighton Summit is not an event where everybody furiously hands out their business cards. In fact, I didn’t hand out a single card during the whole day. I concentrated on finding a genuine connection with the people I spoke to, rather than worrying about what business might come out of it. On the Monday morning after the event, I still had LinkedIn requests from some people I’d met. This taught me that connecting with people on a human level can be far more powerful than just exchanging cards. It’s more fun too!

It’s important to be playful

There was a hugely playful element to Brighton Summit - with sessions involving virtual reality, lego, sound, film, taste and craft - the event involved all of our senses and encouraged us to live in the moment. When we’re up against tough deadlines or dealing with tricky clients, it can be impossible to unleash our creativity. Stepping away from my business for a day and immersing myself in these stimulating activities helped me to see the bigger picture and to look at things anew. As a simple example, I’ve already bought some coloured pens and a pack of post-it-notes to try and be more creative in the way I brainstorm ideas and plan projects. We can’t expect to be at our creative best if we never give ourselves a break to think, chat and play.

Helping others opens doors

During ‘the big knowledge share’, I gained a fresh perspective on the art of networking. I learnt that reaching out to others with offers of help can be just as effective as pitching or promoting your business to them. It could be an idea, a book they should read, someone you know who could help them, or a crucial nugget of information they need. In turn, you will find offers of help coming back in your direction and people will remember your name next time your line of work comes up in conversation. It sounds glib to say ‘you reap what you sow’, but I guess that’s what this boils down to.

Structured events are good for introverts

I’m an introvert and I’m not great at small talk with people I don’t know well. The structured nature of Brighton Summit meant that I always had something relevant to say to the person next to me. I could ask them what their favourite session had been, what they were going to next, what they thought of keynote speakers or what they hoped to learn. We all spent the day moving around, mixing with different people and this created a lively buzz that permeated the event. The interactive nature of the sessions and workshops proved to be a great ice breaker. All of these elements made for a really enjoyable, stimulating and satisfying way of meeting new people. So if you’re a bit of an introvert like me, then next year’s Brighton Summit is for you.

Technology is a double edged sword

Misha Glenny, award-winning author of McMafia, told us that despite all the opportunities and benefits provided by the internet and the rapidly growing technology landscape, it is something of a double edged sword. He said, “things are changing at such a huge rate that the human mind can’t keep up with what’s happening and grasp the implications of it.” His assertions that our reliance on technology enabled the 2008 financial crash and had a direct knock-on effect on the rise of Trump and Brexit were sobering indeed. We all need to ‘look up’ and take whatever small bit of action we can.

Brighton is a compassionate community

During the afternoon speaker session ‘look at me now’, we heard from Andy Winter, CEO of Brighton Housing Trust and Helen, one of their managers. I was inspired by the many questions from the audience about how best to support Brighton’s homeless and the many proactive ideas that were discussed. It demonstrated what a compassionate community we live in and reminded me that an awful lot of good work is being done in Brighton by some fantastic charities including Off the Fence and The Clock Tower Sanctuary.

You can change careers at any age

In the closing keynote, Katherine Courtney told us that she had changed career at aged 40, taking a job as CEO of the UK Space Agency despite knowing nothing about space. Through this new opportunity, Katherine discovered a passion for space which still continues - she now supports STEM engagement for primary schools. This demonstrated that once you decide to take that leap into the unknown, new doors and opportunities will open for you. As Katherine said, “the fates will conspire to help you.”  

Thanks to Lauren Psyk for writing this blog.

Photo credit: Katariina Jarvinen, Light Trick Photography

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