So, for those who didn’t travel together with me on an early and insanely packed train from Berlin to Hamburg – what is OMR anyway? (And for those who did – I felt your pain… by the way, special kudos to Deutsche Bahn for this unnecessarily humiliating experience: a yet earlier train had been canceled, and the one we all had to somehow squeeze ourselves in got a few wagons “amputated” so that we don’t feel too lucky and don’t make ourselves too comfy). OMR, which stands for “Online Marketing Rockstars”, is the central event in the domain of online marketing and is targeted at marketing specialists of all sorts and breeds and gives a playground for exchange and discussion around all topics and relevant trends within the realm of digital marketing. On top of that, there is also an additional chain of events and masterclasses that rotate about digitalization in finance. Even though – and maybe especially because – marketing is not my area of expertise, I found it very refreshing to be there and attend masterclasses, conferences and various events. So what were the most relevant take-aways?

First of all, and most importantly, even though the focus was on the implications for marketing, the “usual suspects” such as AI & Cyber Security were in the center of attention. This is neither a surprise nor a revelation, you might smear, and would be absolutely right. At the same time, that was a splendid reminder that while we must keep the implications of AI in mind, this is just another tool in a toolkit (granted, next to a knife we’ve got a hypersonic weapon – but still). This technology – just as any other which will supersede or replace it in its due turn – does not exempt us from having a very firm grasp over the basics and does not liberate us from our deeply wired and hard-coded nature. If anything, the technology gives us an imperative to really focus on strengthening the grip over the basics and deepening the knowledge and understanding of the first principles. This was especially apparent during marketing specific discussions – the customer is still at the center; the content still has to be appealing for them and cost-efficiency of your campaign is still a relevant metric. By the virtue of the same token, the finance discussions were bringing us to either greed or fear drivers. Such events and discussions are marvelous opportunities to distill the immanent core from interruptions and gives a chance to reflect on the effects of the disruptions – permanent vs. transitory.

Moreover, seeing the magnitude and the grandeur of the event, the big fan of consistency in me could not help jumping up and down and applauding to the perseverance, dependability and the degree of commitment of the organizers. The event started in 2011 and was adorably small – 200 participants. Today, having to queue with thousands of people to see top-speakers, top managers, and chief political representatives on the stage, this is really hard to imagine. Obviously, the tables have turned – being on the stage is an ultimate recognition, privilege and, yes, a marketing measure for quite a few participants. I find this example of consistently doing the same thing with regular intervals and becoming better at each step really motivating.

Finally, I saved the best for the dessert. My personal highlight packed with takeaways – after being a devoted fan of the Tim Ferriss Show for the last 4 years, I was finally able to see Tim Ferriss himself on stage. Among all the points and aspects discussed in two interviews, there was one that I found extraordinary valuable and broad in terms of its application to organizational change. The point was how much freedom an endeavor gets via simple reframing – seeing things you kick off more like an experiment instead of a challenge. This trick goes far in taking excessive pressure away from the situation – the pressure, which might be stopping you from taking the first step and might be resulting in chronic procrastination once you’ve made the first step. Moreover, this “experimentation game” makes you more involved, curious and focused. As a process-obsessed person, I cannot help noting that there is yet one more tremendously important layer. Convincing yourself you are taking part in an experiment draws more of your attention to the process and motivates you to stay true to it, as your curious side will want to see the outcome if you just follow the steps. This, in its turn, results in an overall better outcome. Obviously, not every change project qualifies for a hardcore “let’s just try it and find out whether it works”. However, a lot can be gained via cultivating this general attitude within an organization as a part of an overall curious and open culture. Applied to your private life – well, this just opens dimensions upon dimensions of new opportunities at a much lower entry cost with virtually unlimited upside.

So, where your next experiment is going to take you?