Thomas P.M. Barnett :: Weblog

The KIN, as it is known, meets several times a year, and it's a sort of TED-like event that's focused on management issues. I spoke yesterday at the KIN Dialogue (Fall 2009) entitled, "Managing Through Uncertainty, Mastering New Realities."

I drove up Monday morn, checked into the very nice, lakeside Allen Center, worked the brief for an hour or so (new ending) and then joined the delegates (55 senior execs from major corps spread all over the world for a very nice lunch (the Allen Center has its own dining facilities. After an opening panel, I addressed the group for about two hours, including probably 6-8 questions.

The talk was definitely one of my better ones, and the high-level audience really brought it out of me (I was still a bit wobbly as this was my first out-of-home workday after the surgery). Fortunately, I got to have lunch with Philip Kotler (Prahalad was named most influential biz guru in the world, and Kotler came in at #9), and that really warmed me up. I was funnier than usual, and that was odd, because I laid off any pain meds yesterday until after the talk!

One thing I did notice post-surgery: when I speak publicly now, my voice resonates quite a bit in my sinuses, which I think is normal for most people (meaning they never notice), but it was a new deal for me.

Great interactions afterward, with lotsa biz cards exchanged. I stayed through the day and through the night session (music oriented). I had breakfast with the delegates this a.m. and then drove home today.

It was a real honor to participate. Kellogg, of course, is a premier management/biz school, so very cool to speak there finally. I hope to do it again someday. And meeting Kotler was an added treat. He's like Ben Stein's separated-at-birth-twin, and he's almost as funny!