I had the privilege last week of being part of a panel, for the fifth year, at the California DWC educational conference in Oakland. This time it was two panels, both of which were focused on the use and implications of AI in workers’ compensation.
While I have been a work comp “educator and agitator” (yes, the real tagline associated with my The RxProfessor brand) for over twenty years, much of my own professional growth has come from personally interacting with experts from many perspectives. I don’t learn in a silo. Thus, I was thrilled to be invited by Dr. Chris Brigham to be on these panels.
To prepare, I not only reviewed the intended content but also my co-panelists (of whom I only foreknew Chris). As a daily user of AI for just about two years, I was a tad intimidated. Look at their LinkedIn pages and you will see why:
- Alex Almazan Esq., Almazan Law (FL)
- Ben Wen, RevTops and others (CA)
- Chris Brigham MD, Brigham and Associates and others (SC)
- Harvey Castro MD MBA, Medical Intelligence Ops and others (TX)
- Mark Tainton, Wisedocs (IL)
I always strive to not be the smartest person in the room. I was ridiculously compliant this time.
However, our first meal together on the night before the conference made me feel at home.
Not only were each of them highly intelligent and accomplished, but they were also warm and kind. Eye contact, inquisitive conversation, and easy smiles and laughs were their hallmark of engagement. As we had other meals together, we learned about one another beyond the resume. I soaked up new insights from their vast experience, pushing to broaden my horizon. We even had a group text chat that we continued using during our respective plane rides home. We connected, and our chemistry showed when it came time to be on stage.
During that time of building rapport, I recognized that I belonged in the room.
Why am I sharing this?
Being in the room is important for professional and personal growth. Whether you feel like you “belong” or not (aka imposter syndrome), you need to be in the room. Whether you are invited into the room or invite yourself, you need to be around people that at first glance may be out of your league. You need to be in rooms of your subject matter expertise and in rooms where you are a novice at best. Rooms need to be both comfortable and uncomfortable. You can be a mentor in one room and a mentee in another room. Importantly, you can be a sponsor for someone who does not have access to a room but belongs there.
Since beginning my professional career in 1980, I have had dozens of mentors and mentees and thousands of important conversations. I have “snuck” inside some rooms, been invited to others, invited others to a room where I already was, and in some cases even created my own “room.” What is in my brain (and comes out on stage or in writing) is a synthesis of every conversation in every room. The importance of casting your net wide for opportunities to learn cannot be overstated.
The ability to maximize your God given talents, refine your skills, and achieve your true purpose in life is completely related to your commitment to being a lifelong learner, wherever that takes you.
The key to success is … Be in the room.
