Events seem to be the lifeblood of many coworking communities, and community building in general. But have you ever noticed that while some events are amazing at galvanizing a community, others seem to fall flat no matter how much effort you put in?

This episode is all about the little things that make an event matter in the eyes of attendees - no matter how big or small the event.

We talked with the brains behind CocoaLove, Curtis Herbert and Kotaro Fujita, with the goal of gaining insight into how they organized a tech conference that focused on the "human side" of a developing software for Mac and iOS devices. CocoaLove is a conference“for people,” and in this show Adam and Sam learn how the organizers somewhat accidentally discovered their own intentionality.

You’ll hear about their painstakingly creative approaches to bringing people together by igniting genuine curiosity, an inherent quality that can always be used to brighten up any kind of scheduled meet-up. Discover the power of a tangible takeaway, and guiding people through the social experience of a conference to help them get the most from each other.

Pay close attention to this entertaining conversation - there's a lot to learn and apply to making your own events more memorable, and have people coming back because they want more.

Notable Quotes

• Mindful invitations…unique pins identifying introverts and extroverts [13:18]
• “Actionable Nuggets” Ensuring there are take-aways [23:30]
• “Leave the laptops in the hotel room” Preparedness [24:25]
• “When people can feel when something is a labor of love” [30:59]

Save the date for April 21st! People at Work is an entirely online “conference” about work and collaboration. A first of it’s kind, taking place over 24 consecutive hours and across 7 continents.

This is going to be a great place for YOU to practice connecting the dots and getting more connected to the global coworking community.

Stephan is joining People at Work to help you learn how to help coworking space members around the world connect the dots in their own communities.

Tickets for the Summit go on sale this Friday, February 11th. Find out more about the format, meet more speakers, and get the link to register here.

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I’m growing the team that makes this show happen! This episode is the first one that I didn’t produce myself, so say hello to my new producer Mike Mehalick. Say hi, Mike!

So here’s the scoop: Mike and I are working hard on a brand new production workflow this year so you’re going to be seeing new episodes of the show dropping MUCH more often.

Lots of awesome stuff to come, I promise, and you don’t want to miss this. Subscribe however you like to subscribe, here’s some handy links for you:

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