Key Personalities

[Diana Larsen]

Hello all,

I'm working with two or three conference planning groups who want to  
hold conferences completely in Open Space next year. They all have a  
little concern about whether they can attract the kind of  
participation they'd like without well-known KeyNote or Invited  
Speakers - the folks whose presence justifies the participants'  
attendance to bosses, etc.

One planning group came up with the idea of inviting Key  
Personalities and offering them honoraria and help with travel  
expenses as if it were a regular conference - but asking them /not/  
to give keynote speeches. Their names would be included on the  
invitations to others as having committed to attend, possibly along  
with some topics they consider proposing for the marketplace.

Has anyone tried this before? What do you all think about inviting  
"key personalities" to an Open Space conference? Has anyone done  
this? What benefits/pitfalls do you see, did you experience? I have  
mixed thoughts and emotions, and would like some further data to  
offer the planning groups. What effect on "Whoever comes are the  
right people" happens when some folks receive compensation for  
attendance and others don't?

Thanks,
Diana


Diana Larsen
www.futureworksconsulting.com
503-288-3550

Watch for:
"Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great" by Esther Derby &  
Diana Larsen, available Summer 2006! Published by Pragmatic Bookshelf  
(new title!)
http://www.pragmaticprogrammer.com/titles/dlret/index.html

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