Your Bureau team has been hard at work making things better and planning for the future with you in mind. As a community where the members lead, I want a chance to share new opportunities and challenges with you in person. (Ok virtually in person. ) That's the best way for us to hear your questions, suggestions, and insights as we navigate the changes ahead. So if you have time, please register for next Friday’s Bureau Town Hall.
We’ll be getting together to talk about what we’re working on to provide you with more support and a more valuable Bureau experience. Read on to learn more about what we’ll cover.
What will happen at the Bureau Town Hall?
There will be dancing and delicious food and great friends... ok, the great friends part is true and you can dance if you want to , but you'll have to bring your own food. Here's what we'll be covering:
New Event Types
If you saw the video from the last Owner Summit you know that we’ve got new ideas for how we approach events. And these changes are focused on helping you get the support you need in a sustainable way. One of these new formats is being taken for a trial run this October in Philadelphia. AI & Your Agency is a mashup of previous event types. It has aspects of a traditional conference, mastermind groups and workshops. Plus we’re keeping them smaller and running them multiple times in Bureau hubs so you can minimize your travel costs.
Another new event type is Bureau Live! This is truly a reunion and a chance to see old friends and make new ones. A lower ticket price with aspects of an unconference. Plus activities galore to engage in if you want. Or just chill. Think of it as if a Bureau event was a cruise ship.
The Updated 2023-24 Events Schedule
We’ll also review all of the upcoming and new events we’ve got planned through the end of 2024. And shocker, it’s a lot. But that’s because everyone is at a different part of their journey with different needs. And we want everyone to get the support they need. We’ll also talk about new plans for members to spin up their own events with the Bureau’s support. Ideally. We’ll become a platform for you to grow and help others.
Local Meetups
We’re well underway on our local meetup launch, and I have to say thanks to all of our local hosts who have stepped up. There are over 20 cities eager to get together and support each other. I also have to acknowledge the role Parallax is playing. Beyond picking up the tab, they’re also helping with the logistics. We truly couldn’t have done this without everyone’s support.
Accelerating Bureau Circles
Bureau Circles is our take on dedicated small peer groups that was launched earlier this year. Think EO or Vistage but at no additional cost. We’ve struggled out of the gate because of difficulties in finding 10 folks who are able to commit the time required. Let’s face it, we’re all kinda busy. But this is one of the most requested offerings so we need to make it happen. And not for a few folks, but for all members. So we’re gonna move away from trying to emulate what other organizations have done successfully and focus on making them our own.
Slack’s Increasing Cost and Its Impact on the Community
Online conversations are the core of the community, and Slack is where that happens. But over the last 12 months, they’ve effectively tripled the cost and it’s not sustainable. So we’re figuring out how to stay with Slack not only because it’s the platform of choice, but also because we have over a million messages there and it’s such a valuable resource.
Using AI to Enhance the Bureau Experience
Earlier this year we did a trial run of using ChatGPT to help us with weekly roundups. These were received with an overwhelmingly positive response. And it was pretty easy to consolidate hundreds of messages into a concise form. But some folks weren’t comfortable with having their conversations shared with OpenAI and they had a point. So we stopped. But we know that we have to find a way to make all of this amazing information available for members to help them in their growth.
We really hope you can make it to the Bureau Town Hall!