3 things I learned from hosting the Future of Consulting Summit
A few months ago, I hosted the Future of Consulting Summit.
If you are already creating content or running a podcast and want to take your thought leadership to the next level, consider doing a summit.
Live events stand out.
In a world where AI automates nearly everything, hosting something live, where people connect, share, and think together, helps you stay remembered. It builds community and deepens your credibility in ways that static content cannot.
Here are three insights I learned from organizing this summit:
👉 1. You can do a summit faster than you think.
The first time I hosted a summit a couple of years ago, it took six months to plan. I had a coach, a team, and invested heavily in the process. This time, I pulled it off in 45 days. Thirty days for ideation, speaker list, themes, invites, and scheduling. The final two weeks were for promotion, with just one part time assistant and a graphic designer helping me.
The difference was experience. Once you have done it once, you realize what actually matters and what does not.
👉 2. An effective summit does not depend on big names.
Last time, I focused on getting well known speakers. This time, I focused on practitioners, people doing meaningful work, building innovative systems, and willing to share openly.
Seven out of twelve speakers shared their screens and walked us through their tools, frameworks, and real workflows.
It made the conversations richer and far more valuable. You do not need “celebrity” speakers to create impact.
👉 3. A summit is also for your own learning.
I spoke with 11 experts in four days, each sharing how they are adapting, what tools they use, and what they are keeping unchanged.
It was like learning through experts in a burst.
You could do the same through a podcast, but the concentrated nature of a summit accelerates your learning in ways few formats can.
It opened my eyes to what is happening right now in consulting and what is possible next.
And the bonus, those sessions have been fueling months of new ideas and content.
If thought leadership is part of your strategy, and you want to elevate your visibility and perspective, think about running a summit. It is a lot of work, but it is the kind that pays back in learning, relationships, and long term positioning.
