What Happens When Industry Professionals Step Away from Their Desks and Connect?

The ICMG Midyear Meeting was a great reminder of the value that comes from putting industry professionals in the same room. From speed networking and committee conversations to discovering new products and sharing ideas over dinner, the meeting created opportunities to build new relationships and strengthen existing ones. These conversations are an important part of staying connected to the industry, understanding where it is headed, and finding new ways to support the organizations and professionals we work with every day. Now, we are looking ahead to the ICMG Annual Conference, February 1 through 3, 2027, in Scottsdale, Arizona.

It Starts with Relationships

One of the best parts of an industry organization like ICMG is the opportunity to spend time with people who understand the work, the challenges, and the changes happening around us.

The Midyear Meeting created plenty of those opportunities.

Speed networking gave attendees the chance to meet new people and start conversations that may not have happened during a traditional meeting. Just as importantly, it gave us time to reconnect with people we already know and continue conversations that began at previous ICMG events.

Those relationships matter. Some conversations lead to new ideas. Others lead to new partnerships, new resources, or simply a better understanding of what another organization is experiencing.

Sometimes the most valuable conversation is the one you did not plan to have.

More Than Meetings, It Is About Learning

Another valuable part of the Midyear Meeting was the opportunity to learn more about new products, services, and opportunities within the industry.

The insurance industry continues to change and staying informed takes more than reading an occasional article or attending a presentation. Talking directly with other professionals provides a different perspective. You hear what organizations are working on, what challenges they are trying to solve, and where they see opportunities ahead.

Those conversations can spark ideas that make their way back to our own organizations.

That is one of the reasons I enjoy attending industry events. There is always something new to learn, and often the best ideas come from simply asking someone, “What are you working on?”

The Conversations Do Not Stop at the End of the Meeting

There is something different about networking when you are not watching the clock and rushing back to your desk.

The Midyear Meeting continued into the evening with dinner and more opportunities to connect. Those informal conversations can be just as valuable as the scheduled sessions.

You learn more about the people you work with. You hear different perspectives. You find common ground. You may even discover that a conversation that started over lunch continues over dinner and eventually turns into something much bigger.

That is the part of networking that I think is sometimes overlooked. It is not about collecting as many business cards as possible. It is about building relationships that have a reason to continue.

Looking Ahead to Scottsdale

The Midyear Meeting may be behind us, but the conversations are continuing.

The ICMG Annual Conference will take place February 1 through 3, 2027, at Westin Kierland in Scottsdale, Arizona. It will be another opportunity to bring together industry professionals, committee members, board members, and organizations from across the industry.

After the conversations and connections made during the Midyear Meeting, I am especially looking forward to seeing where those relationships go next.

There will be new people to meet, familiar faces to reconnect with, new products and opportunities to explore, and plenty of conversations about what is happening across our industry.

And, of course, there will be time to step away from the formal agenda and continue those conversations over lunch, dinner, and everything in between.

Summary

The value of an industry conference is not limited to what happens on the agenda.

It is found in the conversation you have with someone you just met. It is in reconnecting with a colleague you have not seen in a while. It is discovering a new product or idea that could solve a problem you have been working through. It is sitting down over lunch or dinner and finding out what is happening in someone else’s corner of the industry.

That is what made the ICMG Midyear Meeting valuable, and it is what makes the Annual Conference something to look forward to.

I will be heading to Scottsdale February 1 through 3, 2027, and I hope to see many familiar faces there, along with plenty of new ones.

Share this blog on