HRevolution – Logistics Update

(This is a good news update on the upcoming HRevolution 2010 unconference.)

The HRevolution planning team has been getting questions from a number of people—participants and sponsors alike—about how HRevolution will actually run. The bottom line is, it will run well. Unconferences are a bit new… so to make sure the event flows as smoothly as possible, we have taken several important steps, starting with our decision to partner with top tier facilities in Chicago. This week, I visited our partners personally.

Here’s my report:
Event space – Catalyst Ranch

• The space is gorgeous. Plenty of kitsch to keep your hands busy and mind loose, yet plenty of polish to make sure that when things start flowing, they stay flowing. Projectors, white boards, plasticore… you got it.
• The team is fantastic. The committee is in constant communication with the Catalyst Ranch crew to make sure we all know what’s coming and are prepared for this. For them, our event is plain vanilla—we have yet to throw a question at them that they haven’t dealt with many times before.
• There will be food! You’ll have something to get your day going, plus lunch and an afternoon snack. And, you’ll have access to beverages all day long. In fact, all the rooms have refrigerators in them (for all the drinks that are not coffee). That beverage/afternoon snack service was the first thing they actually told me about during my first tour of the space.
• Wifi. I opened my laptop, and there it was.
• Location. Catalyst Ranch is just west of the loop, on Randolph, just off the highway. So if you have people coming in to visit you, or if you’re driving in, finding it will be a breeze.

Lodging – theWit Hotel

• Brand new hotel. Still has that “new hotel” smell. And it’s smack on State Street, next to the el stop, so you can get anywhere in a snap.
• Facilities. The hotel is a stunning oasis in the city. This is a place that makes you feel like you’re at the center of the city and that you belong there, too. I loved the in-room phones that allow you to order everything from extra pillows to dinner reservations from a touch screen. (The room staff all carry iPhones; when you request that pillow, the closest person responds within 5 minutes or it gets escalated to management. This is a real hotel.) The day I was there, three well-known companies were holding off-site meetings there.
• The team. I am in regular contact with our hotel connection. He’s on it. Plus, the hotel owner—who I have not, repeat not, yet met—is a local guy who is actively involved with the hotel in a good way… in a way that made employees smile to talk about him. Who cares about the hotel owner, you ask? Hey, in my book, leadership counts for something.
• Getting there, to/from Midway couldn’t be easier: the Orange line (that’s the el train that runs from downtown to Midway) drops you off about 75 steps from the hotel. From O’Hare, you’ll get off the Blue line at Clark/Lake, one block away.
• Local transportation. Depending on the number of people who book at theWit (which I personally hope is all of you; I may stay downtown just to experience this place myself), we will either arrange for or provide transportation between the hotel and the conference site. For those of you who wish to walk, it is exactly 1 mile door-to-door. For those who wish to explore the city, this hotel is a no brainer: easy access to the lake, museum campus, Michigan Ave (shopping), River North (art galleries), and that el train will take you into Lincoln Park or Bucktown (restaurants) in no time. Plus, keep in mind that the hotel bar itself is a regular stop for hip locals.
• Eats & Drinks. For a tweet up, I don’t think we could have chosen a better spot. And for those of you coming in early or staying the weekend, two things: (1) the hotel has two restaurants and a bar on the upscale side of things—and fantastic; (2) when you leave the hotel, you’re going to trip over the options: Potbelly’s is caddy-corner from the hotel… Wow Bao is a block away the other direction… a great local pub is behind the hotel… House of Blues is just over the river… you name it, you can have it, and you won’t need a cab to get it.

HRevolution 2010 promises to be a top-caliber event, with great participants, highly competent session leaders, and incredible facilities.

See you in May!

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