As we hit the one-year mark of the pandemic, it’s natural to reflect on the ways life has changed in the last 365 days. Time moves differently when you’re largely in the same spot day in and day out. If you’re not intentional about how you set your schedule and what to prioritize, it’s easy to find yourself simply moving from one task to the next during the time between when you open the curtains in the morning and when you close them at night.

I imagine for many of us if we’d known sometime in advance that we’d have a year-plus when business as usual suddenly shifted, we’d think of it as an opportunity to reset priorities and find time for the important tasks we’re perpetually putting off. We didn’t have that advanced notice but we still have the opportunity for a reset.

That’s why I’m very much looking forward to MDM’s next virtual event. Our first-ever Future of Distribution Summit will take place online on Tuesday, April 13. We’ve got an all-star lineup of speakers (view the agenda here) who will take you through three phases of industry transformation and how to best capitalize on them:

1- New Distribution Models

We’ll open up the conference with the industry’s innovation expert Mark Dancer taking us through how the last year of remote work and online buying have signaled the start of new business strategies and innovation opportunities for distributors. MDM’s Tom Gale will then explore new models of market differentiation that are putting digital acceleration at the forefront of trends shaping the rest of the year. Then, we’ll hear firsthand from distributors who are making tech-driven changes happen in their businesses.

2- Productivity and the New Workplace

Part two addresses how to build a more resilient workplace, kicking off with a discussion between me and Graybar CEO Kathy Mazzarella. You’ll meet our Women in Distribution award winners, and hear from several of them during an in-depth panel discussion on redefining workplace culture, performance management and how these factors tie into overall business development. Author and professor Jim Pouliopoulos will then break down how the pandemic altered employees’ expectations about work and what you’ll need to do to keep your best people moving forward.

3- Talent Development, Recruiting, Retaining

We will wrap up with distribution recruitment specialist John Salvadore on key trends in the new recruitment landscape, followed by a discussion on the broadening talent spectrum. Several of our Future Leaders will share their knowledge about the skillset that the newest generation in the workforce brings to distribution and how they plan to set career priorities.

It’ll be a jam-packed event but it’s not too late to help influence the agenda. What do you want to hear covered during the conference? Send me an email at elizabeth@mdm.com.