I love a good conference.

As I write this column, I'm in my hotel room at the massiveOrlando World Center Marriott in Florida. Inside its walls, theWorkers' Compensation Institute's 71st annualEducational Conference (WCEC) is taking place, anequally huge event that boasts 7,500 attendees from 45 states; 350exhibitors; 200 breakout sessions; and an incredible 580speakers.

Once a regional show, it has grown by leaps and bounds over thepast decade and offers educational tracks for a variety ofprofessionals, including lawyers, risk managers, TPAs, medicalprofessionals, claims adjusters and a variety of other insurancefolk, including — you guessed it — an expanding track for agentsand brokers, an audience for which the conference has beenexpending more thought and energy to reach in the last severalyears.

The strategy is a smart one: WCEC doesn't just focus on workers'comp professionals, as direct an approach as that would be (andcertainly easier from a logistics standpoint when it comes tocreating the sizable program). It's far more inclusive, and hasexpanded its reach over the years to offer more programs to morevaried types of potential attendees.

The line of thought is simple, yet holds a lot of truth foraspiring agents: When I open myself up to a new base of clientsand the sets of products they want, I can sell more.

NU's involvement in the conference has only deepened,and that evolution continues this year. Today we bestowed ourExcellence in Workers' Compensation Risk Management Awards, as wedo every year during WCEC's opening general session, and while theimpromptu speech that I delivered last year about my experience volunteering at Give Kids theWorld (the Kissimmee, Fla.-based children's serviceorganization that WCI supports wholeheartedly throughout the yearand especially at the conference) was well received, I wasn't goingto repeat it this year.

That is, until WCI Institute Chair Jim McConnaughhay said to meat the VIP party the night before, “You are going to saysomething about Give Kids the World again tomorrow, right?”

“Oh, of course,” I replied, taking another sip off my drink. Iwent back my room shortly afterward and started writing.

On the Saturday evening before the conference opened, I had thehonor (at Jim's request) of emceeing WCEC's annual gala fundraisingdinner/casino night for Give Kids the World. It's worth noting thatI had zero — zero — experience in doing anything like thatin my life, but I've been a performing musician forever. How hardcould it be?

As it turns out: Not necessarily harder, but definitely verydifferent.

For one thing, all eyes are on you, alone. There's noband to “throw it” to, no one else to lean on. You are live withouta net, no teleprompter, just you, kid. In front of an audience of600 people. And if you fail, you fall hard. Alone.

Luckily, I just went out, smiled and did what came naturally,and I just let it rip.

And you know what? It worked.

The key takeaway: If I deliberately get out of my comfortzone and try something new because I believe in myself, I willeither succeed or learn something valuable that will help mesucceed down the line.

Then, this afternoon I got into a first-time conversation withJulian Alexander, CEO of a company called OnSite Physio. Hiscompany offers on-site physical rehabilitation services, post-offeremployment testing and worksite injury-prevention programs, amongother things. He talked about how the business of physical therapyneeds to evolve, how companies are looking for better alternativesthat provide more personalized care for their employees — andbetter results when it comes to return-to-work. It struck me thathe understood very well the psychosocial aspects of hisbusiness.

The key takeaway, and I've repeated this for years afterwatching the newspaper business, my former industry of employment,implode: That which does not evolve will surely die.

If you open yourself to new possibilities, to new challenges, tonew people and new thinking, and to new ideas, your business canonly benefit in some way. It's as simple as that.

So the question is: Are you prepared to prosper, or perish?

You decide.

Related:

Pork producer's safety overhaul nets 69%claim-cost reduction

How this supermarket chain slashed drug costs 71%in 2 years

How did this company cut its injury claims?By aiming at the bottom line