As I mentioned in Wednesday’s post, over the next few weeks we will be highlighting 10 years of CMEpalooza through an interview series we are calling 10 Years in 10 Minutes. Today, I am happy to share the first in this series, my interview with Brian McGowan, Chief Learning Officer  Co-Founder at ArcheMedX (side note: he will also be playing the role of Coach Beard in the Ted Lasso-themed session Be Curious, Not Judgmental of Your Data at CMEpalooza Spring on April 24. Don’t miss it!)

It was an easy decision to run Brian’s interview first as he was the very first person to ever present at CMEpalooza, covering the topic of Why Adult Learning Theory Is Insufficient to Drive Learning. We talk about his original session, its relevance today, his experience presenting at the first CMEpalooza and, of course, what he’s currently binge watching. I’m impressed we kept it to 15 minutes.

While we discuss it during the interview, I also wanted to highlight here the first words Brian spoke when beginning the first presentation at the first CMEpalooza.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for doing this. I really think that we’re going to look back a few years from now and realize you’re doing something that adds so much value to what this community needs.

Inspiring words that I needed to hear at that moment. Brian is the best. I hope you enjoy the interview.

(Note: During my introductory remarks I mention that the first CMEpalooza was in May. That is obviously incorrect since the first CMEpalooza was in March, a fact that I am well aware of. Why did I say May? I have no idea. Let’s all chalk it up to a brain fart and move on with our day, OK? OK.)

If you woke up this morning with that little tinge in your brain telling you that, “Hmm, something feels a little different than usual,” without being able to quite put your finger on what exactly felt different, we’re hear to fill you in (and no, it’s not that today is the International Day of Happiness).

Yes, my friend, today is special because it was 10 years ago on this very day that the first CMEpalooza went live. To mark the occasion, I recorded an oral history of the events that inspired it, why I did it, and how it went. It was 20 minutes of content I thought you wouldn’t want to miss, but then Scott reminded me that we both have the stage presence of Rowdy Roddy Piper in Body Slam, and people (other than my mom) won’t watch a rambling 20 minute account of me hemming and hawing about the dawn of CMEpalooza. So I’m admitting defeat on this one, deleting the embedded video, and moving on (if you really want to watch it for some reason, and you’re not my mom, you can email me and I’ll send you the link.)

In the upcoming days and weeks, another way that Scott and I will be highlighting the “Tin Anniversary” of CMEpalooza is through an interview series that we are calling 10 Years in 10 Minutes. We will be spending 10(ish) minutes with some of the people who presented at the first CMEpalooza, discussing their ‘palooza experience, their topic, how their topic has changed from then to now, and what they’ve been up to over the past 10 years. Scott tells me that these interviews are wayyy more interesting than a rambling 20 minute account of me hemming and hawing about the dawn of CMEpalooza, but I’m not convinced (and neither is my mom.) We’ll be rolling out the first of these interviews later this week.

Lastly, for anyone interested in a trip down memory lane, here are the links for the sessions at the original CMEpalooza: March 20 | March 21

Yes, we looked a lot younger. That’s what kids will do to you.

Fact #1: He is an excellent tennis player. I was going to write “He is a surprisingly excellent tennis player,” but that seemed unnecessarily mean. To be clear, I’ve never actually seen him play and I only know that he is an excellent tennis player because that’s what he’s told me. However, I have no reason not to believe him and he certainly ignores plenty of my texts and emails because “sorry, I was playing tennis.”

Fact #2: He has excellent taste in restaurants. Scott has a surprisingly (there’s that word again) refined and diverse palate and is not afraid to try new and/or different things. The last restaurant recommendation he gave to me was for a great Cambodian place in South Philly. He’s never led me astray (I’m talking specifically about restaurant recommendations here.)

Fact #3: He has a weird affinity for the 1980s era Dallas Mavericks. I don’t know what that’s all about. I’m sure he explained it to me at some point and I zoned out and forgot. Maybe he’s a huge Uwe Blab fan.

Fact #4: He is a massive Beanie Babies collector and sells rare editions at his Kober’s Kute & Kuddly Kreatures Etsy store. OK, I made that one up…or did I?

Fact #5: He is celebrating his 50^th birthday today. This one is true and I agree with you – I can’t believe he is younger than me, either. And yes, this is a bit of revenge for his surprise post last year on my 50^th birthday.

While we’re here, go ahead and drop the birthday boy a note wishing him a happy 50^th. He loves the attention and would be happy to hear from all of you. In fact, feel free to send him multiple notes and flood his inbox. Let him really feel the love. Here are links to his email and LinkedIn. No need to thank me.

As a reminder, if you have not already had a chance to checkout the agenda for CMEpalooza Spring (April 24), please do so now. Even if you have read through it previously, there have been a few recent updates to a couple of the sessions, so it’s worth reviewing, again.

Lastly, though we do like to joke around, a sincere Happy Birthday to Scott. Here’s hoping those Beanie Babies sales lead to an early retirement!