Written by: Laurel Egan Kenny, President, Turningpoint Communications

When there is too much to do, we are short-handed, and we are looking to cross items off of our ever-expanding lists as treasury leaders, it is difficult to even think about getting out of the office for an hour or two, never mind two and a half days.

“There is no time!” “Who will set the cash position?” “How will we approve wires?” “Who will sign for….”

But, getting out of the office for professional development purposes may be exactly what you need!

First, there are people who are performing very similar roles for other companies, all across the Chicago area and beyond, come together as part of TMAC monthly and for the Windy City Summit once a year. While companies may compete for market share, market position, sales, customers, treasurers and their teams are not “competing” with other treasury teams. Seek them out. Get to know them. Talk to them. Confide in them. Tell them about your struggles. Ask them about solutions. Ask them what worked, what failed?

Secondly, treasury solutions providers attend Windy City Summit. The best ones would be more than happy to have a discussion about your business challenges and discuss industry best practices and solutions. They are highly knowledgeable about industry trends and mandates. They may even provide demonstrations of how their products and services work. They may also connect you with current customers with similar situations to discuss how the product or service works in their environment.

Thirdly, work shouldn’t be ALL work! If you can escape for a few hours every month or even every other month or so, TMAC will set you up with a great meal, even better conversation, and a highly relevant topic and an engaging thought leader. If you can escape for a couple days each year, Windy City Summit provides a number of social opportunities from keynote lunches to cocktail receptions to exhibit hall breaks. Odds are, with 1200 treasury and finance professionals attending, you will find some new friends – or connect with “old” ones.

Fourthly, who better to present topics of interest to other treasury and finance professionals than you? TMAC – Chicago (monthly) and Windy City Summit (annually) are looking for experts just like you to lead discussions and contribute to panels to promote the treasury industry and take deep dives into topics of interest. Reach out to a TMAC – Chicago leader for more details.

Fifthly, (is this even a word?), you may be inspired to “step up” or take the next step to become part of the organization. TMAC (including our WCS team) is/are always in the market for active committee members who may one day step up into a director or officer position.

Last, but not least, you are in a great position to identify educational and networking opportunities for your team. As an active and engaged member of the TMAC community, you and your team will be notified of upcoming events by email – and of course, you can always find information on our website and via social media networks.

So, mark my word, it is worth it for you to mark your calendar to go Out of Office for the third Thursday of each month for TMAC-Chicago Meetings for treasury and finance practitioners – and 5/19/2020 to 5/21/2020 for the 34th Annual Windy City Summit. See you soon!