Halfway home. The WCI conference comes at us each year like a train barreling along the tracks. There is a great deal of variety, information, and opportunity. In our day-to-day, there are often various thoughts, people, and tasks competing for our attention. The trains often do not come at us in a single file or predictable line.
This conference is no different. There are multiple tracks. A series of interests and foci proceeds on parallel tracks. Each is of varying interest and import depending on the observer. The observer can alter the outcome; see the Observer Expectancy Effect discussed in Unseen Influence: Unconscious Predisposition in Dispute Resolution (also available for download at dwlangham.com).
This conference begins with a singular focus that is philanthropic. Each year on Saturday, hundreds engage in volunteer efforts for Give Kids the World. I have written about it before: See Give Kids the World - Our Community (August 2018); Pre-Conference Thoughts at WCI (August 2019); Not the same, and yet . . . (August 2020); Our Hope for Tomorrow (August 2022); It Was Palpable (August 2023); WCI 2024 is Upon Us (August 2024).
Sunday each year brings the launch of programming with the Professional Mediation Institute and its unparalleled programming. I am persistently amazed by the perceptions that this is a program for mediators. "Professional Mediation Conference." This track is just what it says.
Lawyers, risk managers, adjusters, and more engage in mediations daily. Each has a serious interest in mediating effectively. What better place to learn what works? How better to understand its challenges and opportunities than to listen to the mediators themselves? Missing this programming is a grave mistake for so many.
Sunday also brought the annual Kids' Chance Golf Tournament. This is a great place to meet and greet. I have enjoyed seeing people at this event since it began. There is so much community and conversation in this opportunity.
Monday brought the opening session. By the time the conference was "opened," events had been proceeding full-force for over 48 hours. That has always seemed somewhat incongruent to me, but what do I know? There were speeches and presentations. There were special guests, pictures, videos, and patriotism. But then the programming began in earnest. Throughout Monday, there were multiple tracks competing for attention.
The assortment of speakers, topics, and foci is amazing here. If the attendee cannot find something of interest, they are simply not looking, or they are in sensory overload.
I strove to identify some programs of significant import in Dave's Picks for WCI 2025 (August 2025). As usual, there were critics. It turns out that every single speaker, moderator, and organizer believes their own panel or presentation is (1) the best of them all and (2) of critical importance.
Each of them is absolutely correct—for someone. There is something here for everyone, and every presentation is ideal for someone in particular. That said, it is not possible to be in six places at once. My effort in Dave's Picks was to identify the best and most compelling in each time slot. That was not intended to hurt the feelings of those who organized other programs, but that was one effect. Hurt feelings are perhaps inevitable in a world of competing interests and competition? It has always bothered me that I was never selected for the Olympic team.
There was Monday night entertainment. In truth, I have rarely engaged in this. By the time Monday night arrives, I am reasonably exhausted. This year is no different. And then Tuesday dawns. A new day, but the sobering realization is that Tuesday morning really marks only the halfway point. Tuesday will be a full day of those various tracks, bringing you multiple trains at varying speeds and intensities. But they will not be idle.
Tomorrow brings respite. Wednesday is always the easiest because the end is in sight. We turn into the homestretch weary, but the finish line beckons. The programming tends to take a different tenor on Wednesday, but the intensity of the various tracks remains. The exhibit hall influence is gone, having closed Tuesday afternoon. The crowds begin to thin. And the end will be near. But Wednesday will include a great deal of interesting and compelling information.
Halfway. It is hard to contemplate.
I look forward to today's National Workers' Compensation Review program on predisposition. Download my Unseen Influence: Unconscious Predisposition in Dispute Resolution, and all of my free publications on dwlangham.com. I am also honored today to present on (1) artificial intelligence and (2) the AMA Guides in the NAWCJ Judiciary College. Not open to the public, but a great opportunity for adjudicators!
