Holidays are behind us and Christmas is rolling up fast, which can only mean that … it's conference season.

Regulars at the Fusion conference know the format: short discussions on topical subjects and no lectures or PowerPoint – just straightforward sharing of knowledge between like-minded people from around Scotland. And everyone involved either owns or runs a business - there are no passengers.

The name of this year's conference is ‘Flux’ – what is going on out there, am I informed or am I missing out?

We are preparing the ground early by having about 10 local workshops around Scotland over the next 4 weeks to learn what issues are really driving business leaders and find out what they really want to hear about, but as a taster we plan to offer 6 of the most popular themes from the list below, with delegates able to attend sessions on two of them:

Leadership in business and the community
Sales and managing customers
Renewable energy – and what’s in it for us
Tourism - the bread and butter of many local economies
Food & drink – a genuine export business
UHI – the new management school
Succeeding in a niche market
Broadband/3G - what it means for business and domestic customers
Courier and parcel distribution in rural areas
Web marketing – everybody's doing it
Exporting – doing business outside Scotland
Creative industries – knowing how to benefit from each other

Please click here to let us know which 6 of these topics you'd like to see at the conference - or if a topic of burning interest to you is not already included in the list, please let us know that too. 
 
Full details of information and booking will be on our website soon (www.fusionlinking.co.uk) and there will be no hard copy sent through the post: we are 100% electronic, in keeping with our strenuous efforts to keep costs to a minimum. This means that business owners or managers can benefit from the stimulation and inspiration of the full day's conference plus our highly rated, formality-free dinner for just £115+VAT (member rate). The non-member rate is £135+VAT, but if you join Fusion at the same time, the total price for both is £210+VAT - a saving of £50. Annual membership is normally £95 incl VAT, but from 1 January 2011 this will be rising to £125 (including a VAT increase).

The Fusion annual conference takes place this year on Thursday 18 November (optional pre-conference networking dinner Wednesday 17 November) at the Iron Works, Inverness.  I look forward to meeting you there.

Best wishes
David Fraser
Executive Chairman
david@fusionlinking.co.uk