After the International Builders' Show, the Show Goes On—On Demand

The 2020 International Builders’ Show was, for me, an amazing mix of meetings, meetups, new product introductions, award presentations, and connecting with old friends and colleagues. Racing around the show floor gave me the chance to learn about new advances in home building, while attending our Under 40, Women in Residential Construction, and Skilled Labor Fund meetups at Pro Builder’s Show Village offered opportunities to hear what some of our industry’s most thoughtful leaders are up to.

In the evenings, it was my pleasure to attend the opening night for The New American Home and The New American Remodel. Although both were extremely luxe, it was easy to cadge ideas from them for all types of homes. I spent the next couple of nights at The National Sales and Marketing Awards and the Best in American Living Awards events. Both are lovely affairs, and a great place to connect with industry stars, but the most exciting part of each of them is, of course, getting the scoop on the winning entries.

On the second day of IBS, during one of my loops around the convention center, I ran into Sheryl Palmer, CEO of Taylor Morrison. She was obviously headed somewhere as well. She mentioned that she was on her way to give a presentation, and asked if I was coming. I shook my head and told her I couldn’t, that I had an appointment, and we both went our separate ways.

I was really disappointed, though; I try never to miss an opportunity to hear Sheryl speak. She's smart, insightful, and straightforward, and I knew she was going to be talking about Taylor Morrison’s company culture, which is one of the major reasons for its success and why the builder has been recognized as America’s Most Trusted Home Builder for five years straight and twice named one of the Top 100 Best Places to Work. But I chalked it up to the Builders’ Show being what it is, having so much going on that you’re bound to miss some things you really wanted to see.

At the end of the show, a friend and I talked about what we found most interesting about the last few days. She told me about the presentation she’d given and others she’d attended and I said I was disappointed I hadn’t seen them. You still can, she responded.

Yes, NAHB records the educational sessions at IBS and makes them available for a year following the event. I knew this, but had forgotten about it because, for one reason or another, I’d never taken advantage of being able to access them after the show was over.

But I will now, and you can, too. The library of recorded presentations includes:

• Building Knowledge Sessions: nearly 150 hour-long instructional talks given by industry experts on business and project management, design and community planning, sales and marketing, industry trends, custom building and remodeling, multifamily housing, and more.
• Tech Bytes: the rundown on tools and best practices in digital marketing and sales for websites, social media, VR, and more, and informational sessions about design, operations, and home tech focused on 3D design, field communications, and estimating software.
• Game Changers: keynotes delivered by thought leaders from home building (including the one I missed from Sheryl Palmer) and other industries, offering ideas on company transformation.

The IBS Education On Demand library can be found at buildersshow.com/ondemand and is free to full show registrants. All others can purchase a subscription for $199.

Access a PDF of this article in Pro Builder's March 2020 digital edition