There are plenty of good reasons to attend industry conferences, trade fairs, and other events, but they also present opportunities for the accidental disclosure of sensitive company information or other actions that run afoul of fair-competition regulations. Through their work executive coaching leaders in emerging and traditional technology ecosystems and working with organizations on ethics and compliance challenges, the authors have uncovered several strategies to equip your team to attend industry events without putting themselves or the organization at legal risk.
It’s common to run into competitors at conferences and trade fairs. That’s great for some things, like identifying potential clients and suppliers, benchmarking best practices, or gathering new insights. But it could also be dangerous when it comes to the accidental disclosure of sensitive information, along with myriad other fair-competition risks. Price fixing or monopolistic practices surrounding a product, service, acquisition, or pricing structure are all red flags for trouble and can pose significant regulatory and reputational peril to leaders, teams, and organizations.