If you’re anything like me, you probably hyped yourself up about Austin Design Week, only to remember that you also have a job, and boss that expects you there when all of the ADW fun’s going down.

We get it: Bosses care about things like outputs and deadlines, and we might distract you from that for a little bit. But we believe ADW is time well-invested, not wasted. Read on to see what you can take back to work with you, in terms your boss understands.

“I can scope out opportunities for partnerships.”

Is your company looking to try something ambitious, but needs some help executing on it? Lots of organizations will show and discuss what they can do throughout the week, which can give you a better sense of their values and capabilities than a website landing page probably ever could.

“We could use some new ideas around here.”

You’ll discover tons of different perspectives and approaches to design at ADW. It’s pretty likely that at least one of them you encounter can help you get out of a creative rut.

“I might find our next great designer.”

At ADW, you’ll meet some of the hungriest and most passionate designers in the city. Wouldn’t you want them to work for you someday?

“It’ll make us look good.”

Finally, the more people encounter an organization in a community, the more their mind associates said organization with that community. A little clout never hurt anybody.

Or, just send them a link to our schedule and let it do all the talking for you. We hope to see you at ADW—hopefully with your boss’s enthusiastic permission.