Star Struck: Identifying Your Conference North Star June 21, 2018 by Jeff Hurt For centuries, explorers and those sailing the sea have relied on the North Star, or Polaris, to navigate. Long before the advent of the GPS, the North Star provided a distinctive visible position to true north. Travelers used its bright light as a guide to ensure they were voyaging in the right direction. Sailors adjusted … [Read more…] Filed Under: Experience Design Tagged With: , conference organizer, conference professionals, conference purpose, conference purpose as North Star, lead with purpose, meeting professionals, North Star for conferences, purpose, purpose-driven, purpose-driven conference organizers, purpose-driven conferences
Conference Purpose With Power And Participants Leads To Profitability June 14, 2018 by Jeff Hurt Does your event have a clear and inspiring purpose? (If you’re shaking your head yes, then what is it?) Now imagine someone asking your conference participants that question. How would they respond? I suspect they would say “Yes, of course it has a purpose!” Then they would launch into a passionate description of your event’s … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference organizer, conference professionals, conference purpose, lead with purpose, meeting professionals, purpose, purpose-driven, purpose-driven conference organizers, purpose-driven conferences
Flourishing Conference Professionals Lead With Purpose July 31, 2017 by Jeff Hurt As a conference organizer, how purpose-driven are you? Successful conference organizers are purpose-driven! They grow into purpose leaders that influence others with a shared vision and purpose. They evolve into meaning-machines. They design conference experiences that become meaning-making opportunities for their participants. And they make their planning teams’ work important. Not clichéd or trivial. Critically … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference organizer, conference professionals, conference purpose, lead with purpose, meeting professionals, purpose, purpose-driven, purpose-driven conference organizers, purpose-driven conferences
The 21st Century Meeting Professional: Act Strategically, Think Both Functionally And Strategically April 6, 2017 by Jeff Hurt What’s the role of the 21st Century meeting and conference professional? In the past, the answer was easy. Perform very straight forward, transactional, functional tasks related to the logistics of conferences, meetings and events. S/He fulfilled the same types of tasks on a daily basis. When asked to make improvements, s/he focused on efficiency and … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , ambidextrous organization, conference organizer, conference strategy, meeting professional, strategic planning, strategic thinking, strategic value
Even More Buckaroo Breakaway Cadillac Conference Programming Trends – Part 2 January 19, 2017 by Jeff Hurt Expect the unexpected…just as Buckaroo Banzai did in the 1980s movie of the same name. Buckaroo and his merry band of cavaliers were ready to save the world from whatever came their way. They would embrace the context of each dimension much like you need to embrace these current conference programming trends. While these trends … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning, Experience Design Tagged With: , attendee experience, collaboration, conference organizer, disruption, future-focused conference programming, leadership, meeting planner, strategic thinking, systems thinking, trends
Buckaroo Breakaway Cadillac Conference Programming Trends Looming Your Way In 2017 – Part 1 January 18, 2017 by Jeff Hurt It’s the adventures of your next conference experience across the eighth dimension. Oh, wait. That’s the intro to Buckaroo Banzai about the adventures of the science fiction rock musician and his band of cavaliers. Well, similar to Buckaroo’s adventures, you have the opportunity to take your band of conference participants into the 21st Century conference … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning, Experience Design Tagged With: , attendee experience, choice architects, conference organizer, conversational intelligence, curators, future-focused conference programming, learning design, meeting planner, trends, We-Centric
In Today’s Economy, Significance Precedes Momentum October 9, 2015 by Jeff Hurt So many people ask me, “If ______________ (fill in the blank) is so important for conferences, why aren’t more conferences implementing it?” “So you wait to make changes to your event once you see other conferences are already doing it?” I respond. “You wait to copy someone else instead of being the leader?” Frequently, conference … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , change management, conference, conference organizer, conference planning team, Innovation, meeting planning best practices, meeting professional, tipping point
Impotent Conferences Are Powerless To Influence Forward Movement July 1, 2015 by Jeff Hurt Imagine a radio station that played adult contemporary, classical, country, dance, electronic, golden oldies, heavy metal, news, pop, R&B, rock, southern gospel and talk alternating between each. What if this commercial radio station tried to appeal to everyone’s musical taste as well as news and talk radio? How successful would it be? It wouldn’t work, … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , attendee experience, conference best practices, conference experience, conference organizer, learning, meeting professional, networking, strategic thinking, target market
Your Conference Renewal Begins With Wondering April 22, 2015 by Jeff Hurt Where does true conference improvement begin? The conference revitalization process is probably very different than many of your past experiences. It’s so different that we have to view it through new lenses. By taking charge of your own understanding of conference improvement and transformation, you begin a new journey. You are exploring uncharted territory. You … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference improvement, conference organizer, conference planning, conference planning team, culture of learning, inquiry, meeting planner, meeting professional, reflection, strategy, transformation, wonderings
Rebalancing Conference Vertigo By Starting With Design-Less Strategies April 17, 2015 by Jeff Hurt Leaping to action without a solid comprehension of your conference target market and their needs causes all sorts of mayhem. Some conference organizers and their planning team members don’t even realize they are in the eye of a storm. That mayhem is their blind spot. Planning a conference without a deep understanding of what makes … [Read more…] Filed Under: Experience Design Tagged With: , conference design empathy, conference organizer, conference planning, conference planning team, constrained collaboration, culture of learning, customer empathy, empathy, learning organization, meeting planner, meeting professional, strategic empathy, strategy
