Tag: meeting professionals


Star Struck: Identifying Your Conference North Star

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…]

Conference Purpose With Power And Participants Leads To Profitability

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…]

Flourishing Conference Professionals Lead With Purpose

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…]

Four Stupendous Strategic Steps You Should Practice Regularly

One of the biggest challenges we face—especially nonprofit association and conference professionals–is spending adequate time thinking. For some reason, we believe that doing is better than thinking. When we do something, we seem to make progress. Well, at least that’s what we tell ourselves. When we think, there doesn’t seem to be any forward movement. … [Read more…]

Ten Ways Conference Professionals Can Gain Credibility And Increase Their Strategic Value

Are you looking to gain credibility? Do you want to climb the career ladder? Do you want to be seen by your executives as a leader who can add strategic value? Sure you do. And if you’re like most, you want to do this now. You don’t want to wait 10-20 years before people respect … [Read more…]

Escape Your Conference Comfort Zone To Become Happier And Smarter

Conference organizers, whatever scares you when planning your event, plan to do it now! That’s right, run to your fear and escape your conference comfort zone! Why? Busting out of your conference comfort zone leads to a longer, happier, smarter life with increased confidence, gratification and satisfaction, to paraphrase author Ken Budd. Boredom Kills Too … [Read more…]

Crank Up Your Conference Emotional Intensity With Bright Lights

Forget about turning down the lights to set the mood for your opening general session. Why? It’s the perfect way to disengage and dial back your attendees’ emotions. If you want to emotionally connect and increase your audience’s emotional intensity, a University of Toronto study says you need to turn lights up bright! Bright Lights … [Read more…]

Too Many Meeting Professionals Are Bored With Work

Are you part of the 87% of workers that are bored at work? According to Gallup, the bulk of employees, 63% are not engaged at work. They lack motivation and are less likely to invest initiative in organizational goals or outcomes. 24% are actively disengaged. They are unhappy and unproductive at work. And their negative … [Read more…]

21st Century Revolutionary Conferences Have Transformed The Traditional Education Session

Conferences that focus primarily on lecture-based methods are becoming increasingly difficult to defend! There is ample evidence that the lecture creates phony learning, along with the inability to retain and apply what has been heard. Packed conference sessions and smile-sheet summary evaluations only indicate that attendees can successfully sit through dreary lectures. It does not … [Read more…]

Association Professionals And Conference Organizers: Embrace Curiosity To Avoid Stagnation

In today’s rapidly changing world, if you are not moving forward, you are falling behind. Our challenge is to keep pace with the changing tides of our profession. To do that, you have to constantly learn, unlearn and relearn. It’s your job to take control of your personal and professional growth to ensure that your … [Read more…]