Effective, High Impact Leaders Attack Established Conditions July 28, 2015 by Jeff Hurt If a problem persists for years, it is no longer a crisis. It’s a condition. Many organizations face situations built upon shoddy foundations of myth, tradition and common-sense practices. The current state of affairs has prevailed so long they are now the accepted conditions. It’s a condition of “everyone else does it that way” shadows. … [Read more…] Filed Under: Experience Design Tagged With: , association best practices, association governance, becoming a conference leader, governance model, leadership, nonprofit governance
Using The Power Of Stories To Transform Conference General Sessions July 27, 2015 by Jeff Hurt We are a story driven world. We are each a story wrapped in a skin says Dr. Leonard Sweet. When we begin to share our journeys, our stories intersect. Our conferences need to create more story people. We need to transition from speakers talking at audiences and experts telling their stories. We need to move … [Read more…] Filed Under: Experience Design Tagged With: , attendee experience, community, connections, connexity, general session, general sessions, images, metaphors, narraphors, neuroscience, stories, story people, story sharing, storytelling, table talk, unforgettable events
More Dangerous Assumptions About Your Conference Education Part 2 July 24, 2015 by Jeff Hurt The research* shows that much of what we do in our conference education is actually counterproductive. (*See partial list of research and books at the end of Dangerous Assumptions Part 1 post.) We spend too much of our conference time on delivery of information. The web is a better information delivery model than our events. … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education Tagged With: , adult education, adult learning principles, adult learning strategies, brain friendly strategies, brain-friendly conferences, conference education, conference strategy, education best practices, learning myths
Dangerous Assumptions About Your Conference Education Part I July 23, 2015 by Jeff Hurt It’s a very dangerous assumption. We assume that if our speakers are talking, our attendees must be learning. We equate telling from the stage with audience education. Telling does not equal learning. We’ve placed a value on experts talking instead of a value on attendees’ learning. It’s backwards thinking and it’s one of our conference’s … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education Tagged With: , adult education, adult learning principles, adult learning strategies, brain friendly strategies, brain-friendly conferences, conference education, conference strategy, education best practices, learning myths
Morphing Attendees into Story People Through Narraphors and Frames July 21, 2015 by Jeff Hurt We are wired for stories. Every person you meet is a story wrapped in a skin says author, futurist and sociologist Dr. Leonard Sweet. As our lives intersect, so do our stories. We can encourage conference attendees to transition from story listeners to story sharers. Then our attendees become story people participating in a bigger … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , attendee experience, community, connections, connexity, general session, general sessions, images, metaphors, narraphors, neuroscience, stories, story people, story sharing, storytelling, table talk, unforgettable events
Creating Sticky Learning: Complimentary (Sales Free) VCC Webinar July 30 July 20, 2015 by Jeff Hurt As adults, we are rather lazy learners. Much of what we hold as fact regarding learning is actually illusion. We waste a lot of effort, time and resources with common-sense accepted educational practices that are rooted in intuition, tradition and myth. The most effective learning strategies and education programming are counter-intuitive. We need to build … [Read more…] Filed Under: Ramblings Tagged With: , adult learning principles, adult learning strategies, brain-friendly conferences, conference best practices, conference education, learning
What Is Your Conference ROM? July 10, 2015 by Jeff Hurt You’ve probably heard of ROI-return on investment. You may have heard of ROE-return on equity (not return on event). Or you may have heard of ROA-return on assets. Successful businesses depend upon ROI, ROE and ROA. So have you heard of ROM-return on mission? It’s critical to moving the mission of your organization forward. So … [Read more…] Filed Under: Business Model Tagged With: , attendee satisfaction, conference return on mission, conference ROM, conference survey, measurement, return on mission, ROM, transformational conferences
Ten Ways Conference Professionals Can Gain Credibility And Increase Their Strategic Value July 9, 2015 by Jeff Hurt 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…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , credibility, event professionals, hospitality professionals, meeting planning best practices, meeting professionals, strategic thinking, strategic value
Conference Cloning: Principles Not Practices July 8, 2015 by Jeff Hurt Many of us do it. We seek the next great idea. We read lists of tips and tricks in search of one unique takeaway we can try at our event. We observe what other conferences are doing. We turn to the experts and others who have had success and ask them how they did it. … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference best practices, conference practices, conference principles, conference reinvention, mindset, revolutionary conference, strategic thinking
Your Rigid Thinking May Block Conference Improvements July 7, 2015 by Jeff Hurt Did you learn how to ride a bicycle as a kid? We often say, “Well, it’s just like riding a bicycle. Once you learn how, you’ll never forget.” But what if you had to forget everything you learned about riding a bicycle? What if you had to unlearn and start over? Could you learn, unlearn … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference best practices, conference reinvention, mindset, revolutionary conference, strategic thinking, transformation
