Ever run your car over some severe potholes? It can do some major damage to your tires. And to your vehicle too. Potholes can be an expensive problem for both drivers and cities. Just like potholes, conference planning thinkholes can be an expensive problem for your event. They can create some major cavities and damage … [Read more…]
Why do so many people rate the conference experience as stale, predictable and average at best? Why do conference leaders miss the mark at preparing their own unique DNA conference experience? Why do so many conference organizers miss the opportunity to create a matchless thumbprint on their event’s identity? We as conference organizers often have … [Read more…]
What is the breakthrough you most want to see happen in your conference in the next year? What do you imagine could be possible if you were truly collaborating with your conference planning team, leadership and volunteers? What effect would leading through collaboration have on those who follow you? In order to do so, you … [Read more…]
You are unique. And the conference and events you plan can be unique too. As a one-of-a-kind meeting professional, you are called to create one-of-a-kind conferences. You have an infinite amount of possibilities to create something new. Something different. Something unique. Thanks to Will Mancini for continually challenging me to think and be different. Too … [Read more…]
A Momentous Catalyst To Conference Attendee Behavior Change I am often asked how to get conference attendees to adopt 21st Century learning habits. The majority of conferences treat attendees as consumers of information. We encourage them to attend our programming and passively listen. Some of them resist any changes we make to that model. They … [Read more…]
Many conferences depend upon academic researchers to present at their event. Yet that very research often puzzles their conference stakeholders. Even after their customers slice through the layers of jargon and technicalities, the research still seems mystifying. Sometimes the research seems to capture a resounding “Well, duh!” from the audience. Other times, the research presented … [Read more…]
Times change! 10-20 years ago, we saw conferences grow both in numbers and maturity. We could throw just about any idea at our event and it seemed to work. Yet the world continues to evolve. These days, our society, our culture and our conferences change. Those ideas, assumptions, methods and features that worked in the … [Read more…]
Your conference is lacking! Yes, it lacks the connective tissue to support it participants’ true business objectives for attending your event. Yes, it lacks the connective tissue of an obvious framework for the current and future needs of its stakeholders. Connective tissue is a material that supports the vital organs of your body. It provides … [Read more…]
Medical meetings need to practice agility and pivoting with their programming now! Their organizers and hosts can’t wait for a two- or five-year change cycle. The medical profession is shifting to outcomes based medicine due to health care reform. And those conferences that want to continue to remain germane to the medical profession need to … [Read more…]
We have a tendency to return to the way things have always been done. When we repeat the same process over and over again, the brain says, “Hey, we’ve done this many times. Let me automate it and you don’t have to think about it anymore.” That’s not always good when it comes to conference … [Read more…]
