Sometimes, we just have to stop using old-school thinking. We have to move beyond this thought, “Well, it’s worked for us in the past so it must be the right thing to do now or in the future.” Some of our thinking is out of context with the today’s world. When it comes to conference … [Read more…]
Antidote: a substance that can counteract a form of poisoning (and in the case of conferences, ingrained, fixed, established methods of thinking). An antidote neutralizes or prevents something harmful, damaging or dangerous. Some antidotes require antivenom used to treat a lethal situation. Many conference planning teams need antidotes to their panacea outdated thinking processes. They … [Read more…]
As a conference organizer you have the amazing opportunity to create some noble and transformative meeting mojo! We just need the right thinking tools to do conferences better. We have to reframe our lens, filters and thinking so that we can propel our customers into the future advantageously. We have to move beyond gathering and … [Read more…]
Does your annual conference have a documented purpose or strategy? My experience is that most organizers either don’t have one or haven’t updated, or used it, in quite a while. With competition for attendee time and share of wallet reaching new degrees of complexity, revisiting this strategic step should be a high priority. Defining the … [Read more…]
This is the third installment in this three part post on why you should not copy successful conference leaders. The first post looked at who we follow within the conference and meetings industry. It also established five bear traps to avoid when copying new ideas. The second post identified three big ole bear traps to … [Read more…]
Why do we blindly copy another conference’s success? Too often, we try to find fresh ideas from leading conference professionals. Copying another person’s conference success is so much easier than investing the time to think it through for ourselves. Hat tips to Carey Nieuwhof’s Leading Change Without Losing It: Five Strategies That Can Revolutionize How … [Read more…]
Who do you follow today in the conference landscape? I can think of several conference leaders and a handful of organizations that you should carefully watch. I know I follow them—even if from a distance. Your list might consist of any of the stalwart traditional conference organizers. They’ve taken their organization to success. Or you … [Read more…]
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…]
How many conference speakers have you seen that don’t want attendees asking, answering, commenting or participating during their presentations? From the speaker’s point of view, the presentation seems to be moving along nicely as the content is covered. The room is silent except the speaker’s voice. And surely that means that the audience is attentively … [Read more…]
We can’t solve today’s and tomorrow’s problems with yesterday’s thinking says Dan Pink. Most of us only know one way to address our challenges. Our problem solving skills, our communication strategies and our capacity to bend our ideas as we bridge gaps have not evolved fast enough. We think there is only a right and … [Read more…]
