Time To Pivot: Rethinking Human Memory And Remembering For Conference Education January 20, 2016 by Jeff Hurt How does the mind work, especially how does it remember things from your event? Well, it’s probably not like your currently believe. Creating a memorable event is not enough! Unforgettable memorable events, which most of us aim to offer, misguide your attendees because our memories do not accurately record an event or experience. Your memory … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , cognitive psychology, cognitive science, conference best practices, learning, memory, neuroscience, remembering
Conferences During Hinge Times January 11, 2016 by Jeff Hurt We are living in a world of hinge time. Our conferences are planned to educate attendees for an era that no longer exists. The challenges our attendees face are vastly different from the ones of the past. Most of our conference attendees were educated on how to be right. We focus on individual and collective … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , collaboration, collaborative learning, conversations, fearless conversations, transformation, transformational conferences, transformational learning
Forecasting The Future Of Conferences: Trends You Should Adopt Now January 7, 2016 by Jeff Hurt Your conference today is where it is based upon the decisions you as a conference organizer made in the past. The decisions you make today about your conference creates your conference’s future. You ability to anticipate your conference participants’ challenges and opportunities impact your ability to plan and strategize your conference. We’ve talked about conference … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference predictions, conference trends, forecasting
Trends For Tomorrow’s Conference January 6, 2016 by Jeff Hurt Every conference experiences change. Well, at least is should experience some change. Especially if it’s a healthy and growing conference. Yet some conference organizers—those that keep their finger on the intersection of society, their profession and their customers’ industry—sense that they are in the midst of radical change. It’s the kind that only happens every … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conferences, trends
Group And Meetings Impact Of The Marriott/Starwood Combo December 30, 2015 by Dave Lutz A number of meeting professionals have voiced concerns over two recently announced mega-deals in the hotel space. In 2016, Marriott is expected to complete a transaction to acquire Starwood. And AccorHotels is expected to acquire Fairmont, Raffles and Swissotel. Meeting professional often compare this roll-up to the consolidation in the airline industry. They believe hotel … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning
When Committee Bureaucracy Stymies Your Conference Potential December 7, 2015 by Jeff Hurt It is often said that an association’s board of directors is the brain of that organization. Its committees serve as the central nervous system influencing all parts of the body. The conference planning committee is similar to our spinal cord, serving as the internal communication highway between the parts of the body and the brain. … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , association bureaucracy, conference planning, conference planning committee, equipping catalhyst conference committee, nosend, organizational theory, structures
Seven Reasons Why Your Conference Attendees Don’t Want You To Change November 6, 2015 by Jeff Hurt It’s just not the conference is used to be! That’s a common complaint from long-term conference attendees. Often they resist changes or conference growth. Conference organizers have to carefully watch placating these long-term attendees versus attracting new ones. Sometimes, we have to let the legacy attendees complain or leave in order to make the appropriate … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , change, change management, conference best practices, conference growth, growing attendance
Cultivating A Conference Culture Of Community November 4, 2015 by Jeff Hurt To think about a conference is to think about community, networking, peer learning, food and table. In reality, if you are attending a conference and you are not getting hungry for more learning and peer sharing, that conference is missing the mark. Successful conferences provide ample opportunity for attendees to finger tasty ideas and feed … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , attendee experience, authentic community, community, conference best practices, connections, connexity, food and beverage, images, metaphors, narraphors, story sharing, table talk
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
Release Your Conference Trojan Mice! October 8, 2015 by Jeff Hurt Forget releasing your conference Kraken—that legendary giant sea monster sent out to destroy anything that gets in your way. And by all means, don’t release your Trojan horse. You don’t need a trick, stratagem or gimmick for your target audience. You need to release your Trojan mice! These are small, well focused changes that add … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , cause and effect, change, change management, complex adaptive systems, organization structure, organizations as systems, systems thinking, Trojan horse, Trojan mice
