Conference Organizer: Proceed With Caution! February 23, 2016 by Dave Lutz Danger, conference organizer! Danger! Did you ever watch the late-’60s sci-fi TV series Lost In Space? Yeah, most of you reading this are too young to know or remember it. Still you may have watched it in reruns or at a slumber party. It was known for its iconic robot that served as an early-tornado-type-siren. … [Read more…] Filed Under: Business Model Tagged With: , actionable metrics, conference best practices, conference evaluation, conference indicators, conference performance indicators, KPI, KPIs, metrics, shatterpoints, vanity metrics
Moneyball For Conferences: You Want Your Meeting to Mean Something October 15, 2015 by Jeff Hurt We just won twenty games in a row, said the fictitious Peter Brand, advance scout for Oakland A’s. And what’s the point? said Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane. We just got the record, said Brand. Man, I’ve been doing this for… listen, man. I’ve been in this game a long time. I’m not in … [Read more…] Filed Under: Business Model Tagged With: , conference best practices, conference indicators, conference metrics, conference performance indicators, KPI, KPIs, lagging indicators, leading indicators, measurement, shatterpoints
Seven Conference Early Shatterpoints To Measure Immediately August 31, 2015 by Jeff Hurt How financially sustainable is your conference? Too often the metrics we use for our conferences are lagging indicators—inputs and outputs. We measure our P&L, attendance, sponsorship, exhibitors and attendee satisfaction. But that is not enough! We need to measure leading indicators. The VCC team gets asked repeatedly how to know if a conference is successful … [Read more…] Filed Under: Business Model Tagged With: , conference best practices, conference indicators, conference performance indicators, conference shatterpoints, KPI, KPIs, shatterpoints
If Your Conference Metrics Feel Good, Use Discernment July 2, 2015 by Jeff Hurt Yahoo, our conference attendance is up 30% from last year. Whoa, don’t be fooled by that conference data! Too many organizations pat their leaders on the back for increased attendance, selling out the show floor or selling all of their sponsorship packages. We need to use discernment to look deeper into what that conference data … [Read more…] Filed Under: Business Model Tagged With: , conference best practices, conference indicators, conference performance indicators, KPI, KPIs, lagging indicators, leading indicators, shatterpoints
Measuring Actionable Or Vanity Conference Metrics June 8, 2015 by Jeff Hurt Your conference needs a checkup! Just like you need an annual doctor’s appointment for routine health checkup, your conference needs a routine checkup. Sure, you may feel like your conference doesn’t need it, just like you feel you don’t need a medical checkup. Regardless of how you feel, it is important. You need to assess … [Read more…] Filed Under: Business Model, Event Planning Tagged With: , actionable metrics, conference best practices, conference evaluation, conference indicators, conference performance indicators, KPI, KPIs, metrics, shatterpoints, vanity metrics
Misguided And Misinformed Conference Barometers May 8, 2015 by Jeff Hurt Many of us who plan conferences have become so busy at the logistics of the event that we lose sight of the goal. When planning an event, we immediately go into automatic overdrive. We do the same things we’ve always done because it’s efficient and familiar to us. The over arching goals of the conference—providing … [Read more…] Filed Under: Business Model Tagged With: , attendee experience, conference best practices, conference experience, conference indicators, conference performance indicators, KPI, KPIs, shatterpoints, traditional conferences
Six Early Behavioral Warning Signs To Monitor Your Conference Sustainability December 12, 2014 by Donna Kastner Understanding conference shatterpoints is critical to comprehending your conference’s financial sustainability. Essentially, conference shatterpoints are fault lines pointing to areas of vulnerability. They’re leading indicators that illustrate areas of weakness that usually don’t fully appear in your results until years later. You want to know about these imperfections before it’s too late. Detecting them early … [Read more…] Filed Under: Business Model Tagged With: , conference best practices, conference indicators, conference performance indicators, early conference warning signs, KPI, KPIs, shatterpoint precursors, shatterpoints
How To Use Shatterpoints as Early Conference Warning Signs January 9, 2014 by Jeff Hurt Have you ever hit a shatterpoint with your conference? You’ll know if you have because it made your entire conference unravel, freeze or die. Conference Shatterpoints What’s a shatterpoint, you ask? A shatterpoint is like a fault line, crack or an area of weakness in a path of action. In Star Wars, shatterpoints are a … [Read more…] Filed Under: Business Model Tagged With: , conference best practices, conference indicators, conference performance indicators, KPI, KPIs, shatterpoints
