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 it for a record, I'll tell you that. I'm not in it for a ring. That's when people get hurt. If we don't win the last game of the Series, they'll dismiss us, said Beane. Billy….said Brand. I … [Read more...]
Using Human Sciences To Navigate Your Conference’s Future Through The Fog
Our linear and rational conference business models are our default thinking. Unfortunately, those traditional models cause us to navigate in a fog when the conference challenge is less straightforward. There are better ways to understand how to grow your conference than what you’ve done in the past. As conference professionals, we are inclined to continue to use models that have always worked enormously well for us. Yet our past has little relevance in the midst of an incredibly shifting … [Read more...]
An Anthropologist Walks Into A Conference
As your conference grows, it faces increased complexity. According to a recent IBM study of 1,600+ CEOs, the biggest challenge their companies face is the complexity gap. Eight out of ten of those CEOs expect their business environment to grow in complexity but less than half are prepared to face that change. Your conference’s growth faces similar complexity gaps. Forward-thinking conference professionals see gathering business intelligence about their target market as imperative. These … [Read more...]
What Is Your Conference ROM?
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 what is your conference's return on mission? Defining ROM Nonprofit technology consultant Andrew Urban says Return On Mission (ROM) is the ability to look beyond … [Read more...]
Measuring What Matters To Your Conference
If the only conference numbers you care about are attendance, exhibitors, revenue and profits, you will never be able to understand why those numbers fluctuate. You’re only guessing and planning conference programming through a shot-gun approach if you don’t get serious about measurement. It’s time to stop relying on your gut. Or your volunteer conference planning committee. It’s time to measure what matters to improve your conference. Data Counting Versus Measurement You probably … [Read more...]