To be successful in the 21st Century, we have to become comfortable with ambiguity and contradiction. We must learn to reframe our questions and rise above conventional mental models. We have to embrace experimentation and try new things. We have to adopt strategies that encourage us to abandon ingrained, comfortable ideas and employ new ones that may feel unfamiliar. We have to disregard traditional assumptions and open ourselves to new paradigms. Ultimately, we must take steps to … [Read more...]
You’re Paying Too Much Interest On Your Conference Organizational Debt
Most organizations pay for it without knowing it. What is it? Conference organizational debt. Your conference organizational debt includes the static roles, traditional structures, outdated models, long-established practices, antiquated procedures and legacy policies that prevent your organization from adapting to evolving markets, technology and society. Your conference pays the interest on this debt in the form of reduced speed, lack of capacity, diminished engagement, rigidity and … [Read more...]
Refactor Your Conference Archaic Planning Routines
Conference organizers and their planning teams should understand, identify and quash organizational debt. Once they pinpoint and distinguish it, they need to refactor it. “Refactor it?” you say. “What does refactor mean?” Refactor is a technology concept that meeting professionals can use as a metaphor. Software programmers refactor their code once they develop a better understanding of how and why the program works. They clean up its internal functions, simplifying the program and … [Read more...]
The Conference Debt You Cannot Afford
There is one debt every conference organizer must face and vanquish. It can cripple a conference. It doesn’t show up on your profit and loss statement. What is this debt? Organizational debt—the interest your conference pays when its structures, policies, procedures, practices, committees and leadership roles stay fixed and accumulate even as the world around it changes.* Anyone striving to build a 21st century sustainable conference needs to understand organizational debt, how it impacts … [Read more...]
