Dear Association Leader: The status quo does not have your best interest at heart. It feels safe. And familiar. And comfortable. And even successful. But it’s not. It’s a very enticing powerful force. It can seduce you into a seemingly logical yet inadvisable present-forward mindset. You project today’s business into the future and expect yesterday’s success tomorrow…although the world continues to change. Pondering Things That Make You Go Hmmmm So ask yourself: Do I buy status quo … [Read more...]
Since We Are Already Doing What We Are Doing It Cannot Be Too Risky-NOT!
We frequently avoid change. We take comfort in doing the same thing over and over again. It feels safe. When it comes to making changes to a conference or association service, we opt to do what we’ve done in the past. It’s easier. We know the outcome. We believe it’s less risky than changing. Putting Risk In Context I would argue that doing what you’ve always done in the past is one of the riskiest things you can do. It can result in eventual demise. Don’t believe me? Consider Kodak, … [Read more...]
Your Conference Is Not As Unique As You Think
I’ve got news for conference organizers and hosts. Your conference is not as unique as you think. For the past three years, the team at Velvet Chainsaw Consulting has been reviewing, evaluating and analyzing annual meetings and conferences. Almost every one of our 30+ clients has started our review process with the following statement, “Our conference and audience is not like other conferences. We are different from all the others.” In those 30+ clients, how many of those conferences … [Read more...]
Be Wary Of The Collision Of Conference Traditions And Attendee Expectations
The future most conference leaders want is at odds with the present they choose. Conference organizers have not even begun to explore the outer limits of their meeting's full potential. Currently the conference's limitless potential is crashing headlong into its leader's self imposed boundaries and limitations. They sell the conference short. Bumping Up Against The Past Conference attendees, full of potential, are currently bumping up against a former, imposed perimeter of carefully crafted … [Read more...]
Status Quo Or Strategic Agility?
It takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that. ~ The Red Queen, Through The Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll Change Is Never Easy No one said change would be easy. Some associations and conference hosts just refuse to embrace change of any type. You turn you head and before you know it, some of these organizations have lost their way and slowly disappear. They lose their appeal. People stop using … [Read more...]
