What I’ve Learned This Year Could Fill a Book December 19, 2019 by Lisa Block After nearly 30 years leading the event development and execution at the Society for Human Resource Management, I took the leap earlier this year to join the remarkable VCC team and focus on helping associations and organizations improve their annual events. The work we do has reignited my deep appreciation for the role associations play … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning, Hybrid & Virtual Tagged With: , annual conference, annual convention, business health, leadership buyin, strategic planning, Velvet Chainsaw Consulting
The 21st Century Meeting Professional: Act Strategically, Think Both Functionally And Strategically April 6, 2017 by Jeff Hurt What’s the role of the 21st Century meeting and conference professional? In the past, the answer was easy. Perform very straight forward, transactional, functional tasks related to the logistics of conferences, meetings and events. S/He fulfilled the same types of tasks on a daily basis. When asked to make improvements, s/he focused on efficiency and … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , ambidextrous organization, conference organizer, conference strategy, meeting professional, strategic planning, strategic thinking, strategic value
You Choose: Bloated Painfully Slow Blimp Or Stealth Agile Fighter Jet September 21, 2015 by Jeff Hurt Recently I saw the Goodyear Blimp circling a major Dallas freeway. It bounced up and down with the intensity of a bobble-head-frenzy. Several times it plunged nose-first in a new direction. It was clunky and off target—at least it looked like it was astray. It was also painfully slow.Some association governance structures have bloated into … [Read more…] Filed Under: Ramblings Tagged With: , #assnchat, association future, association governance, decision-making, governance model, leadership, nonprofit governance, organization structure, strategic planning
Feeding A Zombie Project And Getting No Results June 22, 2015 by Jeff Hurt Is your organization stuck maintaining and nurturing a zombie project? A zombie project is one that continues from year to year regardless of its effectiveness. It sucks the very life and resources from your team and organization says authors Scott Anthony, David Duncan and Pontus M.A. Siren. Often many people feel these zombie projects have … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , association best practices, conference best practices, conference evaluation, Conference Financials, conference planning team, strategic planning, strategic thinking
Attitudes That Separate Growing, Healthy Conferences From Declining Ones June 10, 2015 by Jeff Hurt So what’s the difference between a growing, healthy conference and a declining one? Well, there are a lot of differences. Leadership—boards, committees, volunteers, staff—of growing, healthy conferences share some common attitudes. And leaders of declining conferences share similar outlooks as well. These mindsets have a huge influence on a meeting’s outcomes. Here are five leadership … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference best practices, conference growth, conference health, Conference Profitability, Conference Revenue Performance, conferences, long term growth, strategic planning, strategic thinking, strategy
Conference Education Sessions Must Override Attendees’ Need For Predictability October 14, 2014 by Jeff Hurt We are hard-wired to be like the Fraggles. But we are better off being like the the Doozers. Be A Doozer Not A Fraggle If you’ve ever watched the 80s tv show Fraggle Rock, you know the Fraggles and Doozers. The colorful, fur tuft tipped tail Fraggles only have a 30-minute work week. They dedicated … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education, Experience Design Tagged With: , association best practices, brain-friendly conferences, change, change management, conference best practices, conferences, meeting, meeting planner, strategic planning
Four Objections To Changing Conference Education And Experiences October 9, 2014 by Jeff Hurt Change freaks many of us out! We fear it. We ignore it. We refuse to accept it. It’s really not change that freaks us out. It’s the unknown of the outcome. It’s so much easier to keep things the same because we know the results. Defining Change According to psychologist and therapist Roger S. Gil, … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , association best practices, change, change management, conference best practices, conferences, meeting, meeting planner, strategic planning
Practicing Strategic Thinking To Strengthen Intellectual Capacity September 5, 2014 by Jeff Hurt 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, Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass Strengthening Strategic Thinking Muscles Becoming a strategic thinker is not as difficult as it … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , reflective thinking, strategic planning, strategic thinking, thinking
Boost Your Strategic Thinking While Improving Your Memory Of Minutia August 26, 2014 by Jeff Hurt How strategic is your thinking? Do you crave information? Do you believe that more is actually better? Do you desire data, data and more data? If you hunger after more and better ideas at all cost, your info-craving habits actually zap your brain’s energy. The persistent pace of focusing on details makes it more difficult … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education Tagged With: , adult learning strategies, conference best practices, education best practices, reflective thinking, strategic planning, strategic thinking, thinking
What You Are Doing Today Probably Will Not Drive Your Long Term Conference Growth June 26, 2014 by Jeff Hurt Most conference strategy is stuck! It’s stuck in strategic thinking based on ideas and frameworks designed for a different era. Our current conference growth strategy is out of context with today’s dramatic accelerated pace of change. We have taken for granted a set of growth strategy assumptions that served us in the past. But they … [Read more…] Filed Under: Business Model, Event Planning Tagged With: , conference best practices, conference growth, conferences, long term growth, strategic planning, strategic thinking, strategy
