Helping Smart Planning Teams Learn So That Their Conferences Prosper April 7, 2015 by Jeff Hurt As conference organizers aspire to succeed in tougher and progressively more complex environments, they’ve got to resolve one basic and major quandary: Success today depends upon learning. We can’t continue to do what we’ve always done and expect different results. We’ve got to learn new ways “to conference,” so to speak. Success today depends upon … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference organizer, conference planning, conference planning team, culture of learning, learning organization, meeting planner, meeting professional, strategy
Revamping Your Strategic Brain To Be A Rock Solid Leader February 27, 2015 by Jeff Hurt The challenge you face as a conference organizer or meeting planner is taking on the role of being a ridiculously in charge rock solid leader. Or not! You can decide to be a meetings’ transactional order taker and fulfiller. You may decide that’s all you want to do for the rest of your life. Or … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , becoming a conference leader, conference leadership, leadership, strategic thinking, strategy
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
From Details To Strategy: How Meeting Planners Can Change Their Filters To View New Success January 4, 2013 by Jeff Hurt Many meeting planners feel that the conference experience and content is not their job. They are responsible for the logistics and details, not the attendees’ overall experience. That’s where those meeting planners are wrong! If Meeting Planners Cannot… If a meeting planner cannot focus on the big picture and goals of the event, then all … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conferences, meeting logistics, meeting planner, meeting planning best practices, strategy
Three Winning Strategies To Convert Organizational Intentions Into Action September 8, 2011 by Jeff Hurt Good intentions don’t move mountains. Bulldozers do. You’ve probably heard that old saying. There’s great truth to it. The Mission And The Plan For many organizations, the mission and the plan–if that’s all there is–are nothing more than good intentions. Many leaders spend great time and resources helping their teams plan for the future. Afterwards, … [Read more…] Filed Under: Ramblings Tagged With: , association best practices, conference best practices, organizational learning, strategic thinking, strategy
Are You A Glorified Scheduler Or Strategic Meeting Professional? September 6, 2011 by Jeff Hurt As a conference organizer, are you focused on checking off your daily to do list or focused on fulfilling your participants’ needs? When you focus only on completing your task, you deliver what’s required. But not what’s expected. You follow the standard operating procedure precisely. And yet you miss the point completely. You comply with … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , conference best practices, conferences, meeting best practices, meeting logistics, meeting planner, meeting planning best practices, meeting professional, strategy
Nine Ground Rules To Adopt During Strategic Planning August 9, 2011 by Jeff Hurt Strategic Planning: those two words can cause groans, sighs and rolling eyes. Some run screaming from the room when they discover it’s strategic planning time! Nine Strategic Planning Ground Rules Regardless your thoughts about strategic planning, here are nine ground rules to help your team maneuver the minefields and complex paths. Establishing these ground rules … [Read more…] Filed Under: Ramblings Tagged With: , strategic planning, strategic thinking, strategy
Four Keys To Social Media Strategy Success May 16, 2011 by Jeff Hurt Like a crow drawn to bright, shiny objects, many organizations are drawn to the bells and whistles of new social technologies. Few think about their goals when using those social technologies. Few create an action plan to achieve an overall objective. Few align the use of those tools with their current plans. Often organizational leaders need … [Read more…] Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: , social media for associations, social media for events, social technology, strategy