So You Think You Can

Brian Dennehy captured this amazing
moment at an I event I produced while
working at Cantrav

So you think you can be an event professional? Well you can. But it won't be what you expect, and it definitely won't be as easy as you imagine it will be. 

Five years ago (!) I wrote a post on 23 areas you need to be an expert on to be a meeting professional. If anything this list has grown, with an even greater emphasis on both risk management and technology in all its forms. This ranges now from business management to data acquisition, privacy and data analysis for your own business and your clients and ultimately the event and of course, event participants. 

There is a reason that Career Cast lists event professional in the top 5 most stressful jobs, right after military officers, police officers, firefighters and airline pilots. I would like to point out that rarely is our actual life on the line, but we do have numerous stakeholders from C-level executives and their direct reports, marketing teams, sponsors, exhibitors and participants; and an environment which we imagine and then rely on often dozens of supplier partners we can inspire but don't control, a team of staff, volunteers, performers, presenters and yes, participants to bring our event to life. We do this all in the immediate view of anyone attending our events live PLUS all those following their perspective of our events as shared in visual content on multiple streams of social media or traditional media. We now have to please live participants and virtual attendees in many cases, and all have their own needs. EVERY person attending has made an investment in our event, and everyone deserves the best we can deliver.

So what does it take? It is a combination of attitude and aptitude, hard-won experience and yes, education. Since this post I wrote - also in 2011 - about education  vs experience I have recertified my CMP, obtained my Digital Event Strategist (DES) and am working towards my Certified Event Designer (CED) designations. Why? I recognize that to continue to deliver what our clients demand, we have to stay ahead of the curve, defeat the status quo, pay attention to the changing consumer, and continue to LOVE what we do. Do I think you need certifications to be a skilled, savvy, fantastic event professional? Of course not - there are many people who have entered this industry from a variety of backgrounds and who understand experience creation, branding, client service and are creative or logistic geniuses with excellent careers and clients. Do I believe if you are starting out or desiring you should take the (precious) time and take advantage of the education available both formal and informal, through universities and associations? YES. 

Is it daunting? Often. Is it do-able? Heck YES. Do you have to truly, deeply, madly want to deliver unequaled experiences that change people's lives? YES. 

Please, share what you LOVE about being an event professional, I would love to hear!

10 Things I liked at IMEX

IMEX has taken the MICE market in the US by storm, as year two saw massive increases in the hosted buyer program over last year, and the education was even more jam packed goodness, with MPI Smart Monday, Association Focus, PCMA's Planner meetings, campfires and more. I loved hearing more about meeting architecture from Maarten Van Neste, and being inspired to enhance creativity and take care of our teams with Jonathan Bradsaw, and more about why to blog with Jenise Fryatt, among others.  IMEX America schedule 

 

Of course, that is only a small part of it. Here are some of my highlights of attending IMEX this year.

1. Gerrit Heijkoop's shoes. Really. We first noticed them in the elevator, and it turned out he had posted his choices on Facebook, and his friends voted. They chose well. Conveniently they also coordinated well with Mr. Holland's outfit. A star of the show - for the great suit, the awesome hair and the general fun this very excellent branding and likeable character have given the whole country.
2. People, oh the people.  We came, we saw, we hugged, we met, we talked, we connected and we grew. None of us stay in this industry for the long hours and airport wi-fi; we stay because of the people we get to partner with to create measurable, engaging, memorable magic.
3. Inspiring visitors to the Vancouver booth to jump on our RockTheBike and blend up a batch of smoothies or margaritas. (Side note - we guaranteed so well we had close to no beverages wasted - we shared and drank them all!)
4. The excellent interviews captured by Kiki L'Italien with some amazing people who are dedicated in a variety of ways to our evolving industry - Take the time to watch these - there are more but we talked to people ranging from QuickMobile to Meetology, DMCs to hotels, and platforms from Twoppy to SocialTables and many other experienced industry leaders - worth the time! We all enjoyed spending time with this smart and engaged lady who is always up for a challenge! 
5. The sustainability hub the Green Meetings Industry Council hosted - their ongoing rotation of out-of-the-box suppliers was exceptionally interesting - and darn it, that is a really nice group of people who truly care! 
6. Meeting @eventagist Stefania, @gheijkoop @djstomp @danberger ("Call me Don") among others IRL - it is always a blast to meet people you know through shared online conversation
7. Smart and creative ISES leaders - Brian, Lenny Talarico, Laura and more - people who continue to remind us that it is always about the stories we tell through live events
8. AVMan - the superhero representing AV For Planners - led my Mike McAllen and Jon Trask who have a plan to support planners in making decisions as they navigate the often confusing world of ever changing AV
9. Hugging friends and fans of our beautiful city and seeing all our booth partners doing the same thing - we really are the friendly, fun West Coast CANADIANS!
10. "Surprise!" and seeing the look on the face of our special friend celebrating a milestone - such a special idea to bring together friends from three continents to celebrate on the last evening!

I love the business conducted at IMEX, the learning, the connecting and the passion we all share for creating programs, conferences, events and meetings that matter.

 

It is fantastic seeing all the ideas we had to create a space that would engage visitors for three days, and I cannot wait to go back next year and do it again!

CMP recertification



Brain Friendly All Day Snacks at
the Vancouver Convention Centre

 Anyone with the CMP usually dreads that five year mark approaching as you have to collect information on what you have done that would let you re-certify. I am no different. This year though has been a bit more fun, as it allowed me to reflect on what I have done beyond finishing (at last!) a degree in Hospitality Management, instructing in the BCIT Event Marketing course (always good for a few points) and producing fantastic events for a wide range of clients, from mountaintops to boardrooms, in art galleries and ski resorts and many other spectacular places.

Thank you to the following organizations that allowed me to share my passion for the industry and for the trends that are continuing to shape how we can do meetings better.

First, talking with @brainstrength Andrea Sullivan on Brain Friendly Food: Changing your Meeting One Meal at a Time at both SPINCon 2011 and FICP 2011 and then putting this into practice at Event Camp Vancouver - spectacular to see the results when you incorporate true brain friendly principles into your meeting environment and meals.

Following Event Camp Vancouver, a spectacular collaboration of many industry partners to create a collective experience second to none in education, connections and relevance, there have been opportunities to share what was learned.   

AssociCom invited me to talk about how we can add social gaming layers to enhance a conference experience - a conversation that still has room to grow!

Trevor Roald and I also had the opportunity to do a quick webinar with etouches on our experiment in event engagement, and how pieces that add to positive experiences can be incorporated.

I am also looking forward next week to joining Erica St. Angel at Sonic Foundry's headquarters in Madison, WI to look "Behind the Black Curtain" on hybrid events.

What is fun about all this? For me and many others we work in the meeting and event industry because we enjoy seeing the difference we make for people who attend, and being able to talk about how we do it and open dialogue and create discussion - well that is why! I look forward to seeing you all at upcoming events and having fun together!

Blogalog Apr 25: Becoming an Event Planner - what does it take

Dear Deborah aka @projectmaven at @eventwist

This weekend in doing some reseach while preparing to review an online course for an event management degree, I came across this description for what an event planner is and I have to say that for all we do, I found it a bit vague, and well, simplified.

Education Portal Job description says this about the job: An event planner is responsible for organizing meetings, parties, weddings and other important events. They are responsible for every detail including notifying attendees, booking a location and contacting a caterer. During the day of the event, the planner continues to delegate others to ensure that the event runs smoothly. Event planners may be contracted by companies or individuals.

I found this to be a bit on the "light side", either when compared to my own list of What a Meeting Planner Does or certainly to the Canadian Standards for an event coordinator, which outlines 45 areas of competency. These competencies when combined with 3 - 5 years of experience can lead you into the area of being an Event Manager (and various other titles earned along the way depending on your specialty) and requires a huge depth of understanding and skill.
No matter what city we are in, Vancouver, New York or the many cities around the world, where the people who are creating meetings, events and weddings are doing so much more than this, and bringing so much to their clients through their innovative ideas and unique creations - our hats are tipped to you. These highly talented individuals create teams of unbelievable depth and deliver events that truly deliver messages in unique and compelling ways. So to all you event planners out there - keep doing what you do and let's keep proving our value, one awesome meeting or event at a time!

Education or experience?

I started this post and stopped, more than once. Today I dropped in and out of an #assnchat that was really about this topic and it has made me re-think about this again. So tonight, as I sit watching the class I teach (Event Planning 101) work on designing their projects that are due in six weeks, it seems an appropriate time to delve back into this topic.

Experience = Experience. Full Stop. Experience + Certification = credibility.
I didn't say this - it is in the transcript from the #assnchat you will find below.
Is it true? What matters to our peers? bosses? future bosses? clients?

Work life balance

First, I think formal education, in any context is a personal choice. I come from a family of teachers, and some degree of formal education and a yearning for "academic approval" is part of what feeds me. First, some history. When I was 13 I got my first job. In a hair salon. I took beauty culture (you cannot make that name up!) in high school, and at 17 graduated, wrote my license and went to work. I sought education through shows, and as I became a salon manager, went back to college and took some basic business classes. Mostly, I learned everything the hard way about managing staff, as you are apt to do at 21, when you still know nearly everything there is to know! I went on to educate stylists about haircolor for a leading manufacturer, grew the salon from 5 to 14 staff and attended lots of shows, and loved what I did.

At 26, I had to have life changing surgery on both arms and was told accurately I would not be able to cut hair again. So I cried. and cried. and cried. Then I saw a tiny ad for a brand new diploma in Event Management. Oooh, glamour and excitement waited, I was sure. Now this was 1993, so the textbooks were AH&MA or Joe Goldblatt. The magazines were full of names like Joan Eisenstodt, Greg Ruby, Jeff Rasco, Corbin Ball, Andrea Michaels, Colin Cowie and John Daly. Oh, how I longed to be as knowledgeable, as experienced...

I graduated, and went to work as a coordinator, with a naturally underwhelming salary, which of course with my 2yr (compressed into an intensive 1) diploma I was ready to take on the world. I joined MPI, joined the local chapter board, and learned all I could. Eventually I was asked if I wanted to do some teaching, and dabbled, formalizing this with a Provincial Instructors Diploma, and obtaining my CMP. I worked at a PCO, and did many city-wides and some traveling across North America. After 8 years, I decided to focus on creative production and worked for a fantastically creative DMC until it closed unexpectedly. I then went on to the agency side as a Producer at an incentive house.

Oh the travel, the excitement, the EXPERIENCE gained. But I was not seeing my children, and I was at a place / time where I was not learning anything really new. (before Twitter) I attended industry conferences across North America - some really great conferences, but the takeaways became smaller - typical as more experience is gained. I decided to go back to school and earned my Degree in Hospitality Management. Here HR, Risk management, Branding, Tourism and Marketing, Finance and Yield Management were all explored.  The peer group was awesome - leaders in our community, who had hit the same ceilings and went back to get a degree too. A smart institution recognizing a hole in the industry and filling it.

So does all this education matter?  Not really. I have not worked for anyone yet - organization or client that cares what credentials I have. They care a lot that I come to the table with a lot of experience, a lot of common sense, a high degree of enthusiasm for creating and delivering exceptional events with the awesome team I work with, and that their guests have a memorable, relevant, authentic experience - whether it is a few hours or a few days; whether it is in Vancouver, Beijing, Stockholm or Boston.

Do I regret the time spent on education?  Not one tiny bit. I have read more textbooks than I can remember,and have spent much time in classrooms and doing homework and have met many great learners and have had numerous great instructors - each piece a building block - all good. Do I think that it is imperative to get a certification - whether CAE, CSEP, CMM, CMP, diploma or degree? Definitely not. If you want it - then go for it! If you don't - that is ok too. I believe that education should be a personal choice and if you decide that your learning should be dance, yoga, tae kwon do, ikebana, improv theatre or culinary training - learn more about what interests you.

Find your passion, feed your passion. Personally, I can't wait for event camp - in just three days! 

I loved seeing the multiple opinions expressed in assnchat today - so have included the link to the transcript here. So many valid thoughts shared!  #assnchat certifications chat Feb 8/11

Meeting Certifications - Which one is for you?