The Hunger Games - and 10 Event Lessons

A great book or a great movie should offer an escape; change the way you think; leave you inspired or moved. The Hunger Games is "an addictive read" (my 11 year old's words), and my 13 year old read the three books in three days. I was not far behind, captivated and fascinated by the way the author takes many things so wrong with the state of our world and rolls them all up into a tidy package of mayhem. The analogies are endless, and I am certain much smarter and more learned people than me will also be writing their perspectives as it leeches into our pop culture one thrilled audience member at a time.

As with all things pop culture, at some point, someone in the world of events says, "Hey, we could make a theme out of this Hunger Game thing." While on no level can I see selling this concept, it did make me consider this from a new perspective.

The impact of reality TV has for example led us to create teambuilding events such as Survivor, Beach Olympics and Apprentice style events. While these events take us out of our normal "box" and with the right debrief may aid in finding new approaches to our business systems, nobody dies to get to the end. What else did I learn?

1. If you are really hungry, even squirrel tastes good. So the next time someone complains about "rubber chicken", you can offer them alternatives.
2. Sponsorship is both ubiquitous and fickle - give your sponsors what they want.
3. Ask for what you need. When they needed medicine, they asked for it. When you need information or resources, ask for them.
4. Be aware of the game changers. They are two steps ahead and you don't want to get caught in their traps.
5. Have the right tools - in their case, rope, spears, land mines and knives all came in handy. For event planners I find zap straps and mobile devices are critical.
6. Mastering disguises is useful, whether to make a wow during an interview or tribute parade, or to hide under a log, the ability to fit into the environment with the right outfit for the right job is a necessary skill.
7. Think sustainably. Take just what you need and when you have enough, share with others.
8. Water is the most important element for survival. Make good choices.
9. When you can plan ahead, do. Be as prepared as you can be before you begin, which for the tributes meant years or weeks of training prior to going into the arena. For your own self, stay healthy. For your event, consider the what-if scenarios.
10. When things aren't necessarily going as you planned, trust your instincts. When you live with integrity it is easy to make the right choices for your business or your event.

Experiences and Influence

The raging #eventprofs debate over the past week has evolved around the Successful Meetings launching of the first 13 of the "25 most influential people in the meetings industry" which included 12 men and a bed bug. I thought that MeetingChange had an excellent response to this, worth a read if you want to consider influence at all.

This was followed up by an #eventtable chat on who our Influencers are led by Jenise Fryatt, and the storify of this chat is included here.

My question is this - when planning events, how do you define if the experience was successful? If your objective is to influence thought or change patterns of behaviour how are you working with the people involved - facilitators, presenters, participants to do this?

Can an event create action or change that spreads out through your participants spheres of influence? (I would argue yes if you have clear objectives and a plan to do this such as we did with Get your Green on at EventCamp Vancouver)

Who are the people who influence our industry? I believe each of us will have our own stories to tell and our own influencers, and it is incumbent upon each of us to be part of the continued positive power that meetings and events have, and to ensure that in our individual roles we step up and take responsibility, and bring our teams along with us.

How have you used an event to create transformation successfully?
What barriers have you encountered?

10 simple event pleasures

team future heads out on the weekend to
breast cancer, walking 60km, raising 20k+

1. Working with a team that "gets it"
2. Hearing the gasps of surprise and delight when guests enter an event you have spent months planning
3. Seeing the cameras come out as guests can't believe their eyes in a new destination
4. Trying something new (hybrid, sheer projection, a mobile app) and seeing the positive results
5. Awesome food and beverage programming, from the opportunity to serve attendees all day brain friendly food and see the results in increased engagement to a perfectly wine paired dinner, lunch on a glacier (harder than it sounds and oh so worth it) or a perfectly timed dinner
6. Creating an event that touches all the senses - and hearing people talk about it the next day
7. Creating a multi day program where every day provides something new and remarkable for the guests, (and seeing how much they are enjoying it)
8. Taking care of all the little details that will make our client's lives simpler, (and having them notice that we were paying attention)
9. Having entertainment that connects with the audience - a name act, a great speaker, roving or ambient that surprises... limited only by your imagination
10. Making a true positive impact with your event - whether this is through relevant education, meaningful connections, relevant CSR, money or awareness raised...

What makes you smile at the events you plan or attend?

10 simple life pleasures

1. A hug with someone special
2. The sound of waves hitting the shore
3. Cold beverage on a hot day... a warm fire on a cold day
4. A perfect cup of coffee... chocolate melting in your mouth... homemade cookies warm from the oven
5. Sunsets and sunrises
6. Watching children learn and play and learn through play
7. A soft comforter you don't have to leave
8. The sound of laughter
9. Flowers blooming in spring
10. The crunch of fall leaves... snow under your feet... running through sand

What do you love?

Kaleidoscope learning - part 2 - Questions!

I think of conferences and events as if they are a kaleidoscope, where every person will see it through their own lens, and hear information through their own filters. Imagine if you attended a conference and in addition to hearing from seasoned professionals and experts in various fields sharing their knowledge, you could then extend the conversation, and share your own point of view. Then you could hear another point of view, and another, and truly create a dialogue about a topic.  Dialogue that could lead to new ideas, solutions, innovations.

We live in a society where we are constantly fed information, and one where we take in most of the information without question. Our children know how to find information from TV, or maybe in newspapers, occasionally from books, and most often from the ubiquitous internet. What they are not being taught often enough is the skill of questioning, of not accepting everything at face value, of developing filters for information in their own minds, but also the ability to assess information without bias, and to turn the information prism like, looking for where the light shines through most brightly.

 

The stream of information and its availability on a 24/7 basis will continue to grow, the statistics are astounding (ie 24 hours of content uploaded every minute to YouTube) and the ability to assess what is important to us will remain critical.

From a conference perspective we must also find ways for our participants to process the information they hear and find ways they can make it relevant and applicable to their situations.  Imagine if at a meeting we allowed "prism" time, where participants are able to reflect, turn the information looking at it from the new point of view presented and how it fits into their own context, and to be able with others extend the conversations sparked by the sessions?  Imagine if questions were not only encouraged but integral to the sessions… imagine the possibilities.

Permission to be an Adult - Conference Musings

Event Camp Vancouver - ready for comfortable, engaging interaction, knowledge sharing and relevant learning

I am a firm believer in life-long learning and I find that conferences are indeed one of the best ways to find relevant and current information related to my area of interest. I have been in the industry for a long time and feel fortunate to have friends working in meetings and events around the world, many who I only see at these same meetings, as attendees, facilitators and presenters. These are both good reasons to attend meetings and likely the same reasons many of us attend events on a voluntary basis.  (vs say a mandated corporate meeting). 

Maybe it is just me, but here is a struggle I face with attending conferences; conferences typically are not that comfortable.  One of the challenges in attending is that it is so easy as an attendee to lose our ability to be an adult, as we are overwhelmed with difficult to navigate information, finding our way through an unfamiliar facility or facilities, in different cities or countries, often in different time zones and with cultural variances.  Often we are used to being the meeting planner and knowing all the details, and in attending we lose our sense of control, and with this the sense of comfort the control over the details gives us.  

Occasionally I have the opportunity to attend an event (or plan one such as Event Camp Vancouver) where the experience of the participants is put at the top of the list of deliverables.  Where information is available ahead of time, where we feel welcome from the beginning, where the environment allows for seating that is appropriate for our learning style and where we feel our opinions and ideas can be shared.

Imagine if you attended a meeting where you felt like the independant adult you are, instead of part of the herd moving from space to space?

What if from the minute you arrived, you felt as though there were many possibilities ahead and you could anticipate them eagerly?

A comfortable environment - one where you could find a seat that was comfortable for you and what you will be learning - where it is not just row upon row of dark theatre seats where you are talked at, but instead a space where you can interact with your peers in a positive way. Where you can leave to get a coffee without fighting through a crowd in a prescribed 15 minute time period and where the food is what will sustain you (vs a white flour filler that causes a blood sugar crash in the midst of a session) and where how you take notes is not judged - paper, twitter, tablet or laptop.  Where any teambuilding is voluntary - and is so enticing you want to participate.

Wouldn't you like to attend a meeting where you have permission to be an adult?

Banyan Trees-Analogy of Support

To see a Banyan Tree is at first confusing, with its roots appearing to go up and down, but as we learn about them we see they are truly symbiotic. They have deep meaning to the Indian villages where the Banyan tree is a gathering place, a town centre offering shelter and providing a huge canopy under which to trade stories and goods. In other cultures they are home to spirits and resting places for both good and evil, to be worshipped or avoided depending on your particular beliefs.  Some of the oldest and largest cover nearly an acre!

The genus of tree from which they come is also known as a "strangler fig" as it springs from berries who find their homes on other hosts, trees, walls or similar structures, and wrap their roots around making their home where they land.  Once the tree begins to grow, it develops vines, which grow to the ground, eventually rooting in the ground they reach, and giving the tree another source of nourishment.  To me this is symbolic of many things, from parents giving birth to their children and slowly watching them grow until they find their own roots, and as they find their own roots they begin the process of first supporting themselves, and later, the parent (tree). 

In business we go through a similar process as the more experienced members of the team bring in younger team members and allow them to find their way, and plant roots, making the entire structure stronger.  When we understand that we need a combination of experience with enthusiasm, knowledge combined with fresh eyes to look at how we do things to grow, then our organizations become stronger for it.

The Banyan tree is an amazing symbol of the power of community, as it gains strength, it provides more opportunity to bring people together.  As communities gather under the banyan tree, the opportunites to share knowledge, break communal bread together, trade stories or goods, increases and shared experience allows for potentially greater good as a collective. Reliance on other members of the community to work towards the good of all provides a stronger foundation on which to move forward.

I find banyan trees strong and peaceful, graceful and full of meaning, a powerful symbol of the strength of nature, nurtured. If you see one, take the time to appreciate its glorious beauty too, just watch out for the falling berries!