A conference misses the mark... again

We recognize people attend conferences for two main reasons. Call it what you like - knowledge and relationships; learning and networking; sharing information and meeting others with a similar interest (work or life). Meeting professionals and their committees spend lots of time on choosing the destination, developing a program, marketing, managing sponsor relationships, possibly working with a trade show component, sorting all the logistics from transportation to food, signage to audio visual, decor and entertainment, and ensuring the host / board expectations are met.

What remains the missed element? The guest experience.

I remain optimistic that the industry will continue to shift, as we understand more about how people like to engage, that they attend meetings for face-to-face time, that there are many ways to deliver knowledge and have participants feeling richer for the experience. We have just spent three days on a site inspection nailing down the details of a meeting where it is critical to the client that people leave with that feeling, and that we take advantage of the location, and that time for talking is part of the experience. Leaving this destination, and on my first shorter leg of my flights home, I found myself seated between two gentlemen that had just attended the same meeting. Here follows a sampling of what was shared of their experience.

What they said: "Dinner last night was really good. Did you even want any breakfast today?"
My first thought: Yep, if we stuff them at the gala they will remember that!

What they said: "There were some very thought provoking presentations. I don't know what I learned, but I do have some things to think about."
What I heard: The presenters talked AT their audiences and did not give time for discussion or assimilation.

(said) "I know, and it was so busy running between places I never had time to really think about it, but I know there will some things I want to take back to my team."
(I thought) They wanted to make sure the program was really full of good things so it was easier to market / had so much to fit in we had to cut into the break time

(said) "You know it is too bad we didn't have more time to talk at the conference, this was really interesting. Even though you were sitting across the table from me at dinner last night, it was too far for a discussion.
(thought) Yes, we did it again, closed with a gala dinner where you can talk to exactly the two people beside you!

DId this conference meet their expectations? I am sure it met some and even exceeded some of their expectations. They both seemed to feel their trip was worthwhile, and that they would return to the next meeting of this organization. Was there anything wrong with this model that was followed? Not especially, but there is so much room for improvement if we consider how people learn, and provide opportunities for connections that are broader than a seated dinner with entertainment. Each time there is a meeting such as this, that is perfectly ok if not outstanding, we reinforce this model, and we deliver the expected experience.
What could be done to make this go from good to great? In my opinion only

1. a balance of presentations that allows for time to discuss and assimilate within the sessions - recognize attendees are also experts and share their knowledge too.
2. allow more free time, knowing people will mainly use this for discussion with others and have those critical hallway conversations
3. serve nutritious and delicious food in appropriate quantities and at times that allow participants to maintain a steady stream of energy for long days of meeting and thinking and participating

What else would you add?

48 Flights

Today, Mother's Day 2012 I find myself alone for the first time on Mother's Day, beginning a site visit in gorgeous Charlevoix, Quebec and with a few minutes to reflect on how lukcy I am to live my life always returning to the safe "love bubble" (my daughter's term) of my family. While I am alone today, this past week we had the opportunity to travel again as a family, and my children at 12 and 13 counted all the flights they had ever been on.

Statistics to date

• 48 flight segments
• 1 cruise ship
• 1 major train trip
• 5 countries, numerous provinces and states
• 3 walled cities
• 1 Great wall
• 2 major oceans from various vantage points
• numerous hotels from "family" style to condos, b & b to 5 star luxury as well as many friend's homes (our favorite)
• 2 awesome theme parks
• numerous historic sites from Versailles to Tulum, Xian to Washington DC and many more in between

Travel today is as accessible as it is ever likely to be, given the numerous methods available, the speed and global opportunities, and what we will look back on in 50 years as the amount of fuel available to travel with at a relatively low cost. As a meeting / event professional it is my work that has led us to many of these places, and while the challenges have been many, the rewards and frienships even greater.

We are so fortunate to be able to offer our children the opportunity to see the world and to learn from its cultures and history and look forward to sharing even more of it with them. Whenever I return from a working journey tired... exhausted... exhilarated, I only need to reflect on how fortunate we are to be able to have collaborators and friends around the world that we can share life, work and fun with to be able to get up and do it all over again.  Thank you to all of you who have shared this with us. 

VOTE to help someone who helps themself

This is a letter I am posting anywhere I think it will reach out and help an amazing couple. Please click on the link at the bottom - it takes 30 seconds of your time and will make an immense difference to an amazing family. Read on....

Yesterday it came to my attention via a colleague that there is an opportunity for Fiona and Dean to obtain a wheelchair equipped van, and I felt compelled to weigh in on why I think they deserve this. I had the opportunity to meet Fiona and Dean at the wedding of her sister, in Mexico in November 2009. We live in the same area of North Delta, and we have children of a similar age, and I have never been more impressed and more humbled by any people I have had the opportunity to spend time with. Our family is very fortunate to have two able bodied children, who at 11 and 13 can take care of all their own basic needs. Fiona and Dean’s children, Kiarra and Rylan are lovely children who will never be able to care for themselves, and the inclusive lifestyle their parents offer them is awe-inspiring. While many people in this situation may have balked at even just the packing of the special items required for a week away, they instead embraced the experience, and along with the family and friends, everyone participated in all activities, from taking the children into the ocean for swimming (they love the water), in group meals, although they both need someone to feed them, and in all social activities shared with the group. Kiarra and Rylan love music and others around were often found singing to them, or playing music, and being able to enjoy this together was special. The care required is continuous and their obvious love for each other and their children creates a glow that emanates to those around them.

While Dean works full-time, Fiona each day takes her children to school, to therapeutic horseback riding and to other activities that will allow them to continue to learn and grow. However, as they grow, the burden of carrying them and caring for them simply must be more difficult as they near her own size, and the ability to have them in their wheelchairs and not have to continually carry them in and out as she transports them from place to place, would be an immense support for her.
Not only is she caring for her own children, she truly cares for the community. As a small example when she knew a child slightly younger than my daughter who attends the same school as her children was in need of clothes, she called to ask if I had any that my daughter had outgrown, and then came and picked them up and took them to the child in need. Her thoughtfulness for others extends far and wide. She is also now in the position of assisting in care for her aging parents, and again each time she goes to help, this van would assist in taking their grandchildren to visit. 

Fiona would never consider herself a hero. She considers herself a mother, wife, sister and friend. Her spirit and sense of humour are always intact, and I simply cannot think of anyone who is more deserving of support.

Fiona McLure | Mobility Awareness Month - Vote For Me!

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?