Developing Future Leaders

by Travis Himstedt, Corporate Event Interactive
An important part of business development involves leadership training because developing the right kind of leaders leads to profitability and sustainability for organizations.  With MBA programs offering classes on leadership, consultants at every turn and countless books about it on the shelves, leadership training is a billion dollar industry.   Obviously, there is a desire for organizations to foster the talents of their future leaders. But how do they do it?

How to Un-Boring a Meeting

by Eva Niewiadomski, Catalyst Ranch
I recently read an article in the Wall Street Journal titled “Boring Meetings? Get Out the Water Guns” written by Emily Maltby. Here’s a short excerpt:

Where Would We Be Without Meetings and Events?

by Ed Graziano, Corporate Event Interactive
We all know the meetings and events industry has taken some hits with the economy’s downturn and there are so many cost cutting measures companies are taking. With this in mind, I ask – where would companies be without meetings and events? What would it be like in a world…

Building and Utilizing Strategic Partnerships

by Kathy Miller, Total Event Resources
The value of building a partnership with our suppliers as well as our industry colleagues is invaluable. Take it from someone who just spent four days in Southern California where we are going to producing a series of events this July.
We spend SO much time in the research and development of a project and it’s critical to make sure that we are aligned with the right partnerships. Having good quality relationships with industry colleagues is so important.

Studies Support Importance of Face-to-Face Meetings

by Eva Niewiadomski, Catalyst Ranch
Dahlia Fahmy, an international business journalist, has searched through various scientific studies published by universities, information surveys conducted by professional associations and everything in between in an attempt to determine the importance of face-to-face meetings. Here are some of the results of her search:

Fun Team Building Events: Add Some Fun at Work to Improve Performance

by Susan Cain, Ed.D., Corporate Learning Institute
This is a year of difficulty for many corporations and organizations. Fun is in short supply. The heady days of the 90’s are long gone. Many organizations are rethinking their strategy and approach to business. The need to sustain human energy, inspiration, and persistence are critical needs. The solution is often overlooked, and appears to be too simple to be true. Reintroducing fun, creativity, and innovation into the workplace is the answer.

Balancing Business and People Capital

by Kathy Miller, Total Event Resources
Over the years our production lead time has become laughable, what used to be a year lead time and planning has now turned into weeks and in some cases days.  How do we balance the business and our people?  It’s a really good question and just when I think the solution is impossible I find that in our case our “small but mighty” team steps up to the plate and I mean big time.

Which Meeting Spend Management Software? The Key Consideration

by Steven Sulkin, MBM Productions International
Not too long ago, the biggest buzz in the meetings industry wasn’t spend management software, but online registration software.  Application Service Providers (ASP’s) sprang up everywhere trying to be the company to capture the market, to charge a per attendee fee or no fee at all so as to attract millions of users to their site for future gain.  Everyone it seemed wanted to get in on what was perceived as the lucrative ASP model of licensing (essentially “renting”) registration software to millions of users via the web.  Eventually this turned into what so many Internet models turn into and that is a commodity with a small group of companies providing a low cost web based service to millions.

2010 UnTrends in Meetings and Events

by Todd Hanson, CRP, CPIM, Catalyst Performance Group, Inc.
Now that we have had a chance to assimilate all the 2010 predictions made by all the self-proclaimed pundits, I thought it would be interesting to weigh in on what I believe won’t happen in 2010.

Predictions for What Won’t Happen in 2010

1.
Face-to-face meetings and events will continue to decline in use.
People still do business with people and deferred spending in this area will have its price in eroding engagement and relationships, a price that will be increasingly difficult to ignore.

Why Events Matter

by Janet Elkins, EventWorks, Inc.
Obviously, when you ask me this question, the answer is: That is how we make money. Not only does event production create income for our twelve full-time employees, it also affects countless contractors in many cities, states and countries in a very direct way. However, while the need for jobs in our industry is clear to us, the public perceives business meetings still in a very negative way; fat cats indulging themselves in tropical resorts, in some cases financed by tax payer money bailouts.