Cutting to the Chase

True confession. Being as glamorous (ha!) as Christopher Durso says I am takes a little work. I'm way too fidgety to sit for manicures, pedicures, facials, and even massages. But getting my hair cut and colored is a treat, because my hairdresser has become my friend. I go to her home at night to get the job done. So last night I'm there with another one of her clients and we strike up a conversation. Turns out she helps manage events for the March of Dimes and receives Convene. My Andy Warhol moment.

Okay, on to more interesting topics than myself ... According to my daily Fast Company fix, a new study by IBM reveals that the most important leadership quality for CEOs is creativity. It even beats integrity and global thinking. As the article goes on to say, "Steven Tomasco, a manager at IBM Global Business Services, expressed surprise at this key finding, saying that it is 'very interesting that coming off the worst economic conditions they'd ever seen, [CEOs] didn't fall back on management discipline, existing best practices, rigor, or operations. In fact, they [did] just the opposite.'"

I think that's why I like our Innovative Meetings column so much, because each case study of sorts demonstrates how scrappy meeting planners are, coming up with the small and big ideas that make their events succeed, even in a down economy.

And in keeping with our magazine, the Take Away for me? Humility made the list of leadership attributes in the IBM study. Something to keep in mind for my next Andy Warhol experience.