December 2010 Issue: Live!

Just in time for Christmas comes the digital edition of our December 2010 issue, whose cover story (and CMP Series article) is a veritable stocking stuffed with bite-sized treats. Intended as a counterpoint to last December's cover story on change of the high-level, deep-think variety, this month's cover story -- "No Small Change, Part 1" -- is proudly smaller-scale, with profiles of 10 meetings that have practiced change in a nuts-and-bolts way, as a series of tweaks. We found so many organizations that wanted to talk about this -- innovation that is practical, manageable, and easily implemented -- that we didn't have room for all of them in this issue, so look for "No Small Change, Part 2" next month.

Other highlights from this month's overstuffed issue:

"The Destination Will Be Televised": A feature article about the crazy number of new TV shows set in real-world cities, and how those cities' DMOs feel about the fact that many of them are bloody cop shows.

Leading by Example: A profile of Dickson Beattie "Doc" Hendley, a former bartender whose Wine to Water nonprofit organization uses wine-tasting events to fund clean-water projects in the developing world.

"High Water Mark": Six months after the Gaylord Opryland flooded, on the eve of the property's grand reopening, Gaylord Chairman CEO Colin Reed offers an inside look at the decision-making process that prompted him and his leadership team to evacuate the hotel -- and that probably saved lives.

On on One With: Frits van Paasschen, CEO of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, who took a break from a Starwood-sponsored CSR project in Harlem to talk to us about hospitality, business travel, and doing well by doing good.

Convening Leaders Preview: In-depth Q&As with five speakers at next month's PCMA 2011 Convening Leaders -- Zappos.com CEO Tony Hsieh, Drive author Dan Pink, Meetings Mindset founder Jon Bradshaw, Virtual Edge Institute Executive Director Michael Doyle (whose Virtual Edge Summit is co-locating with Convening Leaders), and futurist David Houle. Once you read what they have to say, you'll want to attend PCMA's annual meeting. Fortunately, registration is a snap.

Look for the text-only version of December on Convene's homepage within the next few days.