Notes From a Retreat

Even (especially?) editors who write about other people's meetings need to hold meetings of their own, and so it was that Convene's editorial team gathered at Editor in Chief Michelle Russell's cozy home in northern New Jersey for a two-day retreat last week. A few observations:

• Retreating is a lot like house painting: It's all about the prep work. We four editors -- Michelle and I, along with Senior Editors Barbara Palmer and Hunter Slaton -- had participated in a joint sales and editorial retreat in Chicago a few weeks before, and we reviewed the action items and other notes from that in advance of our own meeting. That helped us shape some big important questions about our editorial mix. Each of us also went magazine shopping before the retreat, and brought to Michelle's house those publications that most spoke to us for a little glossy, four-color show-and-tell. All of this pre-brainstorming really helped focus our efforts at the retreat, because it felt like we'd already figured out what we didn't want to talk about.

• The best ideas come from nowhere: Or, they don't come from where you expect them to. We ended up with a few great ideas for new feature articles and departments when we were talking about something else completely, because something somebody said made us double or triple back on a topic we thought we'd covered. It definitely made me realize, for about the 53rd time, that the true power of face-to-face meetings is serendipity. You simply don't now who you're going to meet and what you're going to talk about until you're there.

• Kenny Rogers was right: You got to know when to fold 'em. The first day of our retreat was more like a half-day -- we started after lunch and went until dinner, and it was tremendously productive. The next day, we started right after breakfast, broke for lunch, and went through late afternoon. And while that was also productive, in retrospect I think we stayed at it for an hour or two longer than we should have. We'd already accomplished a lot, and by the end we were tired and less focused. Next time I'd be inclined to plot out our schedule for the day, then preemptively lop off the last segment.

I'm sure these are all things that experienced meeting planners know. But until I get my CMP, I'll have to keep figuring them out for myself. Or, better still, I'll keep doing what editors do -- interviewing people who know more than I do, and passing off their knowledge as my own.

Slideshow Experience

My sister just finished a two-day spiritual retreat for women. I was invited to attend the closing ceremony last night. Throughout the retreat, a photographer had taken photos of the goings-on (skits, exercises, talks, group discussion) and they were displayed on a big screen in a continuous loop in the school gym where the after-ceremony social was held. It was clear that the photographer was sensitive to the private nature of the experience (it was, after all, a retreat) and had only captured its lighter moments.

It was a great way for us to get a glimpse into how our mother, daughter, wife, friend — or in my case, sister — had spent the past two days and to see firsthand how bonds grew during that shared emotional journey.

The slideshow reinforced for me how it's expected that every get-together will be captured with digital images. Facebook has ushered in an era of rampant photo-sharing. We have a professional photographer at PCMA's Annual Meeting for the print dailies and encourage our attendees to take photos and post them to a flickr page.

When it comes to events, I say the more photos, the better.

Finding Your Deadheads

A few issues ago, our Point/Counterpoint department considered the question of how accessible you should make your meeting content to people who don't physically attend. One of our contributors, Wired magazine Editor in Chief Chris Anderson, used the TED conference as an example of a successful model for letting everyone and anyone see your content for free. He wrote:

Streaming content online isn't the same as being there. Watching the presentations is only part of the experience; an equal part is mingling with other attendees, who are often of the same caliber as those on stage. Come for the talks, stay for the hallway conversations.

But TED isn't the first group to figure this out. According to an article in the current issue of The Atlantic, the Grateful Dead -- yes, that Grateful Dead -- had a surprisingly sophisticated sense of how to create demand and how to grow a loyal fanbase:

In the late 1980s, Rebecca G. Adams, a sociologist at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, who studies friendships formed across distances, noticed deep bonds between Deadheads. The bonds seemed to belie the idea, then popular among leading social thinkers, that communities based on common interest, whose members do not live near each other, lack emotional and moral depth -- that Deadheads might belong to what sociologists call a "lifestyle enclave," but couldn't possibly form meaningful relationships. ...

... Without intending to -- while intending, in fact, to do just the opposite -- the band pioneered ideas and practices that were subsequently embraced by corporate America. One was to focus intensely on its most loyal fans. It established a telephone hotline to alert them to its touring schedule ahead of any public announcement, reserved for them some of the best seats in the house, and capped the price of tickets, which the band distributed through its own mail-order house. ... They famously permitted fans to tape their shows, ceding a major revenue source in potential record sales. According to [Nova Southeastern University business professor Barry] Barnes, the decision was not entirely selfless: it reflected a shrewd assessment that tape sharing would widen their audience, a ban would be unenforceable, and anyone inclined to tape a show would probably spend money elsewhere, such as on merchandise or tickets.

Does your organization have its own Deadheads -- devoted members and other industry professionals who will show up at your events no matter what or where? If so, what are you doing to share the love with them? And how are you luring new Deadheads to the long strange trip of your meetings experience?

Temple Grandin: 'Light the Spark'

In the July 2009 issue, Executive Editor Chris Durso profiled 62-year-old Temple Grandin, who was diagnosed with autism as a child and credits her thinking style with her success in designing more humane cattle handling systems. Reread that interview first, and then go listen to Dr. Grandin's recently posted talk from the 2010 TED Conference in Long Beach. Among other things, Grandin talked about thinking styles, motivation and learning, mentors, and manners.

"The world is going to need all of the different kinds of minds to work together," Grandin said at TED. One of the things that drive her crazy, as she travels around the country speaking at autism meetings, is that no one seems to know how to engage students with different kinds of thinking styles, she said. "You've got to show kids interesting stuff to get them turned on. Light the spark."

The Year of the Corporate Planner?

Could 2010 turn out to be the year of the corporate planner at PCMA? In a recent interview with Convene's editor in chief, PCMA's new chairperson Kati Quigley — the association's first chair from the corporate world, in her role as event marketing director for Microsoft — described some of the ways in which corporate and association planning are in many ways kith and kin:

The events and the meetings are very similar. Our shows [at Microsoft] contain the same components: We’ve got keynotes, breakouts, content tracks, exhibitors, F&B functions, registration. Really, an event is an event; it’s the same discipline.

Case in point, see this interview with Arthur Paton, senior learning officer for Motorola University. Paton will be a presenter at the Chief Learning Officer Summit 2010, held this coming April 11–13 at the Château Élan Winery & Resort in Braselton, Georgia. What part of Paton's observation about trends in corporate learning cannot said to be applicable to association planners?

The demographics in most companies are changing rapidly — the workforce is becoming more diverse and younger, and these individuals have different modes of learning. Many come from cultures that are more communal in learning. Therefore, we believe that social networking tools will continue to be a primary delivery methodology. The challenge for CLOs is that learning will need to be repurposed or packaged into smaller nuggets for this new environment. Think of a Google search when you need an answer to a question — this new demographic is going to expect learning to operate like that.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this sounds just like what's happening as more and more members of Generation Y start to join associations and show up at annual meetings.

Your thoughts? Weigh in via the comments function. (Note that thoughtful responses could well show up in a future print issue of Convene.)

Turismo Chile: Earthquake Update 2

Turismo Chile has issued another update on the state of its tourism infrastructure after Saturday's massive earthquake. (Read yesterday's update here.)

SANTIAGO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT REPORTS DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT OPERATIONS GRADUALLY RESUMING

March 2, 2010 – Following the magnitude 8.8 quake that hit central Chile in the early morning hours of Saturday February 27, 2010, Santiago International Airport suffered structural damage to the passenger terminal. No damage was reported to the runways and taxiways. All incoming and departing flight operations were suspended until authorities evaluated the situation in order to guarantee maximum safety for passengers. Turismo Chile would like to communicate the latest update regarding operations at Santiago International Airport provided by the airport authority, SCL Aeropuerto de Santiago, on March 2, 2010, following a meeting with Chile’s National Civil Aviation Authority and airlines operating at the airport.

Flight operations will resume in two phases: Phase 1 – March 2 to 5, 2010 - Domestic flights will gradually resume operations with a limited schedule between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. and international flights also with a limited schedule will be operating between 8.pm and 8 a.m. A temporary makeshift terminal has been set up in tents in order to process departing passengers. All arriving international flights during this period will stopover in another Chilean city prior to landing in Santiago in order for passengers to clear Chilean customs and immigration formalities. Phase 2 – March 5th onward - Domestic and international flights will be operating 24 hours. All domestic flight arrivals and departures will be operating out of a makeshift terminal set up in tents located to the east of the airport’s old terminal. International flight departures will move to the domestic flights sector of the current terminal. International arriving passengers will clear Chilean customs and immigration formalities in a makeshift facility set up in tents to the west of the current terminal. All passengers should contact their airline for updated information on flight schedules and changes.

US and Canadian tour operators and media requiring additional information or assistance can contact Turismo Chile at ofitur@embassyofchile.org.

They Had Me At the Blue-Fur Hats ...

On March 5, four of five volunteer organizers of last month’s groundbreaking Event Camp NYC will give a behind-the-scenes look at how they pulled it off, in the free PCMA webinar, “Engaging Attendees Today: How to Combine Virtual and Face-To-Face Meetings,” at noon CST. (PCMA was an event sponsor.) If you missed the event, or the online conversation about it, it was a smashing success, from start to finish. (The “unconference” was born on Twitter; co-organizer Mike McCurry tells the story here.) The 70+ participants were engaged right off the bat, in a kind of communal state of flow which lasted all day. And its extensive virtual audience was no clumsy add-on, but incorporated as a seamless part of the conversation.

I was lucky enough to be there in person and two things stood out for me. One was the attention that organizers gave to providing relevant content to attendees. The schedule was created with online input from registrants, and was adjusted throughout the day, according to attendee interest. That kind of active listening also permeated the way that speakers and moderators related to the audience. You could just see that they cared.

And, two, in their efforts to create a truly innovative event, they didn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. They kept track of the basics, like breaking the ice and paying attention to pacing. By an online vote, attendees decreed that the conference should begin with the founders wearing blue-fur, horned hats, copies of the one that Fred Flintstone wore on lodge night (Loyal Order of Water Buffaloes Lodge 26). It made everyone laugh and relax, and organizers hauled them out again to close out the day. By wearing the hats, organizers made themselves a little goofy and very likeable — and instantly created a shared group experience.

The registration fee was very low – only $75 — and I wasn’t expecting entertainment at lunch, much less the excellence of The Three Waiters, a trio of comic opera singers. We happily would have blazed through lunch talking about events and social media, but the music gave our brains a chance to cruise along a different track. The whole day was like that – filled with surprises as well as structure.

If I had a blue-fur, horned hat, it would be off to the organizers. Don’t miss the webinar, on Friday, March 5.

As the White House Turns

Meeting professionals are used to being invisible at their own events -- and most of the ones I've met and worked with seem to prefer it that way. So it's not surprising to learn that, after White House social secretary Desiree Rogers drew criticism for seeming too comfortable in the spotlight, the woman who is replacing her -- Julianna Smoot -- has a reputation for maintaining a lower profile. From today's Washington Post:

Perhaps the most obvious superficial difference between the outgoing and incoming social secretaries is one of culture and style: Where Rogers was high-profile and glamorous, Smoot is low-key and a more conventional political operative. A 2007 Washington Post profile described her as having "a blend of Southern charm and brash straight talk." And where Rogers appreciated the power of the limelight, Smoot has a better understanding of the no-drama Obama ethos, several Democratic officials said.

It makes me wonder if there's ever a public role for meeting professionals to play at their events. Or is meeting and event planning strictly a backstage job?

Turismo Chile: Earthquake Update

In the wake of Saturday's magnitude-8.8 earthquake, Turismo Chile today issued a press release reviewing how the country's tourism infrastructure has been affected:

TURISMO CHILE UPDATE ON CHILE’S TOURISM

INFRASTRUCTURE FOLLOWING SATURDAY’S EARTHQUAKE

Monday March 1, 2010 - Chile suffered an 8.8 quake in the early morning hours of Saturday February 27, 2010. The cities closest to the epicenter, including Concepcion, Talcahuano and Temuco as well as a number of small towns along Chile’s central coast were most affected by the quake.

The five different tourism regions promoted by Turismo Chile are reporting the following updates:

Desert – The north of Chile was not affected by the quake and has not reported any damage.

Easter Island – Easter Island, which lies 2,300 miles off the cost of mainland Chile, a 5.5-hour flight from Santiago, was not affected by the quake. Initial tsunami warnings have been lifted and all operations are normal.

Santiago and Central Region - Santiago’s airport suffered structural damage to the passenger terminal, however no damage was reported to the runways and the airport is expected to reopen later this week. Electricity and phone lines have been restored in Santiago and the city’s public transportation including its metro is fully operational. Valparaiso and Viña del Mar have also reported damage. The annual Viña del Mar International Music festival which was underway has been suspended.

Lakes and Volcanoes – The northern part of the Lakes and Volcanoes region, around the city of Concepcion and the Bio Bio River, was most affected by the quake. Authorities are still working on assessing the full damage. Basic essential services including water, electricity, and telecommunications are gradually being restored. The southern part of the Lakes and Volcanoes region was not affected by the quake. Operations in popular tourist towns including Pucon, Puerto Varas, and Puerto Montt are normal.

Patagonia – The far south of the country was not affected by the quake and has not reported any damage.

Chile is a country with a history of seismic activity. The country’s preparedness, including its strict anti-seismic building codes, the rapid emergency response from the government, as well as the help from a number of organizations can be credited for managing the situation and help minimize the damage. The country’s tourism infrastructure has, overall, fared well, reporting little damage.

"Our thoughts and sentiments go out to the families who have lost loved ones," said Pablo Moll, executive director of Turismo Chile. "Chileans are a resilient people and we are hard at work to get the country back on its feet quickly. We look forward to continuing to welcome travelers and are making every effort to making them feel safe and secure."

US and Canadian tour operators and media requiring additional information or assistance can contact Turismo Chile at ofitur@embassyofchile.org.

Some Canadian Humor

I love how the technical failure during the 2010 Olympics Opening Ceremony was parodied in the Closing Ceremony last night. A clown electrician raised the fourth cauldron which had failed to come up from the floor opening night. And Catriona Le May Doan, who had awkwardly waited for it to come up the first time around, finally got her chance to light it.

As meetings and events increasingly rely on big production effects to wow and energize attendees, hopefully we can take a cue from the folks in Vancouver: When technology fails you, be the first to poke some fun at yourself.