2004 PCMA Annual Meeting Highlights

I attended a few ACOM sessions on Sunday. First thing in the morning, Joan Eisenstodt of Eisenstodt Associates presented a session on Risk Management for the audience of convention operations mangers of bureaus, convention centers and hotels. Unfortunately, the session was not well attended. Those that were there were awakened to the importance of having and knowing a plan. Very few either had a plan or knew anything about one.

“I’m surprised that destinations and venues don’t sell safety and security,” remarked Joan. “I think that would win out over pretty bedspreads any day. They are missing a great selling opportunity.”

The PCMA Annual Meeting included a wide variety of education. In “Leading in Challenging Times: How to Motivate Your Team in Times of Crisis,” Randy Pennington of Pennington Performance Group said, “Responding to crisis is managing disrupted expectations.” Leaders must show they are in control, identify with the feelings and expectations of followers, inspire hope and optimism, communicate the plan and any progress made, and provide constant feedback and encouragement.

Brian Walter of the Effectiveness Institute started his session, “Increasing Attendance at Your Convention,” by asking us to list items usually found in a meeting brochure. Sure enough, we all came up with the same items. “See?” he said, “You can’t differentiate between them. You need to stand out among the same old, same old.” He suggested that rather than using a “pull” approach (toss out bait and hope the potential attendee bites), that we use a “push” approach, in which the potential attendee is already being sold. For example, a big memory from last year’s meeting would make that attendee more likely to return this year.

Some ideas Brian threw out were:

• Parody music

• Point/counterpoint

• A recap – with humor, such as Dave’s Top 10 List.

Rand Stagen of the Stagen Leadership Institute presented “Managing Organization ADD: Tools and Techniques for Reducing Overwhelm and Boosting Productivity.” “This is not time management,” he said. “Time management was for the assembly line worker. This is attention management and it is for the knowledge worker.”

The Performance Focusing System™ breaks attention up into four time zones:

• Proactive Zone – includes strategic planning, preparation, building reserves and renewal. A walk in the park qualifies.

• Distraction Zone – unnecessary interruptions, distracting calls and emails. Find a time when you can close your door, or put a sign on your cubicle, and not take calls. Turn off the email notification.

• Waste Zone – trivial activities, excessive media/entertainment.

• Reactive Zone – urgent demands, crisis, stress.

“If you spend more time in the proactive zone, say filing, you won’t spend as much time in the reactive zone wasting time looking frantically for a piece of paper.”

The final general session was “Flexibility is the Key to Airpower: How to Adapt to Change and Plan for Contingencies.” It was created by the Afterburners, a group of 45 current or former Navy Pilots, most of whom have business experience. Their experience in the Navy can be very valuable in the hospitality industry:

• Always operate as a team.

• Lose sight (of the competition, threats), lose the fight.

• Plan, brief your team, execute, debrief, win. Navy pilots check their egos – and their patches showing rank, which are on Velcro – at the door for the debriefing session. They discuss what worked, what didn’t work and lessons learned. They identify their own mistakes and promise to correct them.

For the plan:

1. Determine mission objectives. They must be clear, measurable, and attainable, and support the goal or vision of the organization (sound familiar?)

2. Identify the threat.

3. Identify your support assets – your team, history, lessons learned, etc.

4. Compare your capabilities, your team’s strengths versus the competition’s weaknesses.

5. Prioritize and set a time line.

6. Plan for contingencies. This will eliminate surprises and give you flexibility. Your ability to change and adapt will make you successful. Plan what to do in a crisis when you’re on the ground and can think normally.

PMCA’s Annual Meeting continues to have a wealth of education and networking opportunities. I can’t wait for next year’s meeting in Hawaii.

Anne Carey, CMP
Illinois Podiatric Medical Association
meetings@ipma.net

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