August 17, 2005
The Power of a Meeting
Posted by Kevin | Print This Article
As I wrote this morning in the ASAE conference blog, they really pulled it off, creating an experience (to use a buzzword I’m already growing tired of) that worked on the two levels it needed to work:
1) Creating an impact on the people who were there, and
2) Making that impact so hard that it created “buzz” like shockwaves that will emanate from the center of the meeting to the rest of the association community
Oddly enough, that second level is really the priority level we should be aiming to hit as associations. ASAE’s annual meeting is like most (including mine) — only a small minority of the organization’s members attend. Yet we can never underestimate the power of a buzzworthy conference to effect profound change on an association’s performance and “brand.”
It happened at ACCA — the first meeting under our CEO came both after a wrenching and politically touchy restructuring that followed years of declining membership, AND just a few months after 9/11. Paul understands the fundamental importance of conferences as symbol as well as education, and though we expected attendance to be down following the terrorist attacks, he forced us to pull out all the stops, create new programming and production that our members had never seen before, and produced a conference that didn’t just “wow” the people that were there but sent a huge message to our industry nationwide.
That meeting was the real turning point of the organization’s fortunes, and since then, not only has our meeting attendance continued to grow, but our membership has grown. Is it all because of the annual conference? Of course not. But without that symbol looming so large — without the buzz we get every year and all year long — it would have been a lot harder to make the changes we’ve made.
Many association meetings fall into a routine — ASAE’s had prior to this year — of a solid and competent educational program, the same “networking” social functions, the litany of officer speeches and awards. They’re well-organized, professional, useful and enjoyable to those who attend.
That’s nice. That hits level 1. But it doesn’t create buzz, and it doesn’t hit level 2. Level 2 is a lot harder to hit — and it gets harder every year.
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Do you think it is reasonable to expect to hit it out of the park like that every year? I don’t know what the answer is but my gut feeling is that to hit that high level of inspiration each and every year may be impossible and possibly counter-productive in the long run.
In the case of ASAE, I assume they will still be working with the same purpose they created this year. I would expect the next conference to focus on how to better achieve that same purpose. It could certainly still be inspirational but probably not to the same level simply due to the fact of not being new.
Curious as to your thoughts. How were things sustained in your event after such a huge turnaround in 2001?
David, I’m getting ready to run out and catch my flight home so I will return to your question in a post later. Except I’ll say a few quick things:
1. People have a short attention span but a long memory.
2. When it comes to doing events (or just about anything else that is “repeated”), you have two choices: Do it better than you did last time. Or do it worse than you did last time. I don’t think there is such a thing as the “same level.” Anything people don’t think of as better, they think of as worse. (”About the same” translates to “worse.”)
3. After each of our conferences, our CEO Paul says pretty much the same thing: “Great job! Now how can we blow it up for next year?” Note when he says “blow it up” he doesn’t mean make it bigger; he means blow it up.
ASAE & the Center had a very good meeting, a great meeting in fact. But that’s it…four or five great days. Whether there is a real change in this organization following the merger will depend on how things happen everyday after the great meeting ends. It’s the old wedding-marriage thing. The wedding can be fun, but it tells you nothing about how the marriage will turn out. It’s the day-to-day hard work of “being married” that will determine the organization’s future path. If ASAE & the Center make the marriage work, our community will benefit immeasurably. If they’ve just dressed up the old with a new look, we’ll have an entirely different feeling when we convene in Boston one year from today.