Stand up and speak!

Communication skills are essential in today’s business world. No matter what your area of expertise is: finance, IT, engineering, medicine: operating successfully in a community requires that your communication skills are top notch.

“Good communication skills outrank other core business competencies as the number one skill for corporate recruiters looking to hire MBA graduates” according to The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), which runs GMAT testing for MBA applicants. They also report that this requirement has been ranking in the top three for the last few years: it’s not a fad. It shows how important this is; MBA’s are hired for their business education and whatever discipline they specialised in, yet the number one requirement is that they can stand up in front of a crowd and communicate. Because although communication knows many different aspects – ranging from the written word to video messages etc. all the way to oral presentations – but nothing is as powerful and has such an immediate impact as someone standing up in front of people to share their views with the audience, and to enter into a dialogue. People base much of their opinion on the person, and yes, on the whole organisation he/she represents, depending on how well they communicate.

Communication knows both form and substance. The best communicators master both. Sure, for a lecture one can prepare contents in advance but if you have to answer questions or defend a position in a debate you need to master your subject well enough to go beyond prepared statements. You have to address the audience, read the mood, pick up on issues that need further clarification, and rephrase and reformulate until you get the message across, and be credible and convincing. As to the form: in his book “Body Language: 7 Easy Lessons to Master the Silent Language” (Prentice Hall life, 2008) author John Borg argues that human communication consists of 93% body language and paralinguistic cues, while only 7% of communication consists of words themselves. Mastering “form” is therefore an essential part of successful communication.

Associations and non-profit organisations thrive on communication: it helps them to build their communities, to engage their members and to inspire people into action. Many of these organisations hold periodical meetings and congresses, where the activities of the organisation come to life and where the key people of the association interact, network… and communicate. Train your leadership in this essential skill. Look for staff that have this talent and assess communication capabilities during the recruitment process. The future success of your association depends on it. That speaks for itself…

Jurriaen Sleijster
Executive Vice President

Leading in a storm

How are the leaders of associations, non-profit organisations and other, similar institutions doing these days? Last weekend I was reading this book called “Managing the non-profit organisation”, composed of articles by management guru Peter Drucker. In chapter two he argues that “leadership is a foul-weather job: the most important task of an organisation’s leader is to anticipate crisis. Maybe not to avert it, but to anticipate it (…) One has to make the organisation capable of anticipating the storm, weathering it, and in fact, being ahead of it. That is called innovation, constant renewal. You cannot prevent a major catastrophe, but you can build an organisation that is battle-ready, that has high morale, and also has been through a crisis, knows how to behave, trusts itself, and where people trust one another.”

Indeed, it may be easy to lead a successful organisation: when everything is going fine, the results are good and the stakeholders are happy, a leader looks good. But did she do good? Did she use her time to get ready for the difficulties that lie ahead? Did she build a team with loyal, hard-working people who trust and support each other? Did she push the team even when things were going well? A bit of hardship goes a long way to building a strong team. Did she claim the spotlight and harvest all the compliments, or did she step back gracefully and acknowledge the contributions of her team? In his book “Good to Great”, Jim Collins explains that “level 5 Leadership” means that leaders should be humble, yet driven to do what’s best for the company. When facing problems they should look in the mirror (their own fault?), when facing success they should look out of the window (to the people who made it happen).

Building an organisation that is battle-ready also means attracting the right people and holding on to them, inspiring them and enabling them to do what’s best for your organisation, not just because you say so but because they are intimately convinced that this is what they are supposed to do. Jim Collins says: “If I were running a company today, I would have one priority above all others: to acquire as many of the best people as I could (…) The single biggest constraint on the success of my organization is the ability to get and to hang on to enough of the right people”.

Not every leader is comfortable surrounding himself with strong people. “Of course people are ambitious”, says Peter Drucker, “but you run far less risk of having able people around who want to push you out than you risk by being served by mediocrity”.

So here you go, a few pearls of wisdom from some of the world’s great thinkers on management and leadership. Soon I’ll be off to the annual conference of ICCA, the International Congress and Convention Association, who do an excellent job in tracking the developments in international associations and non-profit organisations. They regularly publish fresh research about this market sector, and one of the conclusions that keeps popping up is that these associations have – on average – weathered the crisis much better than their corporate counterparts. A lot of association leaders seem to be getting it right, and that’s a reassuring thought!

Jurriaen Sleijster
Executive Vice President

How Agencies Can Escape the Commodity Trap

These are just five of the trends that we believe will change how agencies escape the commodity trap (source from Adage article by Phil Johnson):

• Agencies will move from providing audience insight to providing audience access. The best agencies will either help create or manage customer communities for their clients. They will also create client specific media channels — whether it is Twitter feeds or Internet radio — which can be used to deliver specific campaigns.
• Agencies will move from creating messaging and brand image to creating content at every stage of the customer experience. You can see this all around you as agencies develop everything from mobile applications to branded entertainment for their clients. For successful agencies, these will not be one-off novelties. They will reinvent their business model so that they share many of the same attributes as publishers and production companies.
• In 2010, social-media hysteria will turn to social-media cynicism. Banish the words “start a dialogue” and “authenticity” from your vocabulary. The winning agencies will develop social-media applications that provide real utility to clients and their customers.
• Instead of creating integrated marketing campaigns, forward-thinking agencies will integrate all the significant marketing platforms. Social media meets CRM meets search meets ad servers. Agencies with the technology savvy to work across all these disciplines will have the decided edge.
• The holy grail for agencies will remain the same. Can they influence business results? Campaign measurement will become an automated commodity. The great agencies will adapt the right analytic tools to tackle fundamental business problems.

What do you think?

Sebastien Tondeur
CEO – Corporate Division

To Your Health

Health & Safety is a pertinent issue for associations. Every association I know uses some form of event (meetings, congresses, open days, exhibitions etc.) to engage with their members and stakeholders and when people come together, accidents happen. At large meetings it’s just a matter of statistics: someone will sprain an ankle while walking down the stairs, someone will trip over a fold in the carpet, and yes, someone will have a heart attack. At smaller meetings you may be able to dodge the odds but depending on the activities you may still expose your audience to increased risks: sports, an outdoor event, a stage set, and even such simple things as transporting participants from one venue to another may increase the risks and thus the chances of an accident.

So who’s to blame? There is a definite trend towards holding people responsible all the way to the top, and for an association event this may mean the Executive Director. It’s not just a matter of blaming the supplier who built the faulty electrical installation, or the one who provided the buses for the transfer. Did the external meeting planner you hired to organise the event check that installations were properly secured? That the number of emergency exits was sufficient for the number of people in the room? That the signs were correct and visible at all times? That the bus company had their vehicles checked in line with legal requirements? And then there is the association employee: did she make sure that the meeting planner who was selected for the job included such checks in their processes? And did the Executive Director of the association hire a qualified employee to manage the event on behalf of the association, and was she properly briefed? As the proverb goes: success has many fathers while failure is an orphan.

And so, associations would do well to make Health & Safety checks an integral part of their event management processes. Individuals involved in the organisation of events must be able to demonstrate that every reasonable precaution has been taken to make the event safe. My Health & Safety Manager taught me that it is important to properly document such precautions so that a paper trace of the efforts exists in case of problems. Key people should have the proper training that enables them to take informed decisions about activities and organisational aspects under their responsibility. As the end-user of the services of many suppliers you are responsible for checking these things. Or you hire a professional to do this for you, and you brief them properly about their obligations and responsibilities.

Proper training and the right processes go a long way to avoiding unnecessary problems at a later stage. More and more associations hire external experts to train their staff and review their event management processes. It’s a healthy approach and a safe thing to do…

Jurriaen Sleijster
Executive Vice President

Time is money

The lady in the audience frowned. “I’m not sure that money is so important for all associations, and that competition is increasing”, she said. And she added: “We happily continue to do what we always did and our association does not look ‘more and more like a company’ as you are suggesting”. I was speaking at an international event and the audience was made up of senior managers & volunteers of international associations. I had just suggested that there is a clear convergence between how companies are managed, and how associations are starting to be managed. Not a popular thing to say maybe, but I do believe it’s true.

Associations compete. They compete for the attention of their existing- and potential members and stakeholders. In the world of marketing, people talk about a concept called “share of wallet”, which is loosely described as the amount of the customer’s total spending that a business captures through the products and services that it offers. In the world of associations I like to talk about “share of watch”: the amount of time an individual will spend being involved with an association. Associations compete for time. In a piece of research we did for one association we tried to establish which other associations their members were involved in. The findings were that although there was a spread between different associations, people typically got more deeply involved in one or two associations and maybe they picked up a few things of a third one, but that was it. So any association would have two clear objectives if it doesn’t want to lose the competitive battle: (a) increase your market share and be amongst the two or three associations that members of your target audience are interested in, and (b) increase your “share of watch” (the time you get) compared to the other one or two associations. Some marketers say that it is often cheaper to increase the share of a customer’s wallet a business receives than increasing market share. So: fighting for “share of watch” is important.

ICCA – the International Congress & Convention Association – is an absolute authority in the field of associations, with a very large database containing lots of information about where international associations hold their congresses. Their 2008 research identified some 800 new, regularly occurring events. ICCA CEO Martin Sirk was quoted as saying that “many of these events have been created as offshoots of established larger association events to service regional or precise subject-specific needs, generating new competition in the marketplace”. There you go. New competition. And in addition, the trends as we see them are that associations move more and more to professional management standards, that their stakeholders want value for money and “return on investment” (ROI), and of course money plays an important role in all this as it provides them with the means to hire the best resources.

I cannot totally disagree with the frowning lady in the audience: there is an important human element in associations (always has been, always will be) and here associations sometimes serve as an example for companies: people matter. But with only so much time available and with an increasing number of activities to choose from, people will become pickier about their choices. Make sure they give you all the time they can spare.

Jurriaen Sleijster
Executive Vice President

Advertising Agencies live in the future of Event Agencies

Everything evolves. Everything needs to evolve to reflect a changing environment, otherwise, it will disappear. This holds true for Advertising Companies, and how our MICE industry is following suit. Here are the example:

The evolution of the Advertising industry

1. Proliferation: agencies built on name of a person (Ogilvy, Leo Burnett, Jacques Segala, Saatchi & Saatchi …the name of the creative leader) – 70s
2. Consolidation: when advertising went from creative led to finance led (IPOs), seeking margin improvement/volume efficiencies – 80s
3. Diversification: integration of adjacent services to keep the total customer-spend in one company (PR, sponsorships, branding, direct marketing …) – 90s
4. Integration: start of the concept of “integrated communication” or “holistic approach”: trying to keep customers total budget by “selling strategy” (and most groups span off their Media Buying because of the commission model) – OOs

Today “it is all about the ROI/ROO”. The meeting industry must evolve from commission to fees (we are a professional service industry after all) AND accountability is important in the service industry so we MUST be paid on performance as well!

The RACE ahead:

1. Keeping ahead: how to keep “ahead“ of the collaborative/web2.0 revolution? what is a trend? what will stay? … “People have first life before they have a second life”. Gilmore talks about the experience economy, other about “game generation”. Community experiences are the next big thing – we are social animals after all.
2. Competition for talent: BIG competition for talent, we are a professional service firm our resource is human capital. Limited resources of creative and passionate people – work-life balance is a challenge: not a 9 to 5 job! in this industry.
3. Search for efficiencies: BIGGER companies (in the future we will see 6 big event companies: 2 will arise from Meetings and Events, 2 from Advertising Group and 2 from Travel Groups)
4. Building a Brand: brands are destination for security and performance.
5. More strategy, more performance: Fee model based on performance. We must work toward guaranteeing results before the program.

What do you think?

Sebastien Tondeur
CEO – Corporate Division

Doing more with less has become spot on!

It is inevitable that the event management industry has changed. Events are no longer viewed as insignificant by-products of one’s marketing mix, but rather as a strategic tool for any company, association or government to create meaningful connections and win. However, change always becomes more polarized during an economic recession. People need to do more with less, or re-invent the wheel to turn less into more. I now see three fundamental trends that are developing within the industry following the motto of “more with less”. They are:

Getting Results-Oriented: You need leads. You need sales. You need your teams! Transition to an entirely result-oriented event portfolio, a move that has saved millions – and generated millions.

Fewer But Bigger Events – Going Big… But Going Smart:  In this economy, you can’t do it all. Prioritizing or consolidating events that are worthwhile, meetings avoidance and executing them requires a solid balance of strategy and planning.

Portfolio Planning: To succeed in a down economy, event marketers have to re-energize their portfolio planning and revise it. Align your portfolio with changing customer, channel and employee touchpoints.

Have you noticed significant changes in the way events are addressed? Engage with us in a strategic dialog.

Sebastien Tondeur
CEO – Corporate Division

Choices

Three students from the Lausanne Hotel School (Laura, Céline and Laure) walked into my office today and asked me about the impact of the recession. How do I explain them that we are forecasting a growth, that we will be acquiring companies and opening new offices, and that we are hiring staff? Probably by balancing this with the message that we are also cutting some costs or at least delaying expenditure on non-essential items, and that we are very focused on cash and that when we hire people, we hire just the right people for the right jobs.

And that’s what it’s probably all about: choices. The Hanover Research Council published a study some 4 months ago which explained how companies may take advantage of a recession. Many consultancies emphasize the possibilities open to companies in a downturn, they say. A Bain & Company study found that “more than a fifth of companies in the bottom quartile in their industries jumped to the top quartile during the last (1990-91) recession”. Wow. And more than 70% sustained those gains through the next boom cycle. And a study of the 2000-2001 recession by Boston Consulting Group found that “30% of the companies that had been among the top 10 players in their respective sectors dropped off that list, and fewer than 10% of those that dropped off ever made it back”. So whereas a rising tide lifts all boats, when the tables turn some companies just know better how to make the most of it, and how to hold on to that advantage. And although different companies do this in different ways, the common denominator seems to be that they all seem to focus on determining exactly what it is they are good at (and what not), and then act on this and set absolute priorities. They definitely don’t try to do everything at once, and high on the list are actions that create value quickly. But they stay flexible, and don’t persist on just one chosen strategy which may seem OK in the short turn: they re-evaluate and re-adapt.

“Do you have to lower your prices?” asked Laure. “We heard that at the moment there is a lot more price pressure than usual”, she said. It is undoubtedly true that quite a few clients don’t have the usual budgets at their disposal, and so this may seem like a logical reaction. But here again it is largely a matter of choice: we have learned to buy better and so the pressure from the client procurement departments is largely passed on to the next level. And although price pressure is certainly a fact in the commodity section, services with an added value or specifically designed & tailored for a client resist much better to these pressures. So as long as you are absolutely clear on what you are good at and then sell that, you can earn your money.

“Are you hiring?” Laura asked carefully… “Yes we do”, I said. “But for specific positions in specific sectors; we focus on confirmed projects and we are careful not to spend money before we earn it”. I explained that we had seen a nice pick-up on business recently, but with short lead times so our visibility for the middle- and longer term remains uncertain. “But please do send me your CV’s”, I said with a big smile. After all, the tide may turn before you know it and those companies ready to act immediately will have an advantage. And I just met three very smart and promising talents, so I want to be ready: they just might be the right people for the right jobs…

Jurriaen Sleijster
Executive Vice President

Economic Recession Leads to Re-thinking Events

Economic recession leads to re-thinking Events
 
Economic recessions are tough times for everybody, including for event planners. One of the first budgets to be cut is meetings & events, and this might make sense to a procurement officer. However, everyone in the company should see the value that meetings can bring.
 
I found this great article from the Harvard Business Publishing titled “Don’t Cancel That Meeting.” The added value of meetings may at times be overlooked. As stated in this article, corporate staff need to hear about direction and guidance of their corporation from senior managers, and business people representing a product or service need to hear how the company is planning for the coming year.
 
“Don’t Cancel That Meeting” focuses on how to make events more successful during dire economic times.
 
Be focused – Meetings can be an important platform to convey to employees the companie’s economic situation. Moreover, meetings can also convey future plans of a company, and the vision and direction senior staff are taking.
 
Tell stories – People relate more to stories. Tell stories that anyone can identify. Keep them simple and short, yet as entertaining as possible. 
 
Hear from the field – Create platforms for people to share. Break-out sessions and discussion panels are a great way to involve people and have them speak their opinions and ideas.
 
Meetings are far from just a collection of people. We believe that the meetings and events industry make real contributions to organizational and personal success for companies and employees. Meetings are platforms to share knowledge, build community, and connect people. Tough times are great times to bring your message across, and meaningful connections and win.
 
What do you say?
 
Sebastien Tondeur
CEO – Corporate Division

It’s a Crisis

It seems that everyone agrees: it’s a crisis, and it will touch all of us, one way or another. Not many of us have actually lived through a similar economical turmoil before, and so we are all looking for advice on how to get through this with our companies more or less intact.

Working in a service company, my focus is not only on our own company but also on my clients. After all, if they get in deep trouble there’s a fair chance that it will impact on me too. And so I’m trying to take two perspectives: being a good manager of my own company, and being a valuable partner for my clients.

In my company, the guidelines are mostly very simple and straight-forward: review any vulnerable spots and take care of them, don’t spend money we do not have (as opposed to investing without having the proper long-term funding ready), keep a very close eye on cash (get the invoices paid in time, reduce debt, keep some money available for a good investment, etc.) and do invest time and resources in staying close to the customer.

And that’s were our plan for our company fits in seamlessly with what we want to do for our customer: they also need to sell and we just happen to be a specialist at event management communication, a discipline proven to have a major impact on the behaviour of people. Tough times require a special approach, and our clients are trying to deal with this just like we are. They need to get their messages out: to their staff, to their investors, to their clients, to their business partners… there is a lot of effective communication to be done. And we know how to do that: with our expertise in cost-efficient logistics and our track record in building programmes and events that make an impact, we are among the key solutions our clients need, right now.

A recent study by MPI reveals that in many areas of the world participation in meetings is expected to increase in 2009, and that creativity and innovation will be necessary to deal with the challenges ahead. Sounds good to me! And as a client recently said: “Crisis? What will the impact be for us? Hmmm… let’s organize a meeting about this!”. Yes please: let us organize that meeting!