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

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

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!

Building Community offline while being online

It is quiet hard to find someone in today’s world that isn’t part of an online social network, such as Facebook, Myspace, or LinkedIn, among just a few. However, an interesting new trend has developed. The more people interact online, the more they seem to want to meet up in real life. Whether it be for travel, tennis, seminars, or just social get togethers, many online social sites are starting to cater to this phenomenon.

Case in point, Meetup, an online social networking portal facilitates offline group meetings in various locations. Its tag line, “Maybe it’s time for a little less face-to-screen and a little more face-to-face”. Has the online world overlapped on itself? Countless other niche social networking sites have been developed, like Dopplr for travelers, Mesh Tennis and BikeSpace.net for the sports inclined, and the adult rated AdultFriendFinder.com.

So the common thought that online communities kill face-to-face interactions is really true? Of course not! We can see that these online social networks are actually facilitators to face-to-face interactions and help build live communities and networks.

I think that online just became offline. What do you think?

Read more about upcoming trends at www.trendswatching.com/trends/offon.htm

Sebastien Tondeur
CEO – Corporate Division

Back To The Future

Imagine you can look into the future to see how your industry will be doing in the years to come. Imagine you can see what influences customers and suppliers will have, how competitive forces will shape the market, what technologies will impact your products and services… it would allow you to prepare yourself for what’s to come, making the most of opportunities and hedging yourself against the challenges ahead.

Too good to be true, right? Well…maybe not. When we look at how the meetings- and events industry compares to certain other communication industries we find that we can actually “look into the future” and identify some trends that those other, more mature disciplines have already dealt with. I like to look at the advertising industry, because there are a number of similarities with our business: we sell services, there is a “logistical” element and a creative/consulting element to what we do, corporate and institutional clients use agencies who sometimes “stand alone” (boutique model), sometimes are part of bigger groups, and there is the continuing battle between doing things in-house or outsourcing. And these are just some of the more obvious commonalities. There are so many more things we share.

Is the advertising industry more mature? Well, apart from the fact that this activity dates back to the late 19th century, one piece of research published by Lorsch & Tierney in their book “Aligning the Stars” (Harvard Business Press – 2001) shows us that the top 10 firms in the advertising industry hold about 65% of the total market. That sort of consolidation is definitely a sign of maturity, and our meetings- and events industry is still way behind but, as some companies have shown, we’re going that way.

So if you want to know how to deal with commoditization of services, how to handle the opportunities and challenges of procurement, how to attract and retain the best talent, how to demonstrate ROI, and how to change the way you get paid for services rendered, then do look outside your usual field of activity. At this year’s annual meeting of ICCA (the International Congress & Convention Association) in November in Victoria, Canada, I will be running a session about just that, with a guest speaker from a leading international advertising agency who will share everything he knows about his past – and our future – with the meeting planners in the room.

The future lifts a tip of its veil for those who know where to look. Keep your eyes open!

Jurriaen Sleijster
Executive Vice President – MCI

Time For Talent

Ok, it is offical: I’m a high-need-for-achievement person who thrives on challenging tasks, who wants to win, and who likes autonomy. I also need clear and timely feedback and I simply must achieve task closure, going from A to B as fast as I possibly can, but while doing a great job (because I am motivated to perform as well as possible).

But don’t take my word for it. Ask Thomas DeLong of Harvard Business School who published this research in his book “When Professionals Have to Lead“. I work for a company that sells services, and the type of personality I describe seems to self-select into professional service firms which are different in certain key respects from product-producing companies, especially from a leadership perspective. And, funnily enough, professional service firms seem to over-select these personalities. Result: up to 85% of professionals in service firms match this profile.

I’m not an easy person to manage, if you look at my profile. And the same thing probably goes for my boss, and the staff I hired. People like me do a lot of “on-the-job-learning” (typical for the practice-based service firm I work for) and to stay motivated I need new challenges all the time, and both tactical feedback on how I’m doing and periodic developmental feedback. And I need coaching and mentoring. But remember: I also want to go from A to B as fast as I can, and so does my boss. How can she find the time to give me proper feedback and coach me when she also has this drive to get the ongoing work finished as fast as possible? And let’s be honest: I haven’t been a fantastic mentor to my staff either; because I am too busy getting my own tasks accomplished.

DeLong calls this the Professional Service Firm Paradox. The answer to this problem is to be found in our leadership style: we need to set direction, build commitment and ensure execution while all along providing the right personal example. The war for talent is real, and retaining our promising staff means we have to balance our own desire to achieve great things with inspiring, motivating and developing the people around us. And if done properly, one day they will do just the same for the next generation. Wouldn’t that be a real achievement?

Jurriaen Sleijster
Executive Vice President – MCI