In these challenging times there is a huge concern among conference, event and meeting planners that dwindling attendance may make breaking even difficult. Consider the risk, however, of not standing out in this current market when every dollar spent is going to be analysed. Perhaps it is time to look at this situation as an opportunity to break away from what has always been done and create something fresh and new that will make your conference the one that people will not want to miss.

As a professional speaker, I have spoken at many conferences this past year in Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia. The one thing I have found that all have in common, for the most part, is that they are all very similar. Generally, a conference opens with a welcome reception and follows the next morning with an opening keynote speaker (this is where I am usually positioned). Then there are concurrent sessions, lunch, afternoon sessions and dinner and, at some point over the course of the two- or three-day event, a closing banquet dinner. It’s all so predictable: the same format and similar content year after year. 

Moreover, “Academy Awards” style banquets are the norm where delegates dress up to honour members of the association who are receiving awards. More often than not, most of the delegates attending the conference haven’t got a clue about who these honourees are and may have little affinity for the awards being presented. At the end of the conference, delegates may feel “let down” by the stuffiness and formality of this final event that is meant to be a highlight of the conference. Isn’t it time for associations, meeting planners and organizations to think more innovatively?

I do understand that it is not easy for staff and volunteers to break free from the mould of traditional format. There is a risk: what if the delegates don’t approve? What if they don’t all agree that a change is really necessary? This type of thinking can paralyze us and block creativity and innovation
Now is the time to stop being paralyzed by the idea of change and being creative. Here are some ways to apply the innovation process to your next conference.

Kick off your next conference with a keynote presentation about Innovation Start the conference with a keynote speaker who will encourage delegates to open up their minds to new possibilities and help them to begin thinking outside the box. The keynoter will talk about the need for innovation in your industry or business and explain why it’s important. He or she will provide valuable knowledge that all delegates can apply to their own workplaces.

Hold a concurrent session about “How to Apply the Innovation Process”
At this session engage delegates in a working session so that they can learn how to use the innovation process in their own workplaces.  Make the session meaningful for conference organizers by asking delegates at the session to work on an innovative approach to planning your organization’s next conference. The session of the case study will be, “How to create the most amazing conference event that they will ever attend – one that is so unique, so informative, so engaging that they’d never want to miss it again!”

Here are some of the Innovation Process highlights that the session attendees will derive. They will learn how to

• Brainstorm ideas – No matter how “crazy” and without restriction or analysis
   
• Ensure every idea is valid and retained –   There is no elimination of ideas, rather, just consolidation of ideas into groups. For example, ideas related to speakers, format, location, meals, banquet, brochures, notices, social events, receptions, registration, session topics, marketing, etc.
   
• Identify the benefits of each group of ideas no matter how “crazy” they may seem – List the benefits of the ideas, if implemented, under each category or group. If you think for a moment of the greatest inventions of all time you’ll probably think of the light bulb, electricity, the phone, the car, etc. Before moving forward with all of the ideas which led to these “group of thoughts,“ the inventors spent time thinking about the benefits before moving into the next stages of their innovation process.
   
• Recognize the barriers or obstacles to implementing the ideas and identify how to overcome them – Realistically, there are many barriers or obstacles to implementing any of the ideas and groups of ideas, despite their benefits. These can be as fundamental as budget, history, culture, time, resources, etc. They may be more advanced such as technology, organizational structure, departmental layouts, etc. The team begins to brainstorm all of the obstacles and discusses how to overcome most of them. This does take some time but helps team members see the potential. It is a very positive experience. Rather than looking at why an idea can’t be moved forward they discuss the obstacles and, more importantly, what can be done to overcome them.
  The session is almost ready to close. The team will have worked hard. They will have brainstormed the innovations, grouped them, identified the benefits and found ways to overcome the obstacles. Now they’ll be ready for the last stage of the innovation process. This stage is where some understanding of project management helps. The teams prepare themselves to present their ideas and the process to successfully implement them to the association’s management, who will come into the session (if they weren’t already there).
   
• Apply ideas from the innovation session to the planning of next year’s conference – The association will be responsible for listening and taking these ideas back to their planning committee for the following year’s conference or event. They will be responsible for the development of a detailed plan on how the innovations will be implemented, by whom, with what resources and budget requirements and within what time frame. Without doing this, it is unlikely the association will be able to apply these innovations. This last stage is crucial and cannot be overlooked because delegates who participated in the concurrent session will be looking for their ideas to be implemented. Use the ideas generated and let your delegates know that you are using them. 

A session about innovation that engages participants through the planning of your next conference is fun, informative and can have a very positive impact on your next event.

President and CEO of Business Improvement Architects, Michael Stanleigh works with executives and senior managers to help improve operational effectiveness through strategic planning, leadership development, project management and quality management. www.michaelstanleigh.com

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 29th, 2009 at 12:00 am and is filed under Spring 2009. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.