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or more than 20 years, Susan McLane has been the board administration and meetings director at Attorneys’ Title Guaranty Fund, Inc. (ATG) and its five subsidiary corporations headquartered in Chicago, IL. In this role, she plans and produces three ATG board meetings and 70 to 80 ATG committee meetings, including subsidiary companies’ board and committee meetings. In 2011, she is planning meetings in Chicago, as well as in Lake Geneva, WI and San Francisco, CA. Here, as a long-time meeting planner with ATG, McLane shares a few highlights of her tenure, insights about the industry, advice to new planners, and her hopes for the future of the industry.
Midwest Meetings: What do you see as the key ingredi- ents to success as a meeting planner? Susan McLane: A successful meeting planner has a pack- age of certain personality traits, including congeniality, superior people skills, perseverance, and discipline. Good organizational and multi-tasking skills and an ability to think ahead are essential to be successful in this industry. MM: Obviously, you have been successful, having served in your current role for more than two decades. What has been the foundation of your success? SM: I have always applied the discipline and work ethic that I grew up with and refined through my military training and ser- vice to everything I have done in my job, my community, and my personal life. I am blessed that my husband of 40 years, Bill, shares these same values. The military background also helped prepare me as a leader [and] manager and gave me the ability to work above and below the chain of command. I have worked over four decades in the Illinois legal community - 20 of those years for the founder of our corporation - prior to coming to ATG. MM: What can you tell us about the profile of your typical meeting attendee? SM: It is the ATG and subsidiary board of directors and their guests. The men and women who serve on our boards are attorneys who are partners in successful law firms in Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana. Other attendees include the ATG subsidiary executive staff and their spouses or guests, or fellow managers and coworkers. Many of ATG’s leaders are also leaders in their communities and sometimes serve in government and military positions at the state and federal levels. I couldn’t ask to work with better people. MM: What compels these individuals to attend your meetings? SM: They attend because they serve on the boards and board committees of ATG and its subsidiary corporations. Our directors play an important and dynamic role in achieving the goals of the parent company’s mission statement: “To be the premier lawyer service organization for the benefit of the profession and
One must be disciplined about the to-do list and keep an eye on the end goal.
the public.” ATG and each of its subsidiaries offer products and services to lawyers that help them build their practices and serve their clients. MM: What advice do you have for meeting planners who are new to the profession? SM: “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” What I mean is that success comes one step at a time. It is a building process, and one must be disciplined about the to-do list and keep an eye on the end goal and what is required to get there. You might think you don’t have time during the process to make follow-up notes, but I cannot tell you how many times I have been thankful over the years for this disci- pline. When attempting to hold someone accountable for a prom- ise made or service performed that didn’t materialize, you have the backup needed to make things right.
Always stay calm, cool, flexible, and willing to ride the tide. In the event world, I have seen so many ugly blowups between planners and hotel staff over the years. I always wonder what went wrong for them and try to remember that no one is perfect and, sometimes, one has to implement Plan B or Plan C. It is part of be- ing prepared. Examine the processes and find ways to work smarter, not harder, and, by all means, accept that you will make mistakes - then learn from them. Finally, always remember success is a team effort. Acknowledge those who have worked alongside you to make things happen. MM: Identify three ways you have seen the meeting planning industry change in the past five years. SM: The first is software. Every year, better technology and tools are released to help meeting planners improve meeting de- tails and data.
Second is internet research and email communication. The ability to search for meeting destinations online is wonderful.
WWW.MIDWESTMEETINGS.COM - ALL NEW LOOK, ALL NEW PURPOSE, ALL FOR YOU 15
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