To the Point By Deborah Sexton

Should We Leave Well Enough Alone?

PCMA believes that even what works can be improved — including Convening Leaders.

I

f it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” seems like a good modus operandi, especial- ly in uncertain economic times. But

is it? I think the answer has to do with the fact that everything has its time and place: Just because something works well today doesn’t mean it will tomorrow. And even those at the top of their game must embrace change and innovate.

So it goes with PCMA’s Convening Leaders. We’re humbled by the fact that our annual meet- ing — to be held Jan. 9–12 in Las Vegas — has long been considered the year’s most important meetings-industry event. Feedback from 2010 was particularly strong: 99 percent of attend- ees said they would recommend future PCMA annual meetings to their peers, while 95 percent said they believed the meeting contributed to the value that they provide to their organization. I recount these numbers not so much to

encourage you to attend (although I would be remiss if I didn’t do that as well), but to illustrate a point. Namely, with feedback like that, PCMA certainly could make an “ain’t broke, don’t fix it” argument. But as it happens, I believe that much of our success depends on the fact that we don’t rely on past successes; we’re always look- ing for ways to grow and improve. This comes into play on two levels at Convening Leaders. One has to do with your own experience of the meeting: We want to ensure that you are engaged and motivated by what we do differently to help you learn and build relationships. The other aspect is rooted in the work you do; that

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is, putting on exciting and unique meeting experiences. We believe it is our responsi- bility to develop fresh meeting ideas and experiment with new trends, so that you can experience them first-hand and decide what you think. Truthfully, some of these experi- ments don’t always work — but that doesn’t mean that everyone can’t learn from these situations as well. What’s new at Convening Leaders 2011? First off, we’ll dive into the world of virtual meetings, with both a plenary session on hybrid meetings and an exciting co-location with the Virtual Edge Summit. (Note that pre-registered Convening Leaders attendees will receive complimentary admission to the first day of Virtual Edge, on Wednes- day, Jan. 12.) We’ll also be enhancing the attendee experience by giving you a behind- the-scenes look at our meeting decision- making and execution. For those unable to be there in person, we’ll be bringing more of the meeting to you online. (Registered attendees should also be on the lookout for new virtual opportunities both before and after the meeting.)

Are we looking to change just because? Absolutely not. It’s simply that we are open to listening, understanding, and experiment- ing with how people convene, and what motivates them to engage with face-to-face meetings. And if you’re wondering how we will perform this year, I’d love it if you’d join us in Las Vegas to help find out. ■

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APPETIZERS ARE SERVED: Beginning on p. 113, you can whet your appe- tite for Convening Leaders 2011 with interviews with some of the great thinkers slated to speak there, includ- ing Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos (above); Daniel Pink, author of Drive: The Sur- prising Truth About What Motivates Us; Jon Bradshaw, busi- ness development director for IMEX America; futurist David Houle, author of The Shift Age; and Michael Doyle, executive director of the Virtual Edge Institute, which is co-locating its Virtual Edge Summit with Convening Leaders.

Deborah Sexton President and CEO deborah.sexton@pcma.org

www.pcma.org