Learning, Convening Leaders–Style

planner’s notebook

Kelly Peacy CAE, CMP Senior Vice President Education & Meetings kpeacy@pcma.org

Experience Counts

Our 2014 Annual Meeting Program Committee, led by our chair, Tim Mathy of Speak Inc., and our 2013 PCMA volunteer task forces have contributed a great deal to our body of knowledge for Convening Lead- ers in Boston. And who better to help us develop relevant education? These members are work- ing in the industry day in and day out

— we are lucky to tap into their collective wisdom.

Here’s how our 2014 PCMA annual meeting program is shaping up.

W

e’re poring over our concurrent-session submissions, paring down our list of general-session topics and speakers, and cultivating all the different ideas that

have come from members of our meet- ings community and staff. In other words, we are in the throes of planning the education program for Convening Leaders, Jan. 12–15, 2014, in Boston. If we’re not careful, we’ll end up with

way too much content, or content that’s irrelevant, or not at the appropriate level for our senior-level audience — or all of the above. Which is why we have a sound content strategy to guide us. The most important aspect of

PCMA’s Convening Leaders is to deliver the highest level of education in the most innovative and thought- provoking ways. We’re approaching our content at Convening Leaders as curators, carefully crafting each edu- cational touch point to allow attendees to create their own journey and experi- ence. We’re looking at all the different ways we engage our attendees with our education, poking holes in topics and identifying what might be lacking from our subject-matter experts. And, we’re thinking of ways to provide value long after our participants leave Boston. Here’s a glimpse of our 2014 Conven- ing Leaders content strategy.

› General sessions — Our showcase production, featuring the most thought- provoking and illuminating speakers inside and outside the meetings industry. These large sessions are all about inspiring while educating attendees. › Masters Series — Lectures focusing on a single “big thinker” topic that can be directly applied to our industry, now or in the near future.

12 PCMA CONVENE JULY 2013

› Concurrent sessions — Delivered in a variety of formats and room sets, with topics that directly relate to our jobs and offer applicable takeaways. › Business School — Featuring several sessions led by top business school faculty on topics such as branding, finance, strategy, leadership, and more, the Business School embodies our belief that business acumen is critical to our success as meeting professionals. In Boston, we have the unique ability to tap into several renowned institutions of higher learning. › Outside-the-classroom learning — Our goal is to create engaging environments for collaborative discussion, problem solving, information exchange, research, and self-directed learning in innovative and informal formats.

As we take the next step in this

process and bring our education to life, there are many questions to answer. How will we create interest- ing and inviting environments? How will we employ technology throughout the experience? How will we engage attendees before and after Convening Leaders? And in what ways will we con- tinue to carry on crucial conversations that happen in Boston? We have a lot of work ahead of us — fortunately, we’ve got a great framework in place.

. PCMA.ORG

PHOTOGRAPH BY JACOB SLATON