“To feel that I need to have my hand in every aspect of a project. To trust in the experience and talent of others so that I can manage things at a higher level, ultimately bringing greater success to it.”—Laura Yates, president, Dovetail Event Partners
“I needed to unlearn the notion I that I’m “too old” to learn new technology! With all the tools, apps, and technologies available — and new ones appearing every day — it’s difficult to stay abreast of the latest and greatest. It’s easy and comfortable instead to use the tools I know, and to write off those “newfangled” technologies as made for “whippersnappers.”It might take a bit more effort for me to incorporate new tools into my arsenal, but I’ve come to know the effort is worthwhile. Keeping up to date means I’m able to be an advocate for my meeting attendees — who are likely using and loving the latest app. It also means I can create and design better meetings, ones that deliver results for my organization. And, on top of that…learning is fun!”—Nicole Armstrong, CMP, CMM, senior events manager, Internet Society
It was hard for me to open my eyes to this, but there are hunters and gatherers, and hunters become successful.
“I have learned that people have the choice of being ordinary or extraordinary. You can’t force people to embrace their jobs. I’ve seen people become greatly successful at my company, and I have seen people there for just a job and a paycheck. It was hard for me to open my eyes to this, but there are hunters and gatherers, and hunters become successful.”—Jaki Baskow, founder and CEO, Baskow and Associates
“The events business is a people business. It’s all about relationships. It’s also a stressful business, and I’ve learned that we as an industry are masters of letting off a bit of steam! But more to the point, we often talk about communication being ‘B2C’ or ‘B2B,’ but too often we forget that all communication is human-to-human. Looking at today’s advertising, though, you can see that communication has become much more personal and is laced with more storytelling and much more emotion. Sustainability plays a key part in this, illustrating brand purpose. What good is a brand doing for the world, or does it merely exist to make money? In today’s world we are no longer buying a product solely for its utility, we are supporting a way of life and a greater purpose.”—Roger Simons, CMP, director of regional sustainability/Asia Pacific for MCI, president of the Green Meeting Industry Council’s board of directors
“Like most traditionally trained journalists, I have had to unlearn the idea that trained professionals are reporting news, creating the content we all consume each minute. It makes me look harder at the source, and certainly the motivation, behind any particular piece of content but also encourages me to see increased collaboration and learning opportunities abounding from the more ubiquitous sharing of ideas.”—Dana Freker Doody, vice president, Corporate Communications
