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Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Ben Stein, Gary Loveman & Betsy Myers Now on iSpeaking
Having just seen Ben Stein, Gary Loveman and Betsy Myers speak at the MPI WEC 2009 event in Salt Lake City, it was a no-brainer to add them to the iSpeaking roster. Click on their names or pictures above for full details of how they will add value to any event they partner with.
Meeting Professionals International - World Education Congress 2009 - Salt Lake City
For this brand new Meeting Professionals International member and first time World Education Congress attendee, last week was nothing short of amazing.
I attended MPI's 2009 WEC in Salt Lake City from July 10-14, 2009. Having just started iSpeaking back in April, coupled with the fact that no association utilizes a speakers bureau's services more, joining MPI and attending the WEC was mandatory for my success. The experience will keep me going back for years to come.
What follows is a chronological account of my trip, I hope you enjoy and I look forward to your feedback. If you want to skip straight to the meetings related portion, scroll down to Sunday.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Is there anything scarier than putting your wife and only child on a plane by themselves for the first time? For me there hasn't been, and before I could leave for Salt Lake City (SLC), that's what I did. While I was in SLC, my family was visiting my sister in Chicago. So, after reluctantly dropping them off at the San Francisco airport, I came home, did some final packing and left for SLC. Yes, I drove.
I drove because I love taking road trips, especially alone. I love the solitude, the time to think about change, to enjoy the scenery unmitigated. Here's my most memorable road trip: Conan O'Brien's. I also brought my mountain bike - a Giant Trance X2 - and some assorted mining tools. Yes, mining, as I decided to stop at Topaz Mountain to dig for Utah's state gemstone. We're not talking pneumatic drills here, all hand tools. I was bit by the treasure bug a few years ago while watching the Travel Channel's show, Cash & Treasures. With my pregnant wife and dog Sugar, I hunted for Sunstones in Oregon, Opals in Nevada's Virgin Valley, Crystals on Crystal Mountain outside of Reno, and now Topaz Mountain.
I live in Cotati, California. From Cotati to SLC it is 746.25 miles. Simply take 101 South to 37 East to 80 East and there you are in the Beehive state. If you know anything about mining, you know the trail is never simple. Instead, I peeled off after Reno on Highway 50. Highway 50 parallels the original Pony Express, and was the original road from the Midwest to the West, even before Route 66. It has the Navy's Top Gun in Fallon and something mysterious called the U.S. Navy Centroid Facility. Ghosts don't even haunt this road. I have never seen a more desolate stretch of highway in my life. Before leaving I read it was called "The Loneliest Road in the US" and it lived up to it's billing. To complicate matters, I drove overnight. I left Cotati in my Honda Element at 8:30 pm and hit Highway 50 at about midnight. Here is a pic of that evening's very typical sunset in Sonoma County. If there were black specs it would look like the belly of a rainbow trout.
Driving in the ice and snow is scary, driving overnight in the desert through mountains is hair-raising. Besides the potential for being drowsy, there not being enough gas stations to refuel at, the four legged animals darting across the road, the optical illusions, the signs that say "Crystal Meth and Speeding Kills", I could think of no other way to enjoy my evening.
Friday, July 10, 2009
I arrived at Topaz Mountain a tad before 10 am. I had to take a 38 mile road off of Highway 50 to a two mile dirt road. The desert, or where nobody lives, is a good place to put energy stations and centroid facilities. This energy station was visible over 80 miles away and that stack is between 200-300 feet tall.
There was nobody at Topaz Mountain, only two other people when I pulled in, but I never saw them again because the place was so expansive. FYI - it was 95 degrees. I had read as much as possible on topaz mining, but I have to tell you, I found NOTHING! I pried, I dug, I broke rocks, I checked in the plant cracks, I walked the wash and poked around in the tailings - NOTHING! Across a gully, while I was bent over inspecting rock, I heard a loud exhale. Heart beating through my shirt, I looked over and saw a large deer like animal letting me know I was on his range. He probably had 8-12 points. I was there for two and a half hours and finally left. Here is a pic of the valley that is next to Topaz Mountain and that mound in the middle once yielded much topaz, but is now picked over:
It took me about three hours to get to SLC from Topaz Mountain, via Highway 50 and 6. I arrived in SLC at about 3 pm. I stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn, and as Trip Advisor indicated, it was a great value, very clean and modern. It was however, four blocks from the Salt Palace, the site of the conference and where Stockton and Malone once held court. Four blocks in SLC is 3/4 of a mile. Four blocks in 90 degrees equals discomfort.
Once checked in, I decided to take a bike ride around town and get familiarized. I immediately noticed my back tire was wobbly. I realized I bent it taking some jumps at Annadel in Sonoma County the weekend before. A new rear tire was the fix, and I didn't want to drop the $, so no mountain bike ride on this trip - Damn! The Wasatch Range taunted me the entire visit.
Downtown SLC is very clean and seems well connected with multiple modes of public transportation. The architecture was vintage and it reminded me of a very large version of a local city called Petaluma. I did see some transients, and looking for a grocery store, I was struck by the number of tattoo shops and again, the crystal meth warnings. I'm not naive, I know this is a national epidemic. There was a billboard advertising a website that helped online pornography addiction. A clean city with a strong business presence, I felt like SLC is torn a bit between Western frontier and religious commitment.
I grabbed some food at Whole Foods, ate and hit the hay.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
At 5:30 pm I attended my MPI chapter's welcome reception at the Monaco hotel. I am a member of the Northern California Chapter, and from what I understand, the second largest chapter in MPI. This was only my second contact with my colleagues and it proved as enjoyable as the first - The Gala back in June. This is the most personable group of people I've ever spent time with. I think it is a reflection of the caring, authentic nature of people in the meetings industry. As you know, we rarely say no and always go the extra mile.
7 - 9 pm brought the full MPI welcome reception at Library Square. This too was a wonderful affair and beautiful setting. I was very impressed with the dress and the attendees nature. Just a kind group of people that made a first time attendee feel as comfortable as possible. A sparkling drink did round off the edges.
OK, here was my biggest learning of the week. Don't let $ dictate your attendance. I made the investment to get there, why not attend everything, even if there is an extra fee? I did not attend Sip, Savor & Roll or Rendezvous. That will not happen again.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
The whirlwind begins! Register first:
From 8 - 9:30 am I attended the Your MPI session - energetically and comically facilitated by Chris Gasbarro. This was a definite highlight for me. I met and spoke with no less than 30 individual people here, exchanging business cards while speed networking. Eric Rozenberg, the MPI Chair-elect spoke for a minute, thanking us, encouraging us to volunteer, to seek out as much as our individual bandwidth would allow. If the welcome receptions made you feel connected, this session made you feel like you were at a family reunion. What could be more inspiring/motivating then spending this much time with a very like-minded group of people, all leaning on each other, sharing in success, commiserating, re-energizing, driving their stakes in the ground? The answer - nothing.
After the Your MPI session, people congregated outside of the Opening General Session room with their chapters. Chris Gasbarro suggested that when we find our group, hug the person holding the sign. I did so, and was promptly introduced to Diane Schneiderman, MPINCC's Executive Director. I was also introduced to MPINCC Board of Directors President, Chad Ammon. Then I was voluntold to hold the sign by fellow MPINCC member Lauren Siring of the Monterey Convention and Visitor's Bureau.
10 am - 12 pm brought the Opening General Session or OGS. We were introduced to MPI leadership, indoctrinated with the notion of shift and building business value, and then on to the speakers: Ben Stein, Gary Loveman and Betsy Myers.
Here is what it looked like before the session started:
First things first and I'm probably the last to observe this - Will the real Bruce MacMillan, MPI President and CEO, please stand up?
(Robert Urich)
Ben Stein brought the house down with a series of bawdy jokes and a spirited call to arms. You be the judge. Four old men are sitting around the card table at their retirement home for their weekly Pinochle game. A female resident of the home comes to the table with her hands behind her back and announces to the men that whomever guesses what she has behind her back can have sex with her. The first gentlemen answers with, "An alligator?" She says, "Close enough." Stein ranted on Timothy Geithner and others mistaken perception that meetings in any way caused the financial meltdown. Have you heard of the Continental Congress, maybe the Malta Conference? These were meetings and meetings change the world. His was the most customized presentation, given his direct stake in the meetings industry's success. Stein mentioned his great concern for our educational system and gave some examples of how college students he interacted with on his show America's Most Smartest Model didn't even know the most basic facts of WWII. If you remember the "Germany" answer, you are now chuckling. Stein also showed his great respect for the real stars, our American military members. Lastly, he received a standing ovation, which I think can be attributed to his rousing jokes, customized presentation and the authentic feel that he really cares about the people in our industry, self-serving or not. Here is a pic of the standing ovation, he is wearing tennis shoes:
I was familiar with Gary Loveman from the Harrah's "gambler's advice" commercial and thought there is no way this guy will hold the crowd. I was wrong. He wasn't nearly as stiff as the commercial leads you to believe and he had an obvious tangible intelligence, aside from the Harvard education and Harrah's CEO'ship. I particularly liked his presentation because he offered an "in the trenches" view of the shift that is necessary for business to be successful in this climate. We all have to transform, find new ways to do business, change the way we think and behave to slipstream lightning change, and most importantly, be aware of the organicity of our industry and be open to change. He had the best one-liner of the conference, noting the irony of a gaming CEO speaking on a Sunday morning in SLC.
Next was Betsy Myers, former COO of the Obama presidential campaign. Hallelujah! We're all saved. Betsy mentioned that she will whisper in Obama's ear the importance of the meetings industry. I'm not joking, and that act would be most commendable. Let's hope she does it. Betsy pointed out, similarly to Loveman, not only will it take a shift to succeed in business, it took a shift to elect Obama, and new ways to conduct meetings was the key - primarily Internet/new technology driven meetings. She also shared her Seven Principles of Leadership: Authenticity, connection, clarity, respect, collaboration, learning and courage.
Next - three hours of trade show mania! I decided to make Sunday my trade show day. I did not win the trip to the All-Star game being given by the St. Louis CVB, nor did I win an iPod, touch or iPhone. I did however, pollinate the colony with about 1-200 business cards and made some great connections, generally overlapping spheres of influence. Here's a bird's eye view of the trade show:
The rest of the conference for me was knowledge sessions and here are the ones I attended:
- Sell, Network & Learn More by Harnessing the Power of the Mind by Jon Bradshaw
This English gentleman was great. He pulled the mental rug out from under the audience 20 times. He lead you one way, then boom, you found yourself somewhere else. He did it with comedic timing, well spun yarns, wealthy experience as an accomplished athlete and well lived information. He implores we take a closer look at the way we think, feel and behave. We should take responsibility, build rapport and reboot your brain when toxic thoughts interlope. Here are five types of toxic thoughts: Projecting/mind-reading, predicting a negative, overgeneralizing, inflexible thinking and disqualifying the positive. This was a great presentation and helped me in taking a step back, remembering to remain positive and have fun while in a hyper state of curiosity.
Monday, July 13, 2009
- Finding, Hiring and Working with a Professional Speaker by Todd Hunt
This presentation was the essential primer in how to work with a Speaker from A to Z. I appreciated Todd's experience and humor. Naturally, I was looking for people looking for talent and was not disappointed. I made great connections in this session that are leading to business already.
- Becoming an Extraordinary Leader in Turbulent Times by Susan Sarfati
Susan has sat on some extraordinary perches and lends us a small taste of the experience. She shares with us those skills and traits of successful leaders that she has had first-hand interactions with such as: Margaret Thatcher, George H.W. Bush, Nobel Peace Prize Winners and other noted luminaries. Here is a list of her Critical Skills of Leaders: Be candid, courageous, authentically communicate, reach for the stars, champion others success, identify strengths and use them, identify weaknesses and compensate for them, be a life long learner, be creative, take risks, get comfortable with ambiguity, the goal is not perfection - the goal is progress, have emotional intelligence, allow for mistakes and learning from them, and respect others.
- The Owners Workshop: Refining and Exploiting Your Best and Highest Use by Andy Birol
Andy had a great sense of humor and undeniable, real-world experience. He encourages us to find our Best and Highest Use (BHU) by identifying what we like to do, what we're good at doing, and what the market will pay us to do. Find this nexus point and live there. He instructs us to never forget that aside from the product or service you are selling, smarts is something we should also be compensated for. Here are five examples of how to monetize smarts: Do it for them, do it with them, teach them, guide them to it and drive them to it.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
- Working with Speakers at your Event by Gail Hulnick
Gail's presentation was a serious nuts to bolts look into how to book a speaker and leverage their participation for maximum, added value. Tips for choosing a speaker: Think strategically, start your search early, know your meeting objectives, know that people often choose attending a conference based on speakers, know what you did last year and don't repeat it, ensure there is no topical overlap and that speaker topics dovetail, leave attendees wanting more, know the speakers experience - in your industry and outside, look at media coverage on the speaker, know the speaker's style and energy, understand the format of the session, find a speaking partner vs only a participant, if a multi-day event - be sure to request additional participation and use a speakers bureau to save time. Here is help when negotiating: Negotiate the real fee, always make a counter offer, know the state of mind of the speaker, flexibility in dates often allows for a lower fee, barter when you can, use a local speaker to avoid travel expenses, consider group sponsorship if fees are unaffordable, lay out ROI to speaker, find a speaker that will lower your stress, lower the stress of the speaker and know you can't meet all attendees expectations.
I left right after the final Knowledge Session and did not attend the closing reception with Smash Mouth. It took me about 12 hours to get home and I could have not been happier to see my wife and daughter.
Short List of Wonderful People I Met
Karen Krull, CMP, Meeting Manager in the Corporate Meeting Solutions at American Express
April Chapman Broussard, Social Media Expert & Consultant at Speakin' Up
Paula Higgins, Associate Director of Sales, Sonoma Country
In Summary
If it's not obvious by now, I didn't share my personal feelings well, or capture the Esprit de corps at MPI - WEC 2009. It was an incredible event that is sure to pay dividends for years to come. The educational sessions were beyond informative, the networking opportunities were first class, I have nothing but positive things to say and look forward to attending future WEC events.
