Mickey Schaefer, CAE, began her career in the seventies when “women wore suits and bow ties to show that we were in management,” and meeting professionals were thought of as nothing more than party planners. Now, almost 30 years later, she and...
They manage events, they manage meetings, but somehow destination management companies don't manage to get much exposure. In its December 2004 issue, Special Events Magazine, CMI's sister publication, profiled 25 of the biggest DMCs. Here are a...
Making the difficult decision to cancel or postpone a meeting is the most disappointing, challenging, and thankless part of our job as meeting planners. But it is also a truly unique opportunity to show our professionalism. We must unravel our...
In late January, two days after Delta Air Lines mailed a form letter to its meeting planner customers announcing the demise of the Delta Meeting Network, a speaker at a meeting of the Northeast Chapter of the Insurance Conference Planners...
Research, industry advocacy, and education are the cornerstones of the Professional Convention Management Association's new strategic plan, which looks to bolster the organization's standing as a thought leader in the industry. “We will be more...
Patrick Lencioni has sat through too many lethal meetings in his corporate career. In fact, that's one of the main reasons he left the corporate career track. After years of working at Bain & Company, Oracle, and Sybase, where he was president...
Great meetings are possible without a solid request for proposal, but not having a good RFP makes the job much more difficult. Make life easier by starting with this RFP checklist...
Meeting planners often ask me, “What on earth do I include in the budget?” The answer is very easy: “Everything.” If you have historical data from a similar event, you're in luck, because then you will have a good idea of previous expenses...
Few would argue that milling about at coffee breaks or walking endless aisles of eager exhibitors are the most efficient ways of networking. Yet that's the business model. Lanyards around our necks, business cards at the ready, we work the...
