Written by Tracy Reese of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Conference Center in Jacksonville, Florida, in collaboration with Andrea Rice; Tracy is a member of the Emerging Trends Committee for IACC. Enjoy her cool conference center tips about meeting innovation.
Have you ever had a day with back-to-back-to-back
meetings? Did they ever seem to be
repetitive and a bit stagnant? Meetings
today can be very structured and uniform, which understandably, sometimes is
necessary; however, I think in this industry we all need to try a little harder
to start “breaking the rules”…
Innovation - you
have heard it before, right? (Probably
like 20 times a day!) Currently, it’s one of the hottest buzz words in the
industry, but what does it truly mean??
More and more lately, the word innovation seems to be associated
with technology. Trust me - this girl
believes in using technology to the highest level! I personally just took a 5-minute break to
check in with my other half (my smart phone) and checked emails (reply to 4 of
them), sent 12 texts, and checked Facebook! However, was I really being innovative, or was
I actually following the trend?
We need to start breaking the rules a bit… start thinking beyond
the box (no, not outside the box- beyond it)!
Being innovative doesn’t necessarily have to equate to modern technology,
or the use of it.
One of the most powerful meeting series I witnessed recently
used NO technology at all. That’s right;
it was “old school.” The series was held
in a facility with state-of-the-art equipment, and yet, the clients simply
chose not to use it. The presenter
spoke, engaged attendees, listened to feedback, and answered questions. Pretty simply stuff… and it totally worked! Information was communicated in a very personal,
warm, engaging, and thought-provoking manner.
That’s right, this “gen-y” gal saw the benefits of simply listening
to and engaging with a speaker, instead of participating in the latest PowerPoint
presentation (you know the painstaking bullets I speak of!). Don’t get me wrong, I am not against visual aids,
and in the right environment, PowerPoints can be helpful. I just think we need to start breaking the
innovation mold a bit. Let’s be
innovative by going back to the basics… engaging our clients and customers
through excellent communication and good ole’ customer service. Let’s dare to be different!
So before your next meeting, try to think of the most recent
experiences that made an impact on you.
Why was that specific experience a step above the rest?? Was it the
innovative technology they used? Or was
the idea of being a part of something different really the innovation in and of
itself?
Happy Meeting.
It is easy to get so many people involved that you can’t get anything done. On the other hand you can’t have an effective meeting if you don’t have the right people there.
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