Wildly successful companies like Apple, Steelcase and GE use Design Thinking (DT) and Experience Design (XD) to meet customers’ needs and improve experiences—all while improving profit margins. Organizations successfully using these human-centered processes are:

- Empathizing with customers to deliver stellar experiences
- Accurately defining member problems to create better solutions
- Using prototypes and pilots to create new services and limit waste of scarce resources
- Turning failures into strategic advantages

Your organization can do the same. In this webinar, come dig into the innovation sandbox and learn how two association executives improved member and staff engagement using DT and XD, while simultaneously growing revenues and margins by millions of dollars—all without depleting capital reserves or requiring a sophisticated research and development team.

Anyone can add projection screens, use a sound system and put up a stage wash. But if you wish to polish your general session and make a notable difference in quality and professionalism, this session will teach you what you need to know. Learn production company tips from one of the best in the industry. You don’t need to be a technical person for this session, but you will definitely learn what to ask for and why it will make a difference. The best part? Many of these secrets won’t cause you to blow your budget.

Learning Objectives
1. Discover how to play the right walk-in music to set a certain mood or energy.
2. Explore music licensing, voice-of-god announcements, music beds for transitions between speakers and more.
3. Learn how to create a “run of show” that includes presenter and speaker information, stage setup, presentation details and timing.

Building strong relationships and friendships is crucial to our success. Belonging to a community like the meetings industry gives us a sense of identity, and helps us understand who we are and feel part of something larger than ourselves. Join this session to learn how to make the most of networking opportunities at industry events.

Learning Objectives
1. Learn how to better prepare for networking events.
2. Discover keys that will help you overcome the fear of entering a large room and initiating conversation.
3. Explore fresh tips you can use when following up with new people you meet.

Information is power, especially when it comes to consolidating meeting activity and spend data to enhance negotiations and deliver ROI. Meetings are big investments, and stakeholder expectations for measurable, value-based outcomes are at an all-time high.

Additionally, the implementation of Strategic Meetings Management (SMM) standards by corporate and association planners has made it essential to track and access key meeting and spend data at all phases of a meeting’s life cycle.

In this high impact webinar, attendees will examine a variety of topics that drive the process to track and leverage data to ensure strategic negotiations, cost savings, contract risk mitigation, added meeting value and ROI.

Learning Objectives
1. Understand trends validating the need for a spend data management process.
2. Examine the umbrella of meeting data categories to track and incorporate into an action plan.
3. Learn how to utilize data to assure value-based outcomes.
4. Discover specific metrics to define, measure and report success.
5. Review methods to break down data in silos and strategies to drive maximum value.
6. Discuss methods to communicate real meeting value to managers and stakeholders.

Are you struggling to grow your event? Do you need help getting things done? Without volunteers, many highly driven professionals routinely find themselves plagued by projects, missing crucial deadlines and struggling to tackle their never-ending to-do lists. Escape feeling overworked and overwhelmed by building a budget-friendly team of skilled, reliable and loyal volunteers.

Learning Objectives
1. Learn the seven secrets to building a team of lifelong volunteers.
2. Identify the costly mistakes planners can make when managing volunteers and learn how to avoid them.
3. Discover five critical responsibilities every volunteer team leader must know.

Social media communities are rich with diversity and inclusion thought leaders. Twitter and LinkedIn are key tools meeting planners can leverage to source events. This workshop will focus on the process of mining social media sites for value-added resources. You will also learn how to create and manage your own social media presence.

Learning Objectives
1. Learn the key components of an effective social media strategy for both your personal and your event’s brand.
2. Find tools to minimize the time you spend managing social media presence.
3. Utilize techniques to find credible diversity experts you can leverage or partner with at your events.

The RFP process used to be time-consuming and labor-intensive. Then came technology to make things simpler. Your work might be simpler, but is it streamlined and strategic? Or are you sending RFPs out to see what will stick? This session will show you how to get back to strategically targeting RFPs while using some newer tools as well.

Learning Objectives
1. Review elements for targeted site searches and RFPs.
2. Name three ways CVBs can assist with your RFP process.
3. Gain insights on how RFPs are evaluated and how yours can rise to the top.

As global business continues to expand, understanding the cultural dynamics of a country can be helpful in providing insight for why people act the way they do and the appropriate way you should act while in another country or working with individuals from other countries.

Etiquette is all about human social behavior. Each country has a “code of behavior,” which covers right and wrong, improper and respectful ways to act and behave. Passed down by generations, this code is based on basic cultural values and beliefs. Respecting and acknowledging these cultural customs can advance individual business success in working with these cultures.

This sessions reviews proper behavior in everyday situations from dining to gift giving to basic manners and daily cultural taboos. Resource tools will be available.

Learning Objectives
1. Understand the importance of learning about other cultures and their “code of behavior.”
2. Position yourself for greater success in international business meetings by ensuring a proper first impression.
3. Gain resources for further research and reference tools when working with other cultures.

This high-energy, highly visual session follows Hollywood event producer Austin Johnston—owner of AKJOHNSTON Group—who will share tips, advice and case studies of new ideas, advanced technology and flawless executions with cutting-edge design. Learn the simplest of suggestions and ideas for conferences or complex subjects like projection mapping and digital art experiences. This session will be formatted with edited video for a high-energy flow through various ideas and studies and will open up for a live Q&A.

Learning Objectives
1. Discover actionable and innovative solutions for common technology needs.
2. Explore design elements and inspirations to build engaging shows for your clients.
3. Have fun while interacting with case studies and receive world-class advice.

In our litigious society, anyone can be sued for anything—even good things! In this unique and informative session, participants will consider scenarios highlighting the liability issues associated with integrating social responsibility into the meetings industry. We will discuss the parameters of food donation laws and explore the realities and myths of Good Samaritan laws, including the less well-known “Bad Samaritan” laws. Find out who is really protected under the Volunteer Protection Act. You can and should do good things… but you should also protect yourself and your organization along the way.

Learning Objectives
1. Develop effective food donation policies and programs.
2. Communicate the limitations of personal risk to potential volunteers.
3. Evaluate the risk and responsibility for rendering aid (or failing to render aid) to those in need.

As more people embrace social media, our need to draw a line between professional and personal lives becomes even more important. This session will explore our abilities to persuade and delve into how personal and professional influences can be used for good or evil.

Learning Objectives
1. Understand our need for social media.
2. Navigate the seas of social media at work and its best practices.
3. Use social media to influence your professional relationships and develop your personal brand.
4. Draw the line between personal and professional.

Everyone can be a leader, regardless of his or her position. Whether you’re executive director, manager or a volunteer, leadership is about influence. How much influence do you have? To be an effective leader, you must be able to influence yourself—through evaluating and managing your own behaviors and habits—before you can influence others and ultimately your organization or community. After conducting 9,000 individual executive coaching sessions and dozens of strategic planning meetings with associations, businesses and boards of directors, Dean Savoca has compiled eight essential attributes of successful leaders into one dynamic program based on his Wheel of Influence, which challenges and benefits leaders of every level of experience and organization size.

Learning Objectives
1. Discover eight attributes of successful leaders.
2. Create your own Wheel of Influence to guide professional development and leadership growth.
3. Pinpoint a specific area to work to balance your Wheel and achieve a higher level of influence.

*Download the materials you’ll need for this session, here: http://bit.ly/1ooOSgA

The food and beverage served at events can either amaze your attendees or leave a bad taste in their mouths. With limited budgets, higher food costs and a greater need for personalization, it’s important now more than ever to work effectively with catering managers and chefs to create added value, even on a limited budget. Learn new ways to tantalize attendees with creative menus and food service methods.

Learning Objectives
1. Learn how to be creative while keeping costs low.
2. Identify creative food service methods.
3. Communicate with caterers and chefs to stretch their budgets effectively.
4. Personalize meals without fret.

Today's audiences need to be highly engaged immediately—if we don’t give them rich experiences, they’ll leave either physically or by diving into their devices. Presenters are competing for the attention of demanding attendees who have low tolerance for talking heads, short attention spans, and diversions from their phones and other devices. In this session, Shawna Suckow, CMP, will discuss how evolving technology, culture and generations have changed how we meet and learn. We’ll delve into the evolving adult learning theory and how to capture the attention of participants in new ways.

Learning Objectives
1. How to kick your conference into high gear in 15 minutes
2. What not to do, unless you want to kill engagement (especially with millennials)
3. Methods for enriching the attendee experience and engaging even the toughest skeptic