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      FUSION NEWS for Meeting Professionals Fusion Meetings & Events/Fusion Management prides itself on being a top provider of meeting & event and association management services for its clients. As such we are providing you with this current information on the industry to assist you with your duties. Should you find yourself in need of assistance with any of your meetings or association duties, please do not hesitate to give us a call. We are here to show you how we can fuse the art and science of meeting and association management to make your organization the best it can be!! |
| Top Story Lessons Learned from Las Vegas We’ve all heard the mantra “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” Truth be told, however, there are many important lessons to be learned in Vegas that can be used within your personal and professional life. Amidst all of the city’s fun and excitement, I have learned some very important lessons in meeting planning and business. These lessons have been incorporated into my daily life and I have seen the rewards immediately. I hope that each of you can too. ONE Follow Your Gut Instinct TWO Don’t Try to Make up for Losses by Doing the Same Thing THREE Just Have Fun – with a Purpose For this article, I will focus on the first item – Follow your Gut Instinct! We’ve all heard about relying on our gut instinct, but amidst the reliance these days on numbers in the form of statistics, trends, calculations, etc. we often rationalize ourselves out of our gut instincts. When your gut says one thing, but the numbers show something else, it is very hard to back-up your gut feeling. We’ve all been there. I’ve been there. On the craps table, however, I learned this the hard way. A player came to the table and for some reason I thought, “bet on double 4s,” but I remembered reading that the center bets were sucker bets and rarely hit. So I did not place this bet. Instead I placed a safe bet. Well, the roller rolled multiple double fours during his roll – granted I won on the safe bet, but I would have WON BIG had I followed my gut and put money on double 4s. In terms of meeting planning and business, this reinforced my thoughts that when you have an idea or feeling that someone tries to talk you out of, but you feel strongly about…you need to go with your gut. Of course your gut instinct will not always be right, but when it is wrong you will have the conviction and passion to know that what you did was right for you. And this in itself is satisfaction. Many of the things we enjoy today were created by people who crossed the barrier to create items that were perceived to be failures or high-risk ventures by many calculations, but became great successes. A favorite quote on this subject is “Well Behaved Women Rarely Make History.” Playing it safe is not always the way to go. Without risks, growth will not occur. In terms of meeting and event planning, I hope that all planners feel comfortable putting out those “outlandish” ideas for events, marketing strategies, or education that they feel strongly about. As a planner, your gut instinct is unique to you. The possibilities of what you can do with that unique asset are underterminable!! For example, last year we took a meeting totally paperless for a group with an average age of 55. Data showed that a group of this age would not respond well to receiving meeting handouts on flash drives rather than paper handouts, but my gut said it would be well perceived. At the last minute, I was coerced by the board to print enough paper handouts to sell on-site to attendees for 10% of the attendees. While the handouts were offered at cost ($20), guess how many were purchased? ONE, yes only one attendee purchased the print version. Even though the statistics were against me, and I did succumb to the doubts of others, my gut instinct was correct. Vegas Lesson Learned – sometimes you have to ignore the statistics and go with your gut. The main thing to remember here is to go with your gut when the instinct is strong. If you don’t know what to do, stay with the numbers that back up a decision. If your gut is telling you strongly about something, however, go with it. Laura Shelton, CMP, is President of Fusion Meetings and Events, a full-service meeting and association management company located in Alexandria, VA. With over 12 years of experience, she has found that success in meeting and association management comes from fusing the science (logistics, financial, content, operational) aspects with the art (creativity, meeting personal needs, personal communication, visually pleasing) aspects to create the whole product. She can be reached at laura@fusionmeetings.com. |
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© 2006 Fusion Meetings and Events, LLC
101 N. Alfred Street, Suite 200
Alexandria, VA 22314
Phone: 703-548-2855 703.303.5261 (cell)
Fax: 703-548-2856
laura@fusionmeetings.com