Are online meetings reducing our collective intelligence [CI]? New research from Carnegie Mellon has been widely interpreted as concluding that, for example, “Zoom is actually less effective than a phone call”, and “Video conferencing can hurt collaboration”. Not so fast. New research about […]
I find Virginia Satir’s change model to be the most useful of the many models of change. There’s a crucial fifth stage in Satir’s model that people often neglect: the integration and practice phase. The hero’s journey shortchanges change Why do people […]
Attention, meeting planners! Safe meeting venue ventilation for COVID-19 is critical. As we start thinking about returning to in-person events, it’s crucial to check that venues are upgrading their HVAC systems to handle potentially virus-infused air. There has been little […]
The essential characteristics of meeting professionals If there is a heaven on earth in the event industry, there are four essential characteristics of successful meeting professionals you’ll meet there. These four characteristics are essential because event professionals who possess and […]
Who’s responsible for association culture? The association staff, or its membership? [Association culture? Here’s a definition by Jamie Notter.] “Organizational culture is the collection of words, actions, thoughts, and ‘stuff’ that clarifies and reinforces what a company truly values.” —Jamie Notter, […]
When’s the right time to solve small problems? The right answer is almost always “as soon as practically possible!” Why? Because small problems often become large problems if we don’t work on them in a timely fashion. Unfortunately, people don’t […]
My post on gamification last week garnered plenty of comments on LinkedIn. Many responses exposed the vague ways people use the word gamification to imply, well, something good about a service that some companies provide. Like advertising’s liberal use of improved! without […]
Gamification “makes about as much sense as chocolate-dipped broccoli”. Education professor Amy Bruckman coined this analogy in a 1999 paper on game software design: “Most attempts at making software both educational and fun end up being neither. Fun is often treated like […]
Why people continue to speak for free at meeting industry conferences: Another issue of an occasional series—Dear Adrian—in which I answer questions about event design, elementary particle physics, solar hot water systems, and anything else I might conceivably know something about. […]