Leadership

Friday Buzz: Reignite Innovation During Business Meetings

If your office meetings have turned into snoozefests, here's how to bring the creativity back. Also: A celebrity event planner offers her trendsetting, customer-focused tricks of the trade.

The days of mind-numbing, never-ending, unproductive meetings are over.

Fast Company contributor Sam Harrison says stuffing a legion of unenthusiastic employees into a room while attempting to squeeze every ounce of inventiveness out of them is completely counterproductive.

Instead, he suggests keeping discussion groups to a small number of participants, appropriately allocating the amount of time spent during the session, and ensuring all contributors have a thorough understanding of the topic at hand, among other tips.

“Another time-saving tactic is to get folks on their feet. When meetings I facilitate start droning on, I’ll often call for a 10-minute break—just long enough to haul away all chairs. Creative energy goes up and soliloquies go down when everybody stands throughout a meeting.”

Dream Within the Realms of Reality

“Every event is a moving work of art,” celebrity event planner Sharon Sacks told BizBash.

As president of Sacks Productions for the past 25 years, she knows a thing or two about bringing imaginative visions into fruition to create an unforgettable experience. In addition to sharing her secrets to event success, she explains why she never says “no” to her clients:

“If a client wants something that may not be possible due to venue restrictions or budget restraints, instead of saying ‘no,’ offer them another idea, or a solution that will please them just as much.” (ht @BizBash)

Other Good Reads

Content marketing strategist Jenise Fryatt says your association’s “content is the bait,” and social media can help can reel in niche audiences.

From leaving guests to their own devices to sending nonstop emails to your team, Event Manager Blog editor Julius Solaris lists several event planning no-nos to avoid.

Recruiting your office rock stars was just the first step. On Inc.com, Storm Ventures managing partner Jason Lemkin explains what he’s learned about his struggle to retain them.

Smooth the Path‘s Amanda Kaiser advises associations to think more strategically and focus externally when combating issues with their broken business models.

(iStock/Thinkstock)

Alexis Williams

By Alexis Williams

Alexis Williams is a contributor to Associations Now. MORE

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