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Archives for January 2024
Daily Inspiration: Meetings & Events Industry – “If you keep chasing the same old business model, you’ll never find the magic in the new one!”
“If you keep chasing the same old business model, you’ll never find the magic in the new one!” – Futurist Jim Carroll
I had a post the other day over on a LinkedIn group that has drawn quite a bit of interest; at the moment I write this, it’s approaching 24,000 views. That’s pretty significant.
My post was to the ‘Skift Meetings Event Professionals Community” – essentially, it’s a community where the folks who organize the world of corporate, association, trade shows, conferences, and conventions hang out, seeking tips, sharing ideas, and offering up answers to questions posed by others. It’s a pretty active group, drawing interest from around the world from meeting planners, trade show experts, speakers bureaus, speakers, staging and AV companies, and more.
My post – reproduced in its entirety below – had to do with something that has been very much on my mind as of late – and that is that this industry is changing in a significant way. There is a pretty significant shift in spending, a change in the individuals responsible for organizing an event, as well as the speed and purpose for which these events are being pulled together. Opportunity is to be found by aligning to and adapting to this trend, instead of simply staying focused on the old business model that has been in place for many years.
What is that business model? In the ‘olden days’ – say, anywhere up to about 2010 or 2015 or so, most major events were held by associations through their annual meetings, conferences, trade shows, and events. Planning cycles were slow and deliberate, often with a year’s lead time or more. Budgets were rich – many event managers would approach a speakers bureau to find a high-profile celebrity or two to draw attendance and attention to the event. The events were pretty formulaic – in addition to the high-profile keynote, several event tracks were organized, often with speakers focused on the hot topic of the day.
The industry worked according to a pretty established format – and many of my events fit into that mold. It seemed that many people were operating on autopilot. But things seem to be changing – association budgets are down, and many are struggling to fund the same type of lavish events they have in the past, as membership and attendance challenges become the norm.
On the flip side, the number of very short-term corporate events is on the rise, as is the spending attributed to such events. Major corporate organizations are encountering fast emerging trends faster, and find it necessary to pull together their team in a hurry for an elaborate – and focused – offsite meeting. Trade show spending is down as more organizations discover the power to be found in bringing key clients and customers to an offsite location for a couple of days. The urgency of change is driving faster decisions on topics – they don’t need a celebrity kickoff, but rather, deep topic insight.
My post was trying to get across the scope and urgency of this change, knowing that many event professionals might still be stuck in the old way of doing things, and might not be seeing the real opportunities in this fast-emerging and growing market. Speakers bureaus and their agents might be caught in the same trap. I sense that many are caught up in thinking about the old way of doing things, and not paying enough attention to this new emerging trend.
But I know I am – it’s become very much the core of my business, with this photo in front of my stage for my event last week in Dublin. Old business models change. New ones emerge. You must always keep chasing the new one – because opportunity is at the end of the rainbow of initiative.
Let’s talk about corporate events.
Over the last 15 years (and I’ve been at this for 30+), most of my events are skewing to large-scale corporate CEO-level events – top leadership team meetings of 100-200+ people. I just came back from such an event for a global pharma company in Dublin.
Here are 10 trends defining this space that you might not be thinking about as an event planner.
1. Meetings are happening faster. I laughed 10 years ago when my booking cycles were down to 6 months. They might now happen in as little as 2 months or less. Why? See #2
2. Disruptive trends are disrupting faster. Organizations now need to confront new emerging issues faster. An issue might pop up and require an all-hands meeting or event in a short period because the impact of not confronting the issue is real.
3. Bigger budgets are in place. In the ‘olden days,’ these meetings would have a riser, a podium, and a mic. The last 5 years have seen big companies investing big bucks for big staging, with LED walls and more. You know that many associations don’t have a budget anymore. Big corporate groups do.
4. An event planner is often not involved. The meeting owner is often a senior VP or similar who is charged with pulling together a meeting. They are flying blind; I find that many of them didn’t know the organization has an event planner – if they even have one! This is an untapped big opportunity for external partners.
5. The topic is very narrow. The future of construction with AI. The impact of accelerated pharmacogenetics with AI on the design of clinical trials. The a need to invest in 3d printing and digital twin technology for the manufacturing process. These are all topics that I’ve taken on for big corporate groups – they are looking for in-depth insight on some fast new complex topics.
6. The sessions are intense. They aren’t just there to mingle and greet and learn to build a collaborative team (though that is important). There are big goals for big takeaways with big, real strategies. The agendas I’ve seen are packed to the rafters with little downtime. They need to accomplish something – this is not just a ‘feel-good get-together.’
7. It’s NOT about ‘experiences.’ Given their strategic focus, they’re not into ‘experience’ – it’s all about the content. They’re not caught up in all the event industry drama about the fact that millennials don’t have attention spans & and need to be entertained – because often, those millennials are under-represented at the event.
8. It’s a broad audience. Legal, marketing, sales, senior execs. Everyone is represented.
9. They often don’t know about speaker bureaus. Hello, Google! My bookings come from people finding me directly via search engines, word of mouth, and direct connections. Often, the very people booking me have no clue about the world of speakers bureaus.
10. They’re growing. I am seeing a dramatic uptick in these events. It’s a growth spot.
It’s my niche. https://ceo.jimcarroll.com
Daily Inspiration: Business Model Transformation – “If you aren’t thinking bold enough you’ll never be ambitious enough!
“If you aren’t thinking bold enough you’ll never be ambitious enough!” – Futurist Jim Carroll
The world will not be transformed by people using chatbots and ChatGPT and drawing pictures with AI generators.
It will be fully disrupted by the other AI trends that really matter – what I call the AI Megatrends. That’s been the key message in many of my recent and upcoming keynotes, and it might be helpful to understand how this particular storyline unfolds from the stage by looking at a series of slides I recently shared.
Take the world of healthcare, medicine, and pharmaceuticals – and step away from AI for a moment into the bigger, long-term trend transforming the industry. The simple fact of the matter is that we are moving from being an industry that just fixes people AFTER they are sick, to one in which we have a better understanding of what they might become sick with BEFORE they are sick. With that knowledge, we can rearchitect the delivery of health care resources to where it really matters – a world of preventative medicine – one based on complex science, genetic medicine, medical device connectivity, pharmacogenetics, and so much more.
And so while many medical professionals will be learning how to incorporate ChatGPT-like information searches in their day-to-day lives – and learning how to deal with the accuracy issues – the spending on AI beyond large-language model technologies like this is set to explode – going from perhaps $10 billion to $177l.4 billion in but 8 short years. That’s a huge leap!
What we are witnessing is a vast range of new concepts, methodologies, forms of treatment, new ways of diagnosing and treating disease – and so much more. Perhaps the world of healthcare will involve a lot of patient and knowledge virtualization.
What does this lead to? Massive change! Already and into the future, AI will be used for a vast range of new ways of working, including:
- medical image analysis
- personalized medicine
- medical device connectivity
- medical device monitoring
- disease diagnosis
- advanced patient monitoring
- digital twin / surgical planning
- chronic disease management
- medical research acceleration
Drilling down, if you look into how it will change the world of drug development, there are some pretty profound changes and opportunities underway, including new advancements that will help us to:
- identify candidate molecules faster
- undertake earlier disease diagnosis
- look at past trial data sets
- predict patient response to treatments
- do faster analysis of massive data sets from discovery trials
- change the way we do patient recruitment and enrolment
- predict potential adverse drug reaction
Perhaps the biggest trend is that AI will help us align to the emerging disruptive ‘real-time trial’ trend – with medical device connectivity and more, we now can gain instant, real-time information on how well a candidate molecule might be working, helping us to compress the drug development cycle.
Why is this important? Because the current method of drug discovery is not working well – it is slow, inefficient, and lacking in a lot of things. My research dug out these nuggets of insight:
- 80% of clinical trials fail to meet original enrolment deadlines
- 55% of trials are terminated due to failure to achieve full enrolment
- current clinical trials have a failure rate of 84.6% (“Trends in Pharmacological Sciences 44(9) 561-572”)
- Just 3% of US adult cancer patients participate in clinical trials and 40% of those trials fail to get minimum patient enrollment, per Johns Hopkins
But how might AI help us? There are already provable results:
- a 20% reduction in the cost of 20 drug development programs at Johnson & Johnson
- 80%. accuracy in predicting trial outcomes
- 10% improvement in clinical trial success rates (research reports)
- 70 to 80% improvement in accuracy in predicting patient response to immunotherapies
This is real-world stuff, driven by the AI Megatrends – and this is why we need to get ‘beyond ChatGPT’ into the real issues that matter.
For legacy companies, this type of insight matters – because if they aren’t thinking big and bold enough about how their future is changing, it’s pretty much a certainty that someone else is!
And that’s the key to the future – thinking BIG and BOLD about tomorrow so that you can ensure that your ambitions match the scope of the future that you need to align to.
Because, after all, nothing great was ever achieved by being small and timid.
Daly Inspiration: Creativity & Innovation – “Stop trying to be like everyone else. Just be yourself!”
“Stop trying to be like everyone else. Just be yourself!” – Futurist Jim Carroll
Don’t twist yourself into knots trying to conform! If you are unique, celebrate it and run with it – because that is often the key pathway to success.
Think about it – when you are true to yourself, you are more likely to pursue the passions and interests that bring you genuine joy and satisfaction, rather than doing the things which cause you misery and heartache. When you get rid of the shackles of conformity and the structures of groupthink, you can open up your mind to your true potential. Unique individuals have a much better opportunity to work in an environment that will foster, not hinder, their creativity and innovation. That will lead them to their true potential – because they see the world differently, their wandering mind can lead them to creative solutions and innovative ideas that they might not otherwise see. And that makes the journey rewarding – if they can create enough space for their uniqueness, they will often achieve a greater sense of self-fulfillment.
That’s why you’ll often see uniqueness triumph in the arts – think about Madonna, Lady Gaga, and Elton John. Each developed a unique style, personality, and image that was very much at the heart of much of their success. That uniqueness is both innate and developed through circumstance.
Lady Gaga, born Stefani Germanotta, faced significant challenges during her childhood due to what she admitted was a unique and quirky personality. She was often ridiculed by her peers for her artistic bent – and she admits that led to feelings of isolation and self-doubt. This experience had a profound impact on her during her early school years, causing her to be someone who questioned her abilities – but who eventually discovered that self-worth by embracing her uniqueness rather than fighting it. The result was a musical style and stage persona that stood out in a world of commodity-like music. Similar stories are found in the uniqueness of many of those who excel in the arts, technology, and sports – wherein success only eventually comes about once the uniqueness of a skill or personality is embraced, rather than shunned.
This also holds for companies that have a unique brand, value proposition, and unique product or service – think about Apple! Being unique can give you a significant competitive advantage, because the ability to stand out in a crowded market, offering something that no one else does, fits the concept of the “Unique Selling Proposition” (USP) in marketing. That can lead to significant profitability because you are selling your product or service based on its uniqueness, rather than having to compete with others. In Apple’s case, they can command higher prices simply because their products stand above and alone in an otherwise crowded technology market. Uniqueness often goes to the very heart of a successful brand!
Behind Apple’s stunning success as one of the world’s most valuable companies lies the original uniqueness of its founders. Steve Wozniak was unique in his approach to the development of technology – he believed in the artistry of a beautiful circuitry design – something that continues to this day. And his co-founder, Steve Jobs, was stunningly unique, refusing to conform to the typical product model that was emerging in the early personal computer era. Rather than racing to develop computers that were like everyone else’s – running on the Microsoft platform – he had Apple pursue its unique product development path. The result was a series of products in which the value was found within the overall quality of the user experience, the ‘eco-system’ (or range of connectivity) built around the products, and the sheer ease of use. His vision carried through the years – using a Mac, an iPhone, or similar products implied design, simplicity, and ease of use – features that individuals were willing to pay a premium for. Jobs was obstinately unique in his commitment to this cause!
And yet, the fact is, in a world of conformity, it’s not easy being unique – embracing your uniqueness often involves stepping out of your comfort zone, which is a critical aspect of personal and professional growth. But doing so is very much a journey of self-discovery – it encourages you to explore and understand your strengths, weaknesses, interests, and values.
The very process of doing so can help you identify not only what it is that makes you unique – but the ideas, innovations, and opportunities that can come from actually being unique.
(Midjourney prompt: “In a world of business in which everyone is the same, the creative genius stands out. That’s because he realizes he should stop trying to be like everyone else and just be himself –ar 16:9” – enhanced with the Inswap face-swap app!)
Don’t be like everyone else – be yourself!
Daily Inspiration: Innovation & Leadership – “Is your future happening in a garage at this very moment? (And are you even aware what’s happening?)”
“Is your future happening in a garage at this very moment? (And are you even aware what’s happening?)” – Futurist Jim Carroll
We live in disruptive, transformative times, in which new companies are developing new products and services that might displace legacy organizations. Some of them might be working at this very moment in the ubiquitous ‘garage,’ and are set to become tomorrow’s billion-dollar company before you know it.
As I cautioned my audience yesterday at a senior leadership meeting:
“At this very instant in time, there might be someone working in a garage with a blindingly disruptive idea, and in 5 years, they will have completely changed your market, your product, and your future. Are you aware of who they might be? Or even more important – shouldn’t YOU be the company in the garage?”
The fact is, many successful companies were born in people’s dorm rooms, garages, and basements – using this space as a launch pad until they were able to outgrow their early, innovative roots.
Amazon? It began as an online online book store in Jeff Bezos’ garage. Mark Zuckerberg established Facebook in his university dorm room. Larry Page and Sergey Brin started Google in a garage, working on a search engine idea. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak started Apple in a garage, developing the Apple 1, before going on to become a computer company that saw explosive growth with the Apple II line. Bill Gates and Paul Allen established Microsoft in a small garage in Albuquerque, New Mexico before exploding into growth in Washington state; Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard started HP in a one-car garage in Palo Alto, California, working on various electronic products; Michael Dell started Dell in his dorm room while studying at the University of Texas at Austin, selling computers out of this room. Walt Disney and his brother Roy Disney started their company in their uncle’s garage, initially producing a series of live-action/animated films. Elliot Handler and his wife Ruth started Mattel in a garage, initially making picture frames, but later shifted to producing dollhouse furniture and toys.
Need I go on?
What is it about ‘garage-based innovation‘ that is so successful? Why do so many disruptive upstarts seem to start in such a small space?
The obvious issue is funding, of course – there’s little overhead to doing something on your home turf, leaving more funds for product development. And yet, the ‘garage phase‘ of innovation is common for several other reasons, including the fact that it can simply be an ideal space for creativity and experimentation, as the founders are not yet confined by the strictures of formal office space. It’s become symbolic of innovation: the garage symbolizes the spirit of innovation and the humble beginnings of these successful companies, inspiring other entrepreneurs to pursue their ideas with determination and creativity. The lack of a formal setting gives the startup more flexibility and adaptability, allowing the founders to pivot quickly and respond at a fast pace to any new ideas that might grab their attention. And then there is the inevitable privacy and security aspect – it’s simply a secure space for budding ideas to flourish without the distractions and public access of a formal office.
The key thing about ‘garage-based innovation,’ though, is this is where new ideas can flourish without the strictures of corporate culture, the walls of organizational sclerosis, and the boundaries of restricted thinking set by the legacy of expectations. A company that is not yet established does not yet have the established set of barriers that get in the way of the free flow of ideas. And it is in that context that new, disruptive ideas that can transform markets are truly born.
My challenge to my audience at a leadership event is to consider several questions, first and foremost of which is “Who might be working away in the garage that might come up with the ideas that will disrupt and transform the industry?” What ideas are they pursuing that you, as a legacy organization, are not considering, And can you think and innovate in the same free-flowing, unrestricted way that the ‘garage-based innovator‘ can?
In other words, can you be the garage?
That’s not an easy thing to do by any stretch of the imagination, but the key idea is that you need to be aware that at this very moment, your future might be being determined in a garage somewhere. Be cognizant of it, wary of what it represents, and refuse to rest on the legacy of your laurels.
Be the garage – don’t be the one impacted by the garage!
Daily Inspiration: “Dazed and confused? There’s still time to change the road you’re on!”
“Dazed and confused? There’s still time to change the road you’re on!” – Futurist Jim Carroll
I’m over in Dublin, Ireland, and spent the day yesterday visiting the town where the ancestors on my mom’s side are from. The result is that I’ve had little time to prepare today’s quote. On occasion – and in the spirit of posting every day as I have since 2016 – I will sometimes share an older blog post that still bears relevance today.
I wrote this post on the idea of “Led Zeppelin Leadership” way back in 2008, and it still seems to resonate today!
At a particular keynote last week, I met several senior executives who certainly agreed with my main message – we need to constantly realign our company to the reality of the fast change that surrounds it. That’s where innovation comes from. But they also indicated that they found it increasingly difficult to keep up with the rapid change occurring all around them – and are uncertain about their path forward.
That’s not surprising. There’s been an increasing number of these individuals in my audiences, and I’ve come to call them the Led Zeppelin refugees: they’re simply dazed by the changes occurring in the high-velocity economy around them, and are confused about what to do next. They might be undertaking some of the worst possible steps forward or are uncertain as to what to do next – but the key thing is that there is still time for them to change the road they are on. (My apologies to Jimmy Page and Robert Plant.)
That’s why there’s such a good question that flows from this conundrum: just how do you become an organization that is focused on innovation?
One of the easiest methods is simply identifying the obvious and the not-so-obvious trends that will impact your business or organization — and then taking the time to figure out what actions you must undertake to deal with those trends. Ask yourself this question: are you prepared for what comes next in terms of your business? The likely answer is no: my experience is that many organizations still have a very short-term-minded outlook. They’re caught in an innovation rut, simply doing day by day the same old things they’ve always been doing, day in and day out. And they don’t think about how their world is going to change. That’s why you should undertake a “trend-and-innovation” audit of your organization: quite simply, figuring out what comes next, and what you need to do about it.
How can you do this? By asking yourself a series of questions:
- How quickly is our marketplace changing? How quickly might it change in the future? What’s the impact on what I sell, and how I sell it?
- How are our products changing? Will they change faster in terms of features? Will support become easier, or more complex? Can we manage to operate in a faster market?
- Are our products moving upscale, or are they becoming commodities, such that you’ll be forced to compete on price? Can we do something so that there is more of a service element to our product?
- What new competitors are appearing, or might emerge in the future? Is the basic business model threatened? Is there more likelihood of direct outreach to the consumer rather than through an existing distributor/wholesaler network?
- What moves could we make to make sure we can remain competitive? You really must ask yourself some probing questions as you go through this process. You need to challenge yourself and think about what might be different in five years, in terms of what you sell, who you sell to, how you sell it, and who you are selling against.
What you need to do is ask yourself these tough questions, so that you’re thinking about where there might be new problems and new opportunities that will impact your business in the future, not just in terms of what you sell, but in terms of the structure that you use to get things done. That will give you a bit of an idea of your path forward.
And therein lies the rub: I think a lot of organizations fail to do this type of simple analysis. There are too many who sit back and react to change instead of thinking: “ok we know some big change is coming what the heck are we going to do about it?” Think of it as forward-oriented innovation: it’s a simple concept and one of the most important things you should be doing.
And once you do that, there is a real opportunity for you to begin moving forward. If you are stuck in a state of aggressive indecision, there is still time for you to change the road you’re on. Because you’ve got the perfect opportunity to build yourself a stairway to innovation.
Do this, and the future won’t leave you comfortably numb. But that’s a whole other band, ripe for the opportunities of creative wordsmithing.
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