State of the Economy Conference 2013

Greater Halifax Partnership hosts the 2nd Annual State of the Economy Conference on May 22nd in…you guessed it – Halifax!

This event is a must attend for innovators, business leaders and individuals interested in creating a prosperous and vibrant city.

The full agenda is available here and is guaranteed to offer attendees a wealth of information alongside a terrific networking opportunity.

The value a good speaker adds to your event is undeniable, and these two speakers are a great fit for this conference.

Morning Keynote – Terry Stuart

Chief Innovation Officer, Deloitte
“The Future of Productivity: Clear choices for a competitive Canada”

Terry presents the latest research findings from The Future of Productivity: Clear choices for a competitive Canada, highlighting key recommendations for companies, government, and academia on improving productivity through innovation.

Afternoon Keynote – Rebecca Ryan

“Is Your Business Future-Ready?”
Founder of Next Generation Consulting

Rebecca Ryan is a human sparkplug. She is one part economist, one part futurist, and one part humorist. (That’s right: economists can be funny.) Rebecca inspires audiences to think differently about the future…their future. Author of Life First, Work Second, and ReGENERATION, Rebecca is earning accolades as “a voice for the next generation.”

If you knew the future, how would you respond? Companies that can anticipate and respond appropriately to emerging trends have a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Learn about emerging customer, employee, and marketplace trends that will reshape business.

The Where and When:

Wednesday, May 22, 2013 at the Westin Nova Scotian
8:00-8:30am: Registration and Networking
8:30am-3:00pm: Conference Program

If this sounds like something you’d like to attend – Click here to register!

Mary Budgell – Event Logistics Coordinator

What shade of Beige is your Meeting?

I was sent a fabulous article tonight by a colleague I admire a great deal- Sean O’Dea from Cairncroft Management Ltd. (Representing Serial Entrepreneur Frank O’Dea!)

The article was published in the  Spring Issue of CAPS National Magazine: Speaking of Impact.  Here is the link to the full article: Beige is Boring, but also some highlights that we all need to consider as industry experts! Author David Gouthro, CSP has some excellent points! (This is not a prescription for all meetings, but very relevant for some!)

“It’s quite common for me to look down on conferences and conventions that follow the very same pattern, time after time, and that fail to deliver value to the participants or their organizations. Speaker after speaker gets up and talks about a subject that’s marginally relevant (but hopefully interesting) to the audience seated in front of him or her.

What a lost opportunity! With most information available to most companies most of the time, there is little competitive advantage to present “common wisdom” that is widely available to everyone else in the same industry.

One of the best ways to establish a sustainable market advantage is to find and use information the competition is unlikely to pay attention to, or to take a look at common information from an uncommon perspective. Enter the need for a controversial speaker or a controversial process to bring a colourful end to the world of beige.

Why do meeting planners (both internal and external) avoid recommending controversial speakers or processes? Here are some of the reasons I’ve heard:

•    “We want everyone to be happy.” (As if that drives any meaningful organizational change.)

•    “The result will be unpredictable.” (Is the market predictable?)

•    “The higher-ups will never go for it.” (So, let’s not even mention the possibility to them.)

•    “Someone might be offended.” (So might participants who feel their intelligence and ability to think for themselves isn’t recognized.)

•    “We can’t afford to take a risk. If the client doesn’t like it, we may not get hired back again.” (By all means, worry about your own skin first, rather than the potential benefit to your client)

•    “We’ve never done it that way before.” (So, we’d better not attempt it now, even though the topic of the conference is, say, innovation.)

If you are willing to summon the courage to leave beige behind, and create meeting experiences that are rich, meaningful and colourful ones that will really drive value for your clients, consider including more of the following:

•  debates, where multiple sides of an issue are explored

•  greater audience direct participation (risky, but engaging)

•  shorter keynotes or no keynotes (gasp!)

• online meetings (or pre and post a regular face-to-face meeting)

• regular physical activity breaks (to keep minds engaged)

• graphic recording (fabulous addition to traditional note taking)

• hot seats, with speakers sharing their expertise “live”

Article written by David Gouthro, CSP