meeting planning

general session production

The "Perfect" Meeting
by Steve Jacobs

Seventeen years ago when I "switched sides" from Convention Services to Meeting Management, I believed it true that you could create a flawless or perfect program, I was derided by a few well-seasoned meeting planners. Today, do I still believe that can happen?

Can we really create a perfect meeting or must we settle for a good meeting with few glitches here and there? Is there any agreed upon standard of excellence for meetings and events?

Well, the answer to my questions are: Yes, No, and No. I still believe that the "perfect" meeting exists.

Once upon a time, there existed a code of professionalism and standard of excellence in the meeting/travel industry. In the skies, first class was indeed first class and on the ground banquet servers knew to serve from the right with their right arm and clear from the left with their left arm. Attention to detail was widespread.

Today more than ever, management must indeed manage and delegate the details to professionals who have been trained by the best, who know the "right way", who can make the meeting appear flawless.

Like the conductor that through extensive practice brings out the best in all of the players, so one who has been trained in the art of successful meetings fades into the background as the flawless program unfolds. In our thinking out of the box we remember the details, and the "do whatever it takes" mentality that fades to the background as the curtain rises on the stage of the future of your next corporate program or event. YES, ESPECIALLY today it IS possible to have a flawless meeting, and yes, some might even call it perfect (or at worst, really great).