Keeping it SiMMPle logo
                 Betsy Bondurant, CTE, CMM                                                                      Volume 4, March 20, 2012
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In This Issue
D is for Destructive Determination
SiMMPle Tips
Did you know...

  

Bondurant Consulting provides the following services:  
  • Assessment of SMMP potential for your organization   
  • Development and implementation of SMMP for meeting & travel managers  
  • Training programs for hotel companies and 3rd party meeting planning agencies which increase their understanding of Strategic Meetings Management, resulting in more successful engagements with clients who are involved with SMM 

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phone: 619.701.7709

 

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Welcome to Year Two of "Keeping it SiMMPle", a bi-monthly newsletter aimed at making and keeping your Strategic Meetings Management Program Practical, Light, and Effective!

Each issue of Keeping it SiMMPle addresses a component of the A to Z of SMM from a Practical, Light & Effective perspective. In this issue D is for Destructive Determination. 

Having the determination to follow through on various elements of a Strategic Meetings Management Program (SMMP) is critical to your success. The development, implementation, adoption and enforcement of an SMM can be time consuming and frustrating. If you do not have a high degree of resolve and determination, you will likely not be successful. However, I caution that there can be an extreme degree of determination that results in being destructive to your program

 

Occasionally I have encountered SMM practitioners who are so focused on "checking the boxes" on the implementation time line; they disregard the needs and desires of their stakeholders. They miss warning signs that indicate a process design flaw or a user interface that makes the process cumbersome for the end user, versus easier for them. This single-minded determination to just get the program implemented is usually viewed as stubborn and self serving, and ultimately results in poor adoption. The result of constructive determination is not simply the implementation of an SMM, but the implementation of a well thought, easy to use program with high rates of adoption. An SMM program that has high rates of adoption throughout the organization will provide the outcomes we are all seeking: better control of the meeting and event spend, increased savings and improved risk mitigation.

 

I advise some of the following tactics in order to avoid destructive determination:

  • Always keep in mind the objective of your SMM, and ensure that the design of all of your processes track back to those objectives
  • Continually scan the environment for signals that will indicate your sponsors, planners or suppliers are disengaging from the program.
  • Proactively ask for feedback regarding changes in process or new SMM elements that have been recently introduced

In speaking from experience, It takes a lot of personal and organizational resolve to undertake the design and implementation of a Strategic Meetings Management Program, and then to ensure its success on a day to day basis. So having a strong determination is a positive attribute for those leading the SMM initiative. The key is to ensure that the determination does not cross over into becoming destructive and eventually overwhelm good judgment.  

SiMMPle Tips
TIP #1: Develop a core advisory group and listen to their concerns and recommendations regarding design and implementation 

TIP #2:  Accept what you hear from your advisory group - do not make excuses or discount their comments

TIP #3: Ask suppliers for their ideas; they can shed light on concerns and issues that you may not know about    

Did you know...

Betsy will be presenting a session on Service Level Agreements (SLAs) at 8th Annual CBI Pharmaceutical Meeting Management Forum next week in Orlando, Florida

 

Good news: According to U.S. News & World Report: "Meeting, Convention & Event Planner" came in as #1 on its list of "20 Best Business Jobs in 2012"

 

Not so good news: CareerCast has listed its "Most Stressful Jobs of 2012," and event coordinator landed at No. 6