Sound n' Sight

Events professionals: The time to pull together is now

I read a blog post today that got me thinking.  It was written by Keith Johnston on his blog Event Industry Thoughts. In it, he talks about how, despite our best efforts to put a happy face on it, the economy is not recovering and the events industry continues to suffer with no end in sight.

He sites many examples of this sad state of affairs and also points out that we events professionals seem to have our heads in the sand because we "have the innate ability to see the good side in everything or at least make the bad side a little more tolerable."

Despite my reputation as a Pollyanna, I found myself grateful for the dose of reality. Why? How am I going to get out of the way of the oncoming train if I keep thinking that light leads to better times? While I don't think yammering on endlessly about how the sky is falling will save me, I do think that having a more realistic view will help me devise a way to survive.

We event professionals do seem to share the remarkable trait of optimism. After all we are cheerleaders for our clients. While this can work against us, as Keith notes, it's obvious that optimism is a trait that survivors tend to share. We are also social, organized and resourceful; all qualities that can help us weather the storm.

As industry professionals, we are connected like never before. Organizations like MPI, PCMA and ISES all exist to support us. And now we are connected in real time via social media groups like #eventprofs. 

It's been pretty dog-eat-dog out there for the past couple of years. Many of us have resorted to tactics that we'd never use in better times (ei low-balling in the AV business has become rampant.) Hey, I like healthy competition just as much as anyone. But there's a time for everything and maybe, just maybe, now is the time to work together instead.

Social media works best when we connect with and promote each other. On Twitter, retweeting spreads helpful information and promotes the original tweeter at the same time. Commenting on other people's blogs works the same way.  We understand the value of helping to keep our virtual community healthy by supporting all members and discouraging spam. Why not extend this community nurturing to other areas of our businesses?

* Maybe you have a skill, such as social media marketing, that might help someone else. Share some tips with them.

* Maybe now isn't the time to expand. Instead, why not subrent or outsource to a fellow event professional who can use the business?

* Are there people you know who might be able to partner and grow stronger by the association? Introduce them!

Tim Sanders , former Yahoo executive and now leadership coach, tells the story of a very successful businessman who had a weekly lunch date at which he would always introduce 5 business people who didn't know each other but might benefit by the association. Many people acheived success because of this man. And of course, he himself, was extremely successful as a direct result.

I certainly don't have all, or even a lot of the answers here. But I know that between us all, we can find them.  Despite (and maybe even because of) these difficult times, I've experienced a great deal of growth through my social media friendships - mostly among events professionals.  I know that we can achieve anything we put our minds to, especially if we work together. 

Do you have any other ideas of ways to help your fellow events professionals pull through this recession?  Please add them in the comments.

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