There is a lot of disruption in the event and meeting industry. It’s not unique. Every industry is experiencing some form of it, and most is driven by technology. Our worlds are changing, and thanks to rapid communications, the changes are faster than ever.

Whether our speakers are dealing with feedback in real time, our planners are using new booking apps, our guests are insisting on Uber and Airbnb or our meeting decisions are informed by algorithms rather than our own minds—at times it can feel like we are in a tornado with traditional models being sucked up into the cloud while we stand in a constantly shifting internet of things. But rather than being victims of disruption, planners themselves have an ideal mindset to be the disruptors that businesses need.

Meeting professionals are being exposed to new ideas all the time, so no wonder our events can sometimes feel like test beds.

It is not surprising that meetings would feel like a hub of disruption, as the sector is intersected with every sector and thus every meeting becomes a playground for new ideas. Meeting professionals are being exposed to new ideas all the time, so no wonder our events can sometimes feel like test beds. But in this disruptive whirlwind of tantalizing tech, new models and new thinking, we increasingly wonder what we should grab and save.

I am of a generation that remembers the first forays into desktop publishing. I remember designing posters with our new monster-sized, brightly colored Apple Macs. Beige PCs were gone as we sat with fancy screens happily designing our publicity campaigns. But just because we could suddenly select 100 fonts did not mean that we should. We learned how to use the tech over time. Now I am struck by how few fonts we actually use in printed media and online. We managed the change—so it is less about grabbing and saving and more about managing choices.

Having worked in events, games, travel and now digital, I have seen a lot of disruption. Hell, I have even become a disruptor, recently being described as such in a media interview for my disruptive tech in retail with ShopAppy.com—I even got national TV for my mission to stand up for brick-and-mortar retail and real places over online spaces. It’s odd for me to be the troublemaker. Being a disruptor is not an easy journey.

While some disruptions may be seen as rapid leaps forward, there are examples of disruptors simply moving in the opposite directions.

Being the disrupted is far harder. As companies become larger, they lose agility. They can’t change like the naughty start-ups around them, who with few barriers to entry can quickly reimagine and recreate entire business models and just switch them on.  

While disruptive developments can shake us, larger businesses are in danger of seeing all disruptions as threat. Back when I started the Future of Meetings study for MPI, videoconferencing was feared as a potential threat to real meetings. But rather than reducing the need to meet, videoconferencing often highlights how much better it is to meet in person! Online meetings and conversations can make real meetings more productive, and video has even enhanced real meetings with high-level speakers being broadcast into the space. Online technology has also enabled remote attendance and engagement.

The most successful disruptors like Amazon, Airbnb and Uber revitalize old models by recognizing a problem. While some disruptions may be seen as rapid leaps forward, there are examples of disruptors simply moving in the opposite directions. When the Nintendo Wii was introduced, Nintendo did not join the race in the industry to ever-higher specification games with more expensive tech. Games were simplified, old school and, rather than PC, Nintendo introduced a game controller that looked suspiciously like a TV remote. This disruption created a completely new demographic and a way of interacting (actually interacting) in person in games.  

By looking at examples of disruptions, it strikes me that there are some clear learnings to take from disruption that may well make us better able to deal with the whirlwind. But it also makes me think that meeting planner skillsets may mean we are all able to channel our inner disruptor.

Problem-recognition

Disruptors recognize a problem that is obvious but not being tackled—whether it is the poor setup of retail in China that prompted the creation of Alibaba or the lack of reasonably priced accommodations that prompted Airbnb. Disruptors see problems as opportunities. The best meeting planner is a born problem solver. Far from logistics, planners must increasingly help companies identify the problem they want to solve through their meeting. The skill of seeing the obvious problem and addressing it with meeting design is a disruptor mindset.

Opportunity Readiness

A Chinese proverb states that if a leader gets too far from his army he starts to look like the enemy. In my start-up, this resonates. The new has to be introduced in a way that is comfortable to the market so that it will be adopted. The most successful disruptions get the timing right. Timing that is not about availability of a particular tech or venue or process, but is centered on the zeitgeist. Understanding the spirit of the times and also the readiness of the market to adopt the solution is crucial. But at its core it is harnessing the power to bring people with you. The best meeting planners possess significant understanding of people and now are charged more than ever to deliver relevant programs. This is assessing readiness—a core skill for disruptors.

Focused Effort

Disruptors that succeed stay focused on the solution they have created. Focus can be the hardest thing to achieve in a business or in the multitasking world of the planner. However, to build something new, focus is everything to make an idea into a reality. That focus is all-consuming, all-enquiring and all-encompassing as they must work through every detail to execute the idea. In spite of the challenges, the best meetings I have ever attended showed a breathtaking level of meticulous attention to the big picture and detail.

Pivot

Disruptors get it wrong lots of times and many fail because of that. However, the successful disruptors pivot the models. In a start-up of just a few people, pivoting is easy. In large companies, an inability to pivot is a core weakness in a shifting world. Planners are adept at making changes, sometimes with very little notice.

Agile

The quickest disruptions grow rapidly because they do not wait for things to be right before launch. They develop in an agile fashion, learning and iterating and replicating what works. They perfect the model on the fly. This one component more than any other makes meeting planners the ideal disruptors, because meeting planners, no matter what algorithms are making decisions, are born agile and able to manage and change plans on the hoof.

So in conclusion, rather than fearing or feeling overwhelmed by disruption, I challenge planners across the meeting industry to harness their inner disruptor skills. Planners should realize the valuable skills and mindsets they can bring to the boardroom, especially in larger organizations. Businesses need the innovators, quick thinkers and speedy adapters in this ever more disrupted world. It is time for the planners to step up to the tectonic plate.