The Masters Series Uncovered – a look at the creation of a PCMA Masters Series program

The Masters Series Uncovered – a look at the creation of a PCMA Masters Series program

For several years PCMA has been offering its Masters Series programs in a variety of settings – at our annual meetings, leadership and education conferences and as stand-alone events with various chapters.

These programs provide a forum for acknowledged thought leaders to deliver professional or executive level education on applied business topics to the meetings and conventions industry. The chief objective is to introduce meeting participants to new ideas and best practices which will influence the way they conduct the business of meetings and conventions.

Developing the Masters Series program for October in Washington DC involved several steps outlined below. I hope you will find them to be a helpful guide that you can utilize when planning your next educational program.

Reaching Out

Knowing the program was planned for D.C., one of the first steps we took was to crowdsource the Capital Chapter Leadership to ask for topic suggestions from their members. What needs did they have? What issues were keeping them up at night? What programs did they already have planned? Within a week’s time several members of the Program Committee and Board of Directors submitted their thoughts and suggestions for our consideration. Some identified specific speakers they had seen in the past while others shared topic ideas they had received from members. We also reached out to John Truran at Keppler Speakers for his recommendations as he has been a long time supporter of PCMA and Keppler is one of our Communication Partners.

Location is Key

Most often when we hear the phrase “location is key” it refers to real estate or a venue. In our case, we saw location as yet another way to help us identify a topic. What did we know about D.C. that could help us determine an appropriate program? We know the region is comprised of the largest concentration of association headquarters in the entire country. We also know from previous Masters Series programs that the majority of people who attend come from the region where it is being held. Finally, we know that PCMA’s Capital Chapter is our largest chapter and has very active members who are passionate about creating quality education experiences. With this understanding we focused our attention on topics that would be of interest primarily to the association community as well as to those who provide goods and services to these organizations.

Brainstorming Creates Clarity

With the information we gathered from the above steps, we brainstormed ideas with key members of our team here at headquarters and it led us to a topic which resonated with many of us. The association world as we know it today will be undergoing a major transformation over the course of the next ten years the results of which will have a significant impact on meeting professionals. We can sit by passively and react to the changes or we can become active participants in shaping the future. It soon became evident that the content of the program would focus on two areas – what will the association world look like in the next ten years and how will the expected changes impact meeting professionals.

The Crystal Ball

While it was tempting for a fleeting moment to entertain the idea of bringing in a wizard or fortune teller to help us see the future, we determined the best approach would be to reach out to those in our industry who are intimately involved in looking beyond the day to day activities of the association world. We wanted to hear from several different voices who could offer their perspective on association life by the year 2020.

Our gaze began to shift to the people at the very top of the association world. When developing the list of potential industry “futurists”, we wanted to insure that we had a diverse panel so that we would hear from both men and women who cut across generations. We also secured a moderator who will move the conversation forward, keep panelists on track and engage the audience in meaningful discussion.

The End Result

Will this Masters Series program deliver on its objective to introduce attendees to new ideas which will influence the way business is conducted in the years ahead? We think it will, but what do we know. It really is up to you to be the judge if we have succeeded. So make a commitment to be there - October 21, 2010. And bring your crystal balls!

For more information on the upcoming PCMA Masters Series: Associations and Meetings of the Future – A Look Ahead to 2020, visit pcma.org/mastersseries.

Posted by: John Potterton, CMP, Vice President of Education, PCMA