For me, I think of a sterile library-like-space with few people, little noise and empty chairs. I’m extremely pleased to tell you that PCMA‘s Learning Lounge was anything but. It was noisy, engaging and full of life!

This experimental idea gave us a glimpse into the Future of Meetings. It showed us new ways to include and engage a large number of attendees. And, showed us how we could incorporate the back of stage into our event experiences.

Luckily I brought my Flip Camera and made a short video. Have a look.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stXsBO5hIDU]

5 things that I liked about the Learning Lounge:

1. The format gave approximately 100 additional attendees an opportunity to share ideas and expertise with their peers.
2. The open space allowed you to “sample” a bunch of ideas and move between theaters very quickly.
3. The interview studio sessions were recorded and broadcast on the internet allowing people at home to participate as well.
4. The use of 3D structures and décor created intimate spaces out of a huge open space.
5. Having the Learning Lounge right next to the general session helped people arrive early, network, learn and get excited before the general session started.

Bottom Line

PCMA’s Learning Lounge was a high-energy, high traffic space that gave a bunch of attendees an opportunity to participate in the event. This is an idea that you should consider for your next meeting or event.

Have you experienced anything like PCMA’s Learning Lounge before? Have you tried anything similar in your own events? And, if you were at PCMA last week – what did you think of the Learning Lounge?

PS. This is a perfect example of Wish #2 coming to life!

The post Meeting Innovation: PCMA’s Learning Lounge appeared first on Interactive Meeting Technology.

All of this negativity can make the daily grind even more challenging. People are more snippy around the water cooler. There is lots of finger pointing, complaining, etc.

It is easy to forget why you are great. It is easy to forget what makes you so special. In other words, it is easy for you to lose your mojo.

Helping Employees Appreciate Your Company

It’s time that we “flip” the conversation. We need to start talking about what we do have instead of what we don’t have. If you are a fortune 500 company, you aren’t going to go away overnight. Things might be rough, today, but there still has to be something for you to celebrate.

Maybe it is your new product pipeline. Maybe it is your best in class customer service. Maybe it is your awesome channel power. Maybe it is your organization’s ability to persevere.

Whatever it is – are you using your internal events to rediscover your magic and appreciate it? You should.

5,000 Events for 5,000 people

This summer, I was part of an event team that took employees of a medical company on a personal journey to reconnect with their company. We brought manufacturing, operations, R&D, marketing and the top leadership together. Then, we created a museum type environment where they could go rediscover the great things about their company. Their awesome products, their awesome patients, their awesome physicans, and….their awesome colleagues.

For most of these employees, it was the first time that they had ever met the people who depended on them – their customers, their physicians and their leadership. For most of these employees it was the first time that they had stood shoulder to shoulder with each other.

While the event was remarkably busy  (5,000 people can do that to you!) – at one moment, I caught the CEO enjoying a silent moment watching videos that employees had created about the best kept secrets of the company. He was just listening to these employees talk about what was important to them. It was remarkable.

Constructive Conversations

At this event, my team used Pop-up Workshops (something that I made up), Informal Town Hall Meetings, Employee Tube Video Kiosks, Idea Kiosks and Reflection Stations to get people to release their positive energy and start talking constructively about the future.

These workshops and interactive kiosks yielded hundreds and hundreds of ideas and support from employees. Some came in the form of videos, some on post-it notes, while others came in the form of questions and other comments (digital, written and verbal).

Using User-Generated Content to Manage “Monday Morning”

While the immediate reaction to the event was – “WOW, that was awesome! It was just what we needed”. The real question is how do you maintain the momentum. What actions do you take on Monday morning?

We talked with the internal communications about this. They took on the challenge of repurposing this massive amount of user-generated content (video, questions, comments, etc.) on their intranet website, leadership blogs, internal e-blasts and in internal company newsletters. Very quickly after this event, the intranet site had content posted and the first e-blast went out from leadership. Regular updates are planned over the next several months.

So far so good.

Bottom Line

One event is not going to work like a magic pill and solve all of your problems. You can strategically use events to reconnect your employees and help them rediscover why your company is so great. You can use events to get your mojo back.

What are you doing to rediscover your organization’s mojo?

The post Are You Using Events To Get Your Mojo Back? appeared first on Interactive Meeting Technology.