If so, then at least you can take solace in the fact that you’re not alone. In March 2021, the identity-management company Okta found that its average customer used 88 different business apps. Ouch.

Event professionals routinely encounter the following situation: We use tool X, but our partner uses tool Y.

Phil Simon has seen this movie throughout his 25-year career. The technology, collaboration, and communication authority addresses this topic in his 2021 award-winning book, Reimagining Collaboration: Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and the Post-COVID World of Work.

Workplace tech is a mess, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Simon will share the barriers that hinder effective remote and hybrid work. Specifically, you’ll walk away from this session with a deeper understanding of:

• Why old collaboration methods like e-mail don’t fly anymore.
• How to connect internal collaboration hubs to spokes and create an organizational corpus of knowledge.
• How to circumvent the tech tool tug of war when starting projects with external event stakeholders, suppliers, and customers.
• The tools and different approaches to collaborate for better project outcomes and make everyone’s life easier.

Gather around the campfire to swap stories with event profs and leverage different perspectives. Sarina Nathan, Events and Meetings Planner with the NASA SEWP (Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement) Government-Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC), will share the decisions behind and outcomes of their most recent hybrid events. Spark new ideas by discussing how to maximize audience impact when producing events in a digital world.

Seating is limited to 20 participants so arrive early to claim your spot!

Gather around the campfire to swap stories with event profs and leverage different perspectives. Tracy Stuckrath, founder and chief food officer of thrive! meetings & events, will share her latest examples of reducing food waste and donation practices. Spark new ideas by swapping tips on what you do to decrease, reuse and donate food at your events.

Seating is limited to 20 participants so arrive early to claim your spot!

Gather around the campfire to swap stories with event profs and leverage different perspectives. Independent planner Vinnu DeShetty will talk about how she’s using data to change a registration pricing structure to match a new event format. Spark new ideas by discussing your pricing strategy for different event models.

For years now, destination organizations have been working to create client agreements that will allow them to be a good steward of the product they represent and serve as an advocate for both the event organizer and the destination. With the launch of the Destination Booking Agreement toolkit, it is more imperative than ever for the Business Events Strategist to have a comprehensive understanding of the direction the industry is going. Join this informative session to hear industry experts share context that will help you avoid the unexpected, advocate the business decisions internally, and best negotiate favorable terms for future years.

Gather around the campfire to swap stories with event profs and leverage different perspectives to spark new ideas. Colleen Phalen, Chief Creative Officer of the American Association for Justice, will share how they threw out their old trade show playbook and the impact it had on their attendees, exhibitors and their internal event team.

Seating is limited to 20 participants so arrive early to claim your spot!

Gather around the campfire to swap stories with event profs and leverage different perspectives to spark ideas. Event strategist Kristie Chang will share how the business model canvas helped her identify an opportunity for a medical society to tailor new products to different types of sponsoring companies, grow the audience and revenue for a series of exhibitor presentations.

Seating is limited to 20 participants so arrive early to claim your spot!

During this conversation, a gender-diverse panel of business event strategists will share their stories and insights into their professional experiences. The panelists will also discuss the range of current challenges and barriers that members of the transgender community have and continue to face when booking and attending events.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the experiences of gender-diverse populations as they relate to the business events industry.
• Gain awareness of existing and future implications regarding transgender issues and business events.
• Identify opportunities and methods to make events safer and more inclusive for transgender, nonbinary and gender-expansive participants.