We’ve just returned from PCMA’s Convening
Leaders and we’ve got a few things to say.

With drop-dead gorgeous Vancouver and the Vancouver Convention Centre as its backdrop and stage, Convening Leaders couldn’t have had a more spot-on theme: “Cultivating Creative Moments.” Here are some of the ways Convene’s editorial team drew inspiration.

Executive Editor Chris Durso was struck by how, although we’ve written a lot about the importance of matching content to space and vice versa, he “was completely unprepared for the scale — large and small — on which PCMA did that at Convening Leaders.

The Vancouver Convention Centre is
a magnificent facility, and PCMA used
every corner of it in ways specifically
tailored for the programs that were set
there, from the soaring General Session
room with its 145-foot-wide projection
screen, to the Global Hub Coffee House,
occupying a cozy corner of prefunction
space with adjective-defying views of
the Barrard Inlet waterfront and the
North Shore mountains.”
Senior Editor and Director of Online
Content Barbara Palmer’s biggest take-
away was a personal one — “a mash-up
between Juliet Funt’s message about
the value of white space in our work
lives and Gretchen Rubin’s assertion
that a treat is not the same thing as a
reward. Rewards have never worked
well for me because I keep changing my
own rules in order to get more done. But
a treat is something you don’t have to
justify, Rubin pointed out, and actually
helps you stay on track. I put this into
immediate practice in Vancouver. I had
exactly five minutes to spare before an
appointment, and I spent them coloring
a page with markers in the Learning
Lounge’s Creativity Zone. I was amazed
at how refreshed I felt afterwards.”
Web Editor Kate Mulcrone was final-
izing this issue’s cover story about mind-
fulness at meetings when we landed in
Vancouver, where an extensive mindful-
ness-and-wellness program was part of
Convening Leaders’ “Being Your Best”
track. Kate observed: “Both the formal
education sessions and the shorter
15-minute workshops at The Wellness
Stop were packed. As an industry, we’re
only beginning to incorporate mindful-
ness programming into our events, so I
took heart in seeing how PCMA is com-
mitted to educating planners about its
many benefits for attendees.”
And because Associate Editor
Corin Hirsch’s “antennae are always
bent toward food and beverage,” she
was tuned into the issue of attend-
ees’ dietary restrictions. Though the
center “did a stellar job of offering an
array of food for all diets, planners are
still on the hunt for solutions — and
based on a session I attended, seem to
be on the brink of honing some work-
able standards.”
As for me, perhaps I had an inkling
about how the center’s waterfront
and mountain vistas would recharge
my batteries when I wrote about the
power of awe (Unconventional, p. 28)
before heading to Vancouver. But I
was nonetheless unprepared for the
sight of a bald eagle one day, soaring
close to the windows, at eye level. That
was a moment I didn’t cultivate, but
will savor. .

Lasting Impressions

Honest feedback from meeting attendees — like what we’ve offered here — is priceless. But for most meeting planners, it’s also a painful process.

Be sure to read the results of our recent survey on conference evaluations so you can learn what works from your peers, reinforced by a learning expert’s commentary (CMP Series, p. 59).