Three years ago, I had a conversation with a meetings
supplier who was interested in offering Strategic Meetings Management
Services. He asked, "Don't we just
have to install a meetings management technology system and then we are
finished?" I put the phone on mute,
said a few words in shock, and took a deep breath and said, "uummm…..no,
there are quite a few more things to do."
With that, I developed the 70 Services of Strategic Meetings Management
(SMM) in 2010 because I knew that many people thought the same thing.
Download 70 Services-SMM Organizational Readiness Assessment©
I have presented my 70
Services of SMM numerous times at conferences, and thought it was posted on my
blog (it is now!). If you are a buyer,
consider asking for these services from your supplier. If you are a supplier, you should be seeing
dollar signs in your eyes right now because you can offer these services with
the right guidance. It is in the form of a Readiness Assessment so that you can identify which services should be offered first due to priorities.
The same year (2010), in part because of my conversation
with this business leader who did not know the components of SMM, I created the
SMM Strategy Articulation Map of the dimensions that should be considered when
developing an SMM plan and wrote about it in my November 7, 2010 blog here. (You can also download the maturity model and map) Between the Articulation Map and the 70 SMM Services, it was clear to me that a fully mature SMM Program had many components.
Why is all of this important to you? Even though some organizations want to stay
at an SMM Lite Program, others are clamoring for "What is
Next?" I created the Strategy
Articulation Map (in 2010) because it seemed as if no one was really including
some key components of SMM that I thought were extremely important such as
meeting content design, virtual meetings, ROI, funding models, and corporate
social responsibility – to mention a few items.
As a certified trainer in three areas* and a meeting strategist, it is
important to include content design as part of a successful program. In fact, I discuss meeting content and ROI in
these blog posts dating back to May 31, 2009, January 24, 2011, February 12, 2012.
For this posting today, I extracted the SMM Dimensions out
of the SMM Strategy Articulation Map; they are illustrated below.(Click on it for a bigger picture)
So, imagine my surprise when a writer asked me yesterday if
I thought that meeting content and design should be considered a part of
SMM. ABSOLUTELY. In fact, maybe it is just this blonde head of
mine, but I have always thought of content, virtual meetings, ROI, CSR, etc.,
as key dimensions in SMM. Was I the first one to include these components years
ago? Probably not, but it seems as
though some people in the industry are catching up. Not that every organization
needs to include all the SMM dimensions, but why not? These all contribute to epic meetings
programs. If your organization wants to
stay at an SMM Lite—it's your program. Make it whatever you want to make
it. Although, this isn't the first time
I have been shocked at information brewing in the industry. Some recently claimed that the first Meetings Management
RFP was posted by an industry association. Not. First one was posted
here, on this blog, last year, November 8, 2012, months before anyone else posted an RFP.
As you know, I love to share what is on my hard drive. And, there are three books that will be available
on Amazon by end of May. One, over 300
pages, is "Your SMM Toolkit" which has plenty of my tools, templates,
and secrets. I'm very lucky to have a couple of CEOs who have endorsed the book
as well as other industry icons. Another
is the "Crisis Management Handbook," and the last is "Meeting
Planning Playbook." The SMM Toolkit and Crisis
Management Handbook designed covers are complete…the other cover is going
through revisions now as we're not fond of the colors / picture (but, we are giving YOU a sneak peak!) A HUGE thank you to Susan Losurdo who co-authored 2 of the 3 books! Look for these books available on Amazon and iTunes by end of May!
*Certified Technical Trainer (CTT), Certified B.A.N.K. Sales Trainer, and Certified to teach Gold of the Desert Kings Course.
Debi Scholar
(908) 304-495
[email protected]
www.smmbenchmark.com
www.BankWithDebi.com
A BIG THANK
YOU to all of the meetings and travel leaders who continue to support me
through the T&E blog, LinkedIn groups, client engagements and most
important, your friendship.
Thank you
for visiting the T&E Plus Blog on expense management, travel management,
business meetings, events, incentives, strategic meetings management,
entertainment, virtual meetings, tickets, hotels, airlines, ground
transportation plus more...
Debi
Scholar, GLP, GTP, CMM, CMP, SSGB, CTE, CTT, CBST
• Author,
Strategic Meetings Management: The Strategy Quick Reference Guide (2011)
• Co-Author, Strategic Meetings Management Handbook (2011)
• Meetings Management Mover and Shaker as selected by Corporate and
Incentive Travel Magazine (2010)
• Top 20 Changemaker who influenced the meetings management industry by
Corporate Meetings and Incentives (2008)
• Best Meeting Practitioner as selected by Business Travel News (2007)
