Last week, I attended my third AMCI Annual Meeting, in which I participated as a committee member of the 2022 Annual Meeting Content Planning Committee, a co-facilitator of the AMCs by Size Roundtable Discussion, and as an attendee. Once I started recognizing more and more faces, I felt more comfortable learning and sharing my perspective. I was also able to anticipate what was expected of me after having attended sessions and networked during receptions.
Here are my key takeaways from the AMCI Annual Meeting:
Friends, Not Foes
While we are all competitors in the association management space, we can also greatly benefit from each other. We heard real-case scenarios in which working groups formed among various AMCs by department: HR, Operations, etc. Members joined monthly calls to discuss various issues: returning to the office after COVID, employee retention, use of personal devices, etc. Of course, there is a limit to what we can discuss and what information we can share, but there is no harm in sharing our DE&I policies, organizational structures, innovative perks for improving employee engagement, etc.
Scope Creep
We are creating scope creep for ourselves. Often, Executive Directors or Managers don’t delegate certain tasks to their team members because it is easier or faster to do it themselves or because they don’t trust that things will be done the way they should. What a mistake! We must trust our team to perform at their best but also to learn from their mistakes. We must focus more on the client’s mission and vision, board, committee, and volunteer management but most importantly – on staff development. Only when we delegate will we have time to grow our business, improve our services, and foster creativity and efficiency.
State of the Industry
The AMCI Annual Meeting not only brings together management companies, but it also brings together supplier-partners, who then get a chance to share the state of their industry so that we are aware and can prepare for labor shortages, increased menu prices, and tightened competition for hotel meeting space. Our supplier-partners can also identify savings opportunities, such as multi-year contracts, sharing menu items with other groups on-site, and communicating strategies and budgets early.
AMCI Annual Meeting Attendance
No matter how busy we are with our daily routine, I always recommend attending the AMCI Annual Meeting to my fellow professionals. We get to meet or reconnect with like-minded professionals who can relate to our challenges and share perspectives. We can become energized after hearing success stories, learning from keynote speakers, and immersing ourselves in the one-of-a-kind experience that the AMC Institute puts together with the host city and the host hotel. Afterward, we can come back to the office full of new friendships, new opportunities, and new ideas.
Bottom line: The AMCI Annual Meeting is truly a purpose-driven and business-led event that provides opportunities for learning, networking, and growing our AMCs. See in you Las Vegas in 2024!
