MPI 2004-2005 Chairman of the Board

Hugh K. Lee
MPI Western New York Chapter
Fusion Productions; President
www.mpiweb.org

What are your major goals during your tenure?

Coming from a small chapter and a supplier/planner business background, I am very member-centric and driven by the belief that we are hired by our members to do a job and must deliver on that promise. I also believe most organizations fail not because of faulty strategy or design but because of the lack of collaboration, the inability to listen, and the absence of a culture of trust.

Thanks to the vision of 2002-2003 International Chairman George Aguel, the future of MPI has been set with the development of a great strategic plan, designed to elevate the role of meetings in business. Our 2003-2004 international chairwoman, Terri Breining, CMP, CMM, brought the entire organization in alignment around the strategy and fostered the message by traveling around the world and preaching the message of a transformation of our industry. Therefore, my goal is simply to carry on the transformation of MPI to the next level, to ensure that we execute at a high level and deliver the promise of the strategic plan with tools and resources, making it relevant for members' day-to-day lives. To accomplish this, I will work closely with our president and CEO, Colin Rorrie, the International Board, and our chapters and clubs to further a culture of collaboration and trust.

What are the major challenges facing MPI, and what are your plans to tackle them?

MPI is in great shape today. We have a clear focus with the strategic plan; sound finances; passionate and strategic volunteer leaders at the international and chapter level; a great staff lead by Dr. Colin Rorrie; and a membership that is engaged and energized about the future of their association. Our challenge will be to continue to provide value to our members, which we will accomplish by providing tools and resources that are relevant to their day-to-day lives and prove a return for their investment into MPI.

How will MPI endeavor to increase the clout of meeting planners in the corporate world, such as addressing the increasing role of procurement departments in setting and/or monitoring meetings budgets?

A primary goal of MPI's strategic plan is to improve communications with senior-level executives to influence understanding of the economic and organizational value of meetings. This really is a two-part initiative.

First, we must ensure that our senior meeting professionals have the knowledge, information, research, and tools to learn how to more effectively communicate with senior decision-makers and/or procurement departments. In this area of focus, meeting professionals can look to MPI's developing Business Skills for Life curriculum, which focuses on teaching meeting professionals core business competencies such as financial planning, strategic thinking and leadership development. Business Skills for Life can help get them a seat at the decision-making table of the organization, or directly influence those who are already "at the table" about the value of meetings. In addition, the ROI Summit at WEC, designed for senior planners, will focus on specific tools to prove the value of meetings.

Second, we must be able to initiate credible third-party research on the power/value of meetings that is both structured and presented in a manner that senior stakeholders will identify with. This work is currently being done by our research task force.

What are MPI's expansion plans, and will the association make any efforts during the next year to increase its presence in Asia?

We are going to stay focused on meeting the needs of our current 18,000-plus members. However, we will expand into areas if it makes strategic sense, which is being examined by the International Membership Committee. The key is to focus on the needs of our core membership. Our members work for organizations that are or will be expanding into other geographic areas, and if they are to stay relevant they need to have the information, networks and business/cultural knowledge of those areas. Our job is to anticipate where they will need to go and be there in whatever form is best to get the job done.

What is the current status of MPI's strategic plan, and what other initiatives does the association plan to undertake in the next year?

In order to breathe life into the plan at the local level (where most members experience MPI), we have hired and trained a group of strategic plan facilitators who are going out and helping each of our chapters align their chapter business plans and educational offerings with the objectives of the strategic plan.

Our research task force is making progress to identify a third-party research partner who can undertake the major research effort under objective No. 2, influencing executives about the value meetings bring to their organization.

The biggest initiative under way is our Career Pathways program (objective No. 1). This program will completely transform the membership experience by helping shape members' careers and giving them a lifetime of education and networking opportunities from MPI and other sources. With a new section of MPIWeb, we will be able to steer our members to courses, books and resources that are customized to their level in the industry. It will not be specific to MPI—we will refer them to outside associations and education courses if it will help get them to the next level of professional growth. This effort alone requires a massive investment to develop the pathways; understand the competencies and needs of members at different points; identify the content and provide it over the Web as well as face-to-face; and create the technology infrastructure to both deliver and personalize the information.

Do you see booking windows reverting back to a longer duration, or do you think that shorter booking windows are generally here to stay?

I think shorter booking windows are here to stay. The bigger trends are global competition; technology enabling things to get done faster, better, cheaper; shorter product lifecycles; and unchanging demands/ expectations of consumers: For meeting professionals the drivers will remain: how to do more with less time, and provide and demonstrate our value.

Do you think contract clause enforcement, such as attrition penalties, will become stricter as hotel occupancy rates and revenues increase?

Yes, that's why it is up to MPI and other industry organizations to promote the importance of booking within the block. We fully support the Convention Industry Council's Project Attrition. In fact, we are offering a non-transferable $50 coupon good toward future MPI purchases (not including membership fees) when attendees book in the conference housing block at the 2004 World Education Congress (WEC), July 25-27 in Denver. This topic is also on the agenda for the Chairman's Advisory Committee meeting at WEC.

As hotel occupancy rates increase, do you think the hotel industry will move to cut out third-party, online distribution channels, thus reducing the problem of attendees booking around room blocks?

I do not believe MPI is in the position to recommend or effect, nor should it, marketing or business models for individual properties. We should, however, be focused on what our meeting professionals need, and that is a marketplace that provides them the right trusted information and helps them make the best decisions quickly, while adding value to their internal/external customers' meetings.

From that perspective, I do not see online bookings going away. How it is provided, by whom, and value-adds are part of the marketplace dynamics. Each hotel and meeting professional will need to make the decision on third parties based upon the value they bring and business models of the supplier/planner.

What trends are currently affecting the meetings industry, and do you see the pendulum swinging back to a seller's market, considering the record amount of revenue being gained by the hospitality industry during the first part of 2004?

I think we are still in a buyer's market, but it is encouraging to see growth in our industry as more and more organizations realize that nothing replaces the benefits of face-to-face meetings in achieving key strategic goals. According to FutureWatch 2004, released in January, meetings were projected to increase by 4 percent in 2004, which seems to be the case as of today.

From my perspective, business is back—with certain new realties: shorter lead times, focus on costs, greater need for hands-on workshops, and more integration of technology. Also shorter single-purpose meetings are growing, with pressure on the traditional trade show/large meetings continuing.

Do you notice that a lot of new meeting planners are entering the industry, and if so, do you think they're coming from the ranks of corporate administrative positions or similar job titles?

While I do not have any supporting data, my belief is that it is multi-level growth: Many clearly are coming from the ranks of corporate admins who in the times of running lean have now inherited or enlarged their meeting responsibilities.

There continues to be a great growth in the independent planner ranks due to the same dynamics.

There are the changing business models: Companies that were in the communications, advertising, multimedia, or entertainment arenas are looking to extend their influence and product line for revenue's sake and thus pushing into our arena. And finally, I believe we are beginning to see the import of more and more students coming from our schools.

How will MPI counter efforts—if MPI believes it should—by trade associations such as the NBTA and others who have made a push to convince their members (corporate travel managers, etc.) to enter the field of meeting planning?

There's no doubt that corporate travel managers and meeting planners are working more closely together in many organizations. That's why MPI and NBTA have a cooperative agreement to support our members and provide education and tools to help them succeed as their roles change within their organizations.