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WE DARE
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- Greetings! As we begin a new year in a drastically changed
meeting world, CIMPA dares to question "gospel truths" held sacred by
"established" meeting professionals for so long.
CIMPA acknowledges that state-of-the-art tools and methodology are needed for
efficient travel and meetings. But its focus is on results. Counting heads,
watching the schedule and other logistical concerns are not as important to us
as defining the objectives of the meeting, achieving them and allowing
attendees to experience the world and bond with its people.
We believe that meetings per se have no power unless it can help change
peoples' lives and help promote peace in the world. We believe this can be
achieved one friendship at a time through meetings and travel.
We believe that meeting attendees and travelers are akin to social bees in
that they promote cross-pollination of ideas as they travel from place to
place. Cross-pollination produces hybrid vigor and productivity.
Self-pollination of those who stay stagnant in one place produces
abnormalities, hence low productivity and inferior genetic quality.
We firmly believe we live in a global village. Anything we do affects other
people on the planet.
We deplore the fragmentation in this industry. We believe that tour operators,
travel agents, hotel and airline sales managers and coordinators, rental car
and bus operators, technology providers, speakers, even spouses and many
others have as important a role in the planning of meetings and travel as
meeting planners, incentive organizers and association executives. When these
people can learn to work together seamlessly, there will be less stress and
more successful, more productive meetings, events and travel.
We rank technology high up there with oxygen.
We want to move travel and meeting planning from art to science. We believe
that with the widespread availability of digital computers for numerical
simulations and the demonstration of chaos in various physical systems, there
is no reason why we cannot reduce any process to numbers. We believe we can
identify the mathematical and theoretical underpinnings in the chaos of
meetings and travel. We do not believe in "standardization" because as anyone
swinging a pendulum will see, very small changes in the spin or even just its
orientation cause significant, very visible changes in the output. Scientists
have demonstrated the amazing "butterfly effect" in nature -a butterfly
flapping its wings in China can cause a hurricane in Florida a year later.
Tiny changes can cause significantly different results in huge distances,
rendering standardization at best a frustrating goal.
We do understand that some people may be more comfortable in doing what other
planners have done since the 70s. It is not easy to go against the current and
take on the established bureaucracy. If so, we wish you well.
But if you dare to change for the better; if you have the courage to challenge
questionable "best practices" that tend to perpetuate obsolete methods; if you
believe that a drastically altered environment needs 21st century thinking; if
you believe that the world is a village where we are all connected; if you
believe in our vision - YOU ARE INVITED to join CIMPA. Or just come and join
us at our 18th annual
meeting in Puerto Rico in October 2009.
Our outstanding speakers will share our vastly different view of the meetings
world as well as ideas and strategies you can immediately use. We will share a
continuing array of new possibilities. Be forewarned: The people you will meet
here are not the same people you will meet in any other industry meeting. We
are a different group - and proud of that fact.
Wishing you a thoughtful start to a new year full of challenges. Welcome to an
exciting world of great possibilities!
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- Click here for article
On Diversity and Multiculturalism
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