The CEO and the CFO were reviewing the numbers. Pointing at the line item regarding training, the CFO exclaimed, “Look at how much we’re spending on learning. Imagine if they leave!” To which the CEO replied, “Imagine if we didn’t make this investment and they stayed!”
Even before the rise of AI, if you were not constantly learning, you were slowly becoming obsolete and losing competitiveness. Today, unless you have been hibernating for the past few years, you know that we all need to learn completely new ways to live and do business. It’s exciting, its increasing productivity and it can be overwhelming. The bottom line is this: If our calendar reflects our priorities, it must show some hours dedicated to learning every week.
As a business owner myself, having owned, grown and exited several small businesses—including a very successful corporate events agency—I believe that our meeting and event industry is often the last on the list when it comes to entrepreneurs investing in their personal development to grow and run their businesses better.
First, there are many hosted buyer programs, conferences and familiarization trips where we have been invited over the years, where everything is “free” for independent meeting planners and business owners. These events are helpful for networking, generating ideas and finding the right vendors or local partners, but are they worth all the time away from our businesses? More critically, we have been trained to get it for free. There’s no personal investment on our part.
Second, while topics like “negotiating with hotels,” “risk management,” or “designing a meeting” are essential, what independent planners and business owners first need is to learn how to better manage their event businesses. Unfortunately, education tracks rarely focus on running our businesses better. Even when they do, it is often limited to one or two hours without any follow-up or guidance afterward.
The challenge is that most of us feel alone and overwhelmed. We are getting advice from the same sources, and it is almost “the blind leading the blind.” This results in many owners being burned out, lacking clarity for the future and working in their businesses all the time without any perspective on delegation and growth.
Listen, change is hard. I get it. Trust me, I get it very well. When my wife and I moved our family to the U.S. over 10 years ago, our three daughters didn’t speak a word of English. We had to relearn a new culture, and we certainly had no clue about how the education system worked. My wife didn’t want to be a lawyer anymore and started a very successful career in real estate. Our daughters are thriving, and you wouldn’t hear an accent when they speak (I’m talking about them, not about me!). My new business is helping entrepreneurs in our industry. Most importantly, we keep on learning and investing in our children’s and our own education. Because we can. Because we want to. Because we need to remain relevant and competitive. Also, because I’m lazy and impatient, I’d rather learn from someone who has successfully done it before than always try to figure it out on my own.
What is the latest book you read? The latest course you took? The latest podcast you’ve listened to? Are you being intentional in your learning? Have you identified your strengths and weaknesses, and are you continuously improving your strengths while hiring people whose strengths are your weaknesses?
Last but certainly not least, have you blocked recurrent times in your calendar to work on your business and constantly learn new material? If it’s not in your calendar, it will not happen. There will always be an emergency for a client, something getting in the way and requiring your involvement or other priorities.
Too busy? Too much to do? Are you sure?
How many hours per day are you (and me) spending watching short videos about dogs giving high fives to their owners, MMA fights or people scaring their spouses with the intro of James Brown’s hit “I Feel Good?” I can see you smiling now.
Invest in learning, invest in yourself and invest in becoming a better entrepreneur, solopreneur, business owner or independent planner. This is the greatest gift you can give to yourself—and to our Industry.
Eric Rozenberg, CMM, CMP, HOEM, FONSAT, is an entrepreneur, author and host of The Business of Meetings podcast. His purpose is to inspire people with integrity and honesty, help them take action, get results and develop their business and their Life. He is the founder of Event Business Formula and a former chair of the MPI International Board of Directors.
