Getting the Most From PIW Seminars

Although the recent Planning Seminar was an overwhelming success with the participants (4.75 of 5.0 overall approval rating), the attendance from the PIW membership, was less than expected.

Despite Michael Makin's emphasis on the importance of planning with our businesses, and his contention that PIA Profit Leaders put much more into training & learning than the average, seminar attendance, pretty much whatever the topic, continues to be light.

Is it the cost? Even with the Economy & the slow recovery being what it is, this doesn't seem to be the case. The usual price of $159 for members for an entire day is more than reasonable, and discounts are provided for multiple attendees from the same company.

Is it the time involved? Possibly. Certainly, layoffs over the last 2 years have served to add work to all of us. We've had to learn to live with less help to get the total job done. Even many owners have found themselves wearing more hats, and having less time to be the leader they want to be. Still, we must realize that when we reduce investing in our people, we are at the very least mortgaging our future. A wrinkle here is to have half-day sessions, but with the travel time involved, it's not always effective.

Is it the topics? Again, possibly. However, the PIW staff repeatedly solicits ideas from the membership, to tell them what's hot and what's not. It seems hard for them to put together a program that the membership will "flock" to. Witness the Digital Workflow Seminar Joe & Judi asked me to put together last September. We had 20 people attend (and again the approval rating was very high), but given the importance of the topic (in my opinion), it should have been double that amount.

Is it the presenters? Let's not be prideful here; we should again examine the possibilities. Generally speaking, the seminar facilitators & speakers must be experienced & more than competent to even make it to PIW's radar screen. And with the feedback ratings given the attendees, less than knowledgeable, incisive, and helpful presenters are not invited back. One fact that seems to make a difference though, is to invite well known personalities. Michael Makin & Jac Garner are two examples. The downside, excepting Michael & Jac, is the best known are not always the most competent on the given subject.

From my standpoint this pretty much covers the issues potentially affecting attendance. But if I've missed something, please let Judi, Joe, or me know; your input will be invaluable. Remember, different points of view, or even disagreement can be, are, and will be treated as a gift. We all want to get better each day; this can be a way to do just that.

PIW Planning Seminar Top Rated at 4.75 0f 5.0

Planning is a very unpopular discipline, probably close to Controling in the manager's toolkit.  It's not exciting for most people, and since the results are seen in the future, it's more difficult to measure.

Because we anticipated and prepared accordingly, this was a valuable day for those who attended.  It wasn't made necessarily fun, the dynamics were solid, and everyone more than got what the come for.

The reatings apeak for themselves.