Futureproofing your career: Staying relevant in the age of automation

Dan Berger
CEO
Social Tables
October 2017
IMEX-MPI-MCI FUTURE LEADERS FORUM
IMEX AMERICA 2017 – LAS VEGAS, NV
How to Stay Relevant in the Age of Automation
Futureproofing Your Career:

I am a participant.
I am a planner.
I am a supplier.

100 employees
Raised $22.6 million
Founded in 2011

Free diagramming from Social Tables

4,350 customers creating
2 million events with
250 million participants

I am a participant.
I am a planner.
I am a believer.
I am a supplier.

Sample of the 40+ awards Social Tables and its leadership have received.
We envision a world where every face-
to-face event achieves great things

● Understand the way technology has impacted our
industry
● Discover opportunities to advance our professional
development
● Examine strategies to manage these changes
@danberger | #IMEX17
Learning Objectives

P2P DISCUSSION
How has meeting planning
changed over the past two
decades?
(2 minutes)

Information Symmetry
Planners rely on their networks and online
research to learn about destinations before
speaking to sales reps.
Information Asymmetry
Planners used to rely on hotel sales
professionals for research and information.
Pre-Event: Destination Sourcing

Pre-Event: Event Marketing
Permission Marketing
Marketers deliver anticipated, personal, and
relevant messages to people who actually want
to get them thanks to new advertising
technology.
Traditional Marketing
Marketers used to buy email lists, mail
invitations, and add everyone to their
newsletters.

Pre-Event: Networking
Online
Participants have access to fellow attendees and
technology matches people thanks to
algorithms.
On Site
People let serendipity and networking sessions
do all of the work.

An Afterthought
There was no real software built for planners or
event goers.
Integrated
Planners think about what objectives they are
trying to achieve and use the technology that fits
best.
Pre-Event: Technology

Online Collaboration
Information is centralized online for efficient
stakeholder communication.
Offline Redundancy
Back-and-forth calls, emails, and faxes to
coordinate events and communicate changes.
Pre-Event: Working Together

During-Event: Educating Attendees
Participants
Speakers have a dialogue with participants. They
use technology to engage them and apply adult
learning best practices.
Attendees
Presenters spoke at attendees.

During-Event: Physically Attending
Attending in the Flesh
The only way to attend an event was to
physically be there.
Virtual Attendance
Live-streaming is free and is used to build future
attendance.

During-Event: Disseminating Information
The Mobile App
Real-time information is distributed digitally
through an app, social, and email.
The Event Guide
Information, including the schedule and attendee
list, was distributed through physical collateral.

Continuous and Regular Feedback
Attendees provide feedback real-time through
social media channels/surveys and planners
react accordingly.
One-time Evaluations
Attendees would complete a survey at the end
of a meeting.
During-Event: Feedback

Post-Event: Event Lifespan
Events were Finite
The life of an event spanned was limited to its
allocated time.
Events are Evergreen
The lifespan of an event extends past its
allocated time. People connect and share online
afterwards.

Post-Event: Event ROI
ROI is Measurable
Events are considered a marketing product.
Their impact can be measured thanks to
software and hardware products.
ROI was an Unknown
Event and meeting spending went into a
marketing black hole.

Post-Event: Sharing Information
Information is Shared
Content is distributed far and wide by speakers.
It is amplified by participants through live
tweeting, live streaming, and social media
posting.
Information was Withheld
Content was held closely by speakers.

● Understand the way the technology has impacted
our careers
● Discover opportunities to advance our professional
development
● Examine strategies to manage these changes
Learning Objectives

KEY THOUGHT
If so much has changed in
the past in 20 years, what are
the advances that will shape
the next 20 years?

Where machines could replace humans—and where they can’t (yet). McKinsey.

Internet Trends 2017 Report. Meeker, Mary.

KEY THOUGHT
What can you to prepare?

Farmers, a Case Study
● In 1900, 30 million people in the
United States were farmers.
● By 1990 that number had fallen to
under 3 million even as the
population more than tripled.
● 90% of American agriculture
workers lost their jobs, mostly due
to automation.
● Yet somehow, the 20th century
was still seen as an era of
unprecedented prosperity.
How to Win with Automation (Hint: It’s Not Chasing Efficiency)

Automation starts with a
baseline of what people do in a
given job and subtracts from
that.
It deploys computers to chip
away at the tasks humans
perform.
Automation vs. Augmentation
Augmentation means starting
with what humans do today
and figuring out how that work
could be deepened rather than
diminished by a greater use of
machines.
Adapted from Beyond Automation, HBR, 2015

Human-centered automation is a term used to characterize
the use of automation technologies (e. g., intelligent aids,
displays, warning devices) to enhance the capabilities and
compensate for the limitations of human operators.
Human-centered automation

Redesigning Jobs
How to Win with Automation (Hint: It’s Not Chasing Efficiency)
When doctors have the world’s
medical knowledge at their
fingertips, they can devote
more of their mental energy
to understanding the patient
as a person, not just a medical
diagnosis. This will help them
take lifestyle, family situation
and other factors into account
when prescribing care. This will
change how doctors will
interact with patients.

What Do Redesigned Jobs Look Like In Hospitality?
Hotel sales people Meeting consultants
Meeting planners Event strategists
Caterers Experience curators
AV techs Learning partners

The 5 Choices You Can
Make Right Now

Step Narrowly
Find a specialty within your
profession that wouldn’t be
economical to automate.
Step In
Monitor and modify the work
of machines.
Step Forward
Take part in constructing the
next generation of computing
and AI tools.
Step Aside
Put your other intelligences
(e.g. EQ) to work.
Step Up
Let the technology do the
things that are beneath you
and be more strategic.
Five Options for Career Advancement

Step Up
Let the technology do the
things that are beneath you
and be more strategic.
Step Forward
and AI tools.
Step In
of machines.
Step Narrowly
Step Aside
(e.g. EQ) to work.

● You are the consummate
improver. A self-starter. You
have a desire to want to see
things get better.
● You don’t like redundancy or
repetitive work.
● You like to learn new things.
Step Up - Is it for me?

A meeting planner who has successfully executed and grown her
annual programs.
A hotel sales professional who wants to go beyond “churning and
burning.”
A meeting coordinator who has mastered their area of expertise
and wants to conquer something new.
A sourcing specialist that loves her job but wants to deepen her
client relationships.
Step Up - Examples

Step Up - Ideal outcome
Get additional responsibility in
your current role.
Be promoted to a new role inside
or outside of your organization.
Perform your current job better.

● Create a career path for yourself and set goals to get there.
● Build your personal board of advisors.
● Try new technology solutions and master the ones you choose.
Step Up - L&D opportunities

Step Up
Let the machine do the things
that are beneath you and be
more strategic.
Step Forward
and AI tools.
Step In
of machines.
Step Narrowly
Step Aside
(e.g. EQ) to work.

● You are hyper focused on
development and networking
● You are a risk taker
● You are creative
Step Narrowly - Is it for me?

A meeting planner or supplier professional who has an industry niche (e.g.
pharma or financial services)
An event firm that has focused its value proposition on strategy and return.
A supplier who has changed their product to resonate with a specific market
Step Step Narrowly - Example

Be known as a subject matter
expert
Connect with people because
they are drawn to you by your
reputation
Step Narrowly - Ideal outcome

Step Narrowly - L&D opportunities
● Speak at a conference
● Get a certificate within and outside the industry (PMP, HCS)
● Understand the industry and people you serve on a deeper level

● You are analytical.
● You always ask why.
● You enjoy puzzles and
problem solving.
Step In - Is it for me?

A sales person who likes to help with forecasting.
A meeting planner who enjoys budgeting.
An event coordinator who designs and studies surveys.
Step In - Example

Develop a deeper understanding
of why things are they way they
are to help improve your
productivity
Step In - Ideal outcome

Step In- L&D opportunities
● Learn statistics
● Learn about information architecture and presentations
● Study visual communication and learn graphic design to create infographics
● Practice giving better presentations
● Join ToastMasters

You have always been interested
in computers.
You want to understand how
things work.
You are a systems thinker.
Step Forward - Is it for me?

You have automated parts of your job through technology and
automation.
Step Forward - Example

You’ll reach the top of your field if
you can also think outside the
box, perceive where today’s
computers fall short, and envision
tools that don’t yet exist.
Step Forward - Ideal outcome

Step Forward - L&D opportunities
● Learn to code at codeacademy.com
● Attend coding meetups

@danberger | #IMEX17Automation Will Make Us Rethink What a “Job” Really Is

● You are a creative person by
nature
● You are a social butterfly
● You are charismatic and
people are drawn to you
● You love teaching and helping
others.
Step Aside - Is it for me?

A manager who enjoys watching people grow under them.
A sales rep who brainstorms with her customers.
An event manager who goes above and beyond to deliver the wow
factors.
Step Aside - Example

Develop the people who work for
you.
Get recognized for being an
awesome boss and mentor.
Step Aside - Ideal outcome

Step Aside - L&D opportunities
● Develop your soft skills
● Read the Charisma Myth, How to Win Friends and Influence People
● Go to more networking events
● Learn more about the arts
● Get an MBA

We’re all born with a natural curiosity. We want to learn.
But the demands of work and personal life often
diminish our time and will to engage that natural
curiosity. Developing specific learning habits can be a
route to both continued professional relevance and
deep personal happiness.
- John Coleman, Passion & Purpose
“

Staying in touch
twitter: @danberger
snapchat: @danjberger
email: dan@socialtables.com
Give your card
to me if you
want the slides!

Futureproofing your career: Staying relevant in the age of automation

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Futureproofing your career: Staying relevant in the age of automation