Accredited Executive Leadership Forum - A Member's Perspective!

By Conni Ingallina, SOS, Association Management Solutions

The AMCI Accredited Executive Leadership Forum held at the Westin Bayshore in Vancouver was a spectacular success! It has been a number of years since I last attended, and I found the camaraderie, education and spirit of hospitality exceptional!

This year, the AMC Institute partnered with Tourism Vancouver to present an educational program with faculty from the Sauder School of Business. Our first presenter, Dr. Darren Dahl, taught us about "The Creative Imperative." He shared a number of techniques to help get our creative brain firing. He had us work in small groups on an exercise using spaghetti, rope and tape to build a structure strong enough to support the weight of a marshmallow for 30 seconds. Dr. Dahl shared that the group that typically does the best with this is kindergartners, simply because they have no preconceived notions which allows them to think freely and experiment until they accomplish the goal.

Additional speakers from Sauder Business School included Elaine Williamson who shared with us her strategy for "Story Selling," and Dr. Tim Silk who shared his expertise on "Building Your Brand Around Core Values." Finally, our program concluded with Blair Enns, a repeat AMCI speaker, who shared with us different lenses through which to look at pricing strategies.

Although the education was fantastic this year, the best value came in the networking time we had with our peers. From group activities at our tables with each speaker, to meals at the hotel and off-site activities, the networking was worth the entire price of admission. Seeing old friends and meeting new is always a highlight for me.

I think everyone walked away with an appreciation of the beauty of our destination and with actionable items to take back to our companies for implementation. I could go on and on about how fantastic this event was. Let’s leave it at – I can’t wait for next year!

AMCI would like to thank the sponsors for this year's Accredited Executive Leadership Forum!

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