"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." Dickens immortal words may seem out of place during MPI's 25th anniversary celebration. These are indeed good times for both the association and industry. However, many continue to struggle with the new realities of the meetings industry. In addition, past accomplishments are not necessarily an indication of future excellence. No one knows for sure what the future holds, but the assumption that it will be radically different from the past is a safe one.

You are not alone if you sense that a dramatic change is occurring in what it takes to achieve long-term success. Survival in a world that includes changing technology, more focus on the bottom line, understanding global cultures, mergers, acquisitions, outsourcing and ever increasing demands from our internal and external customers require new strategies, tactics and skills. Mikhail Gorbachev was on target when he said, "I feel that all mankind is entering a new age, and that the world is beginning to obey new laws and logic, to which we have yet to adjust ourselves." The adjustment begins with our view of the world, what some call a paradigm. Here are seven deadly beliefs that must be altered if we are to grow as professionals and as an industry.

1. Business is a zero-sum activity.
Traditional business approaches dictate that there are winners and losers. Each negotiation becomes a contest to get as much as you can. Activities that diminish trust and create adversarial relationships are justified in the name of the bottom line. A more productive paradigm for the future is business as an expanded sum activity. Win-win negotiation strategies are a start, but the perception lingers that business is a give and take proposition in which everyone has their season. Planners have the upper hand for a while. The advantage then shifts to suppliers, and eventually it comes around again. An expanded sum view of the world shifts the ROI analysis from efficiency to effectiveness as partners help each other succeed.

2. Cooperation and competition cannot coexist.
The meetings industry shines as an example of the positive benefit that results when everyone works toward common goals. At an association level, Legislative Action Day is proof that competing organizations can cooperate to benefit the industry. Hotels have a long history of cooperating with the competition and their local Convention Visitors Bureau to promote a destination. Imagine the impact if that same spirit of cooperation existed within individual organizations. Stories abound of people sabotaging their internal competition rather than cooperating to benefit their common customer. Healthy competition challenges us to do our best. We compete with others not against them. Unhealthy competition focuses on winning at all costs. It forces to us to look inward to protect our assets rather than outward to generate results.

3. Most people can't be trusted.
The truth is the majority of people are trustworthy. Unfortunately, the small percentage of those who violate our trust spoil it for everyone. The natural response to being burned is to vow that it will never happen again. Problems arise, however, when we overcompensate and allow our expectations to prevent trusting relationships. Responsible professionalism requires the protection of our interests. Barriers to partnership are created when prudence gives way to paranoia.

4. Chains of command and channels of communication are sacred.
The last words of any organization are, "We've never done it that way before." Groups and individuals who succeed in the future will continuously adjust structures and communication systems to reinforce a fast, flexible, customer-centered response. Time spent arbitrarily defending the status quo is time taken from making the changes necessary to succeed.

5. Effective people depend only on themselves.
Amazingly, there are those who haven't recognized the complex interdependency that exists within the meetings industry. They strive to control every aspect of every detail in every situation. Effectiveness is determined by the success of our customers and attendees. There are too many variables to assume that a single individual can control everything. Success in the future depends on our ability to create interdependent partnerships where everyone takes responsibility for positive results.

6. People in positions of authority are the only leaders.
Max DePree, former CEO of Herman Miller, Inc. and author of Leadership Is An Art says that being a leader means "having the opportunity to make a meaningful difference in the lives of those who permit us to lead." Leadership is not about positions of authority. It is about taking the responsibility to serve. The opportunity to lead presents itself in virtually every situation. Managers abound, but a premium exists for leaders who are willing to help us move from where we are to where we need to be.

7. Power must be held to be maintained.
Power is the ability to influence the behavior and actions of others. It can be maintained through fear, utility or trust. Fear-based power assumes that one person has the ability to hold something of value over the head of another. Utility-based power operates on the premise that individuals will submit to the direction of others because of mutual interest. Both of these approaches can work, but the results are often short-term at best. The effectiveness of fear and utility-based power is minimal in a world where we need individuals to take responsibility for making good decisions. Fear-based power can cause people to take no action rather than risk being wrong. Utility-based relationships are always open to re-negotiation when a better offer comes along. Trust-based power, however, gives others the ability to take control of their own performance and results. By giving power to others, we actually increase the power to influence based on trust and respect.

In his book A Woman of the Future, Australian novelist David Ireland shows us a character whose "past was before him like a beacon; he would keep going in that direction and call it the future." Success in the future will require us to abandon our deadly beliefs regardless if it is the best of times or worst of times today.

1993 Pennington Performance Group; Dallas, TX. All rights reserved. This article may be downloaded for personal and professional development. Copies may be shared within an individual organization. All other uses of this material are strictly prohibited without written permission from the author.