VOICES OF LEADERSHIP
Pam Inman
President
101 Prosperous Place, Suite 350
Lexington, KY 40509 USA
+1.859.264.6551
[email protected]
AS A CHILD, I was very rambunctious and always wanted to
be in the middle of everything. (Some of you might not find
that very surprising.) Long before FOMO entered our language,
I had a fear of missing out; I didn’t want to miss anything or
be left behind. When the adults thought I was in bed, I was
secretly listening to every word they said. I can still hear my
mother saying over and over again: “You should be minding
your own business.”
Life comes full circle sometimes. It’s only appropriate that,
when deciding on a research firm to improve the value of
Travel Exchange, your board of directors hired a company
called Minding Your Business.
Chicago-based MYB, led by John Folks, has a very success-
ful history of updating and reshaping conventions and trade
shows. Sue Tinnish of MYB attended Travel Exchange, both to
experience our convention and to talk with members, so you
might have already shared your ideas and opinions with her.
And soon, everyone will have that chance. Members, select
nonmembers, loyal Travel Exchange attendees, never-attendees
and every other category you can think of will receive a survey
from MYB. The NTA members I know have never been reticent
about expressing opinions … so don’t hold back now!
You probably know that NTA revolutionized appointment-
based shows in the travel industry by developing the software
for a matching program that was widely copied by other
groups. It’s time that we innovate again.
With the help of MYB, we will look to the future and deter-
mine how to best help you and other members gain more
business and make more rewarding connections. You don’t do
business the same way you did 30 years ago, and your asso-
ciation should be no different.
As we enter 2018, your board and staff pledge to find ways
to help you improve your business and establish reliable rela-
tionships within the industry.
Together, we go further, so here’s to a healthy and success-
ful new year … for all of us.
Happy New Year!
Who’s Minding Your Business?
Minding Your Business is a research agency that specializes in assessing and improving association events. NTA is partnering
with MYB to examine every aspect of Travel Exchange and to invigorate the convention so that it delivers even more value.
Here are the steps in the MYB process:
1 2 3 4 5
Examine NTA data
and conduct in-depth
interviews with several
NTA members Develop research
questions for an
all-member survey Attend Travel
Exchange and interact
with delegates Distribute the
all-member survey
and analyze results Deliver strategic
recommendations
Steps 1, 2 and 3 are behind us, and after the survey is collected and analyzed, MYB will, near the end of the first quarter,
present its recommendations to the NTA board.
6
January 2018