This October, the Soundings team headed to Las Vegas for the biggest IMEX America yet. More than 18,000 meetings and events professionals filled Mandalay Bay for 96,000 scheduled meetings across three days of business, education and connection. Between the show floor, sessions and our own Thrive Suite, we came home with plenty to think about. Read on for each of our takeaways.
What agency leaders told us at the SITE C-Suite Agency Summit
Tracy Judge, CMP
CEO & Founder, Soundings
Business is changing fast, but our workforce structures are not. That idea ran through every session at this year’s SITE C-Suite Agency Summit at IMEX America.
Elizabeth Sage, Head of Education and Events at SITE, opened on a familiar problem: we promote what people did, not what they’ll need to do next, then hope they figure it out. I then led a panel on the people side of growth and transition with Howard Cleveland of Soundings Elevate and PeopleCap Advisors, Tony Lorenz of CEO Coaching International and Rich Atkinson-Toal of Experience Studio by Amex GBT. Together we followed the life of a deal, from building an agency worth buying to keeping it together after close. The takeaway: an agency’s value is its people, and buyers look closely at whether the team can lead without the founder.
Tony put it best with the question every founder should sit with: would your business run for 90 days without you?
Whether the topic was leadership, a sale or a client budget, the conversation always came back to people. The inputs have changed. The way most agencies build teams hasn’t.
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Fewer seats, bigger moments at IMEX America
Preston Krzyzak
Growth Manager, Soundings
If I had to sum up IMEX America in one word, it would be experiential. Booths didn’t hand out brochures. They pulled you in with LED tunnels, holograms and personalized baseball cards. And 63% of planners now rank attendee engagement as their top measure of success.
The same shift is happening in stadiums. Northwestern’s new Ryan Field opened with 12,000 fewer seats, the smallest in the Big Ten, with no seat more than about 135 feet from the field. People keep calling it the best football experience they’ve had.
The lesson for events: design for depth, not headcount. A connected crowd beats a bigger, distant one, whether it’s 35,000 fans or a 300-person meeting. Fewer seats, bigger moments. That’s where events are going.
While in town, I hit the expo show floor to ask attendees and exhibitors one question: If you could hand off one thing, what would it be? Click here to see the results on our LinkedIn post!
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Talent connections at the Soundings Thrive suite
Nikki Gonzales
Chief of Staff, Soundings
During a week packed with networking and being “on,” our Thrive Suite at Mandalay Bay gave our community of event talent a place to just come as you are. It was a chance to connect face to face, swap advice and get to know each other on a deeper level, and to meet the people behind Soundings. The WhatsApp group stayed active all week.
The small things mattered most. Greeting guests at the elevators and walking them up to the suite turned a keycard requirement into one-on-one time. And our lunch sandwiches were a hit: for some, they were the one real meal after a long travel day, and a welcome alternative to long lines and expensive show-floor food. The Halloween candy didn’t last long either.
Good hospitality always goes a long way, and it was a reminder of why we do this: our community is at its best in the same room.
Ready to hand off the hustle and get matched with work you love?
Learn more here and sign up to join Soundings Thrive for free by 10/30 for a chance to win a career coaching session!
Own your edge: understanding & embracing your strengths
Howard Cleveland
Workforce Consultant & Leadership Coach, Soundings Elevate
Why do some tasks feel natural and energizing while others take constant effort? That question drove my session at IMEX America, Own Your Edge: Understanding & Embracing Your Strengths, part of the Rising Talent series, where we explored how to leverage our strengths for personal and professional success.
We started simple: sign your name with your non-dominant hand, then your dominant one. One felt awkward; the other was effortless. That's the case for strengths-based development. When you work within your natural talents, you get better results with less effort. People who use their strengths regularly are more engaged, more productive and more likely to stay.
From there, we used the CliftonStrengths framework to name, claim and aim our strengths, including how even great strengths can work against us under pressure. No one excels at everything. The real value comes from knowing your profile and partnering with people whose strengths complement yours.
The session was standing room only, and the energy and engagement were amazing: laughter, reflection, insights and new connections. Participants had so many great questions that we're hosting a follow-up webinar for them to dive deeper into their strengths.
Know your hand and play to your strengths with career coaching for business event profs.
Click here to get your free CliftonStrengths assessment by 10/30 for a chance to win a career coaching session!