When we initially launched the Leadership Lab series, it was a unique mix of incredible success and unfortunately, frustrating struggles.  We had hundreds of executives sign up, but the formula was surprisingly hard to nail down.  Executive Roundtables were a huge draw, but the logistics were complex.

However, I am thrilled to share that the series is the strongest it has ever been!  The conversations flow better, the takeaways are stronger, and the logistics of the event have found their groove.

But as I mentioned, it wasn't always that way!  As you all are part of the community, I thought you all should be able to see "behind the curtain" on how we pivoted, how we adjusted, and how we have made it through to the strongest version yet.

Two Days Wasn't the Answer

We knew that Leadership Lab was going to be labor intensive, so we needed a way to fund the series.  Our initial plan was to have private Executive Roundtables on Day 1, and then suppliers on Day 2, tying the two together.  Interesting in theory, but the two day format was confusing and hard to manage.  And besides, Day 2 were demos, which then stepped on the toes of Multifamily Demo Day.

Solution:  Dump Day 2, focus on the experience, and don't worry about how we pay for it

Assigning Rooms – The First of Many Disasters

Without going too deep in the weeds, no automatic room assignment system was working for us, so we asked attendees to go into the Labs area themselves and simply pick a Lab that had less than 6 people.  That simply did not work.  As people were dynamically going into rooms, the numbers would change as they entered, and then people often preferred to go into Room 1 no matter what we asked. Balancing the rooms kept eluding us!

Solution:  Ditch the free for all

Assigning Rooms – Provide a Room Number

It's a bit of a manual, frantic process, but we found out how to assign people!  And if we are shooting for 6 people per roundtable, then we just divide the attendees by 6 and we have our answer, right?  Wrong!  We didn't account for something else:  Some people enjoyed the initial expert speakers but did not plan on attending the roundtables, as well.  So our final roundtable numbers were still off.

Solution:  Over-assign each room to account for transition drop-off

How Many Conversation Leaders Do We Even Need?

No matter the event, whether it is in person or virtual, attendance is very difficult to gauge because property management is such a dynamic industry!  One of our primary speakers wasn't able to join because their property burned the week before.  One of our conversation leaders wasn't able to join because of a death in the family.  And that doesn't include all the wild things happening day to day for our attendees.

Actual attendance can swing wildly, so when we ask for volunteers to be roundtable moderators, how many do we need?

Solution:  Still working on this one!

The Results

We are an organization of constant improvement, so there is no "finish line", but it's hard to find anything wrong with the ratings we are getting now!  Our latest upgrade, where we attempt to better match rooms, seems to have worked splendidly, as well.

"If you were talking to someone on the fence on attending a future Leadership Lab, what would you say to convince them to join?"

Do it! It's such a great opportunity to not only hear from industry leaders, but to actually be part of the conversation! The smaller roundtables give you a chance to share experiences, hear how others are navigating similar challenges, and learn from people across the industry. You never know what idea, perspective, or connection you might walk away with!

Usually, I do not participate in these or go on camera for a live chat. Today I decided to do that, and I am really happy I did! It was refreshing to talk to other professionals that you don't regularly work with or see and meet new people with new ideas. I would tell someone that I thought it was very energizing!

The Lesson

It would have been very easy to see the challenges of Leadership Lab and simply given up.  The challenges were too difficult, the series too hard to manage, and considering this event isn't even funded, just not worth the effort.  But we kept with our initial vision that small groups of intimate conversations were some of the most powerful opportunities for leaders to understand and grow their business.

So yes, it has been a lot to handle.  But the impact has been huge.

A giant THANK YOU to all of you who have joined along this giant experiment with us, and for those who haven't tried it, we hope you join us soon!

Looking Ahead

We have an incredibly strong Q4 planned for Leadership Lab planned, and I hope all of our executives and owners join us for engaging conversations on how to drive profitability and improve operations at your properties!

(Register for all here)

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