Further Resources
JT Long
Welcome back to the What One Thing? podcast, where we ask successful people what made a difference in their lives and careers. Today, I have the pleasure of checking in with Tahira Endean, head of programming at IMEX, for a behind-the-scenes look at what to expect at the biggest events industry gathering of the year. Tahira, we’re going to be in Las Vegas together again soon.
Tahira Endean
You know we love Las Vegas. It’s always such a delight to be back.
JT
And it’s October this year. Let’s make sure everyone has the right dates on their calendar.
TE
Oct. 12 is Smart Monday, and Oct. 13-15 is the show.
JT
This year’s theme is Design Matters. One of the things I love is that IMEX shows, it doesn’t just tell, when it introduces these concepts. How will the design be different this year?
TE
If you’re a hosted buyer, the Hosted Buyer Lounge is moving, so that’s a big change in the show’s functional design. The show has gotten so big that we’ve also moved all the education to the Inspiration Hub. Instead of finding us at the back of the show floor, we’ll have a front-door entrance. You’ll be able to go straight into education or straight into the show, and then around to education. That’s exciting. Other than that, it is bigger and better than ever.
JT
When you say bigger, what landmarks should attendees look for? What will be in the Inspiration Hub?
TE
The Inspiration Hub will have the same elements it had last year, just in a new location. We’ll have all the theaters: Ideas, Insights, Curious Minds, People and Planet, and Perspectives. We also have our Wellbeing Wheel with a great new activation this year. Adjacent to us, you’ll find other education partners, including the Tech Education Stage run by Dahlia+, our partnership with Encore and the immersive experiences and education it brings, Unique Speakers Bureau and its Meet the Unique Speakers sessions, MPI, and University Corner education. There is a lot happening around that area.
JT
Talk about the Wellbeing Wheel because that’s always a fun activation.
TE
Imagine a pie cut into three large pieces. Two of those are education, where people can sit down and learn. They cover everything from personal well-being to professional well-being, including conflict resolution and how to eat better. It is a wide range of topics. In the third part, we’re doing an activation with Sepideh Eivazi and Dawn of the Earth called Bet on Yourself. They’ve created a beautiful reset that lasts four minutes and 44 seconds. You can sit down, think about yourself and your own needs when you’re at events, and take an aural respite from everything happening around the show.
JT
Four minutes and 44 seconds.
TE
I know. How easy is that?
JT
That’s fabulous. Another thing that makes the education popular is the different tracks. People can be intentional about what they want to take away by following the tracks, and there are different formats. Whether you want to use a headset and listen to a panel or attend a more interactive fireside chat, there are many ways to get the information you need.
TE
You may also find an interactive session with Smart Meetings on your new research about the power of play and fun. We spend a lot of time curating the education and thinking about the different things people might need. There are 12 tracks this year. Whether you’re interested in leadership and culture, health and well-being, experiential event design, advanced event logistics, contracting, budgeting or food and beverage, make sure you’re looking for the sessions you want.
TE
Sessions only happen once, so you can’t go back and repeat them. Making time for education really enhances the overall show experience. The full program comes out at the beginning of September, so you can choose your education and block that time on your calendar. Even hosted buyers who are asked to take meetings during the day as part of their obligation still have time for education.
TE
Use the tracks and tags, block time for the sessions that matter most, and then build your meetings around them. The Inspiration Hub is right beside the show floor, so it is easy to get from education to a meeting. Find something that will leave you nourished. I think that is really important.
JT
Wise words. You mentioned that Smart Meetings will be doing a panel with F1 Arcade and Firefly about the ROI of joy. Why are fun and the power of fun important right now?
TE
I think they’ve always been important. If you go back tens of thousands of years, play was used as both a distraction and a way to build connection in a community. It is no different now. The difference is that we need play to take us away from technological and other distractions, and to help us reframe, reset and get our neurobiology ready for the work we have to do.
TE
Play should not be considered optional. It must be something we do and incorporate. IMEX, both as a show and as a business, is 100% supportive of this thinking. It is important to help people understand the science behind it, but the way you really understand the science is by experiencing it: fun, experience and play.
JT
There is a lot of fun and play at IMEX, both after hours and during the day, and I love that you give us those opportunities. You’re always excited about the speakers, but I heard you’re especially excited about a few of them. Who should people put on their calendars?
TE
You asked specifically about managing dietary restrictions, wellness and sustainability. We have a food and beverage session followed by a community table where you can meet the speakers. Zena Phillips from Hilton is leading it. Zena is a Smart Woman, just like you and me. Tracy Stuckrath is clearly a leader in this space. Jen Veralle works in mindful drinking and nonalcoholic hospitality, and she also plans and understands what that means. Monique Rochard has been on a very public GLP-1 journey and is also a planner.
TE
The reality is that we are feeding people the same way we’ve fed them for decades, and it isn’t how people eat anymore. We need to change it. Hotels, venues, convention centers and caterers need to change how they provide and serve food because people eat and drink differently, and we have to be responsive to that. It is going to be a great session.
TE
We also have Taylor Flores speaking about reducing the carbon footprint of food and beverage programs. Circadian Cove is coming back with Olympian Meeting and adding Rx to its name. They’ll have doctors in the space who can answer people’s questions in more depth about nutrition. Wellness and sustainability fit together because sustainability is people, planet and profit. All of those things need to be well and taken care of for us to succeed.
TE
In our neurodiversity programming, we have great people coming back and new voices. Dr. Matthew Zakreski is new to us this year and will be paired with Yush Sztalkoper. They’ll join Summer Jelinek, who is finishing a Ph.D. in neurodiversity and brings extensive hospitality experience, including Disney, for a session moderated by Anthony Vade. The discussion will examine how we need to think about human-centered design.
TE
The Trends and Research stages are filled with insights. On Wednesday morning, we’ll have the SITE report and the Incentive Research Foundation’s newest research. Annette Gregg and Stephanie Harris will join Neen James, the MPI keynote that morning, for a conversation about exceptional experiences.
TE
We’re going deep into joy this year. On Monday afternoon, the MPI keynote is Caitlin Krause, one of my favorite speakers. I saw her speak several years ago and still remember it, which doesn’t always happen. Caitlin teaches at Stanford and does extensive work on digital well-being, mindfulness and virtual worlds. She is an incredible speaker.
TE
On Tuesday afternoon, Caitlin will join Jenny Sauer-Klein and Andrea Parker. Jenny created the Conference for Conferences, is deeply involved in experiential event design and previously co-founded AcroYoga. Andrea Parker of What the FUN! will appear several times during the show, always with a different twist on her topic. Each will lead an individual session, and then we’ll bring them together on one stage.
TE
That same afternoon, Cornell Thomas, who runs the Positivity Summit, will lead a session, followed by Angela Gargano, a six-time American Ninja Warrior. Angela will then join Cornell for a conversation moderated by Rachel Benedick. I think that will be really interesting.
TE
We close the show by asking whether our joy mattered. David Adler and Panos Moutafis of Zenus will look at the data around joy, and they’ll be joined by Jenn Whitmer, founder of Joyosity Works and creator of Joyosity. We’re really leaning into that.
TE
There are so many strong sessions on leadership, too. Another fun addition is Design for Spectacle, a track focused on mega-events and permanent installations in Las Vegas. It explores how to design wild creativity consistently, with lessons from places and experiences such as Sphere, Formula 1 and the upcoming Netflix House. I wouldn’t know how to choose if I could only choose one thing.
JT
What strikes me is that you’re getting real. You talk about the realities of event life and education programming, and it is important to go beyond inspiration to share real, boots-on-the-ground lessons. Is that intentional?
TE
Very much. We came out of the pandemic, which was only five years ago but feels like a million. Then we went through a tricky time when we focused on community, belonging, softer skills and empathy. Now it is time to get real. Costs and expectations are much higher. We may talk more about well-being, but we haven’t found it yet. What are the things we can actually do?
TE
There is an entire track on tech-enabled futures. We spent a long time talking about AI prompts. That’s great, but we don’t need to do more prompting with AI. We need to plan better live events that create more human dialogue, support people and design for human needs in ways that make a positive difference. That’s what we’re doing.
JT
Hallelujah. Another thing I noticed, and it is always part of IMEX but seems especially intentional this year, is philanthropy and giving back.
TE
A few years ago, we created an impact department. It intentionally looks not only at the impacts we have as a business, but at how impact carries through everything we do. We want to help educate people across the industry about what it means, why it matters and the steps we can take every day. We’ve talked about sustainability for a long time, but we can’t only talk about it. We have to do it, and that is what we’re working on.
JT
I love seeing that. You’ve shared wonderful advice about making time for what matters while people are in Las Vegas with 17,000 of our best friends. How do you hope people leave? What do you hope they feel and take with them? Studies show that we forget 80% of everything we see, hear and do at a conference. How do we make sure people leave with what they need?
TE
Think about any experience you’ve had in your lifetime. We remember things through stories. When we listen to stories, share stories and create a story in our own minds about what is happening or what we can carry forward, we need time for that.
TE
When you’re coming into an event the size of IMEX, there is no way you can see or do everything. Even those of us who work at the event don’t see, do, hear or experience everything. Our social team is out looking for things and still doesn’t see it all. You aren’t expected to remember everything.
TE
Make sure you plan ahead. IMEX is not the event to show up at cold. It is not the event to prepare for on the plane. When the program comes out at the beginning of September, find the sessions that matter to you. Ticket sales have already started for events such as SITE NITE and Rendezvous. If those events matter to you, book them. You’ll receive invitations to different events, so choose what matters and put it on your calendar.
TE
When you book meetings and choose the people you want to meet, leave time for serendipity. As you go through the event, use whatever method works for you. Take pictures, voice notes or handwritten notes. Save business cards, QR codes and links that connect you with people. If you’re connecting on LinkedIn, add notes after the meeting so you remember who you want to follow up with.
TE
Take time to reset in the middle of the day. Stop by the Resilience Room or Circadian Cove Rx just outside the show floor and reflect on what you’ve absorbed and what you still need. You can also shut down for five minutes or stop by the Wellbeing Wheel for a four-minute-and-44-second reset.
TE
You can’t leave your hotel early in the morning and go at Mach 1 until late at night. We aren’t built that way. We’re human. We need to eat, drink lots of water, wear comfortable shoes and make sure we remember what is most important to us through our own storytelling, however that works best for us.
JT
Fabulous advice. Now I’m even more excited. I have it on my calendar that I’ll see you Wednesday at 4 p.m. for the Smart Woman Toast at the Smart Meetings booth. Then I’m going to get lots of hugs for four days straight. It is going to be fabulous.
TE
Exactly, and you’re going to remember all of them.
JT
Absolutely. Every single person. Thank you for taking the time to be with us.
TE
Of course.
JT
We look forward to seeing all our friends there. Thank you to the Smart Meetings community for tuning in to this podcast. This is What One Thing?, and I hope everyone has a brilliant day.
Production credit
Smart Meetings’ What One Thing? was produced by Bright Business Media. Visit SmartMeetings.com to subscribe to your daily dose of inspiration.
