Will you ask the bold question?

As PCMA's Annual Meeting gets underway and you prepare to engage in various learning experiences here in Philadelphia, there is an important point for reflection that I'd like you to consider:  will you ask the bold question?

The bold question is a catalyst for the imagination--the wellspring of all innovation.  But asking the bold question requires the deep personal conviction that achieving breakthrough thinking and learning is more important the preserving the existing consensus in our organizations and in our fields of endeavor.  Do you hold such a commitment, and are you willing to act on it?

During PCMA's Annual Meeting, will you push back against the irresistible forces of conventional wisdom and conformity to uncover fresh and divergent perspectives that help us make sense of a rapidly-changing world?  Will you participate in co-creating a better understanding of how profound and irrevocable shifts create extraordinary new opportunities for individuals and organizations with the foresight and fortitude to capitalize on them?  Will you challenge the prevailing orthodoxy of the meetings industry to make it possible for the unorthodox idea to more fully emerge?

I'm not saying that any of this is easy to do.  But easy or not, it is necessary if are going to take our work and the work of the meetings professional to the next level.  Are you prepared to be an engaged participant in that effort?  Are you prepared to ask the bold question? 

PCMA 2006 is your chance to do just that.  Don't miss it.