“My metric for measuring the success of an event is goosebumps,” said David Adler in a Zoom call we had last week. “You should get the goosebumps anytime you’re part of a great meeting or event.”
If the events industry has a grand gentleman, it’s David Adler. Meetings are in his blood. From the early days of publishing the “Washington Dossier,” a sort of gossipy who’s who of Washington DC’s elite, to running communications for Robert Maxwell’s (yes, Ghislane’s father) specialty publishing fiefdom, he learned the power of publishing, community and connections. He founded BizBash, now owned by Informa. Lately, you can find him holding court at GatherGeeks, a salon-like podcast for event planners.
Adler admits to being enamored of new tech, but feels as if digital event tech tools don’t do enough to increase collaboration or create the sense of magic and community we have in live meetings. They need to become more masterful but also learn to stay out of the way. “The purpose of tech is to make things easier, not more complex.”
His mission focuses squarely on nurturing the collaborative nature of events and celebrating event creators and their teams. “We want set designers, production crews, rental companies – you name it – to get the recognition they deserve for creating masterful meetups."
“People want collaboration and contact more than gewgaws and swag," he says. Adler is all about creating memorable icebreakers in the Jeffersonian tradition: people conversing in small groups, but with a purpose. A big believer in the neuropsychology behind events, he knows that all of the senses – touch, taste and smell – have as much to contribute to a sense of
place as sight and sound. Conducting and orchestrating the disparate parts of events are where the real talent lies, and this relies on great communication.
Based on a career of making meetings memorable and delightful, Adler wants the people who drive events to start getting a little recognition and love. “Chefs are superstars,” he points out. “Event planners should be too.” Harnessing Serendipity contains interviews with personal friends, heroes and rock stars of all ilks. Adler is a lifelong collector of
these gems. He interviews actors, dancers, women’s leaders, choral conductors and many others who share the power to create connections amongst people. And Adler is the Pied Piper of magical people. Listen to our conversation to find out more. He’s
spectacular! |