with Dean West
Dean West, a true association industry visionary, is our guest on the 6 Degrees of Associations Podcast this week. He is in his 25th year as founder and CEO of the Chicago-based Association Laboratory. According to their website, “Association Laboratory helps association leaders make better decisions through research and strategy consulting services, dissemination of association sector research insights, and the education of association leaders.”
You can learn more: https://www.associationlaboratory.com/
This is the second time Dean has joined our program, you can view his first visit to our show from 2021, here: https://youtu.be/GCVYXrQYEdo
The focus of this interview is on the streamlined way his team approaches the production of meetings and events. It all starts with an understanding of why attendees are giving up their most valuable resource—time—to attend an event. Their approach is unique in our association industry, as it emphasizes stripping away all the fluff to ensure that attendees get exactly what they are looking for in order to create cohesive and targeted programming that truly engages them. He advocates for positioning the program at the forefront of event planning, ensuring that logistics come second to thoughtful program design—the goal being to create active learning environments rather than passive experiences.