Opening celebration delayed by heavy rain, but association executives crowd learning labs; Adam Grant provokes audience at general session

Neither Mother Nature nor the National Football League cooperated but the show went on at #asae14 in Nashville, Tenn., with a country music concert Saturday night and a thought-provoking speech by author Adam Grant at the opening general session Sunday morning.

The strongly attended ASAE annual meeting—ending Tuesday—started inauspiciously, with heavy rains dampening the opening celebration outside Music City Center, Nashville's largest convention facility. For a time, floodwater spurted like a geyser from a storm drain near one of the open bars and a food station serving tasty shrimp and grits.

The concert, headlined by country star Dierks Bentley, was delayed 90 minutes but a hardy crowd gathered near the stage under umbrellas until the rain finally let up. Others watched from the windows of their rooms at the adjacent—and posh—Omni Hotel. Those who stayed up late said Bentley rocked the place.

Shuttle buses from other hotels got snared in traffic Saturday night as police closed off portions of roads to accommodate fans of the Tennessee Titans, who played their first preseason game at the nearby LP Field.
By Sunday the traffic eased and the clouds—and perhaps some hangovers—cleared, allowing the estimated 6,000 attendees and exhibitors to get down to business. (Except perhaps those who visited the Louisville booth on the show floor, where shots of Kentucky bourbon were served before 11 a.m.)

Givers and takers
Before the exhibition hall opened, Grant got attendees thinking with his insights on the organizational performance of "givers"—those who help others—and "takers," who are prone to taking undue credit or backstabbing. In between are "matchers" who reciprocate the helpfulness or meanness they experience from others. Grant is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and author of "Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success."

After setting the crowd up with statistics suggesting that "nice guys and gals finish last" while takers and matchers often perform better in their careers, Grant surprised his listeners by asserting that nice people—the givers—also finish first.

Grant said many givers do sacrifice their own advancement by helping others, but that givers are also overrepresented among the top performers in their industries. Takers and matchers fall in the middle.
Organizations benefit from having givers on staff, he said.

"The most important decision a leader makes is to get the right people on the bus," Grant said.
But focusing on hiring givers is less effective than simply screening out takers, he said.

"The negative impact of takers is double or triple the good impact of givers," Grant said. With more givers on staff, the matchers will behave more positively.

Crowded learning sessions
Learning labs got under way Sunday afternoon, and many were standing room only, including a session on association law by Jerry Jacobs, leader of the nonprofit organizations practice at law firm Pillsbury, and a presentation by consultant Jeff De Cagna, who argued that strategic planning harms associations in today's rapidly changing environment.

De Cagna's interactive format, including the use of red and green cards to signify agreement or disagreement, had the audience buzzing in discussion with each other. But the consultant got more than he bargained for when the red cards were directed at him at session end.

A participant had asked De Cagna to present solutions to the problems he highlighted, but De Cagna demurred, citing the limited time available. Confronted with the red cards, De Cagna added that he was prohibited by ASAE rules from promoting or selling his services.

Tonya Hutchison, director of operations for the Association for Vascular Access, liked the interactivity of the session and said De Cagna was a good speaker, but said she was hoping for at least a "tidbit" in response to the final question.

"The planning process is very time consuming and I don't know that there's a payoff at the end," she said. "I wanted to see from this session if there were some other models we should be following." Hutchison said ASAE's reception area for first-time attendees such as herself—called "The Hive" because it serves newbies—was a good idea. She said ASAE14 has been worthwhile for her."I'm overwhelmed with the amount of knowledge and networking, I feel like I should have been here for many years," she said.

Hutchison also is co-presenting at a flash-learning session called "Use Gamification, Sponsors and Vendor Teamwork to Reinvent Your Receptions" on Tuesday at noon.