A summit meeting is an opportunity for your association’s thought leaders, influencers, and other mission-critical stakeholders to come together around a high-stakes or complex topic that has the potential to shape your profession, industry, or cause in new ways. They are usually energizing events that generate excitement and a desire for change. But they are also a significant investment that requires solid planning and follow-through to keep the momentum alive.
The term “summit” has been used to describe meetings at the highest levels of government decision-making (as in the Inter-American Summit Process) or to convene experts from many different fields to discuss a specific problem within a broad context (as in the UN Climate Change Summit). Professional associations that serve specific industries also host summits, where they bring together thought leaders and other influencers from around the world to share research, trends, innovations, and ideas.
Generally, the top executive convening the summit (the “meeting owner”) appoints a midlevel team member from HR, finance, strategy, or marketing to plan it. That person has been told by the meeting owner that this is a key strategic opportunity, and they are expected to deliver a top-notch event.
Summits often start with an ambiguous theme that could mean anything to anyone, like “Building pride,” or “Creating a common vision.” The team members spend the allotted 15 minutes reacting to locations and three to five potential guest speakers and create a preliminary agenda that seems to fit the theme.