“Knowledge is a treasure, but practice is the key to it” – Thomas Fuller

For three years now, the International Crisis Management Conference (ICMC) has been providing professionals from all backgrounds with an opportunity to expand their credentials and reach new heights around preparedness. With 750+ members, educational videos, and presentations as well as 18+ live events to attend, ICMC offers a wealth of information to obtain throughout the year.

It has evolved into more than just a conference and has become a community of like-minded crisis management professionals networking, connecting, and learning from each other. We’ve provided our community with unlimited support and information to help them not just succeed, but flourish in their day-to-day lives.

These advantages have been proven once again in 2018 with the confirmation of our keynote speaker, Melissa Agnes for the 2018, Boston conference.

Crisis conference attendees have their say…..

It is the continued growth in knowledge our delegates receive that increases the demand for membership. Over the years, we’ve noticed regular faces attending our events and bringing with them more colleagues; the key reason being “community”.

Sharing each other’s knowledge and experiences has helped make these events unique.

The foundation for the conference was built around the demand for continued growth and education in crisis management. It is about growing the community and assisting its members in understanding their own capabilities. As one delegate said, “I’m pleased we are conducting our crisis management activities in a similar way to other organizations”.

As a case study to this, Cal Mathis has now booked his third year at the annual conference and continues to be a prime example of why these events work.

“The Annual ICMC is an event I look forward to attending every year” Mathis declares. “My crisis management network has expanded exponentially by attending the first two conferences. Additionally, and probably more important, my confidence has increased during incident management activities because of the lessons shared during the conferences.”

Networking and being in this field is one thing, but being able to grow your knowledge exponentially is our strongest value. We aim to provide ways outside of the box to help you leave asking yourself ‘what more can I do?’ That’s why when you are a part of this community, it is more than just attending our conferences and live events, it’s making sure you are a part of a group that stay connected and offer continued feedback and resource. All of this is maintained and facilitated in our member profiles and activity feeds/forums.

Mathis explains how his knowledge was expanded in another way during last year’s conference.

“While the speakers and presentations from ICMC 2017 were all memorable and informative, the presentation by Jessica Buchanan was the main event of the conference to me. She bravely shared her horrifying ordeal of the 93 days she was held in captivity by extremists. The experiences she endured and the manner she described it empowered the conference attendees in that almost any crisis can be managed if resolve and focus are maintained. She is the bravest person I’ve ever met.”

Read more on Jessica’s story here.

The importance of learning while networking

The online publication Skift reported in a recent survey that 89 percent of 18 – 34-year olds attended at least one conference in 2017.  As with the general adult population, a significant portion (79 percent) feel more connected to other people, their community, and the world through attending events.

Events and conferences have never been in such demand, but maybe not for the right reasons. Our question is how much value-add do delegates get from the events once they leave? When you are attending an event, both you and the organizers should be addressing two key questions:

• Do I leave asking myself a hard* question around current processes?
• Have I learned at least one major attribute I can now share with the organization?

*A hard question can be anything from whether your staff is trained to a high enough quality, or if you are running effective tabletop exercises to ensure capability?

The ‘Fear of missing out’ (also known as FOMO) has become a social trend when it comes to an invitation. When the invitation is a conference, the invitations can circulate among competitors, opportunities and leads. The ICMC ignores all of this and instead provides a community participating in open-minded, facilitated discussion with those at the forefront of their field.

It is crucial that when you leave, you continue to receive relevant and useful support on what you do. With community discussion around crisis management, CM professionals can finally make opportunities happen, meet like-minded contacts and learn ways to improve their own skills.

International Crisis Management Conference Day 1 Agenda

We all wish to expand our mindset on the most effective and efficient ways to reach our objectives. Information has never been more available than now thanks to the internet, but we have learned quickly that a lot of information isn’t always good information.

Unique to 2018, the Boston Conference will boast its first full day of training for delegates. We’ll dive into the Principles of Crisis Management where we will cover the characteristics of a crisis, and a framework to manage the life cycle of a crisis. Upon completion, you will know the difference between an issue and a crisis, what “Horizon Scanning” is and when it should occur, how to prepare your organization, components to being effective, recovery and how to continually improve, all done within the morning of day one.

After lunch, you will return for a case study on how you should be applying the Crisis Management Framework. Attendees of the training will be provided with a self-assessment tool to help them identify gaps in their organization’s crisis program.

International Crisis Management Conference Day 2 Agenda

In 2017, research showed that 92 percent of attendees to a major American conference expected to see at least one major speaker during their attendance. Delegates acknowledged that the largest impact of an event came from its keynote speakers.

Our third conference is shaping up to exceed those expectations with even more key speakers added to day two’s lineup. Those added include Vincent Davis of Amazon, CEO Edward Davis of business strategy and security agency, Edward Davis, LLC, Mark Hoffman of Anesis Consulting Group, Marisa Randazzo of STIGMA, Joshua Harr of Boston Children’s Hospital, Deborah Hileman, SCMP of the Institute of Crisis Management and of course, just announced Melissa Agnes.

Crisis Management Expert Melissa Agnes to Keynote

Melissa Agnes has now been confirmed for our 2018 conference bringing a whole new excitement to the event.  In terms of experience and sought after crisis speakers, it doesn’t get much bigger than this.

If you’ve not come across Melissa’s work before, now is the time to create excitement in booking your space at this year’s event.

Melissa has spent many years presenting and training organizations and their staff to remain crisis ready. As a strategic advisor and keynote speaker, Melissa Agnes has worked with NATO, Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense, financial firms, technology companies, healthcare organizations, cities and municipalities to name a few. She has helped them understand risk and build invincible brands that can withstand even the most devastating of events. Her work has taken her across the globe and bestows upon her the largest following in the crisis management field.

In addition to advising organizations, she has written a book on the strategic blueprint to preparedness called, ‘Crisis Ready’.  Melissa has also been featured on the internationally recognized TedX talks where she discusses her “Secret to Successful Crisis Management in the 21st Century”.

We’re very excited to welcome Melissa to the conference and look forward to what she can discuss with our community.

Resource

Book your place: http://crisisconferences.com/event/icmc-2018/

More on Melissa Agnes: https://melissaagnes.com/about-melissa-agnes-keynote-speaker/