Take Your Seat At The Table
I recently earned my Certificate in Meetings Management (CMM) and couldn’t be prouder to have this designation alongside such a distinguished group of people in the meeting and events industry.
According to Meeting Professionals International (MPI) earning your CMM shows the world that you are a strategic thinker ready to assume a leadership role in this industry. According to a recent MPI member survey, the average salary of a meeting professional with a CMM is roughly $20k/year more than members with a CMP and nearly $30k/year more than members with no credentials.
This is a three-phased executive education program put on by Kelley University School of Business and takes 15 weeks to complete and includes four days of in person classes. I would recommend based on the time commitment and how challenging the course is to do it when you have the time to focus on it.
Over the course of the in person and online courses you will learn about Leadership for High Performance, Communicating with Influence, Economics of Tourism, Negotiating and Managing Conflict, Budgeting and Finance, Managing Change, Sustainability, Leadership Coaching, The Value and Power of Events, Communication Intelligence and Experiential Design.
At the end of the course you will write a final project focused on solving a real-world, work-based problem. This will become what you think about for several months. I would recommend asking a friend and colleague to bounce ideas off of and to edit your capstone so you can get a fresh perspective.
The program costs $4,400 but I received a scholarship from MPI to achieve my CMM. Scholarship opportunities can be found on their website and I would recommend volunteering for MPI if this is something you want to get.
The qualifications to apply for the CMM are 7+ years of professional experience in the meeting and event industry, 3+ years of management experience and 2+ years of profit and loss responsibility. If achieving your CMM is one of your long term goals ask your boss to start assisting with profit and loss or management so you can take the steps you need to get there.
The best part of this experience was not just the learning and achieving of the certificate but the people I met. I learned so much from their real life experiences and bouncing ideas off of each other. The people in my class are the best in the business and I am honored to have shared this experience with them. I am thankful to call these people not only industry peers but friends.
Free to Wander 