One of my favourite questions to ask a leader is this: 'What business are you really in?'
It's fun because the answers aren't always obvious. Car manufacturers, for example, might actually be in the business of selling freedom, safety or reliability.
You get different answers in the events world too. A tech vendor hosting a customer conference might be selling loyalty, or the feeling of belonging to a community. But their real business could be reducing friction in business transactions.
It matters because every one of these answers is a story – about the company, its customers and the assumptions they hold about the future.
Here are two snapshots from my travels that got me thinking.
The roundtable
I was invited to facilitate an executive roundtable in Sydney. I love these events – honest, off-the-record conversations. The sponsor was a large technology company. Just eight senior executives had been invited, followed by drinks and canapés. Perfect.
Chatting before we kicked off, one of the execs confided in me: 'We only need to land a deal with one of the companies here and the event's more than paid for itself.'
Of course, sales success wasn't a given. The roundtable itself had to be a success first. My reputation was on the line!
The conference
Next, let me take you to a technology conference. I walked into a hotel ballroom at 7:30am for the sound check. I was the opening keynote speaker that morning, and it's standard practice to get there early and make sure everything works.
Standing next to the AV desk was a woman smiling as I approached. 'Hello Mark, I'm Chris* and this is MY party,' she beamed. What an introduction! I burst out laughing. 'Nice work! Well, thanks for having me at your party. I'm so excited to be here!'
We were about to welcome 200 executives from her company into the room. It was a twice-yearly gathering that meant a lot to my host and her whole team, because it's where they came together to celebrate, cheer one another on and gain fresh insights for the road ahead.
My job: open the event with fresh insights and energy that gave shape, meaning and context to their world. Create buzz, be memorable and align my ideas to the event theme.
The common thread
On reflection, it struck me that event organisers always know their numbers. How many people are expected in the room. How much potential sales revenue is sitting in that room, or how many sign-ups they need to make the numbers work.
Sure, they're in the events industry. But they're also in the business of creating experiences that drive growth. You could say they're really in the numbers business.
It's an idea that starts right at the top, with planning. Your budget. Your ideal audience size. The number of people you need to invite to land that ideal audience. And then there's my favourite – if it rains, how many last-minute drop-outs can you expect? (Hint: more in Sydney than Melbourne!)
The bigger picture
Zoom out a bit further and there's a bigger story at play. I've been tracking the dominant narratives shaping the events industry, because we're living through a generational shift in consumer and business behaviour.
AI is very clearly challenging our assumptions about what works in every part of business, and that's brought into sharp relief when you think about what kind of event actually works today.
Is the future of events found in large-scale gatherings, or small niche experiences? What do people expect from each? And how do the numbers stack up?
One way to find out is by tracking news coverage over time (you can read about my methodology here). Right now there's an interesting trend: small rooms. Event organisers are finding them more effective than mega gatherings. At the same time, virtual events are making a comeback – with a twist. We're seeing more AI agents turning up to virtual events on behalf of real humans.
So it all comes back to how you read the numbers. Do virtual agents still count? They report back to a human, sure, but there's no guarantee that person will ever read their AI-generated event summary.
Here's the thing. I'd argue event professionals are still in the numbers business. But now there's a twist – they're in the business of interpreting numbers. Same-same, but with a lot more AI-driven complexity.
Onwards!
Read more about my research over at The Story Code Co.
Name changed for privacy.