I'd heard of Agile (my husband is a senior product manager for a tech company, so it's a process he uses), but I assumed it only related to software development. Marketer Lisa Wieting's presentation showed me what Agile really is: a project management system that integrates flexibility, testing, and shifting of resources into the plan from the get-go.
“Planning for change. Why the “annual” plan needs to be interrupted
Lisa Wieting, Vice President Of Planning + Integration, COHN Marketing
Remember those days when you could count on an annual media plan to spread your message in a linear, methodical and effective way. Remember when United dragged a guy off their airline and social media melted their entire reputation in hours. That’s the world we live in now and planning needs to catch up with the times. We will take you through our planning process that goes underneath the surface and helps identify the themes that ultimately drive the ideas and not only encourages flexibility but thrives on it.”
I've never been much of a planner (despite spending many years as a project manager - a pretty good one, at that). I fly by the seat of my pants way more than I really should. The fact that it always seems to work out for me in the end is actually a negative, because it reinforces those habits via a lack of consequence. However, Lisa has now inspired me to learn how to use Agile processes to create an actual plan that works the way my brain does, but in a much more efficient and results-oriented way. (And I happen to know someone very close to me who's just itching to teach me all about it!)