"The City Beautiful"

Does Not Disappoint at Credit Congress

There were few clouds in the sky for NACM's 113th Credit Congress in sunny Orlando, Florida. The Rosen Shingle Creek resort provided an all-in-one, unparalleled venue that had attendees gawking over its beautiful facilities and manicured grounds. Nestled next to one of Florida’s historic waterways—Shingle Creek, the headwaters to the Okeechobee and Everglades—the luxury resort provided a sprawling sanctuary in the middle of metropolitan Orlando. Amidst the natural splendor of the surrounding landscape, this year’s Credit Congress provided scores of educational offerings that can’t be found anywhere else.

Monday’s General Session opened with a colorful, kinetic Polynesian dance by Lanakila’s Polynesian Dance Revue, featuring energetic performers from Hawaii, Samoa and Tahiti. Following this, NACM Economist Chris Kuehl, Ph.D. addressed attendees and gave a nod to participants in NACM’s Credit Managers’ Index (CMI) for contributing to the effectiveness of the CMI as an economic barometer. “One of the criticisms of economists is that they only understand money in the theoretical sense,” said Kuehl. You guys don’t deal with money in the theoretical sense. You don’t deal with the abstract. You’re looking at what happens.” After the address by Kuehl, this year’s Honors and Awards were presented.

The General Session was headlined by author of Awakening Corporate Soul, Dr. John Izzo, who took the stage, delivering an inspirational and emotional presentation on finding happiness and purpose in life. Many attendees were brought to tears by his stories that married pursuits in the corporate world with lessons from spiritual traditions from the East and West.  “You have to train your mind for happiness. You have to train your mind to be in the moment,” said Izzo. “Whenever you find yourself in a moment other than the moment you are in, you have to gently bring yourself back. Train yourself to have no regrets and to not indulge worry.”

Tuesday's Super Session was kicked off with a comedic drum performance by Can-Tastick. This was followed by Group Membership and GSCFM Awards and an engaging presentation by author Steven Little, author of The Milkshake Moment: Overcoming Stupid Systems, Pointless Policies, and Muddled Management to Realize Real Growth. Little spoke about bridging the gap between the credit and sales functions, as he sought to have credit managers redefine and recognize the scope of their role in the corporate structure. “Credit terms—terms, payment terms—are a pricing function,” said Little. “In classic marketing, you understand that there are only four ‘Ps’: product, price, place and promotion. So, can we agree, when you set credit terms it’s a marketing function. In fact, we can go so far as to say that you don’t have a contentious relationship with the sales and marketing function, you are, to a large degree, part of the sales and marketing function.”

There’s always more to Credit Congress than just the opening ceremonies and keynote speakers. The Designee and Alumni Event, Annual Golf Outing and Silent Auction (both of which raise money for the NACM Scholarship Foundation), various networking luncheons and receptions and the Expo, featuring a multitude of credit-related vendors, provided hours of entertainment and camaraderie for attendees. The educational sessions confirmed the pertinence of staying professionally vital and active with the conference’s slew of experts that presented a variety of topics important to the credit industry.

Keep an eye on this page for complete coverage of the Credit Congress. Additional coverage is forthcoming in the July/August issue of Business Credit.

See you in Las Vegas, Nevada for the 114th Credit Congress & Expo!

We thank our generous conference sponsors.