#ItsBiggerThanThat was the theme of Rejuvenate Marketplace in Dallas , the city where everything is indeed bigger. On-site our staff found attendees making bigger connections, taking away bigger inspirations and garnering bigger ideas. But they weren’t the only ones. We, too, walked away with bigger thoughts about our industry and how to serve our readers better. Here are four of the biggest takeaways:In the "Creative Conversation: Self-Branding and Marketing" education session led by Jason Zook, planners in the audience seemed in agreement that old-school governing church bodies or association boards could often deter new ideas for conferences and meetings. To combat stale events, Zook advised planners to focus on one element and then own it and alter it. He suggested starting with something small like the water served or the music played. Using the adage “Don’t ask for permission, ask for forgiveness,” he said don’t consult the boards. If it’s a success, use it as a case study for changing another element going forward. Click here for nine other takeaways from his session.Planners can often view hotel salespeople as the enemy, fighting to get a piece of the business on the calendar. In reality, salespeople are typically battling on behalf of planners to their bosses. That’s the message Reneka Edwards, senior sales manager of faith-based accounts at Hyatt Regency Atlanta , shared during the "Planner-Supplier Rumble" session. Edwards debunked the myth that suppliers don’t value faith-based business, noting she has the second-highest quota on her team. Bottom line? Planners need to see suppliers as allies and vice versa.Over and over again, our staff heard meeting face to face makes all the difference in moving your organization forward. It was the topic of our first-ever 40 Under 40 Ted Talk-style presentation at breakfast on Wednesday. Three planners were asked to speak for five minutes on the power of live events. “We have the opportunity to leave people better than when they first encountered us,” said Luke Dooley, director of Q Commons, during his presentation. “Whatever you do, do it in the most meaningful, beautiful, creative and transformative way possible.” In that short phrase, Dooley summed up an overarching theme of the three-day conference.In several sessions, including the fast-paced "Flashpoint," SPIN’s Shawna Suckow said it is proven that if an attendee makes eight real human connections at an event, “all these wonderful things begin to happen.” He or she is more likely to feel a sense of belonging and engage with the conference, and, not coincidentally, retention of information goes way up, as does the likelihood he or she will return the next year. Keep this in mind as you organize strategic networking sessions to facilitate connections at your own meeting or conference. For example, during a moment of audiovisual difficulty, Suckow took the opportunity to get everyone in the room to stand up and pull out a business card. She then asked them to find someone else in the room and exchange it with them. She then told them to make a pact to email the person the next week and ask “What is one way I can help you?”