Lifting. Learning. Eating with intention. Tracking macros. Applying progressive overload. Doing the deeply unglamorous work long enough for my body to start changing in front of my own eyes.
And then something unexpected happened. As my body recomposition became visible, so did people’s assumptions.
Suddenly, everyone had an opinion about everything from my metabolism and hormones to my health, discipline, relationship with food, body fat, and even my "balance."
Some people assumed a fit, lean, muscular body had to mean something was wrong internally.
Others assumed it had to mean steroids, because apparently discipline, consistency, structure, and years of repetition are harder to believe than shortcuts.
The wildest part?
A lot of those opinions came from people who had never trained at that level, never tracked their own nutrition with that much precision, never lived the process, and never stood under the bar long enough to understand what actually builds the result.
They were NOT responding to evidence.
They were responding to assumptions.
And once you start seeing that pattern in one area of life, you start seeing it everywhere.
I see it in the business events industry all the time.
We carry assumptions like they are facts.
Bigger events must mean better events.
A packed room must mean value was created.
- More sessions must mean more learning.
- More sponsors must mean more success.
- More technology must mean more innovation.
- More networking must mean more connection.
AI adoption must mean tool adoption.
Audience-first must mean we asked attendees what topics they wanted on a survey six months ago.
We say these things so often they start to sound true.
But repetition is not proof, familiarity is not strategy, and confidence is not the same as clarity.
I’ve been thinking about this through the lens of Adam Grant’s Think Again, especially the idea that the strongest leaders are willing to question what they think they know.
That feels deeply relevant to where business events are headed, because the industry does not need more polished certainty; it needs more honest rethinking.
What assumptions have we inherited?
- What beliefs are we protecting because they once worked?
- What metrics are we still using because they are easy to report, even when they do not tell the full story?
- What are we calling “engagement” because it looks good in a recap deck?
- What are we calling “community” because people happened to be in the same room?
- What are we calling “innovation” because we added another platform, app, or AI feature to a workflow nobody had the courage to redesign?
The next chapter of business events will require more than better tools.
It will require intellectual humility.
The willingness to say:
- Maybe we are measuring the wrong thing.
- Maybe the attendee journey is too bloated.
- Maybe sponsors need proof of influence, not another logo wall.
- Maybe our teams are exhausted because we keep adding complexity and calling it progress.
- Maybe AI is exposing the weakness in our strategy, not solving it.
- Maybe our most dangerous industry phrase is still: “We already know what works.”
I do not believe the best leaders in events are the ones with the fastest answers. I think they are the ones willing to pressure-test their own assumptions before the market does it for them.
Because assumptions have a cost.
In fitness, they distort how people see the body, the work, and the person behind it.
In business events, assumptions distort how we design, measure, sell, and lead.
At some point, we have to stop treating assumptions like facts and start treating them like hypotheses. We need to test them, challenge them, and retire the ones that no longer serve the people we are designing for.
That may be one of the most important leadership skills in the next era of business events: not knowing more, but rethinking better.
What assumption about the business events industry do you think deserves to be challenged right now?About The Author
Anca Platon Trifan, CMP, WMEP helps high-performing event professionals build the energy, cognitive capacity, and mental discipline required to lead and perform under constant pressure. Her work blends elite performance principles with real-world event operations, focused on sustainable leadership in high-stakes environments.
A competitive bodybuilding champion with over 20 years of experience in event production and event technology, Anca brings a rare perspective to the stage. As CEO of Tree-Fan Events Production LLC, she works with teams to strengthen how they manage stress, make decisions, and sustain peak performance across demanding event cycles.
She is the host of Events Demystified and founder of the #FIT4EVENTS™ framework, a high-performance system designed to help event leaders train their energy, attention, and resilience with the same rigor they bring to their work. Interested in bringing Anca to your event, leadership team, or organization? Schedule a conversation to explore keynote, workshop, training, and consulting opportunities here.
