Ideas Worth Sharing Archives

Greg Elam
Principal
Solution House - Consultants
SolutionHouse@swbell.net

Getting Things Done Through Other People

Spring 2010

AS YOU CONSIDER your next meeting, do you aspire to improve it against the last one?  Would you like to please the attendees more?  Or impress your boss?  Or even just know deep-down inside that because of you it is better than before?

 Hello - who wouldn’t want to do all of the above?  Well, consider that you should begin by looking beyond yourself.  Yep, believe it or not, there are others who also plan meetings or supply support to meetings or offer courses or there are coffee groups that desire to share their experiences and want to hear your story as well. 

This isn’t about money, although we’ll touch on that in a moment.  It begins with you deciding to get your things done by listening to what others have to say, or what other services could be available to you.  Are you fearful of help -- I doubt it.

So how do you begin? 

First, do realize that most people are pleased with how they do things and would like to tell about their work.  Secondly, they are not about to tell you how to do anything … until you ask them, because when you ask, it is a compliment to them and a signal that you would like to hear more. 

Who to ask?  Talk to the hotel or meeting facility about what some other customers did (and don’t forget to talk to the place you used last time and ask them also).  Consider those service providers that call upon you.  Ask them for the best ideas they’ve seen.  Or think about the local businesses that you know hold meetings.  Find out who plans their meetings and call them up. 

Join any local or regional professional meetings group and listen to their programs or just ask for their best ideas.  Ah, but there is also another option: hire some supplier, who is a really experienced professional, to help with your meeting.  There are transportation companies, catering companies, decorations companies, travel coordinator companies, feature speaker companies, meeting assistance companies – all of them make a living making people like you look good.

My point is that you deserve to do your best and benefit from doing well.  But no one ever said that you must stand alone and re-create all the good that is readily available to you.  Take down your shield and open your ears.  And enjoy your job even more.  

A Professional Secret - Owning "The List"

Fall 2009

IN THIS COLUMN WE’VE SHARED ideas intended for active event planners and organizers.  This one will save you grief far beyond your expectation.

Let us start at the beginning.  Many of your events occur out-of-town or in the evening or over a weekend.  Right?!?  Have you recognized that those are inconvenient times for most people?

Consider that if any problem begins developing – it quickly becomes your problem!  You are seen as the magician that causes things to operate smoothly – let us not deny it.

Because you are alert and clever, you have built a world-class list of trusted sources and resources to back you up … and who have helped you look good and perform so very well.  Because of computers, smart phones, Web sites and small storage flash-drives, you have the information to solve most situational needs.  Yes, you do – it is the mark of a wise person.

Ah, but where is all that information?  Office desktop, laptop, smart phone?  What is your situation if there is suddenly no Internet service, or no phone connection or the power is lost?  Is all that priceless data in one place or a variety of places?

The sleep-well-at-night solution is to take the time to gather all that good stuff in one place and then have several copies: print-out the list and always have it when operating an event: or have it on a small flash drive; or have it on a desktop at the office that has back-up power, or whatever.  The point is that your emergency contact information must be available to you in any emergency.  Not later, not by calling assistants to try and find it, not “hoping” you can find the contact for that person that you know can help you.

Create and take control of your most special of career-saving resources by bring it all together … and make it your business to be able to access it where-so-ever-the-problem may be.  And do it now before you need it. 

A Fading Opportunity

Summer 2009

POSSIBLY POWERPOINT may be diminishing your capability to enhance your meetings.  Let us pause and consider the parts of a meeting.  Basically there are two kinds of planning responsibilities that run parallel.  You may do all of it or a mixture of some of all of it.  But let’s build a common arrangement.

One part consists of the Event’s Management:  This includes Location, Facility, Transportation, Logistics for the meeting, meals and lodging, and all sorts of pieces that make an event run well.

The other part of any meeting is the Content Development:  This covers the Purpose, the intended Message, the Presenters who will tell the message, the Reinforcement of that message, the related Materials to be supplied … all relating to the need for the meeting, but none of the Event’s Management.

A necessary part is the presenting of an overall theme, coordinated supplies and presenter’s support to give power to the message and value to the meeting.  This is where PowerPoint comes into play.  This software is a blessing because it is easy to use and can be an important professional support vehicle throughout the sessions.  But it is the “easiness” of the software that is fading some important opportunities.

Graphics, drama, and professional appearance may be fading within your meetings if PowerPoint has become the “List Builder” used within a talk or the “Displayed Script” some presenters use as a prop.  Any meeting is expensive and can also be a time-waster if it does not bring value to the attendees and to the company.  Presenters must provide a powerful message to fulfill their purpose, of course.  But are you, as planner, interested in helping enhance the purpose of the meeting?  What will the Printed Program look like?  What will the Theme Slides (the opening visuals) look like?  Will there be any Entertainment Value when coffee breaks are announced or when the most important points of the meeting are announced?

PowerPoint has many remarkable attributes if wisely developed and used.  There are all sorts of local talent to help you use it wisely, handsomely, and attractively.  Fight against “just doing it easily,” and intend to help build a better meeting by offering “remarkable, impressive, prideful professional” theme support.  

Daily Opportunities for Kindness

Spring 2009

A COUPLE WAS DRIVING, cutting across the territory on a less-used four-lane road, when the traffic light in front of them turned red.  There were no other cars clustered around them so the driver moved over from the right lane into the left lane before stopping.  The rider asked the driver why that had been done and the reply was that the road crossing ahead was a major street and to the right was a community that most folks would turn right to go there.  The driver was simply clearing the right lane so others could turn right if any cars actually came up from behind.

 For fun they both watched (it was one of those long traffic lights because it was not a heavily traveled road they were on), and sure enough about four cars were able to turn right because of the “opened” lane available to them.  The rider was surprised and sort of pleased to see all of this painlessly happen.

Is this kind of situation a new discovery to you?  Perhaps you have taken such a convenience as accidental, not realizing the benefit you received was intended and initiated by someone else!?! 

One of our great challenges as a skilled human being is to tune our alertness so that we can recognize some opportunity that would please someone else… even when they do not know it. At your office, at your meetings, all day long you may be able to share a smile, relieve a concern, simplify someone’s task, give a pat-on-the-back of appreciation … or simply stop at a traffic light in such a way that someone else could do as they need to do.  And, if you realize that someone has just shared an act of thoughtfulness with you, you need to be sure to acknowledge it if you can.

Perhaps you’ll have noticed that people involved in the hospitality and meetings business seem unusually alert, extra thoughtful, and especially supportive.  Be sure to do your own part in continuing that tradition.  Everyone will benefit. 

Winter 2009

Wecome to Tight Times

WE ARE LIVING IN TIGHT financial times -- possibly as spooky as you have ever experienced.  So let us take a tiny bit of time to visit about your job, your employer, you, and what you can do to help each of those responsibilities.

Often we find ourselves so trapped in a cycle of deadline-focused panic that we don’t find time to consider what we could be doing to help our situation.  Thus, I invite you to ponder just the length of this page and discover a new thought pattern.  In no special order, and certainly this is not a complete list, “Have you thought about…”

Greener Meetings, Greener Employer  -  Some alertness could help your image and a contrast against competitors.

Innovative Budget Savings  -  Now is the time to show “cost” sensitivity.

Better Utilization of Internet  -  A repository of lists, a custom-to-your-company reference resource, a past meetings’ data collection.

More Effective Meetings  -  How to cause more immediate results, how to expand useful content.

Reduced Costs  -  Suddenly rate and location costs are negotiable, again.  Many costs are down, not up. Is that an advantage?

Shorter Meetings  -  One nighters?  Electronic support or enhancements?  More closer-in regional meetings?

Take Care of Your Boss  -  Have you yet recognized that your career is related to your bosses’ success or survival?  Provide support.

Sweating the Details  -  In hard times and in panic times, alertness and effective performance matters more.  Pay extra attention to details.

ROI (Return on Investment)  -  If you have not been proving the benefit and results of your job, now is the time to share it.  It may indeed require some study but you’ll survive only if you are valuable, so prove it.

Because of You “Good Things” Can Happen  -  Prove the point, share the successes, volunteer to help solve problems, remind of positive results of the past.

Eliminate Annoying Problems  -  If you are good enough to organize valuable and productive meetings, then you are alert and perceptive.  Offer those skills.

Meetings Exist Because They Produce Important Results  -   Communications, reinforcement, trust building, inspiration, espirit de corps.  Only gatherings can provide all these things to a wide audience.   

Fall 2008

Your Daily Actions Affect Others

YOUR DAILY ACTIONS affect others, and you already know that.  But, I’d like to suggest that you intentionally intend to “Plant seeds of Benefits and Encouragement” as part of your routine.

My, my, such lofty thinking.  But let me share a story that was not planned, but ultimately had great and kind results.  One-upon-a-time a salesman called upon a young man at a medium-sized company whose products and personal style were genuinely admired by the young man.   But, at that particular time he had no budget, thus no need for those services.

He did ask for a chance to see an item and the salesman walked him out to his car and his “showroom” was his trunk.  After a long career this salesman had decided to go out on his own and this was one of his early “cold calls.”  The young man was not a prospect and was hardly even a suspect.  But, he was so impressed that he offered to call a friend in an adjacent city with a much larger company and recommend that the two meet.

Some 15 years later at an industry banquet this young man was presented with an overly generous, absolutely delightful gift as retiring president of a particular organization.  When it was all over, the young man sought-out the presenter and asked him how in the world he could justify the expense because there had been no such budget.

The presenter smiled and asked if the young man knew a certain person.  The response was that the name was familiar but that was all.  The presenter then explained that he had gone to a certain specialty store and was busy looking for an item for presentation when the owner asked him to describe the recipient so as to help with the selection.  As that conversation developed the owner realized the gift was for the young man from a nearby city of 15 years earlier who had been helpful to him.  He then said to the presenter that he could have anything in the store at no additional cost because this young man gave him the contact and recommendation that had helped him become a success.

Summer 2008

What you SAY really isn't important.

SURPRISED?  Forgive my semi-stupid statement.  To say it differently, “Are you listening to what they hear?”  This subtle warning may be one of the most vital communications concepts that you’ve yet to consider.

In your work, you must regularly communicate with your boss, your meeting attendees, your selected hotel staff and a wide variety of suppliers.  Allow me to share with you a potentially career-saving professional secret - What is heard is much more important than what is said.

In addition to a career of meeting planning, I’ve also had a parallel career in communications.  Last week I was hired to consult with a new company and was attending meetings at its headquarters.  While there I witnessed a heated disagreement between two very important people in the organization.  The whole place was on its ear about their verbal altercation.

The important message to learn is that it isn’t valuable what you say when you are trying to communicate an idea.  What does matter is what the other person hears.  Of course, your intention is to share information accurately.  Great.  But consider this - the only thing that really matters to you is that the person correctly understands what you intended to communicate.

Effective communication occurs only when the receiver hears the message exactly as you intended.  Many times they do not.

So what is the secret of successful verbal communications?  Dial your mind into the person with whom you’re communicating.

Sales people listen differently than accountants.  To get your intended message across to the other person (or group) you must aim for their interests, their knowledge level, and perhaps most importantly, their level of trust in you.  When you learn to shape your thoughts and ideas toward your listener, then magic happens.

Back to my story of the unfortunate disagreement.  Instantly I knew the problem, knew other issues that had everyone nervous, and overheard what each had said.  When the three of us visited I explained that each had spoken about their own feelings, in anger, faulting the other.  Both agreed and soon realized that if either had spoken of the actual situation rather than their own annoyance, they would not have said what they both deeply regretted.  Both were amazed at the simple concept of communication based on how and what the other person was going to hear.

The practice of listening to what others hear will be of great value. 

Spring 2008

Should You "Green" Your Meetings?

LET’S TALK.  There is a great deal being said about “Saving the Planet.”  Your company may or may not have taken on this calling in a serious way.  Are you open to a conversation about it?

Before we begin, there are two basic rules that we should all understand.  Rule #1:  Your responsibility is to create and manage effective meetings to the benefit of your employer. 

Rule #2:  Never do anything that does not support Rule #1.

With these guidelines in mind, let’s consider the topic of  “Greening.”  There are a whole bunch of things you can do painlessly to enhance your effective meeting management and sensitize your company.  Here’s a few simple ones to consider:  Print most hand-outs on both sides - that cuts some paper use in half!  Choose your badges or notebook binders because they will be bio-degradable or use less toxic materials.  If you offer bottled water, either select a brand that uses an eco-friendly bio-degradable design, or use glass tumblers rather than plastic. 

Is this a complication to your meeting?  Nope.  But it does require a bit of thought and possibly some Internet research for suggestions and advice.

There are several other notable observations to share:  Don’t get carried away as if you’re on a crusade.  Only a fool annoys the attendees or the boss.  Everyone will be pleased with clever solutions and positive actions so long as you are helping the company, the attendees as well as the environment.

If indeed you chose to “Green” your meeting, first get your boss’ permission.  Develop a cost measurement so you can report on the savings (or the expenses - not all changes will be cheaper), on the wisely chosen materials, or on the reduction in waste. 

You’ll want to tell all attendees what steps you have taken and why.  And you’ll want to have a complete summary to send to your boss.  The more you tune-in to this project, the more results you will discover.  Isn’t that what your job is all about!?!  

Winter 2008

Causing Highlights

AS THE EVENT’S COORDINATOR, you’ll have covered the facility, food, meeting room needs, registration, presenters, and all the myriad details that both justify your responsibilities and consume your time.

In truth, your badge of distinction comes from doing all of the above well and efficiently,  so let’s move beyond the necessary, the practical, and the obvious.  Let us ponder something else that can be a part of your “skills display.”

Consider how to make your events memorable in a pleasing, thoughtful way.  We are talking about moving from satisfying your boss - an important goal, to be sure - to delighting your attendees.  Everyone expects all the necessary things (appropriate food served on time, adequate facilities, etc.), but life is more than just the necessary.  You, more than most, can help create those touches of magic that can turn an ordinary event into a memorable one.  We are not talking about large amounts of money; we are talking about unique, thoughtful, special-to-that-attending-group actions to please the collection of people for which you have some responsibility.

Consider an event where a printed program is to be supplied with lists of recognized people and other important information.  We live in the digital age of instant printing, so why not have printed, full-color photographs in the program taken that very day?  Yes, it is a delight to have a slide show of highlights of the meeting where everyone sees others from that event; that is easily done with one roaming photographer.  In addition to that, or in lieu of it, a series of printed pictures in the program is both surprising and impressive.  Most of the program could be pre-printed except for the photo page.

What about a custom CD of a presentation, or presentations, of that day being distributed at the end!?!  Preprinting of the CD labels saves time and production of the CDs is inexpensive, quick … and very impressive.

As a demonstration of unique event highlights:  at a banquet for Mr. Stanley Marcus, creating a small pamphlet listing all the “His and Her Christmas Gifts” and “Fortnights” never before brought together is one memorable idea.  Have a Bowl Game banquet coming up?  How about creating a small deck of cards, each featuring the Game Day printed program cover on one side of the card and a summary of each game on the other?  Too complex?  OK, consider a Top Ten leaders booklet, or a list of enjoyable trivia of your company.  The point is to touch your attendees in a favorable way. 

It is your event – suggest how to make it special. 

Fall 2007

Details Matter

I'VE BEEN ASKED to share this story.  While most readers will never see such a situation, it is a reminder that meeting professionals should manage all parts of all events.

At an insurance company, we’d planned an honor trip to Hong Kong with the super stars going first to Beijing.  After all was set-up and organizing completed and the qualifiers had made their goal, new out-of-state owners decided to sell the company.  My department was eliminated and I was transferred to a subsidiary, which shouldn’t be important except… read on.

An executive decided to take the “planner’s” roll and precede the group to Beijing.  He required that one of the travel coordinators we hired to help us must travel with him and his wife.  Thus, when the group’s plane left Tokyo for Beijing, no professional was on the plane – after all, someone saw the 15 couples off – and the executive and professional would greet them in Beijing.

While over China the pilots began to exceed the international rule of number of hours in the air that day, so the plane was diverted to a Chinese military base rather than fly on to Beijing.   The plane landed and there was only one English speaker on board, a new bride with all her gifts.  She was ever so helpful, yet concerned.

Imagine the concern of “my” people when taken off the plane to a small hotel outside an isolated military base somewhere in China.  The men stayed up all night to “protect their wives and themselves.”

In Beijing it took a long time to determine why the plane had not arrived because it had left Tokyo.  The next morning the group re-boarded and found the bride had been beaten up and all her gifts stolen.  They were then asked to deplane again and refused.  They did ultimately arrive safely one day late.

Our plans had included having a professional on board that plane who would at least have been in contact and would have also had more “power” than those 30 non-native speakers who were simply seen as tourists.

As additional note:  After an enjoyable visit within Beijing and Hong Kong, all the group were several days home when Tiananmen Square occurred… so things could have been even worse.

Summer 2007

Are You Helping Yourself Help Yourself?

THE ART FORM OF COLLECTING IDEAS – and the value of doing so - would appear to be obvious, but somehow it does not seem to work out that way. Let’s face it; the planning that you do to produce a meeting (or any project for that matter) follows a certain pattern. You’ll have a checklist of things needed: accommodations, meeting space, room layout, supplies desired … and that list goes on.
 
 What you will next be doing is checking on the “flow” of things: subjects to cover, announcement, attendee list, speakers … and that list goes on.
 
 Each of the above will have been developed from experience, suggestions and making some improvements from a recent event. You are no doubt looked upon as a quasi-professional within your company. All this is good.
 
 But there is another step beyond being graded as “Good” – and that is in being graded as being “Great.” And the truth is that you already understand that the next step comes by improving your events in noticeable, satisfying ways.
 
 There are several secrets in becoming “Great.” The easiest one is in building an “Idea File.” Simple? Yep! But are you actually doing that? When you attended someone else’s meeting and admired the room layout, or registration, or handout materials – did you make a note to yourself about it and actually put it into a file? Or when you read of a clever concept in some industry publication, did you cut it out, or make yourself a note … and put it in your file? Every idea captured is a resource for you, and especially you. It represents a beginning thought that you may change or improve upon. It is like a garden – nothing will grow without some attention (water and nutrients).
 
 All this may sound so simple, even stupid, if you are not a believer. But I know no highly regarded meeting professional that does not improve themselves by building a resource file of neat ideas, concepts, solutions, actions or the avoidance of some problem you’ve once had. Torn-out paragraphs, cut-out articles or 3 x 5 cards dropped into a file or pasted into a book can become your “Improvement File.”
 
 There is even a delightful (free) software program that you ought to be using: www.EverNote.com. The basic program is free, and all you need. It provides a date, time, and easy search of your notes. See something, highlight it and “click” and you have captured it in your own computer. Now what is your excuse for not helping yourself help yourself?!?   

Enjoying the Journey

Spring 2007

IN THIS SPACE OVER THE YEARS we’ve shared “insider” stories, examples and solutions for the benefit of meeting planners. In thinking about what has been shared, and what ought to be told next, one thought kept coming to mind – “Enjoying the Journey.” It does not matter how you became involved in meetings - whether you asked for that responsibility or you were assigned that “opportunity”- it happened. Certainly that “duty” then became a part of your career path.

So let’s step back and look at this “duty:” what it means to you and what it means for you. The specialness of designing and developing a meeting is that you will directly impact a group of people. Most jobs don’t offer immediate results, or the opportunity to see your work in action. But you will know that you avoided certain problems, prevented some predictable situations, and that you have met the multifaceted goal assigned to you.

Yes, the requirements of the meetings kept being changed on you, and, yes, either the budget or your support staffing was less than you desired. But haven’t you found that to be true in other things in life also!?!

Let’s look at this situation from a different angle. (1) It became your responsibility to do these meetings. (2) You have the opportunity to do a superb job and even get recognition for doing well. (3) Well done work does not remain unnoticed. (4) Meetings have a dynamic of their own and your skill in making this event better, more valuable, and a pleasing event will matter to your boss.

Thus you found yourself with a goal to achieve. A target was placed upon you. Since that is true, you need to recognize that there is a “Journey” along the way to reaching that goal.

Therefore, logic (and good sense) suggests that you learn to enjoy your journey. Begin by sub-dividing this task into pieces and parts. Of course, you’ll begin finding ways to satisfy those parts. Along the way you’ll begin to recognize subtle ways to either make the rhythm and flow of the meeting be smoother or more powerful. And you’ll improve the ease of registration, the usefulness of the handouts and other ways to assure that their value to the event is better. These steps are all parts of your journey toward a goal. If you begin to actually “enjoy” doing these steps, you’ll find your task much more satisfying. And folks, that step turns your task into a pleasant experience … and a finer result.  

Help, Support, & Guidance for You
Winter 2007

Let’s visit about an organization named “Meeting Professional International” (MPI). Perhaps you’ve heard about it, or possibly you are a member. That doesn’t matter – read on.

The organization known as MPI has become the world’s largest organization of meeting planners and meeting services suppliers. It has grown to have 45 individual chapters in the US, 8 in Canada and 14 in other countries. There are 20,000+ members now.

This is remarkable when its purpose is not some grand save-the-world crusade, but indeed is focused on the meetings industry. The only requirement is to answer one of two questions with a “Yes.” Are you involved in meeting planning at all? Are you involved in supplying services to meeting planners?

If not a member, why? All it can do is help you. There is a resource library with many special-to-your-needs publications. There are education programs entirely intended to help you do a better job for your boss … and you. And if there is a chapter near you, it represents the finest opportunity to seek other opinions, trusted suppliers, ideas you may use and the list of advantages to you and your boss is broad, long and especially helpful.

If you are already a member, are you serving on a committee? Have you volunteered for some task? Why bother? – Only because it will help you. Involvement will expose you to good people, impressive ideas, trusted confidants … or even help you find out who you don’t want to help you because you don’t like their advice or style. The more involved you become, the more valuable you become to your boss, and to your career.

Isn’t it delightful that such a large organization exists as a benefit to you!?! In addition to monthly chapter meetings, and a monthly magazine, there are two North American Conferences with displays of all kinds of neat and clever items you should know about, and there are several days full of classes on all kinds of subjects – all of them intended only for meeting planners or suppliers.

Expensive? Not really, but your employer ought to pay for MPI, its chapter luncheon meetings and at least one North American Conference. Without question you will be better experienced, wiser, more productive, more useful and even more effective.

Not a bad trade-off for a small bit of your time. 

Let Your Alertness Show
Fall 2006

When it comes to your planning “opportunity” to develop and “run” a meeting, you actually have the inside track on doing your best … and doing it well enough that others will notice. The eternal challenge for a meeting planner is that when things run so smoothly, your efforts may be overlooked because everything seems “normal,” “natural,” even “effortless.”

But there are things you can do to the event’s materials that add a subtle “Wow” feature. These are small things that can contribute to everyone convenience, or that are helpful to each attendee.

Let me name three that perhaps you already do – but let us consider whether you could do them better. The lowly Name Tag can now be an incredibly useful item because of personal computers and easily bought supplies. When you create a name tag, you can also easily create a Receipt that is part of the tag. Or you can print a brief Schedule of Events that folds over (or to the side) in the tag holder. Or you can print-out event tickets needed to attend certain events – and all can be individualized. All this from the lowly Name Tag.

Or perhaps your meeting would benefit from a different (or better) Quick Reference list of events, room location, subject, etc. You have control of the information. Take the challenge of making an especially useful summary sheet that fits in a pocket or becomes a book-mark.

And, have you considered a really useful, helpful list of attendees and speakers? Name, city (or mailing address), contact information (including e-mail address). Sure all this is available “somewhere” – but should not your supplied materials be the best of all, rather than just “stuff” provided by an impersonal don’t-care-much type individual?

It is so very satisfying when you realize the many little things you can do to enhance the things you manage. Give it your very best and others will begin to appreciate your professionally capabilities. 

Pleasing the Boss and Getting Credit, Too
Summer 2006

Most meeting planners suffer the disadvantage of doing good, smooth work … and your results sort of being taken for granted. There is a practical way to begin showing (proving) your worth and its value to the organization.

Do you write a summary report? Do you bother to provide information on changes and improvements made, or on problems that arose and were solved? If you don’t do this, then either someone else got credit, or it was presumed that there were no problems.

There is a smart way to receive some recognition. It begins with compiling a report that tells how many attended, a summary of the program … and anything else that is useful to the boss. Don’t forget that your boss also has a boss somewhere and can benefit from having useful information to share.

But the smart part is to have a series of "Footnotes" or "Action Notes" that you add that identifies a room change, a cost savings, an improvement, a smoothing-out of registration or some such detail. Never give too much information – it is boring and can sound boastful – but always use appropriate adverbs and adjectives: "successfully solved," "smoothed out," "relieved congestion," "eliminated surcharge," "assisted," etc.

I must caution that there is an art form to doing a good, productive report. Always remember that your boss (or whosoever had requested the meeting you supervised) had a reason and purpose for having the event. Your report needs to serve as being valuable to that person. But it is ever-so-important to you that you explain what you did that made everything work so well. Was there a successful price negotiation at the beginning? Was there a hotel or location choice that proved to have been beneficial? Is there a change you’d suggest for the next time? Have you been telling of such information all along (?) – if so, a summary reminds that you were indeed working hard and smartly for them!

Do not take for granted that your "stay-up-late-at-night" work is known or remembered. Always see yourself as a Professional, and professionals provide honest, straightforward information in some permanent report. But the key ingredient for you is to add the information that acknowledges your involvement and concern for a job well done. 

Your Legs, or the Tables?
Spring 2006

It sounds mundane, even trivial, but a meeting organizer’s special opportunities are often hidden in the small details that impact the style and comfort of a gathering. Recognizing a source of potential irritation and eliminating it in advance is a major victory.

Wisely-designed seating and table arrangements assist in making a better meeting. The smooth flow of sessions, announcements, coffee service, meals, check-in and check-outs are all important. Most are controllable, adjustable and can be altered.

Let’s talk about table legs.

There are two primary designs for the legs on rectangular hotel tables. One has the legs at the very end of the table. The other, and most common type, has the legs located about one foot in from the end of the table. When putting two of these tables together, end to end, four people are forced to straddle a leg. When putting two of the first type of tables together only one of your guests will be inconvenienced. The facility you are using may not offer the better choice but it’s important to know this in advance.

I once attended a presentation made by senior executives of a major hotel chain. The executives were at a “head” table and the collection of meeting planners were at tables in the audience. The hotel execs asked the planners for suggestions about how to improve stack chairs and other hotel banquet equipment. A veteran planner in the audience stood up and asked, “For those of you seated at the head table, if you are straddling a table leg, please raise your hand.” One-in-three raised their hand. The planner then asked the “leg straddlers” if they would be comfortable at an all day meeting. Their answer was, “of course not.” The triumphant planner-lady then quietly said, “Gentlemen, this is the choice you have given us.”

You may not always get the better tables. But, if you recognize the potential problem and adjust the seating, your solution will have eliminated a “leg straddling” irritation.

Isn’t that what a “planner” is anyway – a problem solver?!? If there were no problems, there would be no need for professional planners. Smoothness matters. Allow me to offer one small suggestion. Include all of the changes and improvements you made prior to the meeting plus the results of these changes in your meeting summary report to your management. 

Ten Tiny Words
Winter 2006

If it is to be, it is up to me. Those 10 tiny two-letter words can represent both sides of your coin of success. Those words describe a professional commitment on your part; a declared acceptance that you accept the responsibility for your job and its duties.

Yet those same words can also represent an opportunity to show your skills in a most dramatic way…if you define your job from a slightly different perspective.

Many of us find ourselves not making time for a private, critical review of the final plans of an upcoming event. You certainly will have automatically covered the basics, but frequently we feel too busy to consider the simple things that can improve the event. You should set aside some quiet time, begin at the beginning, and feel your way through the entire event. There may be exciting discoveries available. Here are two personal examples.

I once realized that by rearranging my program and several scheduled events, I could afford a special speaker who not only had a significant success story but, early in his career, had worked within the same industry as my employer. He could work his success story around what he had learned within my industry, just as my audience desired to do for themselves. It was a major improvement to the content of the program and could only have happened after I’d acquired some additional information. My boss also recognized that the speaker added a strong benefit to his desired purpose for the meeting.

The next example shows that alertness can improve your program at no additional cost.

For my employer I had developed a sales reward trip to Switzerland and Monaco. The budget allowed for an airline flight from Zurich to Monaco. After a short, critical review I realized that if I put two couples together, for the same money we could rent Mercedes Benzs’ for everyone plus provide a unique meal along the way. Instead of an unremarkable flight, we enjoyed a Mercedes caravan adventure from Switzerland, through France, to Monaco that fit within the budget and created a memorable experience for our guests.

Both stories point out that a careful review of your plan can provide an impressive improvement … without increasing your budget.

Bosses admire such valuable recommendations. 

Two Rules for Responding to a Crisis
Fall 2005

The New Orleans hurricane disaster will remain in everyone’s “Hall of Horrors,” especially meeting planners, for years to come. Fortunately, there are two rules that will help any planner make it through a difficult situation.

Rule #1: Start your recovery from where you are now. Don’t look back and second guess how you could have avoided the situation. Don’t build a “blame list” of who let you down. Don’t fret about why you are surrounded by the mess. Start your recovery with where you are now and aim for where you need to be. Whatever the problem, it is the now that’s critical. Sure it sounds simple, but most folks fret about the source of the problem instead of moving toward the solution. Make the decision that brings relief and then aim directly for it.

Rule #2: You are not alone. Recognize your assets and use them - teammates, other departments within the company, or others outside the organization who have the expertise you need. Most organizers regularly use the skills of others in some way. Let’s not believe that we stand alone without help or support. Of course, the help may require a financial investment, but your boss will be interested in your solutions, and the solution has value. A meeting planner’s goal is to be effective and create a smooth and focused result – right!?! Then do just that.

I’m aware of a planner who looked at a wrist watch and said, “The charter aircraft is now in the air coming our way.” Just then the teacup on the table on the hotel balcony in the foreign city rattled as an earthquake occurred. The quake severely damaged the hotel the group on the charter flight was planning to use. Oops!

Because of the coordinated efforts of local ground operators, bus companies, an incentive company and others, when the jet arrived, the guests boarded busses that ferried them to a brand-new, not yet opened hotel – undamaged by the earthquake. Yes, as the guests were checking in, they were given light bulbs and other supplies for their rooms, and yes, their new beds were still being prepared. But, they had a new, fancy, secure place to enjoy and the meeting, considered a big success, went on as scheduled. Isn’t that how meeting planners are ultimately measured?!?  

Trust Your Gut Feeling
Summer 2005

My favorite example of a meeting planner’s value will require the reader to read the whole story that I share. This event is more lavish than many will ever do, but the important thing is the conduct of the planner. It validates that instinct matters and concerns are signals. Pay attention to yourself.

Some years ago a U.S.-based company had a reward trip planned to Vienna, Austria. It had been a complicated year with several terrorist events, but the company and its planner felt comfortable. On the day that the meeting’s team had its final check-all-the-lists, sweat-all-the-details countdown meeting, another attack occurred in Europe. They still planned to mail the airline tickets that afternoon.

But when the planner returned to his office, saw calls of concern from several travelers, and thought about it objectively, he decided that their team would not be in control and could not assure the safety of the company’s employees. His gut feeling told him that the trip abroad must be called off and proceeded to inform the company’s president of that decision.

The president objected until the planner told him that he would no longer go because others saw the planner as their safety factor, and the situation was now beyond his control. The planner recommended that they still have the trip on the same dates, stateside. The president felt they need not do so much work for the meeting at a new place, on such short notice. But the planner knew that everyone had the dates set aside, spouses had arranged vacations, and kids’ plans made.

All of the military veterans became angry that the planner had “given in” to the terrorists. But the meeting was moved, and did occur less than two weeks later, at a deluxe resort in Tucson. On the second day, the planner stood before the full room and announced that last evening, while they all slept, there had been a nuclear explosion in Chernobyl, Russia. A dark cloud of nuclear radiation had moved across the continent and had reached Vienna. They all would have been there and exposed to the fallout if the original plan had been kept in place.

Everyone in the room realized they and their families had been spared from a disaster. There had been early criticism of the planner, yet he knew the correct thing was done, against considerable pressure, because of his gut feeling. I was that planner.