SURVIVOR SOCAL. . .

Where is my “heavenly bed”?

Twice a year we bring our Leadership Team together with our business consultant Steve Wilders. At our summer retreat, we review our progress against our plan, make any adjustments necessary for the remainder of the year, assess the market, and re-focus our team effort to deliver a successful year.

As we started to make plans for this year’s summer outing – the theme SURVIVOR kept playing in my head. This year – our goal is to survive, to get through this economic meltdown and to keep our service and reputation in tact. The worst part of the year has been the down-sizing of offices and the corresponding personnel adjustments. These are good people, and we want to do the best we can for our staff.

So - what to do mid-year…how to motivate and inspire staff in a dismal business environment. . . how to have fun . . .how to get the work done that needs to get accomplished. . . and how to do it on a dime? Hmm - sounds just like the challenges facing our clients and the daily solutions we our selves are being asked to provide.

Early one morning while hiking Mt. Helix, I decided that our Leadership Retreat would be an adventure. Focusing on the message OUTWIT – OUTPLAY – OUTLAST, Steve and I planned our program. No hotel rooms, no restaurant or catered meals, no comforts. Our job was to challenge our team - to do everything for themselves and to do it with limited funds and time. Their only instructions r eceived in advance - they could bring a sleeping bag and backpack.

On day one, the team met at a designated location and was given their instructions, which included specified stops, photo documentation, buying all the food for the group and finding our ultimate destination in 3 hours, GET GOING. Once we re-convened mid-day in a campsite outside of San Diego, they had to make lunch, set their tents, compete in challenges and prepare dinner on an open fire.

Last event of the day – we watched the movie, Apollo 13 under the stars with a fire to warm u s and the lessons of survival, teamwork and determination to be re-learned.

Day two started with an early morning hike, a review of the lessons from the movie, more challenges, breaking camp and reflection. What have we done well this year? What are our greatest accomplishments? What can each of us do to be part of the solution?

The feedback on our retreat. . . – “one of the best ever”, “inspiring”, “fun”, “money well spent”, “the right message for these times” – GREAT TEAMBUILDING!

So, I always ask the question – what did we learn?

• We learned that $$ doesn’t equal fun
• That lessons in teamwork are some of the best lessons in life
• That we can get by with a lot less than we are used to
• We learned (again) to focus on our future – not our past
• We were reminded to focus our energy on what we can control
• Limit exposure to negativity – the world is full of beauty and opportunity
• Do the work – no matter how challenging, keep moving forward

That heavenly bed – oh yeah, that was another lesson. There is no place like home – and that night when we returned to our homes, we appreciated our family and our comforts more than ever. We are surviving and more than that, we are doing it as a team!

THE LEMONADE STAND IS OPEN

We had a visit today from one of our favorite business partners, Ray Gosselin, from Epic Entertainment. We have worked together for more than 20 years and truly value our partnership. As we sat and discussed “the state of the industry”, he shared with us a most inspiring story. He told us of a cancelled program that was to take place last weekend with name entertainer Terry Fator -the ventriloquist/impersonator from “America’s Got Talent”- who now headlines his own show in Las Vegas. As in so many cases, the corporate host paid for the entertainer, including the cancellation expenses. The predictable course of action would have been to cancel the performance. However, Ray talked with Terry’s agent and then with the commander of MCRD (Marine Corp Recruit Depot) here in San Diego, and together, they brought Terry Fater to town to entertain 1,400 military personnel, wounded warriors, and their families.

Now why isn’t that in the news? Cancellations are happening all around us at alarming rates. In many cases, there are resources that have been paid for and abandoned. If we can’t stop the cancellations, can’t we look for ways to “turn lemons into lemonade”? Can hoteliers make cancelled rooms available at significantly discounted rates to military families, Make-A-Wish Foundation, and other organizations that could use the assistance more than ever as donations and philanthropies have been impacted by reduced giving?

Consider the possibilities if you are in a position to make a difference. Focus your energy on the things you can control. Take the time to identify what you can do, how you can help, and be the kind of partner you would like to have. We have always valued Ray as a partner – and his efforts to turn this business disappointment into something really good and really special is proof once again of why he is such a respected and important partner to TMM.

Spending with Purpose

I keep thinking about this topic – and have finally decided to put my thoughts out there to share. Like all of us in the event and meetings industry, I am so tired of having people “shoot us between the eyes” when information about a corporate meeting or incentive program makes its way to the news. Is there one of us who has not experienced significant cancellation of business in 2009 as a response to “perception?" We are seeing dangerous shifts in public opinion and regulatory requirements that are driving change in the ways company conduct business.

An article published by the U.S. Travel Association clearly outlines the risks before us:
• Incentive travel perceived as a symbol of excess
• New regulatory restrictions
• Temporary changes in travel policy that may become permanent

What Can be Done?
What is our realm of influence?
What is prudent cost management and how can we best support appropriate disciplines?
How do we safeguard the reputation of our industry and products?

We must work together to define the issue and distinguish responsible meetings and events from perceived boondoggles. We have to define and educate the absolute importance of our industry’s survival because of the economic impact we have in communities and not to mention,the millions of jobs and families we support. We are an economic and professional force, and we have to work together to make sure our voice is heard...

We have to think smart; think responsibly; think with purpose. How do we maximize the positive benefits of our meetings and events? How do we make sure that every dollar spent has a purpose – and a re-purpose? Let me invite writers from our local paper to see what it is we are doing to ensure the shared benefit of dollars spent in our area of service. It isn’t business as usual – but it is business with intention and purpose. Educate; train; inspire; reward – and do it with conscientious and purposeful planning.