3 Keys To Decision Making

May 10, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Us guys love a great sports story.  And when we can get an analogy out of it, we like it even better.

I was reading a story about the San Francisco 49ers, who went to the Super Bowl.  Their coach, Jim Harbaugh, made a big decision halfway through the season to change  quarterbacks.  Alex Smith had been their starting qb until an injury.  He was replaced by Colin Kaepernick, and that decision divided the locker room.

Can you blame the teammates for being divided?  The QB is the defacto leader for the team, and when he’s benched, many people get upset.

Think about the decision Coach Harbaugh had to make.  Smith was, and had been the guy, but he sensed a change was needed.  I’m sure Harbaugh had his reasons, but making that decision and sticking to it had to be tough.

As an event planner, big decisions need to be made every day.  You have to be willing to make those.

Here are 3 quick thoughts on decision making:

  1. Don’t be scared to make a decision.  Some leaders will let the consensus of a group make the decision.  I’m not sure this is the best way to lead.  Had Harbaugh let the locker room make the decision of starting QB, Smith probably would have been the guy.  They 49ers might not have made the Super Bowl.
  2. Stick with your decision.  Waffling is not allowed.  That is even more hurtful to the team.  For Harbaugh, there was really no going back.  If you thought through all angles of your decision, own it.
  3. 3.  Don’t worry what others think.  As a leader, you have to stand head and shoulders above the crowd.  Think Harbaugh cared what others thought of his decision?  I’m going to say no.  It was his and his alone to make.  Had it failed, he most certainly would have gotten the blame.

There is a new book out that I’ve just started called Decisive: How To Make Better Choices In Live And Work by Chip and Dan Heath.   I’m looking forward to digging into it deeper to help me make better decisions.

 

TAGS: San Francisco 49ers, decision making, leadership

Filed Under: Leadership Helps Tagged With: , ,

3 Ideas On Giving Back

April 29, 2013 By Leave a Comment

I have two great mentors in my life.  These are gentlemen that I talk to about business, family, God and life in general.  They have helped me tremendously, and I’m grateful for their willingness to give back.  Because of them, I have been challenge to give back and to look for opportunities to mentor others.

Being a mentor was demonstrated in the Bible by Paul who guided a young Timothy in the ways of being a Christ follower.  Jesus was a mentor to his disciples, and through them the early church was formed.

We all get bogged down in our busy day-to-day lives.  Stopping to guide someone or simply to answer a question can be very rewarding for both sides.

Are you wanting to give back, but don’t know how?  Here are 3 ideas:

  1. Speak in front of students.  Many schools across different age groups have career days.  Take that opportunity to volunteer to speak on event planning and having a career as an event planner.  Give out your contact information to those who are interested in learning more.
  2. Have interns work for you.  This is my favorite way to teach.  We always have interns at our office, and sometimes the interns have worked their way into a full time job.  We don’t treat our interns as coffee or dry cleaning gophers, but rather they become part of the family sitting in on meetings and learning the ins and outs of our organization.  This is the way to treat interns.  They are there to learn.  Teach them!
  3. Teach on the Internet.  I’ve heard it said, “the Internet is the future of education.”  That is so true.  You can learn so much by a simple Google search.  Start a blog teaching your way of event planning.  Be sure to post your contact information so people can email you with questions.  Remember it’s a way to give back.

How do you give back?  Have you found a way that works for you?  Share in the comments.

Filed Under: Leadership Helps, Teambuilding Tagged With: ,

4 Ways To React To Incidents

April 26, 2013 By Leave a Comment

We’ve seen our share of tragedy these past few weeks.  It started with the Boston Marathon bombings, then the horrific fertilizer plant explosion in West, TX and a few others.

Incidents like these affect your event.  How you react to them can be key.

Here’s a few things to take in account when an incident happens:

  1. Your event can provide a nice diversion from the craziness of the media.  When 9/11 happened, the news media was never ending.  Personally, I needed a distraction.  I went to my local record store to get a break.  I needed the appearance of normalcy in my own life.  The flip side of that was the NFL.  They, and rightfully so, cancelled games that week.  A conference call to discuss the issue took place among player representatives, and the players on the New York teams voiced their opinion that the games couldn’t be played that week because they could see the fires from their facilities.  9/11 is obviously an event we hope never happens again in the United States.
  2. Don’t overreact.  An event was happening at my church recently on a Saturday morning at 10 AM.  When we woke up that morning, it was snowing.  Nashville is notorious for it’s drivers not being able to handle snow.  The event was canceled, but the roads were clear just a little after 10 AM.  I understand the liability issues with canceling the event.  But this event probably could have been delayed by an hour and still gone on that day.
  3. Prayerful consideration.  As Christians, this is the first place we should go.  Hit your knees immediately, and ask God to give you wisdom to make the correct decision for your event.
  4. Your event could have a chance to lead.  Adding a fundraising component to your event or a special way to honor victims of a tragedy, is a way your event can be a shining example to the world.  Don’t be afraid to shine your light bright!

Our world is completely different, but our God still sits on His throne.  No matter what incident happens, we can rest in knowing He’s still in control.

Filed Under: Leadership Helps, Pre-Event Planning Tagged With: ,

4 Blogs That Help With “CANI”

April 22, 2013 By Leave a Comment

The president of my company has a saying “CANI”, which stands for Constant And Never ending Improvement.

I try everyday to continue to improve myself from a personal development standpoint.  Each morning I get up and read several blogs that help jumpstart my day mentally.  My boss can help with my personal development, but only so much because his daily bandwidth is limited.

I have found 4 blogs in particular that help me the most, and I thought I would share them with you today.

  1. MichaelHyatt.com.  For anyone interested in intentional leadership, personal development or platform building, this is a must!  Michael is the former chairman of the board and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, as well as a New York Time’s best selling author.  His posts vary from coaching topics to great ways to do productivity tasks on a computer.  Michael’s podcast has also become a must listen for me.
  2. SethGodin.TypePad.com.  Seth Godin is a marketing guru.  His books are manuals for marketing and are must reads for everyone.  Seth’s blog is a daily thinker for me.  Check out a podcast called “Seth Godin’s Startup School” for more fantastic content.
  3. SkipPrichard.com.  Skip might be new to some of you.  He’s a CEO and business leader, and writes on the topic of leadership insights.  Skip has also introduced his readers to several great leadership books.  He’s a constant reader.
  4. ChrisBrogan.com.  I like to read material that is also inspiring.  Chris does that as the CEO of Human Business Way.  He challenges his readers to “Tell bigger stories.  Use the impact equation. Love the grind.  Brave the now.  Service craftsmanship.”  Chris writes on his blog about twice a week, publishes a newsletter on Sunday’s and does an almost daily podcast as well.

These are just a few of the ways that I continue to grow my personal development.  I read several books and listen to other podcasts as well.

I hope these will challenge you to continue to work on your own personal development.  To be a better leader, you have to do the work!

Are there any blogs that you read daily?  What has worked best for you and your personal development?

Filed Under: Leadership Helps, Productivity Tagged With: , , , ,

Who Else Wants To Increase Their Value As An Event Planner?

April 17, 2013 By Leave a Comment

“No event planner is an island entire of itself.” John Donne. Well, that’s not exactly how the poet wrote that line, but it’s still true. No event planner pulls of an entire event without help. Allison Saget, an event planner for Fortune 500 companies, wrote in her book, The Event Marketing Handbook:

“It is important throughout your work life to develop a network of relationships.The people in my event network range from executives to technical support gurus to creative agencies. These individuals are experts in their field. I believe creating an event network makes you resource rich and will extend the value of what you bring to a program.”

So, it looks like we’re talking about more than having a few caterers and tent rental companies in your Rolodex, right? Think through your current resource network. I’m a visual person, so I’d probably sketch this out. I’d put pen to a large sheet of paper, jot down all of my event network members and pin it up somewhere near my desk. Excellent.  Now that you’ve identified who is in your network, consider ways to foster these relationships.  Send a note saying “thank you”, check in via email or telephone, write a recommendation on LinkedIn, or send a customer or article their way that would foster their business. What if you spent ten minutes a week fostering a relationship with one of these people?

Aside from cultivating the event network you’ve already established, also plan ways to expand this group. You might sign up for a conference, join the local chamber of commerce, invite a new acquaintance out to lunch.  Choose people that are modeling excellence, passion and innovation.  Try to connect with someone who could become an “expert source” at least once a month.  You won’t click with everyone, but those you do will be worth the failed attempts.

Sketch out your event network, and decide how you will deepen and expand it. You must be in charge of creating a support system for yourself that is professional and vibrant.  You’ll be delighted at the rewards you, your clients, and guests will reap from this investment.  Who do you count as a valuable member of your event network, and how did you first connect with them?

Filed Under: Leadership Helps, Teambuilding Tagged With: , , , , , ,

4 Ways To Run A Crowdsourcing Campaign For Your Event

April 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Kickstarter has been in the news a lot recently.  Just last week a major motion picture was completed funded (to the tune of over $2 million) in less than 24 hours.  One of our artists has recently completed a successful campaign raising money to complete a new recording.

This recent news reminded me of an email I received from a speaker in Australia who was looking to fund his event via crowdsourcing.  He was using IndieGogo, which is similar to Kickstarter with pledges and rewards, except there is an option to receive the money if the goal is not met.  Side note: I found it interesting that none of his rewards featured admittance to his event.  More on rewards below.

How would running a crowdsourcing campaign benefit your event?

Many events have found themselves having a tough time financially.  But at the same time your event serves a purpose, and has a dedicated fan base.

Getting creative with a crowdsourcing campaign could be just the ticket to keep the event going.

How do you run a successful crowdsourcing campaign?  Here are four ways:

  1. Choosing The Right Platform.  As mentioned above, there are two primary crowdsourcing websites: Kickstarter and IndieGogo.  There are a couple of differences between the two like the all-or-nothing money model (Kickstarter) vs. some of the money (IndieGogo.)  Kickstarter seems to be the most popular, but if you have the platform and database, that will be irrelevant to your cause.
  2. Include A Video.  Both of these sites include the ability to upload a video that explains the cause and need.  Taking advantage of that only adds to the cause.  I wouldn’t worry about making this too long (between 2-3 minutes), and I wouldn’t worry about quality.  Shoot from your laptop or whatever works best for you.
  3. Include Interesting And Creative Awards.  Maybe you include signed notes or books from a speaker, or maybe it’s a backstage hang time with a speaker.  All of these things can have different money amounts and limits to availability set as well.  These can and should be as creative as you want to be to attract your audience.
  4. Hit All Of The Social Media Outlets.  Start a social media campaign that includes speakers or other event organizers.  Ask them to blog and post to their networks, and ask your fans to post to their networks as well.  Getting the word out is the name of the game.

I hope this encourages you to try a crowdsourcing campaign for your event.  This campaign could be a great way to get the word out and introduce others to your event.

Have you ran a successful campaign for your event?  What issues have you had in running a similar campaign?

Filed Under: Leadership Helps, Meeting Set-Up, Pre-Event Planning Tagged With: , ,
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