19 Jul 10 How to get planning help by asking for it
If you are in charge of planning meetings and/or events for a company, you might quickly discover that is seems impossible to please everyone. This is certainly true, especially when those people all have wildly different expectations. There are ways to navigate this potential minefield, such as:
• Ask participants for feedback and suggestions on how to implement that – Sometimes people expect their meeting planning budget to go further. Show them the figures (if appropriate) and ask if they have any suggestions on how to do more with less. Be honest and do this without any emotional investment or hurt feelings for the best results.
• Always remind people of budget concerns – If participants wonder why the Starbucks coffee got replaced with a Cuisinart and some Folgers, just explain that resources are limited and ask for suggestions on further cuts or ways to do more with less.
• Anonymous tip box – Sometimes people are wary of leaving negative feedback, especially if their name is attached to it. Find a way to make an effectively anonymous method for providing feedback and chances are good that honest feedback will start flowing.
• Thank those with helpful hints and tips – Anyone that does take the time to provide tips should be heartily thanked. Anyone that has to swallow their pride and admit that their gripes were unfounded should be similarly comforted.
Tags: Anonymous Method, Anonymous Tip, Budget Concerns, Cuisinart, Emotional Investment, Feedback And Suggestions, Feelings, Folgers, Gripes, Helpful Hints, Honest Feedback, Meeting Planning, Minefield, Negative Feedback, Participants, Pride, Providing Feedback, Starbucks, Starbucks Coffee, Swallow
16 Jul 10 Meeting at Sea: The Perfect Meeting Destination and Surprisingly Affordable
Planning meetings can be fun, but it tends to be more fun whenever the meeting is someplace exotic or interesting. What is more interesting than a meeting on a cruise ship? Possibly a meeting on the International Space Station, but at around $20 million a ticket, it is probably better to go with meetings on exotic cruise ships bound for sun drenched destinations. Surprisingly, meetings at sea are not only more affordable than blasting off into low-orbit, but they are often more affordable than meetings held at hotels. Consider the following:
Hotels are forced to compete with many restaurants in terms of quality and offerings. Today’s cruise ships bring the restaurants and hotels with them, reducing the competition and overhead associated with advertising while simultaneously increasing the power buying authority of the vendor.
Safety is job number of all cruise ship employees, while job number two is ensuring that you and your business guests have a great time. This means you get more bang for your buck on a cruise ship than you would with a hotel in virtually any city.
Top quality business meeting rooms and chambers are available on cruise ships, big and small. Most cruise ships have rooms that can be easily converted from theaters to huge meeting rooms to dance floors with relative ease as well as standard meeting rooms. It does not matter how big or small your event is, a cruise ship is perfect!
Tags: Business Guests, Business Meeting Rooms, Chambers, Cruise Ship, Cruise Ships, Fun, Great Time, Hotels, International Space Station, Job, Low Orbit, Meeting At Sea, Meeting Planning, Offerings, Quality Business, Restaurants, Sun, Theaters, Top Quality
08 Jul 10 Pitfalls on the Road to a Successful Meeting/Event
The following is a list of sentiments and ideas that many people have when planning meetings and/or events that should be avoided whenever possible:
• Who needs to eat? The answer is that everyone need to eat, and letting stomachs rumble is a sure way to ensure that nobody is paying attention to anything but the planning of their next meal. If you are planning a lengthy meeting or event, plan on talking to caterers or buying snacks.
• I get up at 4 A.M. so can everyone else! Just because you get up at the break of dawn to exercise and live a healthy lifestyle does not mean that everyone else does or even can. In some cases it may truly be a case of different lifestyles, but in other situations the early bird may be offended those taking care of young children and/or the infirm/elderly by implying that a 7 A.M. meeting is reasonable.
• Caffeine is a stimulant, and that is akin to offering a drug. Those that need caffeine to make it through their day can be indulged at very low prices. Imposing unwanted ethical beliefs on meeting and/or event participants is unlikely to go over well. At best, it will look cheap. At worst, it may look preachy.
• A penny saved is a penny earned. True, but it takes money to make money, so be willing to make an honest assessment of whether or not buying folding chairs instead of office chairs for a meeting is a good idea.
Tags: Break Of Dawn, Caffeine, Caterers, Early Bird, Elderly, Ethical Beliefs, Exercise, Folding Chairs, Healthy Lifestyle, Honest Assessment, Lifestyles, Money, Office Chairs, Participants, Paying Attention, Pitfalls, Sentiments, Snacks, Stimulant, Stomachs
23 Jun 10 Meeting Planners Are in High Demand
With the economy not being in the best of shapes, many people are looking for new jobs that are less disposable and/or difficult to outsource. Meeting planners are actually both. The two primary reasons for this are fairly simple: humans have a basic need to meet over business issues, and competition for lucrative business options continues to increase year after year regardless of the economic situation.
The best reason is arguably the fact that humans have a basic ability to measure honesty, intent, and integrity. That ability can only be used in person, and no technology has come up with a workaround for this. Even the latest video conferencing technology is simply no substitute for an in-person meeting. For this reason alone, meeting planners will always have a job in modern business culture until technology can manage pull off a modern-miracle.
As business continues to become increasingly competitive, meetings become increasingly important. This means more competitive meetings that do not skimp on the polish and niceties, and that in turn means that meeting planners will not only continue to be essential but also a valued part of the company. Since few companies can cut off their noses despite their faces, it would seem that meeting planners are likely to stick around and be valued parts of companies for the foreseeable future.
Tags: Business Culture, Business Issues, Business Options, Economic Situation, Economy, Faces, Foreseeable Future, Honesty, Integrity, Job, Lucrative Business, Many People, Meeting Planners, Miracle, New Jobs, Niceties, Noses, Shapes, Video Conferencing Technology, Workaround
18 Jun 10 Frugal Meeting Planners
Meeting planners that are looking for ways to find cost-effective meeting locations are often under a lot of pressure. After all, the boss probably wants an unreasonable number of people to be hosted in a large area for a price that is entirely unreasonable by most standards. There are a few options, however, and these options are perfect for meeting planners with bosses that happen to be a little too frugal.
Consider local parks – Many local parks have shaded areas that are both scenic and free! The lawn chairs might be expensive, and make the meeting less than formal, but it would be hard to beat the local park for a location that is both affordable and unique.
Movie theaters – Believe it or not, many movie theaters offer weekday morning access to their theaters for a fairly reasonable price. Deposits tend to be a little on the high side if the projection equipment will be used, but you can generally get it back immediately after the projection equipment is inspected.
Libraries – Many public libraries also have small conference rooms that range from free to very affordable, but you will have to keep the noise down.
Coffee shops – If the meeting or event is not going to be packed with secret information, a local coffee shop or restaurant can be an affordable location and makes choosing a catering service much easier!
Tags: Boss, Catering Service, Coffee Shop, Coffee Shops, Cost Effective, Effective Meeting, Lawn Chairs, Local Park, Meeting Planners, Movie Theaters, Noise Down, Projection Equipment, Public Libraries, Secret Information, Shaded Areas, Unreasonable Number, Weekday Morning
14 Jun 10 Meeting Planners That Save Money Can Earn Big
Meeting planners are often called upon to schedule meetings and other events, but there is often a sub-surface conflict that rarely gets addressed. The issue is the bottom line: money. Simply put, meeting planners that learn how to go about their tasks cost effectively can become very popular with the powers that be. Here are some tips:
Skip the Starbucks and buy and cappuccino machine – Spending money for coffees at a meeting seems like a great idea, and it is if it is a rare treat. Instead, look into purchasing a cappuccino machine and make delicious caffeinated beverages on the spot. It saves money in the long run while simultaneously making the business look as if it cares a lot about the comfort level of its staff.
Colored markers – Markers are great tools, but they do not all have to be black or red. It is easier to express many different statistics with many different colors, and colored markers are not very expensive. More lively presentations and a lack of confusion at prices comparable to what people pay for black or red markers is a bargain by any definition.
Whiteboards and rubbing alcohol – School districts on a limited budget already know this truck, but not all businesses do; wiping down whiteboards after a meeting is important, but water alone will not do the trick. Instead, use rubbing alcohol for a deep clean that will extend the life of a whiteboard substantially.
Saving money in these ways is a great way to justify a promotion for any meeting planner.
Tags: Bottom Line, Caffeinated Beverages, Cappuccino Machine, Coffees, Colored Markers, Conflict, Confusion, Different Colors, Great Tools, Lively Presentations, Meeting Planner, Meeting Planners, Rubbing Alcohol, Saving Money, Schedule Meetings, School Districts, Spending Money, Starbucks, Whiteboard, Whiteboards
11 Jun 10 The Importance of Seating in a Meeting
Many new meeting planners might overlook the importance of proper seating, but veteran meeting planners already know that seating can be everything. The problem is that many participants in the meeting have their own ideas about how seating should work, and few of those ideas tend to be compatible.
For example, everyone wants to be on the boss’s right hand side, but nobody wants to sit near Steve from accounting due to the fact that his gout medication gives him indigestion. Unfortunately, someone has to sit next to Steve and not everyone can suck up to the boss at the same time.
Here are a few things to consider when arranging seats:
- Bosses traditionally go on the end of the table, but consider suggesting a more central location. Better yet, it might be wise to plan two or three seats that will change for different stages of the meeting so long as the boss is amenable to such an idea.
- Keep seats arranged in such a way that everyone is facing the same direction whenever possible. Unity is hard to achieve when people are opposing one another even in the manner in which they sit.
- Those who do happen to be somewhat unpopular might be a good person to seat next to the boss. Getting close to one means getting close to the other, a balance few will ignore.
Tags: Accounting, Boss, Central Location, Different Stages, Good Person, Gout, Gout Medication, Indigestion, Medication, Meeting Planners, New Meeting, Participants, Same Direction, Sit, Suck, Unity, Veteran
07 Jun 10 Meeting Planners Make Breaking the Ice Easier
Most meetings come with a measure of tension integrated deeply into their very fabric. This is not unexpected because two or more parties tend to be attempting to both work to their individual benefit, but a smart meeting planner can actually reduce this tension in a few ways. Reducing tension can create a meeting environment that is more productive and causes all parties involved to work to their mutual benefit rather than look for individual opportunities that tend to come at the expense of one another.
Tables and presentation tools – Tables and presentation tools should be arranged in such a fashion that everyone is facing the same direction. The subliminal message of seating rivals or separate parties facing one another are those of conflict, but seating people side by side creates a sense of cooperation. Make sure that the room and charts/presentation materials are properly set up.
Lighting is important – Many venues, especially corner offices, have a tendency to pick up light at specific times of the morning or afternoon. Heightened light levels that are directional in nature tend to make some parties feel as if they are being assaulted by the light, and they may become less friendly as a result.
Comfort is paramount – everyone involved in a meeting should be made to feel comfortable. A stellar meeting planner knows this and makes preparations ranging from special meals and drinks down to height adjustable chairs for the vertically challenged.
Tags: Adjustable Chairs, Breaking The Ice, Conflict, Cooperation, Drinks, Environment, Fabric, Fashion, Lighting, Meeting Planner, Meeting Planners, Mutual Benefit, Nature, Paramount, Presentation Materials, Presentation Tools, Rivals, Subliminal Message, Tendency, Tension
04 Jun 10 How to Plan a Meeting Time and Venue with Difficult Participants
Meeting planners are required to constantly prepare meetings, which is far more complex than it seems on the surface. To being with, the entire process is far less linear that it seems on the surface. Some might believe that organizing meetings starts with contacting individuals or parties, or perhaps contacting venues to see what is available; neither is necessarily true. In fact, this particular combination of factors can actually end up being something of a chicken and egg problem, where one is constantly trying to find purchase on a slippery slope.
This entire process can be made far simpler by starting with an approach that is more time sensitive in nature. Start by contacting parties and offering a few choices, and checking for blackout times and dates. This should be a simple selecting process that empowers participants by allowing them to choose from a selection of available times. Once that is accomplished, it will be far easier to actually schedule a venue. Hopefully, the selection of a venue will not result in unsatisfied parties or participants that will no longer be able to attend.
As previously mentioned, the life of a meeting planner is not as simple as it might seem on the surface. Remember that when dealing with your meeting planner next time.
Tags: Available Times, Blackout, Chicken Egg, Choices, Egg Problem, Meeting Planner, Meeting Planners, Meeting Time, Nature, Participants, Slippery Slope, Venue
03 Jun 10 Landry & Kling Announces Strategic Alliance Partnership with MCI Group
Cruise event specialists join forces with leading global event management company
MIAMI, MAY 28, 2010 – Cruise Events Specialists Landry & Kling today announced a strategic alliance with MCI, a leading global association, communications and event management company. The partnership agreement includes Landry & Kling company Seasite.com, the first cruise portal dedicated to the cruise meetings and events market.
Under the new alliance, MCI will promote the use of cruise ships for group meetings and events accessing Seasite.com services and resources including cruise sourcing, contract negotiations, and valuable planning tools. In addition, MCI will request Landry & Kling services for its clients who require cruise logistics custom planning services – from the pre-event planning phase through on-site event implementation.
"Through our ongoing working relationship with Landry & Kling, we will expand our service portfolio to include cruise ships and continue to deliver high quality service to corporate and association meeting planners and their attendees,” said Roger Tondeur, President of MCI. “Cruise ships provide cost-effective, innovative venues for meetings and events, and we are pleased to team with the forward-thinking leaders of the cruise events business to broaden our industry reach.”
To support the ongoing partnership, Landry & Kling will recommend Ovation Global DMC (part of MCI Group) to its customers who require Destination Management Services such as port excursions, special events or group transportation at key Ovation locations. These destinations include (but are not limited to) Malaga, Valencia and Barcelona, Spain; Cannes, Nice, and Monte Carlo, France; Livorno, Rome, Naples, Sorrento, Taormina, and Venice, Italy; Stockholm, Sweden; and Hong Kong.
“We are delighted to team with MCI, one of the largest meetings and events company in the world, to bring additional value-added services to our customers,” said Mark Phillips, Chief Operating Officer of Landry & Kling. “Their global destination management services and other valuable resources will complement many of our customers’ cruise event programs.”
About Landry & Kling and Seasite.com
Landry & Kling Inc., cruise event specialists since 1982, recently introduced Seasite.com, the first online cruise platform for meeting professionals. Seasite is an industry sourcing tool to search, select and plan group cruises, with access to 35 cruise lines in one site, meeting-friendly search criteria, e-RFP’s, meeting/function room capacities, dining details and other unique tools available nowhere else. Visit www.seasite.com or www.landrykling.com
About MCI
MCI is a globally integrated association, communication, and event management company. Since 23 years, MCI helps companies, governments and associations bring people together to create meaningful connections and win. MCI’s combined expertise helps clients to outperform by offering strategy, creativity and execution in the field of Association Management & Consulting, Performance Improvement, Global Congress Management, and Meetings & Events. Our support services include Global Destination Management in 36 countries and Audio Visual & Staging solutions. MCI has 43 offices in 21 countries and employs over 920 professionals worldwide. Visit www.mci-group.com.
Tags: Alliance Partnership, Association Communications, Barcelona Spain, Contract Negotiations, Cruise Events, Cruise Portal, Cruise Ships, Destination Management Services, Event Management Company, Global Association, Group Transportation, High Quality Service, Malaga Valencia, Mci Group, Meeting Planners, Partnership Agreement, Rome Naples Sorrento, Service Portfolio, Stockholm Sweden, Venice Italy
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