Let's talk contingency plans

If you are a meeting planner or training director, your hands are full. I remember those days. So many details are involved in planning, preparing for, marketing and, ultimately, managing events. With barely enough hours in your days to handle all the details for which you are responsible, it can be unnerving to contemplate for any length of time the unlikely possibility that a speaker won't show up.

If you are a speaker, on the other end of this spectrum, you might not enjoy marketing yourself as a backup. Most experts don't set a goal of being "the substitute."

But we all get thrown curves from time to time. Weather, equipment issues, and such have kept many a flight from reaching the appointed destination. And, while it isn't a pleasant thought, even the healthiest speaker is subject (as is their family) to the usual human frailities that result in injuries, illnesses, or funerals. So wise managers give thought to contingencies . . . what will an effective meeting planner do to save the day when an audience is expecting a training session, convention breakout, or even the conference's keynote address?

The answer is: They should have one (or more) valued relationships which they can call upon to offer viable solutions to such a dilemma. And-hello-as the principal of ES, I am eager to assure you that we're ready and able to be just such a dependable and resourceful partner. Using our extensive and outstanding contacts across the country, we are willing to take on the challenge of filling that last-minute vacancy.

And to my speakers, I gently remind them of the obvious: Since grade school days, we all want to be "picked first." But being the backup isn't so bad . . . who doesn't love the hero who rides to the rescue of one in distress? And in the final analysis, what difference does it make how you got to the podium, once you get there?

So I sincerely hope that you begin your future speaker searches at the ES website. But if you don't and you find yourself dealing with a no-show or cancellation, please don't think twice about picking up the phone and asking for our assistance. ES, and each of our speakers, are honored to serve you whenever we can.

The importance of Invitations to Venusian Morale

Robert Schwarz, aka Dr. Bob, is a leading authority on Mars and Venus in the workplace. This colleague of the renown author and speaker, John Gray, is an expert on gender issues and male/female communications.  Here is one of his articles:

Senior Martian managers of a major engineering department reported to me that they just could not understand why the more junior women complained they felt excluded. One manager, named Al, said to me, "It drives me crazy. I tell everyone that I have an open door policy. If there's a problem, just come in and we will talk. That should be enough! What else do they want?"

The more I work with companies, the more I have come to realize that the gender differences around what constitutes a proper or meaningful invitation is a significant issue in the workplace. The kind of frustration voiced above by Al is relatively common because men do not understand that the customs on Venus require more specific and personal invitations.

Women, on the other hand, often completely misinterpret a Martian's "minimal invitational" style as well.

Let's look at Al's invitation. The message is: I am open to you coming in if you have a problem or a concern. Al is completely willing to meet with anyone. His door is truly open. But the onus to initiate action is on the other individual. So how does this set with Venusians?

Susan says, "Al has never invited me personally to talk about my concerns. I do not get the message that he is really interested in what I have to say. Now that we are talking about this, I vaguely recall him saying something about an open door policy, but he said that once months ago. He has never checked with me since."

I hear comments like these often. I was involved in a special meeting with a company's executives who were to examine why they had so few women in senior management. To have more women at the meeting, key women in mid-management positions were invited to attend a meeting scheduled after lunch. The woman in charge of the meeting (she was very Martian!) did not think to invite these women to have lunch with the executives before the meeting. When the invited female mid-managers discovered this, several felt totally slighted. It was an honest oversight.  Despite the overall context, that these women were included in the meeting, the net effect for some of the women was a feeling of exclusion. The lesson for a Martian manager who wants to increase rapport with and motivation of Venusians is to adjust his communication to fit with Venusian customs as follows:

• Instead of extending a general invitation for anyone anytime, make a specific invitation to a specific person at a specific time. On Mars, it would be perfectly reasonable to say to a bunch of guys, "I just got a new HDTV and am going to watch the Eagles every Sunday. Anyone who wants to come over can."  But a Venusian, would never do that. A woman would ask each of her friends, "Susan, we haven't gotten together in a long while, I'd love you to come over on next Saturday at 4pm. Is that good with you?"
• Inclusive in your invitation, specify that you want to hear about accomplishments or difficulties, or personal goals.  Say for instance, "Alexis, I would like to schedule a meeting with you to get your opinions about the new procedures that were implemented last month. I want to know how they are impacting you and your team." Or, "Maria, please come by my office this afternoon for a few minutes to just tell me how things are going for you. What time would be good for you between 2:00 and 4:00?"
• Remember that in the Venusian culture the whole point is for the one extending the invitation to show proactive interest, motivation and initiative, not just a willingness to respond to an invitee (keep in mind that Al's invitation was based on someone else showing initiative).  Another way for men to comprehend this difference is to think about how women give gifts-they usually put a great effort into the wrapping paper, bow and presentation.  Martians generally, do not care much about paper or bows, figuring these will go right into the trash. But on Venus, the extra effort in presentation signals that the giver really cares. Martians who "wrap" their invitations with the care of Venusians, will get much better responses.

If you enjoyed this article, check out Dr. Bob's speaker page on the ES website.

The Alpha Factor

Who doesn't like the sound of that?  'Alpha' anything seems to garner a lot of attention these days. So what business owner or senior executive wouldn't want to lead an "alpha company"?

A couple of weeks ago, I told you about a just released book by two ES speakers. Well, it has dawned on me that since ES is new, and this blog is new, there are several other books that I should be introducing to you ... and it doesn't really matter that they were released earlier in the year.  So I'm starting with "The Alpha Factor." 

During these tough times with so many businesses struggling, who wouldn't appreciate a program on how successful companies create customer loyalty and market dominance?  After 15 years of research, 100,000 consumer interviews, hundreds of corporate interviews, and tests with more than 75 real-world companies, Wes Ball has learned how to create and sustain growth, and the secret is in his book, The Alpha Factor ... and, of course, he would be delighted to share it in person with your audience!

How did Harley-Davidson, Starbucks, Victoria's Secret, John Deere, Mercedes, BMW, Wal-Mart, and every other Alpha company create such customer loyalty and market dominance? Read Wes' book to find out. It has been called 'eye-opening,' 'jaw-dropping,' 'revolutionary,' 'powerful,' and 'influential.' Those adjectives apply to his live programs and presentations, too, along with the descriptive words engaging and entertaining.

So if you have an audience of business execs who want to understand how to build strong, profitable companies, check out Wes Ball and his book ... visit his ES speaker page right now.