Why I Will Do a Great Job For My Company
April 30, 2009
The poop was everywhere. Not only did it burst out my baby’s diaper but it had run up his back, through his outfit, and somehow in the process of cleaning him up it got all over his hands, arms, and into his hair. Ugh. I was just about to leave and drop off my baby at my in-law’s house so I could get some work done and now I was late. But you know what? I didn’t care.
I didn’t care that I was running late because I am blessed with a VERY rich work/life balance in that I only work 25-30 hours per week, have flex hours, and can work remote ocasionally. So I don’t think the person I’m about to call on will mind if I call an hour later than I originally planned. 
And my boss won’t mind because he knows I’ll get the work done. And I don’t mind because it allows me to be in the moment with my baby Collin and then later on when I do start working I’m 100% involved in my work and I won’t be feeling guilty that I’m not spending time with my baby. (Okay, well maybe there’s still a little guilt)
So I was able to enjoy the moment with my 6-month old baby, laugh about the poop situation, and enjoy the bath I had to give him that caused me to run 45 minutes late. My time with Collin as a baby is so precious and fleeting.
This benefit and balance not only makes me want to do a great job for my company; it’s WHY I will do a great job for my company. And that is a big difference.
Social Media for Event Planners
April 29, 2009
This afternoon I attended the PYM (Plan Your Meetings) Live 2009 event at The Atlanta Event Center at Opera. The topic was Social Networking Strategies. Although this was my first PYM event, they have a reputation for facilitating events with great speakers and about 80 planners were in attendance. Prior to the keynote luncheon I spoke with several people who were hungry for knowledge on how they can apply social media strategy to their organizations. It’s interesting how our industry is still very much in the educational phase of social media. No one knows quite how to implement it for several reasons:
1. It transcends departments and no one knows who should take ownership: meeting planners, the IT department, marketing, corporate communications, or sales?
2. Setting up a social media site is easy; maintaining it purposefully on a consistent basis and using it to achieve marketing objectives is another thing.
3. ROI – marketing departments and planners are all under pressure to demonstrate returns and social media is very difficult to gauge short-term.
4. There is still skepticism and pushback from conservative (older) colleagues, internal clients, association members, direct reports and stakeholders who think social media has nothing to do with them.
Although I’m sure many planners are interested in general social media, I specifically have been educating myself on applying social media to our clients’ conferences and events. It’s a very exciting niche.
So David Nour of Relationship Economics was the keynote speaker. I have seen him speak several times and as always he engaged the crowd and essentially “dumbed it down” for people. What I appreciate is that he shows concrete examples, leaves great takeaways, and his content is relevant for both beginners and more advanced social media learners such as myself. More to come in the next post about a synopsis and review of his presentation.
Loews Atlanta Site Visit
April 28, 2009
Today we had the opportunity to take a hard hat tour of the Loews Atlanta Hotel. Slated to open April 2010 they are a few weeks ahead of schedule and drywall will be coming up shortly. It will be a great property and will help solidify Atlanta’s Midtown Mile. Loews will have 414 rooms which all have great views. One of my favorite parts of the hotel is that it is filled with floor to ceiling glass windows. Another favorite is the terrace that is just off the pre-function space of the ballroom. Very unique and private which is great for events. This corner room under construction is a standard room so make sure to request it for an extra special experience.
GaMPI Monthly Program
April 22, 2009
This afternoon I attended the monthly GaMPI (Meeting Professionals International, Georgia Chapter) meeting at the Buckhead Hotel. I was especially interested in hearing the speaker since the topic was about Work/Life Balance. I need a lot of tips on this as I have a 6-month old and a new job! Really though, I am so blessed and lucky as I have a great work/life balance since my boss and I came to a very mutually beneficial arrangement that I work about 25-30 hours per week. Andy Masters was the speaker and he was very energetic and told entertaining stories. 3 interesting items that came up randomly during his presentation:
1)The average person spends 23 hours watching television per week – WOW. I actually think my husband is one of those people. He loves television and swears that he never gets sick of it and never will. 
2) This slide is awesome:
3) We did a fun exercise where we had to fill out items we wanted to START, DO MORE, DO LESS, and STOP doing. Here’s a photo of my list.
Overall, great GaMPI program as always.
Green Meetings Industry Council
April 19, 2009
· If advocating something, walk the talk. That’s one of the reasons why I blog. I personally believe that my company can make a lot of impact for our clients and their events by assisting them to incorporate a social media component to promote their programs and engage their attendees.
· People resist change – that is what the current economic time is all about in my opinion. People who have been securely stagnant are having to get out of their comfort zones and figure out who they are, what they want, and what new skills they need to move forward.
· Competition – in my industry, we are always crossing paths with our competition, and most of the time the exchange is friendly. I recently was listening to a panel at an industry meeting and the person next to me was making snide comments and belittling one of the panelists because he was their top competitor. It was a little uncomfortable and unfortunately made my neighbor look very petty. One of our competitors was on the GMIC panel and I thought he did a great job and had very insightful things to say. I even went up and told him so.
· Generationally, younger people are more involved in technology, CSR, and the environment. Get their guidance on any of these topics for new ideas.
Volunteerism
April 19, 2009
I am a member of the Junior League of Atlanta. Attending a JL event for me is like going to the gym. I moan and groan about not wanting to go because I’m too busy, but then once I go I am always very glad about how it makes me feel and grateful for the wonderful things in my life.
On Tuesday I attended a “Self-Esteem and Empowerment of Others” Foundations event. I have to admit that I attended because I needed another meeting credit. What I thought might be an interesting program though ended up being a GREAT program. One thing that I really like about Junior League, is that every event I attend I meet really amazing, interesting women. One of the girls I met and chatted with for awhile is getting her PhD in Organizational Psychology. Her job entails the study of behavior in work settings and to coach executives on being effective leaders, managing time, etc. Another girl I met told us about her experiences working with DFCS (very awful and sad) to working with men in the Fulton County Jail System (very rewarding). One of my most favorite JL moments was meeting the very inspiring Ron Clark of the Ron Clark Academy and listening to his remarkable story.
The Foundations program itself was very interesting. One takeaway is that you can’t just empower people – you have to empower them AND give them skills. They go hand in hand. When you’re in a position to make a difference, you have to give someone the necessary tools to get to the next step.
Long after people forget what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel.
–Michael Port, author of Book Yourself Solid, Beyond Booked Solid, The Think Big Manifesto
Thank you, G.J. Hart and Texas Roadhouse
April 13, 2009
I am now a huge fan of Texas Roadhouse. Although it seems like everyone is cancelling meetings these days, a few forward-thinking leaders are still out there. This video is a must-see! Texas Roadhouse CEO G.J. Hart is not only still holding a 5-day combination incentive/business meeting in San Francisco worth over $2 million, he is going on the news and having a very frank discussion on the benefits of this event. He quotes that “People are the best asset we’ve got” and you have to “give a little to get a lot.” Even during the hard times, you have to recognize and retain good people.
It’s so refreshing, and a very sincere thank you is warranted. Let’s all support this company that is supporting and celebrating it’s workforce. Kudos!
The Hospitality Industry and Economic Woes
April 9, 2009
AiMA Meeting
April 8, 2009
First Job Out of College and Lessons Learned
April 7, 2009
I didn’t always look back very fondly on my first job out of college, although I do now. I was at Insight Global when it was in its start-up phase (second female to be hired) and I started out as a recruiter then moved quickly up to being an Account Manager. I was lucky enough to be taught by the owner and sales extraordinaire, Glenn Johnson. It was very high stress sales but I learned an incredible amount and think it was one of the best career moves I have made. I worked there only a year because I wanted to pursue a job in International Business and Spanish and the sales approach was a little too much for me. I cried when I put in my notice with the owners, as I did when I left my international marketing position at the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau. I learned great life and professional lessons at IG. It’s interesting that I am putting these lessons back into practice (somewhat) after coming full circle from Sales to International Business to Marketing and back to Sales. Lessons learned:
-When someone walks into your business office ALWAYS get up immediately from what you’re doing (unless you’re on the phone) to shake hands and say hello. It sincerely makes the visitor feel important and incredibly welcome.
-I think I had about two emotional breakdown/crying spells at the office in front of coworkers. It was such an intimate, aggressive, results-oriented environment that any mistake we made we were immediately brought into the conference room by a senior employee then and there to address the error. And we were coached not to give rebuttals or excuses but to silently accept the constructive criticism. It took awhile for me to learn the benefit of this as the first few times my self defense walls were thrown up. This daily practice of in-your-face training made the office as a whole very close and connected as we all bonded over public exposure to our weaknesses. It makes for great colleague connections when all your faults and flaws are laid out on the table in front of everyone. And every single employee experienced this. A lot of people couldn’t handle it.
-Everyone needs a mentor! I would love to ask David Nour to be my mentor, but he is so busy that I am still preparing the best way to approach him and am putting together compelling reasons why he should meet with me.
-social get togethers also made the office closer. We had parties at the owners’ houses and were encouraged to go to company happy hours. Spouses and significant others were always welcome.
I learned a lot about who I am as a person and what I am (and certainly am NOT) looking for in a career. I think the best way to learn what you don’t want in a job is to experience it first hand.
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