I love TEDxGatewayArch so much that I be
I love TEDxGatewayArch so much that I became a sponsor! Check out this article featuring the upcoming event! http://ow.ly/rYojd
jillstone
Jill Stone shares valuable insights regarding the meetings industry.
How involved are your attendees and how
How involved are your attendees and how can you measure that measure of success? http://ow.ly/nhdfZ http://ow.ly/i/2H31o
What do you call a bear with no teeth? G
What do you call a bear with no teeth? Gummy Bear! http://ow.ly/i/2zCHF
I LOVE Meeting Planners
I know it may sound cliché, but I really do “heart” meeting planners! I wish I could send each of you a big box of chocolates and nice bouquet of flowers for Valentines Day. In lieu of such extravagances, please accept this VALENTINE from me to you:
Value-Add: I add value to your life. Let me take on the task of finding the perfect place for your meetings, leaving you time to do what you do best – plan your meetings!
Attentive: I promise to listen to you and pay careful attention to you and your organization’s needs. Each meeting is unique; I will find the right place for your distinctive needs.
Loyal: I’m yours. I won’t let you down.
Energetic: Since I love what I do – and I love helping meeting planners – I have plenty of energy and then some to help you shine!
Noteworthy: What you do is noteworthy, your organization should recognize this and I promise to help you create and keep your noteworthy status.
Trustworthy: The information you share with me is privileged and I will honor this at all times.
Innovative: I am dedicated to keeping up with trends in the meetings industry, hotels, menus, technology and more – keep an eye on my blogs and I will keep you up to date.
Nice: Yes, I am a real nice gal. When you call me, you will always get friendly.
Entertaining: Oh, yes, I am also pretty darn funny. Need a good laugh, just give me a call : )
So, Dear Meeting Planner Valentine, won’t you be mine? Happy Valentine’s Day to you; may your day be filled with chocolates, flowers and candlelit dinners for two. And if you need a “partner” to help you find the perfect site for your meeting attendees, add me to your speed dial; 636-797-3405.
*Thank you to Zastavki for the image!Inbox Insights
“How you are in your inner life is a reflection of how you do things in your outer life,” says Dr. Greenfield, Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. Dr. Greenfield recently appeared in a segment on The Today Show which aired on January 22, 2013. He shared some very interesting insights about our inboxes and who we are. Take a look at the following to find out what your inbox says about you:
Tidy Inbox-ers regularly discard emails they no longer need, organize emails into folders, do not allow emails to pile up and actually work to keep their inbox set at zero. These folks also tend to have clean, organized closets and cars; they are the detail-oriented types among us.
Robust Inbox-ers have a very full email inbox that contains a good number of unread emails; thank goodness it is digital or else they would be buried under a mountain of envelopes. This applies to individuals who are over-extended, expansive, not so involved with details, but more big picture. As Dr. Greenfield shared, these folks tend to “focus more on the forest as opposed to the trees.”
The spot then moves onto Email Etiquette:
Splitters are those that put part of a sentence in the subject line and then continue the sentence in the body of the email. Their emails tend to get read! They peak our curiosity and perhaps our sense of closure . . . we just have to know how the rest of the sentence reads!
No Subject people tend to annoy others, so always fill in that Subject line : )
Signature Heavy folks will include not only their contact info and social media pages in their email signature, but perhaps include a quote, where they like to shop, the new hot song they cannot stop humming and more. These people want you to know who they are!
Though the segment did not cover the CAPITAL LETTER ONLY EMAILERS (stop yelling at me), those that abbr (abbreviate) almost evy (every) word poss (possible) or DYK anyone that transfers their TXT abilities into their emails OMG LOL; I found the inbox insights shared on the segment to be so interesting I just had to share them with you.
So who are you? Are you a Tidy/Splitter, a Robust/Signature Heavy? Share your own inbox insights with me on my Facebook page! Thank you to all the AMPs out there! What? You are not familiar with AMP? That would be Awesome Meeting Planner : )
*Thanks to It’s An Average Life for the image!
The Thanksgiving of Sports
Don your helmets, bring on the jerseys, call your friend with the huge screen TV and don’t forget massive amounts of goodies – it’s Super Bowl! Super Bowl is the Thanksgiving of Sports; when it comes to snacks for the day, there needs to be plenty of them. Here are my ideas for what to cook up for the big game!
Chicken Wings are hot! They have become the food of choice and rank as the most popular food for Super Bowl gatherings. Alton Brown shares his recipe for the best chicken wings on Food Network; his secret – cook them twice. If you are looking for some new twists on the classic hot wing, check out this Squidoo page for ideas.
Football Fans will love these Meatball Parmigiana Sliders and Cheesesteaks with Peppers and Onions from Delish.
On to dips! Check out Rachel Rays Lucky 7 Layer Dip. Another all time favorite is Guacamole. Bobby Flay has a yummy recipe that will have all your guests saying “Ole!” Guaranteed to disappear quickly is Dill Dip in Rye Bread; make sure to start this recipe the day before so the flavors can meld.
Don’t forget to put out some bowls of snack mix! Check out these ideas from Cooking Light.
Finally, and perhaps most important (at least in my book), dessert! Score one for the team with Oreo Football Cookies; easy, fun and perfect for the day. These Touchdown Cupcakes will definitely clear the field. Or you can just take everything yummy, throw it in a bowl and you’ll have Kitchen Sink Super Bowl Bars – your team will totally be cheering you on when they taste these.
Enjoy the game, the food, the commercials, the social media and the fun!!! And may your team win – go team!
Tip-Top Laptop
Business travelers have laptops. Business travelers rely on those laptops to keep them connected with their lives. The whole idea of the laptop becoming dysfunctional during a trip can strike fear into the most fearless of flyers. So, here are some tips on keeping your laptop in tip-top shape.
Don’t put it on your lap. I know, weird right? It is called a “lap” top for goodness sake. However, your laptop will be better off on a smooth surface, allowing for that ever-important airflow.- Don’t leave it plugged in at all times. Let’s say you have a stint of non-travel, but you are so accustomed to plugging in while not traveling that suddenly your laptop is never unplugged. Not ideal. Unplug it a few times each week. Think of it as exercise for your battery.
- Power down a few times a week. Though it is tempting to keep your laptop on, it is a good idea to shut it down. Just like you, your laptop needs some downtime.
- While traveling, keep your laptop with you at all times. I know you know this, but we have all been in situations where we are just going to “leave it there for a second to go get a latte.” Don’t. Take it with you.
- If you have sensitive data on your laptop, encrypt it. For an on-the-go solution, check out TrueCrypt.
- Back up your data. You know this too, but do you do it? Buy an external hard drive and back it up once a week.
- No updating or installing while traveling. Sometimes those updates and installations do not go as predicted. Save such activities for when you have time to deal with any bugs that may come your way.
If you have any other awesome happy laptop hints, please do share them with me on my Facebook Page!!!
No Flu Here
If you have ever had the flu, you know how much you really do not ever, want to ever ever, have it again. It steals a week from your life and it so highly unpleasant that you are quite sure you may die. Let’s avoid it with these simple workplace tweaks.
1) Make it known that coming in sick to work shows you are dedicated to infecting everyone else, not a dedicated employee. Let your staff know that if they are sick they are to stay home. Do not bring your sickness, germs, and viruses into the workplace! If they feel a bit better, tell them to work from home and come back once they are germ free.
2) Create a “clean up” habit. Maybe on Friday afternoons, say at 3pm, it is time for everyone to clean up the week and get ready for the next. Literally clean up. Clear off the desks and wipe them down with some antibacterial cleaner or wipes. Do the same to phones and other items that are handled on a daily basis.
3) Make sure you cleaning service is aware of your wish to have them clean the doorknobs, the kitchen sink and the microwave – all germ havens.
4) Keep your own defenses up by supplementing with 15 – 30mg of zinc during flu season. Get plenty of sleep, remember to exercise (even just 15 minutes a day will make a big difference) and don’t forget to eat your veggies.
5) Bring in some green with low light-requiring plants like Deer Ferns; excellent at nixing toxins from the air.
6) Use anti-bacterial products, but do not obsess. Nature has a way of overcoming obstacles, so while anti-bacterial products are helpful, overuse will only provide nature with a reason to create even more resilient strains.
7) Want to see if the flu is making its way to your area, check out Google’s Flu Trends site.
May none of you get the flu this year; it truly is a terrible event. Stay healthy and keep planning!
Happy Fly Year
The Flight Forecast is out via The Wall Street Journal (12/27/12) and here is what travelers can expect for the coming year.
Trusted Traveler: The Transportation Security Administration, TSA, is looking to expand its list of “trusted travelers.” A background check and finger print can land you in the lane where all clothing stays on and everything stays in your bags, including your laptop. For $100 you get a five-year enrollment. It is a lengthy form, but may be well worth the fill out time for frequent flyers. To find out if you are eligible, check out this site.
Wi-Fi Fly By: More and more airlines will be adding in Wi-Fi so you can fly the friendly skies and surf your social media sites (ahem! Like this one ) at the same time.
Get Out Your Wallets: Hey tall people, be ready to spend extra money if you are looking for extra-legroom. Hey late people, if you are not going to make the flight you may wish to call ahead or you could risk a no-show fee.Examining X-Rays: Are those X-ray machines really safe or are they emitting unwanted radiation into your cute self? The National Academy of Sciences will be conducting a study this year. In the mean time, think positive and non-radiating thoughts.
Profits Take Off (Sort Of): 2013 is looking profitable for the airline industry. Though not brag-worthy profits, they are profits none-the-less.
Fly the Sleepy Skies: United, Delta and American will be adding beds on cross-country domestic flights.
Hot Model: Making its entrance into the skies this year is the 787 Dreamliner, according to The Wall Street Journal it is “built with composite materials rather than aluminum, allowing more-comfortable cabin pressure and slightly higher onboard humidity.” Not sure if this makes it “dreamier,” but perhaps I will get to find out if I fly to Tokyo or London this year.
New Look, New Logo: American is updating its look with paint. The unpainted silver birds made sense as the paint added hundreds of pounds of weight; the new composite material planes, however, require paint. Recently a plain plane with an all-gray tail and no logo was seen on the runway and delivered to American. Perhaps the new look and logo will be seen on this plane first and will soon make its fashion debut.
Also: Check out this report on The Today Show.
Happy Traveling to all for 2013!
*Thank you to Composites Today for the image!
Thank you 2012, Hello 2013
As 2012 comes to a close, I wish to thank you all for another wonderful year! Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your life; both in work and in play. Thank you for your attention and time. Thank you for your part in the meetings industry; for planning meetings that teach and entertain attendees and bring your business or organization’s message to more people, in order that they, and you, can be even more . Thank you for all of this.
This year we acknowledged just how stressful meeting planning is and we talked about ways to de-stress a bit. We talked about how to take some of the hassle out of travel. We talked apps and tech, and how to use some of the newer social media platforms for your meetings. We watched the Olympics! We talked about food trends that made it and that some that did not. We visited some scary Haunted Hotels! Thank you all for it truly has been a lot of fun!
I am excited and hopeful for 2013. The economy is slowly but surely coming out of its doldrums. Our industry is gaining some much needed momentum. Our attendees and participants are being able to once again attend and participate! New life is being breathed into our industry and we have all come out wiser, more focused and ready for the next set of challenges.
Keep me in mind and call me in 2013 for all you site selection needs! I already know I would love to work with you!
Happy Holidays!
~ Jill Stone
*Thank you to Mark Ramsey Media for the image!
Meeting Planning and Site Selection
HelmsBriscoe provides site selection services to corporate, association and government clients that plan off-site meetings and conferences. Jill Stone uses her on-site hotel experience, contract expertise and HelmsBriscoe's leverage to negotiate her clients the best hotel packages.
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