An article by Kordell Norton on 3 Elements of change that can make your next meeting or event a over the top success
Because of the Wonderful Things He Does . . . .
By Kordell Norton, 2007
I
t was a event caught in slow motion. Adrenaline rushes over you and in slow motion, time alters. You can literally hear your heart pumping blood into your frenzied head. You have heard about this state of mind and body, when superhuman strength allows a person to literally lift the car off of a trapped loved one. In this case, it is the panic that something is about to go very, very wrong. Like an impending car crash, you know that bad things are about to happen and you experience that superhuman moment of hyper panic. And you are to blame.
It was a major conference with 500 sales people and executives gathering for the opening ceremonies of a 3 day event. I knew that the Sherman Tank that would roll across the ball field was a ploy and that the real arrival of the Chairman of the Board was to be staged a few minutes later with the landing of a military helicopter. Out would step the top executive, to the deafening yells and applause of the attendees in stadium bleachers. Next, after comments, the company President would take over the ceremony of awards. There would be the briefcases filled with $10,000 cash handed to award winners along with standing ovations that would follow the reading of accomplishments for each.
Then my mind raced to the moment when I knew the President would reach for a list of “to be recognized” names of corporate staff, with a short blurb about the on accomplishments of each one.
But there was no list and no paragraphs of accolades on these winners. I realized this 10 minutes before this event was to begin . . . and it was my responsibility. A small detail had slipped through the cracks. The adrenaline rush exploded.
Small details.
The question was asked by a professional speaker to a large room filled with employees, “How many of you have ever been bitten by an elephant?” There was only silence.
He then asked, “How many of you have been bitten by a mosquito, or a ‘no-see-um’?”
Hands shot up across the room.
“He says with a grin, “it isn’t the big things that get you . . . it’s the little things. Elephants don’t bite.”
Small details.
As a professional in meeting planning, you, more than anyone, knows the power of details.
But what are the details you may not have taken into consideration to make sure your event is a success? Are there elements of a fantastic experience that you should consider or add, that would elevate the success of your event to levels not yet imagined?
A license to win
Why not use the wisdom of the ages to make your next association or corporate meeting more powerful.
In ancient Greece there was a group of wise men who practiced a form of communicating that was so strong that a person educated in this process was almost guaranteed success. Once you learned this way of thinking and speaking (they called it rhetoric) you gained great power in business, politics and life.
As students studied and learned this rhetoric, they became part of a group of achievers known as Sophist’s. Even today there is pressure to become sophisticated. The wisdom of the sophists became an automatic element of success. What were some of the elements learned by the ancient Greeks? Would you give you a “license to win”?
The learning of the Greeks spread and succeeding societies added to the basic building blocks and elements of the Sophists. Various groups and organization added elements that created a more profound event or experience. Others found that if they managed and controlled the elements that go into planned “change” they could almost guarantee success.
Disney ain’t got nothin’ on you
So you have that meeting on the horizon. You have your speakers set, the room arrangements made, the food and drinks planned for. The entertainment has been contracted and the small details are on the appropriate lists.
But what can you do to bring the elements of change, the wisdom of the Greeks, the insights of history and the best practices of a Disney experience into your event so that it will become world class?
Embrace Change
Today you experience as much change in one year as your grandfather experienced in seventy years. That is a comparison of 3 days of change for Grandpa being converted as 1 hour for you.
The speed of change is so intertwined in our world that we, like the man walking down the isle of the overhead passenger jet, cruising at 30,000 feet, are not even aware that we walk that isle at 600 miles per hour.
We have become sensitive that others are struggling with change. But why not turn up the heat on change instead of helping others cope with it and its stress?
We anticipate our vacations, which are often radical changes from our everyday world, in some far off exotic location. We look forward to that marriage to a loved one so we can go from a world of “singleness” to that of a family.
So is change good or bad?
Don’t fight change. Your meeting has a purpose. Why not apply a few of the elements of drastic change and manage your event so that it is a catalyst for positive. Others may shun causing drastic change, but should you?
Change can be good, and if managed well, can be fantastic!
Empower your Wizard
One of the most powerful elements of change is the use of the authority figure. The Wizard in L. Frank Baum’s book of the magical Land of Oz should be a part of your meeting.
Our world is filled with experts and “who saids . . . of the greatest magnitude”. These wizards carry with them powerful insights and wisdom. When they speak, along with their imbued authority and power, they can cause great change in individuals and organizations.
“By the power vested in me by the great State of Confusion, I now pronounce you man and wife.” A few minutes before the nuptials were individuals, a fiancé and their betrothed. Now they take upon themselves a marriage of combined interest and a commitment to drastic change.
Do you have an authority figure that would put the participants at awe and cause them to be more committed to change, to lift, and improve?
Charging Admission – The Barometer of how good YOU are
Great occasions of change have a common element. Admission.
Whether it is the fee for the amusement park, the ticket at the theater, or the donation at a religious service . . . each has a price of admittance.
Does your meeting and event have a price to get in? Do you collect multiple times? If it is a great event, you can.
When an event or meeting is really good, people will want to fund that experience additional times. In fact there is a whole industry that feeds great experiences. Have you ever heard of souvenirs’?
For the participants the moment is so profound (“yes Virginia, we do love certain kinds of change”) that they want to keep the feelings, emotions, and memories alive. They want, crave, and require a souvenir. If your speaker is at the back of the room following their keynote address with a table of books and no one is lined up “get the souvenir” with accompanying signature, was the speaker really that great? Did they fill the place of the Wizard?
Are there more elements that could be considered? Ah yes. But to find those we are off to see the Wizard . . .the wonderful Wizard of Oz, because, because, because . . . .
Meanwhile, start today, discovering a few of the elements that are part of drastic change. Consider the part of a life changing event that you can orchestrate with a little planning.
Become the Wizard for your organization . . . because of the wonderful things you can do.
About Kordell Norton – The Top Line Guy
Speaker, Consultant and is the author of Throwing Gas on the Fire – creating drastic change in Sales and Marketing, which looks at the elements of change used by great organizations. He is a member of the National Speakers Association and works with corporations, associations, education and government organizations who want to focus on the Top Line and their sales, customer service and business growth through strategic planning, training and leadership.
He was an executive with several multi-billion dollar corporations with executive positions in sales, management, marketing, HR and Call Center management. As a certified Graphic Facilitator, he uses highly visual processes, along with humor, and entertaining methods for powerful, high energy presentations.
He can be reached at www.KordellNorton.com or (330) 405-1950 or by email at Kordell@KordellNorton.com