The day I ran away from home

White Space. Graphic designers describe white space as the “absence of content”. We live in a world with very little white space. We brand ourselves as “accessible” and the fact is that we pack our smart phones EVERYWHERE and are available 24/7. How healthy is that? Where are our boundaries? Where is our personal “white space”?

We are scheduled and programmed to the extent that spontaneity is no longer possible. If I were to ask you, “when was the last time you did something crazy and impulsive?” what would be your answer?

Today I ran away from home. I will be back tomorrow, but for today I am a runaway. I chose to drive 5 hours to a meeting instead of flying. I chose to sit in a car for 5 hours with no cell phone, no computer, and no one else to talk to. I created 5 hours of “white space”.

I set my cruise control for 110 kph, put the “Devil Wears Prada” book on cd in the player and drove. It was heavenly.

Tomorrow I get to drive the 5 hours home. I can’t wait

A Recipe for Earth Day 2011

April 22^nd will mark Earth Day, the largest environmental event worldwide. It began as an environmental awareness event in the U.S. and has grown to an event celebrated or acknowledged by over 170 countries.

What is Earth Day? Earth Day is a day that is intended to spread awareness and appreciation for the world we live in. It should be a catalyst for change and provides an opportunity for positive actions and results. Some examples of celebrations include garbage pickup, eco festivals, river valley clean up, energy fasts, etc.

I have had the following idea in my head for years (scary) and have always felt that it would be an appropriate way to spend Earth Day. It is a recipe for success because you are combining the act of giving with fellowship = magic. Please….enjoy and yes, you may steal my idea!

Find a project - call around to non-profit organizations, etc. and identify a "project" that you participate in. Perhaps it is painting a clubhouse for the soccer association, or cleaning out the flowerbeds of the local seniors home. The important thing to remember is that the project must be designed to be completed that day. A project that can be started and finished in one day fosters a feeling of accomplishment.

Now that you have identified a project you need to.....

Come up with a guest list - write down a list of individuals whom you could invite to participate in this project. Make sure you will have enough to complete the project as promised.

Send out the "invitations" - Go to the local Home Depot or hardware store and purchase work gloves. These will become your invitations for the event. Hand deliver only one glove to each invitee. Write on the palm of the glove, the details of the event, i.e. time, date, etc. You can explain that they will receive the other glove when they show up that morning.

"Lend a hand to celebrate Earth Day"

April 22nd

Time

Location

Project

When everyone arrives at the project site, hand out the second glove to participants. Arrange to have a member of the organization that you are supporting be there to explain the project and what the contribution means.

Post Project Picnic (love alliteration!) - You can either have a post project picnic at the site, or you can invite the participants over to your home for a barbeque. If you give them an hour to freshen up with the promise of a cold beer or glass of wine, they will be sure to attend. Psst....try to make it local beer or wine

Pictures!! Make sure that you take lots of pictures during the project. A group photo is really important because you will want to send each participant one as a great keepsake and thank you!

I hope you have a wonderful Earth Day!

What I learned standing in line at Voodoo Doughnut

Have you ever realllllly stood in line for something? I am not talking standing in line at the grocery store or the coffee shop…I’m talking about investing some serious time.

Recently I stood in line for over an hour for a doughnut. Not for tickets for Oprah’s final show or a chance to win something….it was to buy a doughnut. A Voodoo Maple/Bacon Doughnut to be precise. Are they the best doughnuts in the world? Maybe…maybe not. Were they worth standing in line for? Definitely.

While in Portland for the GMIC Sustainable Meetings Conference, Jenise Fryatt (one of the nicest, sweetest, talented human beings I know) and I decided to use our precious free time to check out the local hotspot known as Voodoo Doughnut. After taking a short, free MAX train ride (we were traveling within the free zone….yeah!), Jenise used her telephone navigational system to locate the bakery. As we approached, we could see that a line wrapped around the building and down the side street. “Is that it?” I asked….not sure why a doughnut shop would have a line up that long on a Sunday afternoon. We stationed ourselves at the end of the line not knowing exactly how long we would be in line and whether or not it was even going to be worth our while.

Life is like that. Sometimes we wait patiently for something, not really knowing how long it will take or if it will pay off. We just have a sense that it is worth waiting for.

We don’t know how long the line actually is because all we can see is how many are directly ahead of us before the line makes a sharp turn at the corner.

Sometimes in our lives, we have to move forward on blind faith alone, knowing that something better is around the corner.

In the end, it became less about the doughnut and more about the experience... a take on "life is about the journey, not the destination". We laughed, we shared and we made friends with those around us. We even got rained on a little bit. We had no idea what awaited us, yet we bonded over the unknown – the elusive Voodoo Doughnut.

Judy

Oh Holiday Inn Express Grande Prairie...you make me laugh!

Lately it seems that I have been sharing alot of beefs and bouquets with regards to customer service. I think that the "bouquet's" are winning and I have another to share with you today.

My husband and I planned a getaway with another couple to Grande Prairie. We chose to stay at the Holiday Inn Express because a) we had stayed there before and b) I form habits easily.

I called the hotel and made reservations, letting the clerk know that we would be arriving sometime early evening.

It was a hectic day, and we didn't arrive at the hotel til about 6:30. Checking in was simple (as usual) and the clerk provided me with my complimentary WiFi password (love free Wifi).

Opening our hotel room door, I quickly spot a bag of chips sitting on the credenza. Beside it was a personalized letter to me, thanking me for choosing to stay once again at the Holiday Inn and then proceeded to tell me a cute joke. The personalized letter (signed by a real human being), the cute little joke and the bag of chips made me smile.

Quickly, I tweeted my twitter buddy @9InchMarketing and gave him the 911 on the "extra special" touch that the Holiday Inn Express added for me. He agreed, this was definitely an example of "lagniappe" and it would be listed as #740 in his Purple Goldfish Project. Yeah!

Now....if you want to know what "lagniappe" means and perhaps read a little more about their Purple Goldfish Project you can check it out here.

So....to the gal at the Holiday Inn Express Grande Prairie who left me the personalized letter WITH a cute joke AND a treat....you made me smile! Thank you

In case you are interested...here is the cute joke:

A nurse at a hospital received a call from an anxious patient. "I'm a diabetic and I'm afraid I've had too much sugar today", the caller said.

"Are you light-headed?" the nurse asked.

"No," the caller answered, "I'm a brunette".

Judy

Sprinkles of Sunshine

A very, very long time ago I participated in a webinar where the facilitator/moderator told us to “sprinkle sunshine throughout the events we plan”. I am not a “sunshine sprinkling” kind of gal and I began to wonder, at what point would she attempt a virtual “group hug”. It is not that I am not a happy person. In fact, a couple of years ago I announced to the world that my New Year’s resolution was going to be that I was going to become a “beacon of light”. My friends even mounted a high-powered flashlight onto a hardhat, which was bedazzled with the words “Beacon of Light” to assist me with my resolution. With one click, I could illuminate the world around me!

What I am saying, is that I am not above sprinkling sunshine or being a beacon of light….it’s just that I was strangely uncomfortable with her terminology. I was squirming in my seat by her “new age” language…heck I thought this was a professional webinar.

Squirming aside, I understood what she was trying to say. Remembering to “sprinkle sunshine” equates to giving that little bit extra. Sunshine sprinkling is anticipating the needs of your guests and going one step beyond that.

For example, having a staffed coat check at your event is a nice touch and is appreciated by your guests. How can we go one step further? Have a lint roller brush handy to give the jacket a once over before hanging it up. You may even check the buttons on the jacket to see if they are affixed securely. A loose button could be attended to in moments, and your guest would feel like royalty.

Here are some other examples where you can sprinkle some sunshine. Washrooms are often overlooked during events. You don’t hear a word about them until someone says to you, “Hey, the ladies washroom is out of paper towel”. By having a washroom attendant during the busiest hours (during coffee breaks and after sessions) you can ensure that your guests are using a tidy, well stocked powder room. I recommend having some fresh flowers on the vanity along with a basket or tray of items, like stain remover packets, or Bandaids, etc. Provide a pump mouthwash that has been diluted slightly with water, which is another bit of “sunshine”

Providing a shuttle service is a great perk during conferences and events. It helps to minimize the carbon footprint, and the shuttles can be scheduled to arrive and depart at the hotels and the conference site. You can kick it up one more notch, by providing a “Speedy Car” and a driver on site at the conference. The “Speedy Car” is an economical compact car available for attendee’s who need to quickly rush back to their hotel for a missing item. Providing this unexpected extra will certainly be appreciated and remembered.

My last “sunshine sprinkling” idea has to do with those out of town guests who are staying at a local hotel where the conference has arranged a room block. Leave a welcoming message on their room phone saying something like, “Welcome to the XYZ Conference. We look forward to seeing you at the reception this evening, which begins at 8:00 p.m. in the Civic Center Round Room. A shuttle schedule can be found at the hotel front desk”. Immediately, they feel special and welcomed. You have also reminded them of the reception and advised them of the shuttle service. (This idea came via Ignite Magazine). You have set the tone for the attendee and you haven’t even met them! Bravo!

Whatever you call it, whether it be “sprinkling sunshine” or just going that extra mile, it is really important for you to anticipate your attendee’s needs and then go that one extra step. You will win a customer/client/friend/member for life and they certainly will leave with a pleasant memory of your community and organization.

Judy