Generational Differences

Gen-Friendly Meetings article:
http://archive.pcma.org/conv/July07/July%2007%20Speaker%20Savvy%2018-19.pdf

Good explanations of the various generations and specific information on how it relates to work and meetings.

Sue Tinnish

Carbon Neutral Meetings

Do you know what it means to plan a "carbon neutral" meeting?

Here's a one-page article from the July issue of Convene http://archive.pcma.org/conv/July07/July%2007%20Green%20pages%2068.pdf

Have you been approached by any clients to plan a green meeting?

Let us know.

Sue Tinnish

What they Want!

One of the things we have discovered in food allergies, is that so often the clients give us what they can't eat and is what we need is what they can eat. Not a menu but components so that the chefs have a basis for composition.

Here's another article on Green meetings and what some hotels are doing to become green. Warning: It's a long URL



http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=616&topicId=12552&docId=l:640237671&start=5&nid=3457


There is still time to register for IACC's upcoming Greening your Center and Meetings. Information at http://events.iacconline.org/LNT081007/

Sue Tinnish

Green Meetings

Many conference centers offer erasable, reusable "white boards" that can be used instead of paper flip charts for meetings.

What other features do you have in your conference centers that could be spun into being a "green feature"?

Sue Tinnish

Generational Differences

Background reading at http://www.merrillassociates.com/topic/2004/08/five-generational-differences-shaping-leadership/, Five Generational Differences Shaping Leadership

My take-aways from the article were that

• Careers
• Speed
• Balance

are three areas that affect leadership and meetings.

Careers - Participants are looking for meetings to deliver personal and professional development skills
Speed - Younger generations don't think linearly (generally) and are interested in access to information fast
Balance - Younger generations seek more balance than baby boomers; they don't want their meetings to extend beyond the work day and in many cases will look to include their families on business trips and meetings.

Any one care to comment?

Sue Tinnish

Coming Back to our Senses

EMC Venues ran an interesting article on creating memorable meetings. The author Kare Anderson discusses using all senses to create memorable meetings. You will find the complete article at http://www.meetmagazine-digital.com/meet/2007springsummer/


How could you suggest that clients create a memorable meeting using more of the 5 senses?

Sue Tinnish

Culinary Teambuilding

According to Josefine Koehn in her post on April 16, 2007 on 2:20 am In Lifestyle Trends, USA in the CScout blog

"The newest in escaping the corporate world for some corporate team building and skill-development are cooking classes, which bring – according to the Creative Cooking School of Las Vegas: “A taste of success”. Taking inspiration from “Iron Chef” or “Top Chef”, companies like Microsoft, T-Mobile, Eli Lilly and Nike are sending their employees off to the kitchen.... the cooking classes offer a save and easy way to create the same effect – and are accessible for everyone in the company. On top of that the kitchen can also serve as a micro cosmos of the working world, with a deadline, limited resources and the requirement for cooperation. The only difference is: the top-manager in the company might not be the most gifted kitchen apprentice. This way the stereotypes of people in the office get broken down, new group dynamics can develop. And the final, collaboratively prepared meal really is “a taste of success”

There are 3 case studies posted with her comment at http://www.cscout.com/blog/2007/04/16/trend-team-building-in-the-kitchen.html

Do you offer culinary teambuilding? What success have you had? How do you logistically arrange for such an event?

Have you participated in IACC's culinary teambuiling program at the Annual Conference?

How long do you think the culinary teambuilding trend will continue?

What type of teambuilding are clients requesting?

Sue Tinnish

Disney's Pooh Camp allows participants to define agenda

Here's an amazing article on an un-conference approach that Disney takes on something it calls Pooh Camp! Interesting reading for you...

http://meetingsnet.com/strategy/process/meetings_toss/index.html

How could a conference center execute an un-conference? Do you think your customers would be open to the suggestion?

Sue Tinnish

Food and Beverage - Allergies

Food allergies affect approximately 12 million Americans, more than three million of whom are children.

Most Common Food Allergens:
· Milk
· Egg
· Peanuts
· Tree nuts
· Fish
· Shellfish
· Soy
· Wheat
(Source: The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network at http://www.foodallergy.org/)

How do you work with your clients to become aware of food allergies? What do you do on break stations or at CMP dining to alert people about potential food allergens?

Sue Tinnish

Food and Beverage - General

Food and Beverage Today: What are the Key Ingredients? available at http://meetingsnet.com/religiousconferencemanager/mag/meetings_fb_today_key/

Much of the information posted applied to hotels - not conference centers. There was one suggestion that might trigger some discussion among our group. The suggestion was to:

"Be bold
Bold flavors are a big trend in food and beverage, and it's one that can satisfy your attendees and your budget. “Bold flavors” means food with a lot of favor, and studies indicate that human beings feel more full after eating flavorful food. So, if you are eating plain pasta, you're going to eat a lot of it, because you're not being satisfied."

Are you featuring bold flavors? Are they popular? What are the crowd pleasers. Post your answers and share.

Sue Tinnish