Time to step out of the Zone
So often we find ourselves repeating the same patterns both professionally and personally because it feels “safe”. While that perceived safety may or may not be real, it explains why so many people feel their lives are in a rut. It is that comfort zone that so many long for that ultimately is their worst enemy. In order to grow and develop, you have to have new experiences to make you branch out. Although daunting at first, once you take a step out of that area of safety and comfort, you can truly begin to flourish.The same logic applies to the world of business meetings and corporate events. The blog post, Two words that kill innovation, and the scary word solution, perfectly addresses this very issue. Let’s face it, who can distinguish one boring corporate event from another? The same cookie-cutter approach to meetings becomes numbing after a while. Check-in to the same business class hotel. Meet for the obligatory cocktail reception in the same type of boring lounge you find in any 3-star hotel across the country. Followed by three days of meetings, enclosed in a modified ballroom, only to be fed the traditional rubber chicken and stale veggies. And you’re supposed to excited about this???? Not to mention, once you’re there, you’re expected to capture and retain every bit of information in spite of the fact that you’re about to crawl out of your skin from boredom. Seems like such a good use of corporate resources and a great return on investment, right?
Next time, why not take a unique approach to facilitating a business meeting or corporate event. Step outside of that stale box and try something totally different. As the article points out, “Instead of a windowless banquet room, picture an interactive cirque dinner theater experience – in a Spiegel tent reserved just for your group. How about adding a little fun to the agenda with team-building activities like rock climbing or a ropes course (wait for the twist) – in the middle of the ocean?” Not only are those ideas bound to inspire attendees and provide an experience not soon forgotten, but it can all be done for the same (and in some cases, even less) than the traditional meeting. It is all about risk and creativity. Although it’s not always easy to try something completely out of the ordinary, who wants to have an ordinary meeting? It seems to fly in the face of the overall objective. You want a new message to get across, you want to inspire your attendees, you want create momentum. Why not have an event that is indicative of such missions?
BE UNIQUE, BE CREATIVE and BE ADVENTUROUS. The rewards will pay off in ways you could only imagine.
