16 hours a week, 200 hours a year, 322 working days in our lifetime – according to new research we are wasting our careers in meetings.

The results show that the average office worker spends around 16 hours in meetings each week (!), and that around a quarter of this time is usually wasted. That’s four hours of pointless meetings every week. Or a weekly Gone With the Wind screening.

Here at BECAUZ we like to change things up a bit with meetings outside over lunch, a walk, even a jog (when we are feeling up for it… not often!).

Ian McKelvie recently mentioned that “a change of scenery and pace is a great way to get people thinking differently and loosening up!”

Have you got any tips for getting the most out of meetings? Let us know below…

Countdown
Choose a date well in advance to be able to find a venue and ensure you have clear budgets.

Simple is best
Have a clear idea of what style/theme you would like at your party. Don’t mix loads of half-baked ideas together. A good idea if you are hiring in waiters is to get them dressed up in the same theme.

Walk the walk
When you are planning your party, walk through the party as if you were the guest. Can you find the location, the parking and the restroom easily?  Where will you leave your coat?  Where is the bar? Would you want to be greeted with a drink? Is your party fun and informal or formal? (And there is a fine line between formal and stuffy!) Remember the big picture and the details – many a well-planned outside BBQ party has actually smoked out the guests when the wind direction wasn’t accounted for!

Signed, sealed, delivered
Tried and tested suppliers will help your event go smoothly as they know the ropes. Choose good caterers and stick to the dishes they recommend; these will probably be the ones that will fit in well. Try to avoid the dishes volunteered by the mother-in-law and other family members that usually contribute to slow service and chaos!

It’s a numbers game
Make sure you know the numbers. Fewer people than planned and you might get hit with cancellation charges at short notice. Too many people turning up and you might run out of parking, food and drink!

The Party Cocktail
Be creative. Give yourself a signature cocktail. At a themed party, don’t stop at just wines and beers – why not have a themed cocktail list? It’s always a winner.

Location, location, location
Sometimes the small details can trip you up. In the colder evenings, coats take up an amazing amount of storage space and need organizing for guests leaving at the end. You can rent a coat rack as an alternative to a heap on a bed! It also makes good sense to position the bar as close to the entrance as possible so guests can get a drink as soon as they have let go of their coats.

Let the music play
The saviour or killer of any party. Choose music that will fit in with the theme. Do not cut costs on a DJ, no matter what budget you have. One of the signs of a good party is everyone is on the dance floor. If you want a band, go and see them perform before you book. See their interaction with the crowd, their energy, flexibility to change musical genres, to get people up enjoying themselves.

Come rain or shine
Seattle weather is unpredictable. Do you have shelter planned if it rains? How quickly can you get shelter when you see the short term weather forecast? Do you have a fallback plan?  If it is a light shower that is passing, some umbrellas put around the garden might be the cheapest, most flexible option.

Au revoir
Getting people home quickly and easily can be as challenging as getting them there. Ensure you have some taxi numbers on standby. A suggestion would be to give them a call to prepare them – tell them that you are having a party and it is expected to end at an approximate time.

A helping hand…

Events companies can be involved as little or as much as you want, from just providing creative ideas at the beginning to coordinating everything on the day itself, leaving you time to relax and enjoy your own event.

If you are using an outside events company to help, trust your gut instinct when selecting one. They should obviously be good listeners and highly organized.

But you will be spending a lot of time talking and going through details together. So as much as valuing their expertise and ideas, you should also enjoy their company and be able to work honestly and effectively together.

And don’t forget, little unforeseen extras can soon blow your budget. An experienced events company will have a complete view of all the likely costs, from supplies to scallops and celebrity speakers. And they will have a large network of great suppliers you can tap into and help to negotiate great rates with.

So together you can manage the budget to plan.

In business it’s much the same.  There are many senior executives who have had amazing careers leading teams and businesses to great success.  That doesn’t mean there isn’t room to improve and continue to raise their game.  Or they may be facing a new challenge and need some sound counsel to achieve a breakthrough result.  And that’s where coaches come in.

It can be difficult to find time to consider new ways to do things.  There is tremendous pressure to manage scope and change, and to deliver quarterly results, and that leaves little time to reflect on leadership, unless there is a structure in place to create that time.  Coaching provides that structure.

In a New York Times article, golf great Phil Mickelson said of working with coaches: “What has been important to me working with my coaches is that they give me all the information and advice from their years of experience and then help blend it into my approach and the way I’ve been doing things. And that’s what makes it work, because it is collaborative.”

How it works:

At BECAUZ, we have a systematic approach to working with executives. We start with alignment – no cookie-cutter solutions here.  Each executive is an individual, with unique talents and opportunities, facing specific challenges organizationally and personally.  We have to get inside their heads and see the world and their organization through their eyes—helping to bring a fresh perspective.

Great business coaching begins with understanding what the organization needs from its leaders in order to reach its goals. We develop a plan in collaboration with the leader that targets specific changes or behaviors that will increase the chances of success.  Our four-step model – align, develop, execute and sustain – helps leaders stay on track and can enable significant transformation of a organization or business.

Align – Where are we going? Communicate the vision.

Develop – How do we cultivate new skills, tools and thinking?

Execute – How do we ensure actions align with strategy?

Sustain – How do we stay focused on success, stay accountable?

We know that the most effective learning takes place on the job, so BECAUZ focuses on the current, real-time activities of the leader being coached.  Through a reflective, tailored and organized process we help leaders upgrade the quality of their conversations and relationships with others, and focus on those behavior adjustments that deliver the most impact on results.  We catalyze the development of new skills to match what’s required at new levels of leadership.

What sets us apart?

Anyone can call themselves a coach, but in order to be an effective coach you have to bring deep experience, skills developed over years of working with senior leaders, and the kind of innovative, structured process that BECAUZ has developed.  Our cadre of coaches are seasoned in business experience and leadership roles, have high EQ, top-notch communication skills, and executive presence. They have the depth that enables them to share insight and offer peer counsel. But more than that, our people have a fire in the belly for transformational results.  They won’t rest until you and your teams are successful.

Blog written by Brenda Bluemke, Director of Coaching
For more information on BECAUZ Coaching – contact Brenda on brenda@becauz.com

Something new for 2012.

We are focused on you.   Every so often we send out a newsletter  – NOT your typical newsletter, this one has BECAUZ written all over it– tongue-firmly-in-cheek style, interesting tid-bits of news and fresh ideas, and the occasional chance to win fabulous prizes through fun competitions.

Sign up here

Collaboration and trust were exactly what a Senior Director wanted to develop within his team and across the organization. Vulcan’s smart, dedicated people were so focused on delivering client projects they often missed the opportunity for strong and consistent collaborate with other teams. He recognized that what was needed was a shared experience to provide a platform for building community and cross-functional relationships. Colleagues who had seen incredible results from BECAUZ Events referred him to us.

The BECAUZ Events team delivered a custom-designed, one-day ‘Discovery Trail’ team offsite that brought 30 participants together to build a new foundation of trust and shared commitment. By gradually increasing the level of challenge, the day forged the thinking, collaboration and connection teams need to succeed. What was revealed was a more courageous way to function for higher performance, job satisfaction and goal clarity. Thinking shifted from “How can I work harder and faster?” to the more creative and satisfying “How can I think differently with my peers to get different results?”

With newfound communication skills, stronger relationships and accountability, the team and the individuals within it were transformed by the end of the day. Most importantly, the cultural shift persists today and Vulcan benefits from a continuous return on its most important investment, its people.

“BECAUZ and the challenges they posed caused us to open up and make the changes needed to become the leaders we were meant to be.”

- Senior Director, Design & Construction

So when did corporate team building start?

You will need to go back at least 80 years if you want to explore the history of teamwork and team building as we know it today.

That’s how long researchers have been examining the behavior of teams in the workplace.   Today there are numerous teamwork theories around employee motivation, team development, workplace culture and the benefits of rewards and recognition.  However in the 1920s, none of these concepts were well understood.

One of the earliest research studies into workplace behavior was that of Professor Elton Mayo and the Hawthorne Experiment.    Mayo conducted experiments into teamwork and team building from 1927 to 1932 at the Western Electric Hawthorne Works in Chicago.

The experiments had the primary intention of studying the relationship between productivity and work conditions. Professor Mayo started these experiments by examining the physical and environmental influences of the workplace (e.g. brightness of lights, humidity) and then moved on to the psychological aspects (e.g. breaks, group pressure, working hours, managerial leadership).

The findings in Hawthorne Experiments have been generally described as the “Hawthorne Effect”, which can be summarized as “Individual behaviors may be altered because people know they are being studied.”  The Hawthorne studies found that employees are not motivated solely by money and that motivation is linked to employee behavior and their attitudes.

At the time, there was no established history of teamwork and employee motivation research to rely on.  Mayo’s findings were considered quite unusual.   Today, we know that efforts by leaders to motivate teams through shared experiences have a real effect on productivity and performance.

High Performing Team

Sport teams have also been a huge influence in how employers look at employee team dynamics.   High performing sports teams have many of the same attributes that are sought after in work groups – collaboration, mutual support, desire to win and a shared goal.  People naturally took “team” from a sports metaphor to business.

“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.” –Michael Jordan

A VALENTINE COMPETITION!   All Likers of our Facebook page and any NEW likers between now and 14th Feb 2012 will be entered to WIN a dinner for 2 at a swanky restaurant as a little gift from BECAUZ. Please go and like our page and also pass this on for a chance to win this for you or your loved one!

Share the Love

You put a ton of time and effort coming up with topics and speakers that are important to the success of your organization only to hear complaints about, “Why this again” or “We do the same thing every time,” “I don’t have the time to attend” and “It’s not worth my time.”

Human beings learn better when they are having fun and when the event, conference or program contains a balanced and innovative mix of education and entertainment.

Here are some tips to help you achieve that – and yes, of course, BECAUZ Events can help with many of them.

• Make sure your next event includes some fun! Include some comedy, particularly during the day, to break up a heavy program. Show a fun video during a presentation, have some upbeat music for when people walk in and exit the room. This creates a different feel than walking into a room that has no atmosphere.

• Engage a professional Master of Ceremonies to provide continuity and leave you free to deal with any unplanned situations as they arise.

• A full day of keynote (plenary) speeches is not conducive to sustained concentration. Plan some interactive workshop sessions, or a panel discussion to keep attendees stimulated and interested.

• Plan some energizing activities to help attendees maintain focus. Simple five-minute spots to restore energy and concentration is all it takes and they are fun to do.

• Insert a memorable 2-3hour team event into the program. It splits up the day and gives more value to people participating, particularly if it focuses on areas that you are looking to improve on – e.g. collaboration, communication. Ensure the activity ties into the overall theme of your Conference, Event or Team Meeting.

• Allow time for networking, particularly during evening functions. Select an entertainment package that creates an environment for this.

• Be innovative in the ways you deliver information. Consider an interview format, instead of yet another presentation. You don’t want Death by PowerPoint!

• Set up a community (Facebook, Internet Site etc.) where delegates can access information prior to conference, and give feedback both during and after your event. Be sure to post photos if appropriate.

• Ensure your food and beverage menu is designed to help attendees maintain focus. Heavy, rich meals and morning snacks are out! Fresh fruit, light savories and healthy cookies are in! Ask for light lunches, gourmet sandwiches, salads and other light food.

• Ensure there is plenty of fresh water available at all times, both for speakers and attendees.

• Finally, remember to schedule a proper debriefing meeting afterwards, for all parties involved.

10 Tips to help tiptoe around the common pitfalls of conference planning

1. Think about “why” before “how”.
Before diving headfirst into all the logistics and event management of any conference, or indeed any event, the most important and probably your first job is to understand why. Two key questions to ask yourself and your team: What are we trying to achieve by having the conference/event? What will success look like at the end? The answers are critical and can prevent rework such as the agenda being changed or even the venue! Ensure you also get the input of the key stakeholders.

2. Location, location, location
Map out what the event venue will need to deliver, from start to finish. Do you have enough space to accommodate the number of delegates in the seating arrangement required? Will there be energizer activities for the delegates where they will need space to move around? Will there be workshops or rooms for delegates to split up into?
How high is the ceiling? There are many venues with low ceiling height and if you have 300 delegates in the room – it can become a little claustrophobic. What facilities are there (for example, heating and air conditioning)?
What AV will be used? If you have rear projection this will take up more space in the conference room as the projector needs a distance of six feet from the screen.

3. Feed and water the delegates.
Don’t forget the delegates with special dietary requirements. This may sound simple and something “I already know” but do you know how much food the venue is providing for the delegates who are vegans, vegetarians etc? Sometimes the choices are limited.

4. Manage catering costs
A simple voucher system for breakfasts, lunches and dinners enables you to restrict charges to only what is eaten and not pay for delegates who don’t eat.

5. Car park capers
Do you have delegates attending just for the day? If so does the venue have enough space to accommodate the day delegates as well as the venue residents? Where is the nearest overflow parking lot? How much does it cost? How far is it to walk? Can the venue provide a shuttle to collect the delegates if it is raining?

6. Clashing timetables
Always ask what else is happening at the venue. If the venue has booked out the conference room to another party in the evening it usually means you will need to be out of the room by 5pm so they can turn the room around for the next guests. Does this fit in with your schedule and plans? Are any competitors or conflicting events also at the venue?

7. Pick me ups
If you have air travellers, ensure your transportation is clear. Expect 30% of delegates to walk straight past the pick-up sign at the airport and phone up the organiser complaining there is no transportation for them. Most airports have two entrances that people walk out of into arrivals. A good tip is to have two people standing on each entrance and also a sweeper with a sign going back and forth. For those who still miss it, leave instructions in their information packet to meet at the Information Desk in Arrivals. This should avoid randomly lost waifs and strays!

8. Start early
The earlier you start the more choice you will have. Venues get booked early.

9. Choose wisely
If you are using an outside events company to help, trust your gut instinct. They should obviously be good listeners and highly organized. But you will be spending a lot of time talking and going through details together. So, as much as valuing their expertise and ideas, you should also enjoy their company and be able to work honestly and effectively together.

10. Watch the budget
Little unforeseen extras can soon blow your budget. An experienced events company will have a complete view of all the likely costs, from scotch tape to scallops and celebrity speakers. And they will have a large network of great suppliers you can tap into and can help to negotiate great rates. So together you can watch both the pennies and the pounds!

CF: What do you enjoy most about your job?
IM: The intense people contact and depth of conversations. Making a difference. The hairs on my body stand on end when the lights turn on in people’s eyes ….. when they realise how incredible they are and how it’s up to them to make a difference. Frequently when facilitating our programs, I’m out of my comfort zone and learning real time. Moments of extreme clarity where I come face to face with the limitations of my own thinking and mental models.

CF: What do you find most challenging about your job?
IM: Making sure every BECAUZ experience is memorable and impactful. Ensuring we have the confluence of exquisite design, the best facilitators/coaches and impeccable execution to help land our clients’’ strategy. Everything we do is bespoke and embedded in the context of our client’s culture and business challenges!

CF: On our website we talk about how we integrate the BECAUZ Transform, Lead, Exceed (TLE) system into our Conference & Events. Why do you believe this to be an important ingredient in our process?
IM: People learn from profound experiences. Our track record in landing relevant and high ROI events is built on the TLE process. It tethers all of our programs from Performance Coaching to Large Scale Conference & Events. Our specialty is facilitating a Team through the Align, Develop and Execute process … a process where they get a different sense of how big a game they can play … just what’s possible when they work together. The Process allows people to think, act, and approach their business and its challenges differently.

If we don’t pin everything we do with the proven TLE process, then it is all about content and the event lands flat. We could just send everyone an email with the content and it would make no difference. Their behaviours wouldn’t evolve and their business wouldn’t advance.

CF: How do you use the Transform, Lead, Exceed System within BECAUZ?
IM: We Dog food! We all dog food all of our own offerings.

CF: What do you mean by dog food?
IM: Dog food is where we test out on own services before putting out to our clients. We do extensive training with our coaching cadre and our facilitator bench and we beta test all stuff at our own retreats. We are a learning organization and we love to “model the way”. Not many people would know the level of feedback we give each other on a daily basis – even Pre/During/Post an event/program or offsite; we give each other regular and focused feedback.

BECAUZ leaders all have coaches as well – from outside our system. It keeps us honest and gives us a critical outside in perspective. Basic physics suggests that an integral way to impact a system is from the outside.

CF: Where do you see BECAUZ in 10 years?
IM: I bet BECAUZ will be a human capital practice of a large global consulting company – a part of an end to end “strategy through execution consultancy”. Most pure consultancy companies have limited depth and breadth in talent development. Firms will tell you that people are the core of their competitive advantage but they don’t “live it”. This is where we impact, and we have the calibre of people it takes to pull off our global commitments.

We already have a global footprint through our facilitators and coaches (In China, UK, Belgium, Canada, US, New Zealand and Singapore). I personally am fascinated with culture and wouldn’t mind moving to India.

Some Interesting Facts about Ian:

Favorite Seattle Restaurant: Serious Pie – I have a pizza problem!!
Favorite Past time: Flying helicopters
Favorite Destination outside Seattle: Belize
Favorite Memory from BECAUZ: Can I have two?
Thinking we were going to be fired 8 minutes into a team event. The Event ended up being a break through experience for the client – they are still talking about it today!    Doing the Inca trail with a global security team – amazing group of people.