So just this last week, I was contacted by a client who requested a budget proposal for a potential point of sale (POS) installation.  This particular POS install is fairly simple, straight forward, as the level of difficulty to complete the task would be considered to many people as easy.  In order to give a quote, I need to know all the details such as the specific vendor, # of locations, addresses, how and what is being installed in each store, materials and tools required, timeline and deadline date.  One critical element that makes my job easier is being able to upload a store list on a web based program and identify their location on Google Maps.  This gives me an accurate perspective on the number of locations in a designated market area, how much time and man power it will take to complete the project and allows me to calculate mileage between routes.  The bottom line here is that in 2003, a project consisting of 100 locations would eat my lunch.  Everything was done manually; the mapping was a Border’s map that I physically wrote on, the staffing was organized by phone calls, assigning locations were organized on a Word document, projecting mileage was estimated via Mapquest, receipts, recaps and cd’s for proof of performance were usually snail mailed from the Post Office.  7 years later, the technologies have vastly improved these processes and NOW there’s not much of a difference in executing 100 grocery stores or 2,200 convenience stores.  However, my set of challenges have changed and we continue to adjust with the times.   

Today, technology is very much the backbone of most work environments, whether it’s internet, computer programs, conference calls, travel or paperwork.  Here at M2W, these high tech components continue to play a critical role during the pre and post phases of most of my execution processes.  I’ve seen our company jump leaps and bounds, crediting many of our talented co-workers and their incredible vision.  As I run through a few examples, keep in mind that everyone in our company works from an in-home virtual office.  If I need to have a 5 person meeting, we use GoToMeeting and have a real-time webinar.  If I have a quick question, I can ping you via Blackberry text or instant message you with a quick note.  Skype is our “electronic” in and out box.  This is how we screen-share our weekly status calls or use a live video conference to review any budgets or proposals.  M2W uses resources such as ProjectPath, Twitter, Facebook, You Tube, Jigsaw, Yousendit, LinkedIn, ACT, Hotspot, Woot, Vonage, Hot Jobs, Craigslist, Hoovers, Point Blanc IT Support, M2W Event System featuring an on-line paperwork portal and many other.  Over all, I work with as many as 60 work related accounts with user names and passwords, URLS, websites, conference call numbers and codes.  So much technology, so much to learn.  So many ways that help us succeed. 

There is one driving force that I have not mentioned yet and it’s our nationwide staffing capability.  It’s called “being connected".  With our M2W nationwide staff anything and everything is possible.  If M2W wins this bid, we'll be looking at 12 states, 16 markets and 2,200 location.  It may seem difficult to manage, but not impossible.  In a nut shell, the recruiting process will take place by sending a detailed mass email to our nationwide staff.  Once staff is confirmed, brand ambassadors will be “dropped” into a web base program that shows me each of their location on a geo-map (longitude / latitude) and allows me to assign surrounding stores in their area.  All locations will be assigned by a click of a button enabled by converting these mapped out locations into a CSV store lists.  All staff will be able to fill out or update their paperwork on-line in a matter of minutes.  All paperwork such as recaps, receipts, mileage and proof of performance pictures will be uploaded on-line for real time viewing.  Top line regional and nationwide reports are simulated on a micro web site for the client at their request.  It's no doubt that 5 years ago we practically lived in a different world.  As technology changes so will our challenges.  The one constant will be our desire to aim high and succeed.  Below is a picture of my office space displaying a Blackberry, scanner, two calculators, lap top, two extra monitors, one printer, one digital camera, wireless ear phones and a wireless mouse.  I'm just a little connected these days.          

I was involved in a STING OPERATION while on M2W Business in Detroit a few weeks ago. As you read my blog, you may be saying to yourself…no way…slow blog writing day, well actually I’ve been waiting three weeks to do this…and EVERYTHING you are about to read is VERY REAL and happened on Sunday, July 18, 2010.

It was 3am and Donovan Dengler and I had just wrapped up Fuego #2 at the White Star nightclub in a bedroom community of Detroit. Fuego was an up and coming Latino artist who M2W had brought to MetroPCS as a national tour sponsorship opportunity. So, Donovan and I called it a night/morning and I headed off in a cab to my hotel. Now, you should know that the White Star was in an area where I would not frequent that often if I were a “regular” in the Detroit area; however the club was fun and the people were great…but I was more than happy when the cab driver along with his “baby mama” as he affectionately called his girlfriend dropped me at my ever-trusted and very safe Marriott Residence Inn about 8 miles away.

Got up the next morning, hit the couch with my cup o'Joe and was ready to begin the long, arduous task of uploading all the videos and photos from the wild time the night before…event went great so I had no problem getting into the upload thing right away…had two cameras…uh-oh; that would be only one camera. OH NO! I had left the other camera in the taxi the night before.  That particular camera had the best photos and video…Aaaarrrggghhh, this was going to be a bad day…my life was on THAT camera.

OK, Wynne, get it together don't be such a pansy, you just have to call the cab company talk to the owner, get the driver on the phone and ask him to please leave the camera at the cab depot and you will come and pick it up.  Good luck with that one! So what’s the name of the cab company, it was 3am for Gosh sakes? The front desk of the Residence Inn assisted me with this.

So Mario, the chain smoking cab driver who had his "baby mama" by his side, said that he knows exactly who has my camera, it was his last cab customer and I was the second to the last. Mario said he even saw the guy take it from the cab; so he knew for sure that he has it and was positive it was my camera.

So Mario volunteered to go to the home of his last fare from the previous night, the Mr. "unknown thief", the guy who Mario said stole my camera. His house was located in a bedroom community of Detroit… so he headed over there.  He didn't have much success as the guy simply drew his blinds, turned off his radio and acted like no one was home. Mario finally persuaded him to come to the door and the guy had a couple of different stories with regards to the camera.    He first said that he didn’t have the camera, then he said that he took the camera to another bar where a “buddy” told him to bring the camera.

He then said that he could take Mario to the bar, so Mario said “OK, let’s go” and then the guy retreated to his home and did not return to the front door.

So Mario called the cops and told them about the situation, they gave him the run around about how they don’t think they can get it back, the guy probably wouldn’t give it to them, etc, etc.  Personally, I think they gave him the run around because he was African American and it’s long been known that the police in the Detroit area are somewhat racist…and if you read on I think I may have proven this point. The police ended up helping me and not Mario…but only after some slight persuasion and verbal manipulation on my part.

You see, I called that same precinct and asked them why they didn’t help Mario when he called, they back-pedaled and then I said, “well I’m a 51 year old Caucasian woman in the marketing business, and last time I checked it isn’t very good marketing to have me driving into this area to get my camera all by myself, so I’d appreciate some assistance”…that was all this officer needed to hear. I’m sure he had visions of a news story going something like this “female executive visiting on business is mugged/raped/killed when local police would not help her”. He proceeded to tell me to come by their building and they would escort me to get the camera.  So I did just that.

By now the time was 4:30pm in the afternoon, Mario was such a trooper, he had planted his car in the driveway of the thief’s apartment so that not only could the culprit not leave, but neither could his neighbors, and there he remained until we showed up. 

So, back at the precinct, the police (4) were prepping me on how far to drive behind them, to not let the thief see me, to stay out of harms way they were going to drive ahead (two cop cars) and come in from each side of the street in case they guy made a run for it…all very exciting over a $150 camera, but one that had a million dollars worth of photos to me.

And away we went, me about three lengths behind the cop cars, them calling me to tell me to stay back, me blinking my lights to let them know where I was and everything was fine.  At the location they pull up lights flashing, neighbors coming out, beating on the guys’ door and he comes out and from what I heard he denied having the camera and then the cops threatened to take him in…low and behold he walked back into the house and came out holding my camera.  The retrieval of my camera was much to my amazement, and to the amazement of all four of those police officers.  They beckoned for me to drive forward, from my detective-like location down the street, to retrieve my precious camera…all the photos were on there and all buttons still working!

I thanked them profusely and then gave Mario $80 and took Mario and his “baby mama” to dinner at Applebee’s.  Who says the life of a Road Warrior on a quiet Sunday might get a little boring?

I don't know a single person who hasn't had to put some piece of furniture together by following the directions (especially if you love IKEA like I do). This past weekend I experienced this firsthand, again, as I put together my new bookshelf for my office. The directions of matching item A with item B with screw K can be confusing all by itself. But when you add in extra parties who seem to have their own opinion on how to do it, it can be a down right mess.

For over an hour my husband argued with me on which way everything went and how I was wrong or that wasn't right. We fought over which was the boards went and why we should use the drill (even though it said not to). My arguement over and over was "I have the directions right here. They are right." Why wouldn't they be? They came in the box. I'm not saying they are perfect or easy to read, but the manufacturers put them in there for a reason. After the 60 long minutes of fighting over what went where we were finally done. Though we fought over taking the shortcut or following the directions the end product was that the bookshelf was built and it looked good. When it was all said and done I couldn't help but say "See the directions were right after all." I admit a smile came to my face as I said it.

Most of the time in our jobs and our lives we aren't always given directions and we have to wing it to get it done. Maybe that is why it is so hard for people to follow directions when they are given them. Or possibly is it because we are always looking for a shortcut when the directions seem difficult or long. Whatever the case is directions are there for a reason. Some are simple and some are hard but in the end they are there for specific reasons and they should be followed. I know that's hard to do, but maybe you should stop and think about the reasons behind some of the directions you are given.

As a trainer I tell those managers who train with me that I will give them the tools, materials and directions to build the "house" they will live in while they work for our company. I know what is expected from these "houses" that they are building and I am very specific about certain aspects. I know what works and what doesn't. I've been through the Three Little Pigs routine and I know the brick house is what they need to be succesful. The directions are very clear cut and are there for reasons of safety, accountability, legal and such and they are expected to be followed.

The training manual these people recieve is their bookshelf directions. If you take shortcuts you miss something or you have leftover equipment and supplies. If you follow them you have a strong foundation for being successful going forward. And when it's all said in done after the house is built to the specs required they can decorate it any way they like as it's their house and they have to live in it.

The 16^th installment of ESPN’s Summer X Games returned to Los Angeles, CA with a huge bang and to take advantage of it all was candy company Ferrara Pan and their Lemonhead product line.  Through the birth of the nostalgia candy Lemonhead Original Flavor came other products such as Chewy Lemonhead and Friends and Tropical Lemonhead and Friends.  This year's market launch debuted the all new Berry Chewy Lemonhead and Friends.  There couldn’t have been a better place to activate this new launch, as Los Angeles displayed the perfect climate and ESPN and the Staples Center presented the perfect location.

             Our X-fest on-site activation was fantastic!  From July 29^th thru August 1^st, we activated a 10’ x 20’ footprint at the Staples Center featuring several cool experiences.  Our goal was to engage patrons, distribute coupons and candy samples and get them involved in our social media campaign.  First the patrons would spin the wheel to win some cool Lemonhead shutter glasses, a #1 Lemonhead foam finger or a Lemonhead bandanna.  Next, Team Lemonhead (brand ambassadors) would encourage these patrons to text the word SKATE to 95248 to win 1 of our 20 EPIC LEMON skate decks.  Our next station was to invite them into costume and take a photo opportunity to be posted on Facebook, allowing the patrons to retrieve their fun and goofy photos for tagging and sharing.  Before the patron exited, we would show them how to find their Facebook photo and remind them to sign up for the Facebook surf board sweepstakes.  Every station was filled with fun and excitement and of course a variety of candy products.

I ask, did we execute to the best of our ability and achieve our goals?  I’ll let you be the judge.  Over 4 days of festivities, ESPN Summer X Games executed 23 events, with over 200 athletes and welcomed approximately 150,000 “extreme” fans.  Team Lemonhead engaged with more than three-quarters of the fan base.  We distributed 51,000 samples of product and 3,000 branded promotional items.  Team Lemonhead created 12 albums, approximately 1,000 interactive photos of patrons in costume and raised the Facebook fan count by 15,000 more fans, totaling 40,000 Lemonhead fans.  Our text to win promotion received over 2,000 text entries, giving away 20 LEMON EPIC skate decks.  Team Lemonhead accounted for 270 event hours on site over 4 days and I want to recognize them for their commitment, dedication, coaching ability and unbelievable energy in promoting and branding everything that Ferrara Pan Candy believes and stands for.  So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much Heather, Kim, Melanie, Karina, Krissy and Jennifer! 

 Live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA  at Summer X Games 16, signing off-  Robert Pequeno, M2W         

As a supervisor, manager, volunteer, mother, daughter, sister, wife and friend, I find myself juggling the different titles and hats daily. I amaze myself on how I always have made time for all of those roles in my daily life. But the most important (and usually least nurtured) title is that of ME. Like many people I give all day at work and then give all day at home. I don't take the time to give to myselves.

I decided a few weeks ago I was going to make ME Resolutions. You see, it doesn't have to be the New Year to make a resolution. People want to quit smoking, lose weight, meet that special person, spend less money and such. I want something more than that. So I have decided to make resolutions that foster my relationship with myself and nobody else. I wanted to share these as I feel all to often we are caught up in our day to day life taking care of everyone else and not taking care of ourselves. Here are my top three  ME Resolutions.

3. TAKE A TIME OUT - When a child is put in time out it's usually because they have broken a rule, done something bad or need to cool off from a situation. So why can't the apply to me? I know I don't always follow the rules or do everything right, but I do need time outs to cool off. I have designated a chair and some rules to go with my time outs. They are not your usual time out rules, but rather Time In rules. It's about taking the time to give back to myself. It's reading a chapter in a book, doing some meditation or just turning off all the electronics in the area and being disconnected. I know I don't disconnect enough so I'm making myself go to time out daily. I hope that by doing this it will help to clear my mind.

2. SWEAT 'N TO THE OLDIES - I've decided I need to take better care of myself both inside and out. I've changed my diet and now changed my exercise and activity levels. I have joined into the P90X nation "Just Push Play" and started running again. I have goals this time, but they aren't the same as they were last time. I care more about taking care of myself in general and not by the numbers on the scale or the size that I am wearing. I am working on pushing my body, mind and soul to the limits in every activity I do. I know I can do it no matter what it is. It's about making the commitment and following through, and setting goals outside of work and exceeding them. Every day I put in my earbuds and listen to my master mix of great 80s and 90s music and take it to the streets. I can't turn back the clock to be 21 again, but I can put in the work to making my body work that way again and this time I'll respect it more.

1. TAKING A ME-CATION - I post quite often on Facebook that I need to take a ME-CATION. It's a vacation where you leave behind the spouse, the job, the kids, the work, the volunteering, the friends and the stress. Ideally you go away to a wonderful place ALONE and focus on you. Well that's not always possible so I have started with some mini me-cations. Getting a pedicure or massage, going to the movies by myself, reading a book at the beach, taking a bubble bath, going for a drive or just being somewhere peaceful and ALONE. It's amazing what a few hours can do to clear your mind save your santity. I am looking forward to a long weekend alone somewhere so that I can recharge internally. I will miss my family, but I think I will find so much more.

So there they are. You may find that my ME Resolutions are a bit selfish. And you are right, because they are! But if we all broke down our days in what we give to everyone else can we honestly say we give enough to ourselves? Probably not. There is a line that you don't want to cross where you neglect your responsiblities, but overall taking time to turn off the BlackBerry and just be with yourself is so much more rewarding. And I know taking care of me will make me a better person no matter what hat I'm wearing.

M2W recently undertook a national bilingual sweepstakes and download program for one of our top clients. The program required a website with sweepstakes details and an area for entering a code to download a new video for an up and coming artist. To carry out said task, we reached out to three different web design companies. One of them, HIT WEB DESIGN (formerly Heritage Web Solutions) promised the moon for the cost of a pebble. Their sales team was enthusiastic and won us over by promising a website in a week at a fraction of the cost of other companies. So, I know you will ask...did we get the moon we were promised?

Well, we got "mooned" in once sense of the word. The initial contact was impressive for sure, and they seemed able to do anything and everything we would need, but when I called it took an average of three days for someone to return my calls (seriously!). I emailed and called on numerous occasions, asking questions that would not get answered and sending files that would soon be lost. I even designed the look of the site in Photoshop and send them the file to copy! After weeks of going back and forth with several staff members while they were "checking into things", I started to get nervous. Meanwhile, we began printing the in-store materials and developing other elements of the program for the Friday, June 25th launch.

On Wednesday, June 23rd (that's right, 2 days before program launch), after countless failed attempts to contact the Hit Web Design developer, writer, translator, tech support and customer service, not to mention a pleading email from Clare Wynne, M2W CEO, I broke out in a cold sweat when I realized that this website was not going to be done. Meanwhile they had charged our credit card on two separate occasions. I was going to have to figure out another plan of action or lose our biggest client.

Luckily, on that balmy Wednesday evening, a couple of superhero website ninjas (Marc Castillo and James Barnett) came to my rescue! We worked around the clock, bought a new domain, designed and developed the site in the nick of time. What a team! The world didn't come to an end and we delivered (big sigh).

A week later, I received a call from Sean at HIT WEB DESIGN, responding to a message (from over a week prior!) I left on the tech support voicemail. He began the call by asking, "Have you been trying to call HIT WEB DESIGN?" (pause for eye rolling). "Yes," I replied, "I have been trying to call for sometime now" (breathing deeply and trying not to cry or scream at this person) "however, nobody responded to me in time and not only did I have to move forward with the website on my own and get it done without your help, I had to buy a new domain. I'm trying to finish the site up now since it's past deadline." To which he replied, "well sorry about that. you should probably get back to your website then."

HIT or MISS? "Hit" web design is definitely a "miss" in my opinion.

Oh, and here's the kicker...check out the image below. I called and emailed during the dates shown and obviously several people checked on our account, yet none of them have responded to me to this day. Beware of HIT WEB DESIGN!

Let's face it some events just look more fun than others! Last weekend I had the opportunity to work the Grand Funk Railroad Concert (We're an American Band) that our client Mau Marine put on for their customers---pretty cool that Mau Marine boat owners actually get to attend a concert FREE OF CHARGE with prime seats, free t-shirts and a special libation area and concert watching area called the "GOLDEN CIRCLE" which, if the truth be known was actually a SQUARE). Now this event was a fabulous event for those customers but let me tell you a little about what goes into the 'behind the scenes'. But just like the Golden Circle was really the Golden Square...some people think that working some of our "sexier sounding" events is really cool...well, well, well let me tell ya. These events are great for the client but a lot of work for us if we are truly are doing our jobs.

Well in advance of the events, the obvious occurs, seek the band, go through the shady promoters, negotiate and re-negotiate and then voila a pretty cool band appears on the roster for a Customer Appreciation Event. While the client, this time, dealt with the ryder and other needs of the band/promoter; in addition to booking a lead act we had to figure out the semantics of the venue and the "day-of" activities.  Appearance is everything. We ordered 1000 feet of rolling banners, two giant stage banners that would drop from the top of the stage (day of the event was so windy they practically blew off.Can you read it now... "concert ends in death as Mau Marine banner flies off stage..." a total event PR nightmare);T-shirts to put in the Golden Circle and then 

Here's the kicker, there were only two of us working and it was my husband and I...great labor planning on our part.  Our duties were to: 

• Set Up the Venue-completely decorate from top to bottom
• Take Still Photos of people with staff and the Mau crew
• Greet the People at the Golden Circle
• Sell the T-shirts
• Shoot the Videos
• Direct Salespeople to Customers inquiring about boats (part of the decorations were a wall of boats around the venue)
• Take the LP's and the 8-tracks (yes, believe your eyes, my husband got these on Ebay) back stage for the VIP meet n' Greet
• Get more picture of the client, family with the bands

Did I tell you there were only two of us...???

We did however recruit one of our M2W associates, Cole Titterington, to help with the video the night of the event. Cole also did a great video for the website and Facebook.

We ended up sweating our you-know-whats off all day long, hanging banners around the venue for hours (those were the roller banners mentioned above); then the wind blew and the zipties on the fence needed to double up, be placed closer together so this is double the work.  The client is on-site a lot so we have to visit with the client and we really don't want them lifting a finger.

There are two lessons learned here:

A) check your labor for execution and don't think you can do it all, or under estimate the importance of "help"

B) when your friends, neighbors, relatives and yes...even spouses say "you get to go to some really cool stuff"...give them a reality check.

The latter I heard from my co-worker yesterday, that her husband thinks she goes to these spectacular events, parties, socializes and has a great time...OMG!  She's up at the crack of dawn with her peeps, working a long side them, doing whatever it takes.  

There are no princesses  (or princes) at M2W...so Paris apply elsewhere! Because we all learn in the event business that the Golden Circle is really a Square!

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Let me set the stage: You’re a 22 year old, hard-working brand ambassador.  It’s mid-July, halfway through event season.  Another week has come and gone.  It’s 10 minutes to 9am, your alarm clock rudely interrupts your REM and all you can wish for is 5 more minutes of sleeping in on this beautiful Saturday.  What lies ahead of you is probably a 95 degree, 10 hour work day, interacting with hundreds of potential consumers.  Not to mention, you will be on your feet all day outside in the warm sun, engaging and talking to many people while your energy steadily drains.  As it starts, you wake up, roll out of bed, wash up and probably have less than 90 minutes to do the following things in this order:  shower, iron your uniform, get dressed, check email, print out venue directions and zoom out the front door. But you must not forget the most important aspect of the day, your plan to a great start and strong finish – your nutrition plan.  ZING!

One of the major contributing factors to unhealthy eating is the lack of time.  When we are consumed by a fast-paced, all day promo event, we tend to eat what we can, when we can to get by.  Junk food and fast food are far from a well balanced diet, so we need to remember these critical but easy steps that will improve our quality of nutrition and on-site energy. Below are a few great tips if you absolutely need to eat on the run:    

     1)  Order small or regular sizes and pay attention to portion control

     2)  Opt for a deli and order on whole wheat or wrap, a lower-fat and calorie option               

     3)  Watch your sides – order the fruit cup

     4)  Add or substitute with a side salad, adding fiber and vitamins

     5)  Always go with grilled chicken                                                                   

     6)  Breakfast is key: bring cereal, fruit, yogurt or bars

     7)  Travel with bottled water and a bag of snacks before the cravings hit

     8)   Hit your local super market for fresh and pre-cut fruit, veggies, wraps, salads and other prepared items

     9)  Avoid high calorie dressings or condiments     

    10)  Quench your thirst with water.  Do not add a large sugary drink to an already unhealthy burger   

Let’s face it, eating healthy is not always the most convenient or the least expensive option. As Brand Ambassadors, we can avoid bad eating habits by shopping smarter, planning better and eating healthier… thus delivering stronger.  I love the big three E’s: ENGAGE, EDUCTATE AND EXECUTE.  Let’s welcome the fourth “E” – EATING well.  Remember, our bodies are like motor vehicles.  If you want high performance and excellent mileage, give your body the best fuel (food) possible. Choose to run yourself on premium fuel and execute like a champion!

A few weeks ago my son, a soon to be four year old, asked me to play pirates with him. It was a lazy Sunday so I agreed. We proceeded to build a ship out of chairs, blankets and pillows. We put on our pirate garb (last year’s Halloween costume and some stuff he made at school during pirate week) and got out our swords. We took our positions on the Ship of Doom and for over 45 minutes we fought off sharks, mean pirates, Captain Hook (Daddy), T-Rex and the rest of the dinosaurs (Jurassic Park was on). We pretended to take a walk off the plank, to find buried treasure and to keep a look out for someone who might try to steal our “booty”. He saved the day by winning a wrestling match with a mean octopus (his favorite blanket).

As the day wore on we pretended to fly our airplane (an old box), made up stories about swimming with Shamu (I mean the orcas as Shamu is just at Sea World I was informed) and pretended to be the King and Queen of the castle.  We put up his tent in his room and pretended to camp. We roasted marshmallows over the pretend fire (his golf clubs and bats all leaned up over a stool) and looked out for bears who might attack us. Though I was reminded Pooh Bear wouldn’t do that so he was allowed to roast marshmallows with us.

I was totally immersed in the world which my son lives in. There were no rules. There was no right or wrong idea or concept just pure fun and imagination. His creativity had no limits.  It was one idea after another. And all of them were pretty amazing for a pre-schooler. Though many were short lived it’s interesting to see how a kid thinks.

At the end of the day I was beat both mentally and physically. I was out of ideas of things to do and pretend to be but he still had a million more thoughts. How is it that a young child has so much creativity and as adults we become stifled by the world? We teach our children to run with their imagination and think outside the box daily. Yet many adults I work with are so close minded and meticulous that the creativity is gone. Is this a do as I say not as I do thing?

I hate telling stories about my kid and I don’t want to be the next Kathy Lee Gifford. But a simple play day with him and the vast amount of creativity he showed me made me remember that it’s okay to think up crazy and creative ideas. You can add in things that don’t belong to certain concepts and it’s ok to let your imagination run away at times. Far too often we fall prey to the daily schedule and rules of life. We don’t let our creative side out there enough and foster the exciting fantasies and thoughts in our head. Maybe we should all have play time with nothing but some crazy props and see what becomes of it. Because in the end you sometimes find that being a pirate fighting dinosaurs or a pilot in a cardboard box can bring the most enlightened moments possible.

This month we executed one of my favorite types of projects – the ones with no precedent!  After exhaling, and realizing I had a blog due, I thought maybe I would document my thought process so that next time, maybe I can make a pig fly or even a cow jump over the moon. :)

Your typical creative meeting at an office with a client.   Brainstorming session and the idea that is leading the pack is, of course, the one where one of a million possibilities can make a great idea become entirely wrong.  Knowing that flawless execution is your responsibility, you immediately begin to sweat as you tally the variables that would have to be accounted for and the disaster plans that you will have to construct.  You smile and say that you will make it happen as you walk out with your confident face and head home to have a panic attack.

Brainstorm, research and compile.  Discuss and share with those on your bus (shout out to Jim Collins!).  Agree on the core elements:  who, what, when, where and work together on the how.  Think about every possible thing that can go wrong and back-up plans with real depth and clear alternatives.  Create a master tool or document that summarizes all of these scenarios with contacts and protocol.

Execute a trial run if you can.  Be honest about shortcomings and plan against mistakes for the next run.  If your brain is in panic mode, bring in a team of experts.  Or even just a team.  Sometimes lots of wine and replays in your head can bring clarity.  Depends on the wine.

Enable a competent team to execute the program.  Your idea and the plan are only as good as those who execute it as instructed who possess the ability to communicate their thoughts on the improvement of the program in an actionable manner.

Remain flexible on game day, communicate and incorporate key learnings in real time.  Collect data and photos for review. 

Engage planning and execution teams in dialogue and document learnings, improvements and strategies that worked.  Compile in a summary, get a handle on that big acronym ROI, scale the project accordingly and execute again.

Exhilarating and there goes that ever so pleasing sense of accomplishment.  Making the impossible reality. 

Off to start the next!