Three Promising Incentive Options … And Another Thing
Bored with the same ol’, same ol’ incentive destinations and searching for something a little different? Here are three options to consider for future programs … and a little something extra!
Beyond World Cup: Top-Class Service Should Be Expected
Last Sunday’s FIFA World Cup Final between Spain and defending champion Argentina, won by Spain 1-0 in extra time, was a beyond-comprehension medley of strategy, footwork, ball control, physical stamina, and patience. It was a showcase of what the great Pelé once called “the beautiful game” though some might argue England’s wild, 6-4 thriller over France a day earlier in the consolation match was the highlight of this World Cup. I say there was an even bigger highlight … and it didn’t even occur on the fútbol pitch itself.
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I Learned Not to Turn a Cold Shoulder Toward Iceland …
Truth be told, y’all, this was not a program I was looking forward to. In fact, I was dreading it in a way. Don’t get me wrong, I love working with this client. But the program was in sub-Arctic Iceland, land of wool sweaters and wicked windchill, where layering up is a national sport. Yep, Iceland, because Frigidland sounded too clunky. Iceland, where it’s colder than a well-digger’s, ahem …
Security Plans for Corporate Events Are No Longer Optional
Corporate meetings and events are booming in a big way and with that comes an unprecedented, “very today” expectation: “You’re not just planning or hosting an event. More than ever, you must keep your people safe.”
Simplifying the Task of Finding the Right Speaker [Plus a Bonus!]
Headliner or hero? Star power or start-up success story? Gold medalist or go-getter? Identifying the right and perfect speaker for your next corporate meeting or event can be like sailing rudderless in a sea of options. So, so many options …
It’s High Time to Double-Down on Protections!
Our world has been rocked by three significant geopolitical events across two continents in recent months. And it’s a serious “heads up” to those of us who host or produce domestic and offshore corporate meetings and events …
What’s the Real Reason People Say ‘Yes’ to Meetings?
Hilton Hotels recently released a comprehensive, international study under the intriguing header Why We Gather. It is a fascinating read and included a number of insights you may find new and valuable, and many more that could probably use a little refresher. Let’s take a closer look …
The Corporate Meeting/Event of Tomorrow … Is Here Today!
I came across a consumer-focused article recently about some of the most popular, emerging colors in the automotive industry. Like me, you’ll probably be surprised at some of the shades that are hottest right now. And it’s being driven [no pun intended] by a dynamic quite familiar to hosts and planners of corporate meetings and events, a dynamic that’s gaining steam as you read this.
Event Marketing: Dump the Dinosaur, Lean on SMS Automation!
Event marketing has always been about establishing meaningful connections with attendees. Whether it’s a trade show, sales conference, dealer meeting, road show, product launch, or virtual/hybrid summit, planners work tirelessly to engage attendees before, during, and after events. Yet even the most well-thought-out event communication strategy almost always runs into one frustrating reality.
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In Praise of Praise and Recognition
Have you ever felt you’ve gone the extra mile on something but nobody else seemed to notice? It’s a lousy, empty and de-motivating feeling, for sure. Maybe it’s time for a refresher on the importance of acknowledging people’s over-and-above efforts and achievements. And it doesn’t always have to be something grandiose …
Establishing ‘Agreements’ Up-Front Can Propel Your Next Program to Success
In his blockbuster 1997 book The Four Agreements, author Don Miguel Ruiz introduced four simple but powerful principles to help all people live with more personal freedom and inner peace. Honor these agreements and life will be sweet. If only business meetings of all manner and size were that simple …
Is It Time for a Refresher on Corporate Meeting Event Themes?
As we know, the past five years have seen a massive reset in how corporate meetings and events are designed and executed. Pandemic limitations led to a redefining of how people gather and in what settings, and actually sparked innovative new ways to conduct group business. Toss in rapidly evolving new tech and the emergence of Artificial Intelligence as a true force while audiences continue to trend younger and younger and, well, here we are.
10 Exciting New [or Soon-to-Open] Incentive Destinations!
Are your “go to” sun, sand & surf incentive destinations starting to feel a bit too familiar or perhaps a little stale? Is it time to shake things up now that you’re contemplating incentive locations for 2026 and beyond? Read on and you may just broaden your options …
Meetings & Events: It’s Time to Cozy Up to AI. But How …?
If you’re someone entrusted with overseeing deadline-intense, detail-heavy corporate meetings and events, you know how precious every minute and every brain cell is. Between juggling schedules, managing vendors, and ensuring every attendee leaves with a smile and head full of usable, fresh knowledge, the job can feel at times like a wobbly high-wire act. Is it time you dipped your toe in the pond of Artificial Intelligence [AI]?
I say, absolutely!
Hospitality Folks, What’s Going on Out There …?
Recently, as I was out and about with my son Aidan – me running short on time and Aidan running short on patience because he was thirsty – I uncharacteristically swung by a McDonald’s to pick up something quick. It was my first time at Mickey-D’s in more than 20 years …. and it will certainly be my last.
You’re Looking for a Speaker. How Do You Find the Right One?
Finding the perfect speaker for your upcoming corporate meeting or event is akin to finding just the right spark to ignite a room full of potential. It’s not only about charisma, interesting insights and perspective, and an engaging stage presence, It’s all of those and one more thing … resonance.
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Corporate Meetings & Events Have Grown Up!
IF YOU THINK WEATHER IS FICKLE AND CAN CHANGE ON A WHIM, have you checked out corporate meetings and events lately?
3 Truly Awesome and Different Incentive Destinations!
Among several emerging trends in corporate incentive travel, perhaps the most prominent is the desire to explore new, off-the-beaten-path destinations. Here’s a look at three such considerations …
Kindred Spirits – A Piper and a President
MANY YEARS AGO, AFTER COMPLETING A BOOK HE ENJOYED, my Dad penned a note to the author, a recently famous man and one would live an historic life. Impressively, he received a handwritten response in short order from the author.
Look Closer and You’ll Discover It Is Indeed a Wonderful Life!
AMERICA’S WORKFORCE SKEWS YOUNGER AND YOUNGER EACH DAY so there’s a good chance many of you have never heard of this movie, much less than seen it. [Or seen it over and over again through the years at Christmastime.]
A Time to Cherish Family. A Time to Be Grateful for What Truly Matters.
THANKSGIVING IS TWO DAYS AWAY and I’d like to share with you a couple of very short stories that will hopefully remind you of the importance of family and friends … and being grateful.
Routinely Succeeding Requires Succeeding at Routines
ONE OF THE GREATEST MYTHS OF THE PAST 30 YEARS is the belief that any of us who has ever achieved any level of success has done so partly because we’ve mastered the art of multi-tasking. I don’t think so …
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Planners’ Dilemma: Proceed with Caution … Now More Than Ever
When you see the road sign with those three ominous words – Proceed with Caution – instinctively you ease off the gas, scan your dashboard, and put that second hand on the wheel. Same thing’s happening with Meetings & Events professionals these days …
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Do Your Event Outcomes Align with Your “Pro-Planning”?
Funny thing about words and phrases, we typically use them without a second thought of where they originated or who first penned or spoke the words. We’re all familiar with the concept of “pre-planning” but are you familiar with “pro-planning” …?
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9 Ways to Use Active Listening to Become a Better Leader
Could you use a listening tune-up and become a more effective communicator and trusted colleague, coach, confidant or leader? Then, listen up, everyone …
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Heads Up! A Couple of Bright Lights on the Horizon!
Before I share with you news of an exciting new meeting and event property I believe you should keep an eye on, I’d like to quickly summarize recent exciting news from Apple regarding Artificial Intelligence [AI] …
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John O’Leary: A Bold Message of Tragedy, Perseverance, Triumph … And Selflessness
Like any in-demand motivational speaker, John O’Leary has a story that’s mind-blowing, inspiring, and double-stuffed with hope and optimism. But it’s the story within the story that may be the real story …
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A Bold New Venture For Sphere… And A Reminder About Budgeting
Sphere, the recently opened, one-of-a-kind event venue in Las Vegas is taking a bold leap forward this summer and with it comes a pretty hefty price tag. Speaking of budgets…
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Is it Time to Learn Something New About Learning?
Doing the “same old, same old” is a proven recipe for mediocrity and missed opportunities, especially with today’s younger-trending workforce. Corporate meetings and events are no exception. Here are some things to consider when you sit down to design and plan your next meeting or event … but only if you want to connect with your audience …
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For Incentive Travel, Get Off the Beaten Path!
With all due respect to posh Caribbean resorts, the Hawaiian islands and traditional European destinations, there’s a trend afoot among those who plan corporate incentive travel …
Biz, Kids & Self … Three Suggestions for You in 2024
Ordinarily in January each year, we highlight some of the unique products at the wildly popular and sometimes bizarre Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas …
Ring Out The Old, Ring In The New!
Hard to believe but we’re rounding out 2023 and on the cusp of a new year. Before we peek under the 2024 tent …
Gratitude, Gratitude … and More Gratitude!
All of us at dynami hope you’re preparing for a long holiday weekend full of friends, family, food and much rest. We’d like to share with you a few Thanksgiving insights that go beyond the Pilgrims, the Mayflower, turkey and tryptophan …
7 Awesome Options for Speakers, Yachts and Luxury Properties!
No doubt, you’re fully into the planning process for key meetings, events, and incentives for 2024 and beyond. If you’re still searching for a keynote speaker, venue [yikes, you better hurry!], or perhaps a mega-yacht, dynami has some recommendations for you …
It’s Back to the Future for Corporate Meetings Events
As the corporate world continues its journey back towards more traditional ways of gathering, an interesting trend has emerged in 2023 meetings and events …
5-Star Service … and 3 Exciting Resort Properties
It was a bit too warm and balmy to wear white gloves but, for all practical purposes, they did … 24 hours a day.
You Have a Great Story. Let’s Tell It Together
A FRIEND SHARED WITH ME HIS EXPERIENCE attending the musical “Buddy” at the Queen Anne Theatre in London’s West End. In two acts, the play tracks the rapid rise and sudden demise of 22-year-old music icon Buddy Holly who perished in a plane crash during a snowstorm along with J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson and Ritchie Valens after a rockin’ event in Clear Lake, Iowa in 1959 …
Who Says the Impossible Isn’t Possible?
IN 2003, AT THE AGE OF 34, Tony Quan was at the top of his game.
Combining his creativity, keen understanding of social issues and urban culture, and possessing a multi-colored assortment of spray paints, Quan became a highly regarded graffiti artist in the gumbo of ethnicities that is East Los Angeles. And then …
The Ever-Evolving Dilemma: Who Really IS Your Audience?
If you’re like me, just when I’ve gotten the order of the named generations right [along with understanding their unique traits and characteristics], another generation comes along with
even more chatter about a “generational subset” that sits on the cusp of one gen and another. Confusion kicks back in.
For anyone who hosts, plans or attends corporate meetings and events, what does all this generational stuff mean? …
Hybrid Meetings & Events Remain A Very Viable Option
When hybrid meetings and events first became a thing a couple of years back, we all figured it was an interim “workaround” option during a global pandemic. Now, the value and practicality of hybrid programs is being reinforced by soaring U.S. inflation [9.1%, a 40-year high] and unprecedented challenges in commercial air travel due to a shortage of pilots and flight attendants, aviation fuel costs, etc. As a result, hybrid programs are still very, very much a thing and how you execute them is critical to your program’s success and your budget …
Corporate Meetings & Events: Is It Time To Go Bananas?
They not only hit home runs, their carefully choreographed dance routines are a home run with the crowd. They hurl fastballs as well as they hurl bananas into the stands. They turn double-plays as slickly as they turn the turnstiles. Who are they … ?
There’s Opportunity Within The Challenges We Face Today
For the better part of a century, the hapless British Cycling team may as well have been named the Chicago Cubs, Buffalo Bills, even the Bad News Bears. Then something happened …
We Need A ‘Rich Strike’ In The Meetings & Events Industry
Has there ever been a more appropriately named horse than Rich Strike who overcame 80-1 odds two weekends ago to win the 148th Kentucky Derby? Is it time for the meetings and events industry to experience its own “rich strike” …?
Inflation Isn’t Being Very Hospitable In The Hotel Industry
Two days ago, I came across an item in news-aggregator Axios entitled 1 Big Thing: Permanent Price Hike that put forth the not-so-encouraging premise that many pandemic-era price hikes are here to stay, as in forever. Same may be true of escalating costs and competition for space in the hotel industry …
Let’s Focus On The Issue Of Focus. [Yeah, Good Luck With That.]
We’re likely all familiar with the expression “driven to distraction”. I’d take that a few giant steps further and say we’re being escorted, ushered, chauffeured and valeted to distraction these days! …
Sometimes You Just Need To Walk Away…
Recently, my wife went to dinner with a friend at one of our favorite restaurants, one we’d been to many, many times over the past 7-8 years. When she got home, I asked her how it was and she replied …
CES 2022: 11 Cool New Gadgets For Your Work And Home
Have you gone online to check your cat’s activities lately, or made your own fresh batch of ice cream in two minutes or less? The Consumer Electronics Show [CES] is back with all its New World innovation and crazy gadgetry …
Mom: “You Never Think, In A Million Years, It Will Be You.”
An aspiring performer, Daniel was down on his luck, angered at his fate, and barely surviving on a paycheck-to-paycheck basis [we’ve all been there at one time or another]. To make matters more difficult, Daniel’s first child was about to be born and he knew there would be over-and-above expenses that would stretch him further …
We’re Experiencing A Seismic Shift … And That’s Good News!
The more things change, the more they stay the same, right? Yeah, well, scratch that. It occurs to me now, the more things change, the more they change and that’s OK by me. And here’s why …
10 Fun, New “Spins” To Old Holiday Traditions This Year!
When was the last time you went bobbin’ for apples? Or “over the river and through the woods”? Or made a snow angel? Yeah, me neither. Maybe it’s time to mix it up a bit as the 2021 holiday season begins. Here are 10 ways to re-energize old traditions or begin all-new ones without spending a lot…
There’s Always A ‘Work-Around’. You Can Move Forward!
Yes, no, maybe. Hurry up, slow down. Ready … set … wait! To meet or not to meet, that’s the daily conundrum facing event planners and their clients. So, how do you cut through the fuzziness of it all and make the big decision?
Inclusion And Empathy Go A Long Way Towards A Better World
I’m willing to bet the name Chris Nikic is unknown to you. It certainly was to me. But a few weeks back, the name rippled across the worldwide spectrum of sport when …
Post-Covid Meetings & Events: Some Things Old, Some Things New
As we reclaim our freedoms and get back to in-person gatherings, this summer might be an excellent time to assess what post-pandemic meetings and events will look like. A lot will remain the same but there will be noticeable changes …
8 Things To Expect When Your Company Resumes Its Meetings And Events
As we rolled through Memorial Day Weekend and the unofficial arrival of summer 10 days ago, there were countless media reports of bustling airports, crowded beaches and long lines at restaurants, bars and amusement parks. Our country, apparently, is getting back to its behavioral conventions.
5 Exceptional Ways To Soothe Your Soul
Is there anything more satisfying and refreshing than a unique and perfect getaway, a great meal, a spirit-boosting motivational message, or being a parent to the world’s greatest kids? Here are five exceptional ways to soothe your soul …
You’ve Decided To Host A Hybrid Meeting … What’s Next?
After a year of pandemic-forced hibernation, you’ve made the big decision: You’re going to host a hybrid meeting. Fantastic! But what does that even mean …? Each day, we hear of more and more organizations deciding now is the time for re-entry into the live-event
Be Bold! You’ll Either Get What You Want Or What Was Meant To Be
A few weeks back, a friend texted me early on a Sunday morning. He’d been watching a handful of TEDx Buckhead talks and came across one delivered by Jennifer Cohen entitled The Secret to Getting Anything You Want in Life. The timing was amazing …
Hope On The Horizon For Meetings And Events!
I was chatting with a client the other day and casually mentioned we were producing a 100% face-to-face meeting for another client this coming June. It was obvious by her facial expression and tone this was a genuine surprise …
CES 2021: Online And On-Target In A Pandemic World
Ordinarily, early January each year brings with it a level of anticipation and hype around the Consumer Electronics Show [CES] that’s rivaled only by the ramp-up to the NFL’s Super Bowl a few weeks later. This year, hype around CES seems to have stepped aside in favor of hope …
The Gift Of The Magi … And “Going Beyond The Pale”
With only 15 days left on the countdown clock, I venture to say no New Year’s Eve has ever been more eagerly anticipated than the one soon to come. And while 2020 has certainly been a year stuffed full of awful, there have been some bright spots …
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I Willingly Traveled To Experience The Same Hurricane … Twice!
So, after exactly 255 masked-up, quarantined, sheltered-in-place, land-locked and locked-down 24-hour cycles, I received an invitation to take part in an industry event in Quintana Roo along México’s Riviera Maya. After eight months, finally, the chance to travel!
Looking For A Great Read?
“So, what’s on Kenneth’s bookshelf?” Here are four books I believe you’ll find fascinating …