A Novel Idea...

I headed out to an offsite conference this week, meaning away from my usual workspace, and a little ways out of town. Our group went to the same resort we've gone to for the past two years, which was nice in terms of our comfort level with the place, but man do they have gargantuan sized mosquitos! We had several days of presentations, dinners, evening entertainment...even karaoke. But we had a few differences this year. Namely, a more effective planning team. I wasn't into the theme they initially chose (Wizard of Oz - the VP's favorite movie), but when I found out how they were tying it into our own themes for goals and outlook for the year, I understood why they chose it. By the time I got to the resort on the first night, I knew I was in for some fun. The first night was filled with revelry (with or without libations) decorations and positive words in honor of New Orleans (with a modest Mardi Gras theme). The main decore was pretty impressive (think Emerald City on a grand scale - via a decent budget). All the characters surrounded us in stand up cut out form, and music clips played during our breaks, though I think we managed to drown that out with discussions on business, coupled with giggles and jokes from those forever in a play state of mind. A few of the characters were brought to life by the heads of the planning team...the Wizard seemed more Snidely Whiplash-esque, but nonetheless it was still well done.

The next few days had just a little blandness here and there (we all know that can happen...after a few hours of hearing one speaker, the eyes tend to glaze over). But the group figured on that, and injected activities at opportune moments (pre-planned no doubt) that got everyone talking or moving around. Thank goodness, we had to do something to burn off the buffet calories. The reenergizing activities seemed to keep everyone alive and taking notes up to our last day. That was the one day I figured everyone would be sporting the zombie look. Surprisingly, we didn't have a big "hey, let's recap what we've learned" though. We went through about an hour of that, and then had a motivational speaker. Now I'm not much for seminars along these lines, or the self-help books that come along with it, but this guy was fantastic. He gave new meaning to the expression "woo!". He was hyper, but not to the level that we thought "what is this man ON?!" He tied his methods into our own lives (business and personal) for breaking through obstacles, and then had us take it to the next level with a literal and figurative translation. In other words...we took one of our biggest obstacles, wrote it down on a wooden board, and then broke the sucker in half with our best Jackie Chan imitations (he showed us the proper stance). It was pretty amazing to hit the board right on target, having it break in half and seeing little pieces go flying (I prayed my board holder's eyes would remain in tact, and they did). I'm sure nearly everyone can break a board with the right know how. But, adding in the combination of visualizing a break through of sorts happening, along with having a group of cohorts around clapping and cheering during the task made the whole experience pretty amazing. I hope to try it with a few friends some time, to see if they can "break through" barriers in their lives. Brian, you rock...thanks for joining us and taking my cohorts and I through such a unique experience.

http://www.briandbiro.com/

Late last week (prior to all this business shtuff), I received a copy of a friend's book in the mail (happy dance). It is a well rounded, darned good coffee table book on one of my favorite topics (Disney's Haunted Mansion attractions). Written by Jeff Baham (Chef Mayhem of Doombuggies.com and sister site TellNoTales.com), it's filled with great stories, pictures and more from creators and fans of the beloved attractions that house a cavalcade of 999 happy haunts. It's available for purchase at http://www.lulu.com/doombuggies. For me, it makes a perfect companion piece to many of my other collectibles. Happy reading!