So goes the mantra of Gateway High School, a San Francisco public charter school that educates 400 kids from around our city.

This week Gateway is celebrating the opening of their shiny, brand-new fitness center and it rivals that of a swanky 5-star resort club. Well, not entirely – it does have the typical and not-so-swanky school bathrooms.

admin The Wilsonwest Way culture, employees, growth, partners, relationships, San Francisco

If you are having trouble with your New Year’s Resolutions and your To Do List, tune into Peter Bregman for some advice. Peter’s blog is a must read for me and his simple, smart, no-nonsense advice is golden.

Check out this quick video and then visit his site for a few tools to keep you focused and on track.

Cindy Wilson

admin Uncategorized

This is simple, powerful, and important advice for speakers to help them share their message and truly connect with the audience. For those of you who are managing content and speakers for conferences and events, please share this. If the designated speaker can’t deliver the message in an authentic way, he or she may need to pass the baton.

Thank you Seth for sharing your wisdom with generosity and authenticity. You are a rock star on stage and  having been in the audience, I know you walk your talk.

Cindy Wilson

admin C-Level Event Considerations, Event Essentials, The Wilsonwest Way collaboration, customers, events, executives, Management, marketing, power

The first day back in the office after the holidays is usually a bit slow going. As we settle back in and pick up where we left off, we gear up to launch new strategies to bring about change, growth, and success in the new year.

I was in my office for just about an hour before having a conversation with Mary Sullivan of our team. She was off and running, having already had an early morning call with a partner in Geneva, Switzerland, which was immediately followed by another client call. There was a great energy in her voice as she said, “Today, for me, it’s all about giving this client a whole lotta love!” and she proceeded to fill me in on what was going on with the client.

The power of her words struck me later in the day as I headed out the door. Whole lotta love. What a great way to start out the year! More importantly: what more meaningful way is there to service our clients?

As the owner and founder of Wilsonwest, I found her words - as well as the intent and energy behind them – to carry a powerful message about the care and service we bring to our work and our customers. As we ring in 2012 and celebrate our 20th year in business, we look forward to sharing the love!

Happy New Year from the Wilsonwest team!

Cindy Wilson

admin The Wilsonwest Way culture, customers, employees, growth, relationships

As the first in what will be a series of posts, I’ll share tips to consider when planning events for a C-level audience. C-level or the C-suite, refers to the 3-letter initials starting with “C” and ending with “O”, such as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Operations Officer (COO), and Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

Not all audiences are created equal

At Wilsonwest, we begin the design and planning of your meeting or conference by imagining the event through the eyes of your audience. The details and characteristics that a C-Level audience requires differ from the those of an audience of analysts. Understanding your audience, your event stakeholders (hosts, partners) and the desired outcomes are critical. Engage your event stakeholders (especially those in the C-Suite) from the start to ensure the goals are clear and supported.

Keep it personal

Know your audience and maintain a profile of each attendee for internal briefings, content development and audience acquisition. The profile should include career history, potential connectors, peers and influencers, board positions, key challenges ahead, special needs, family information, personal attributes and interests. Consider engaging Boardroom Insiders to provide you with the data if you do not have the internal resources. Create a similar in-depth profile of the hosting C-level Executive(s) with information on hot buttons, speaking style for scriptwriter, dietary preferences, etc. Sometimes, something as simple as

having a diet coke on hand at the right moment will do the trick!

Watch the clock

C-level audiences are highly-scheduled and in demand. Calendar events early! Leverage key relationships with invitations and consider the best format for invites. Personal letters and calls from your hosting CEO are much more powerful than over-

produced paper invites. And don’t forget to establish a relationship with their Executive Assistant!

Be cognizant of and sensitive to their needs and manage requests as efficiently as possible. When choosing an event date, be mindful of international calendars and avoid scheduling events on weekends and other peak calendar times where personal

schedules reign (Summer, wedding/graduation season, holidays, etc.). Limit multi-day events to 3 days maximum, as the C-level audience generally will not spend more than that amount of time out of the office. Evening events should conclude at a reasonable hour. Keep after-dinner conversation and entertainment optional. When hosting an event at a hotel, keep the evening events on property or close by: this audience does not like to be ferried around for long drives to off-property events.

My next post in the series will include some tips on developing the program content and building environments that are conducive

to conversation.

Cindy Wilson

admin C-Level Event Considerations culture, customers, events, executives, Management, partners, power, relationships

“If workplaces had nap rooms, multitasking was frowned upon, and meetings were held during walks, we’d be vastly more productive”, says Dr. John Medina, a developmental molecular biologist, research consultant, and author of Brain Rules.

Taking brain science to our world of conferences and meetings, he offers this great presentation for speakers on how to craft PowerPoint presentations that keep the audience alive and engaged. If you are tasked with either presenting at conferences or guiding presenters, take a few minutes and click through his slides. You can find this on the bottom right corner of this linked page, under the title Brain Rules for PowerPoint presenters.

My #1 take-away from his advice is GET MOVING AND KEEP MOVING! It seems we all try to cram in either an early morning or evening workout and spend the rest of the day sitting at our desks.

I’m committed to scheduling brainstorming walks, attending a conference call while moving around, and generally just getting up more often during the day. We all know that exercise boosts brain power. Offer your conference attendees an opportunity to do the same – stretch breaks or even morning runs as part of the agenda.

I don’t know if I can get away with a nap room but I might try…

Cindy Wilson

admin Uncategorized

I snapped a “photo of this photo” earlier this week as it just made me smile. The image also offered a nod to the upcoming July 4th holiday. I was reminded of the Corona beer commercials where the airplane passengers grab a bottle, close their eyes, and find themselves on the beach rather than the flight. For those of us who attend many conferences and spend our time sitting in ballrooms, it’s not uncommon to imagine ourselves elsewhere…especially when excess PowerPoint is involved!

Creating environments that transform ordinary experiences into the extraordinary is one of the things that keeps me engaged and excited about the event production world we live in. I am not talking about turning ballrooms into elaborate theme parties with artificial decor. I am talking subtle shifts in lighting or choosing just the right setting/time of day/music/cuisine and more. It’s like a carefully crafted blend of spices (or wine) where just the right balance transforms the individual ingredients into something magical. And like an elegant wine, you aren’t hit over the head; the balance is ideal when no one facet dominates the other.

Knowing your audience helps to define those individual ingredients and a skilled event producer will conjure up just the right mix. What is most important is how your guests respond to what you have created and they will be grateful for your gift of transforming the ordinary into extraordinary.

Happy 4th and to quote a friend “make it nice”!

Cindy Wilson

admin Design & Decor, Event Essentials, The Wilsonwest Way

Here’s what’s on my list. What’s on yours?

For the beach/lake/plane I plan to re-read some of Wallace Stegner’s work, beginning with Pulitzer Prize-winning Angle of Repose. If you haven’t read Stegner, dubbed “Dean of Western Writers”, begin with this one. Stegner is considered one of the premier chroniclers of the 20th Century Western American experience. He made Palo Alto his home where he founded Stanford’s Creative Writing Program.

My office reading is limited to short bursts I can do at my desk. I try to watch a couple of TedTalks and read a few blogs daily. Here’s a couple of my favorite business blogs:

• Peter Bregman never fails to deliver sage advice on how to lead and how to live. I love his writing style and his message. Though I have never met him, he seems like the kind of guy you would want to have as a friend, boss or mentor.
• Seth Godin is always at top on my list, and a must read. Short, sweet, powerful and brilliant (that might describe both him and his blog!). Seth also offers up his summer reading list – check it out here.

What’s on your list? I’d love to know. Please share your comments.

Happy Summer and Happy Reading!

Cindy Wilson

admin Uncategorized culture, Management

Those of us in the event world understand the acronym F&B as “Food & Beverage”, a key component of event planning.

The standard menu planning for a seated lunch or dinner involves selecting 3 or 4 courses, with the hope of selecting a meal that appeals to just about everyone in the room. Do we go with chicken, fish, soup, salad, chocolate, fruit? We pour over menus, talk to the chefs, think about our audience, the time of year, what’s in season and so forth – in order to craft just the right dining experience.

A few months back I wrote about the planning we were doing for a Presidential dinner and I ended the post with a promise to report back on what the President left on his plate. Well, I will tell you what was not on his plate. The guests were offered a choice of beef, fish, or eggplant as the entrée. I challenged his advance team to guess what he ordered and not one of them got it right. You guessed it – eggplant! His choice prompted most of the head table to follow suit. Mind you, this was no ordinary dining experience nor was it eggplant Parmesan.

Vegetarian entrees are no longer the step-children, offered to the few declared vegetarians. People are making smarter dietary choices, especially those in the C-suite who attend so many lunches and dinners.

As you plan your next luncheon or dinner, why not go vegetarian for the entire menu with meat or fish as an unpublished option? You will be doing your guests (and the environment) a favor.

Cindy Wilson

admin Event Essentials, The Wilsonwest Way customers, design, events, food, green

What’s the difference between a vendor and partner? How do your customers refer to you and how do you refer to those whom you hire to provide goods and services for your company? Language matters. When your customer places you in the partner category, they are sending a message that they value your expertise and unique contributions as a key component of their success.

What’s the difference?

A vendor sells you something and the customer generally specifies the details of that something. It feels like a transaction. You are the order taker and you deliver the goods and services, rarely challenging the order.

A partner first engages with the customer to better understand their goals, needs and culture. From there, they develop the appropriate service offering tailored to support the customer’s needs and desired outcomes. The dialogue then continues as both parties learn more about each other. Perhaps most importantly, the work is a collaboration.

Simply put, a partner is invested in their clients’ success and that is understood by both parties.

What else defines a partner?

Partners actively seek information in order to provide innovative solutions and services for their clients. They pay attention to what’s happening in the markets, what the competition is doing, and what is relevant. They notice what makes their customers tick and what keeps them up at night. They challenge their clients and are not afraid to push back. They anticipate, innovate and are really good listeners. They contribute in-kind goods and services to their clients’ philanthropic events and know and support their clients CSR initiatives. They stay late to meet a deadline. They call simply to check in. They care.

So the question is: are you a vendor or are you a partner? Part of this is how you define yourself and your services, and how you behave and communicate. Is it time to re-evaluate some of your business relationships and re-establish your self as a partner? The first step in being a partner is defining yourself as such and living up to that definition. Vendors come and go. Partnerships are the key to long term success.

Cindy Wilson

admin Event Essentials, Relationship Marketing, The Wilsonwest Way