In a world of emails, voicemails and text messages, when teams meet face-to-face, it has to be more about the collaboration than information sharing. It becomes an “experience” vs. an event. A task. Something checked off on your to-do list.
I was talking with Janelle Barlow, and extremely smart woman, President of TMI-US and incoming president of the Global Speakers Federation.
She was facilitating a day long program on customer service at a business hotel about how to “WOW” the customers. Why? Because a magnificent new conference center just opened across the street from them.
One part of the group was tasked with creating WOW meeting room logistics – setting up the room arranged the breaks, etc. It was magnificent, and that couldn’t have been replicated on-line. They had birds in cages signing to us in the morning. We had Siamese fighting fish in fish bowls on the tables. The food was unbelievable. Lots of dry ice. Waiters in costume. Visually extremely impressive. We even had muffins with our names on them. It was a constant WOW and that is what this particular client is attempting to do. We had to demonstrate to the team that they could compete with the folks across the street. That happened. The team that arranged the logistics had to show everyone else in the hotel that they could do this.
Are you creating an experience that WOWs your “customer” – the receiver of the products/services your team provides?
