Event Planning

Lorraine Pirihi

Working from home can be a most effective way to be more productive! Today’s open plan offices stop many people from getting their work done. The constant noise, phones ringing and colleagues interrupting can drive anyone to distraction! Many people would dramatically boost their productivity if they could spend some or all of their workday out of the main office and join the thousands of small business owners who work from home. However there are a few rules you need to follow to do this successfully:

Establish a Routine?

Decide on a starting and finishing time. Include breaks.

Plan Your Day

Prepare a ‘to do list’ each day and action it.

Dress for Success

It’s okay to occasionally “chill out” in your daggy old clothes, however you’ll feel much better in comfortable casual gear. How you look will affect how you feel and how you perform.

Clean out the Clutter

Keep your work area clean and tidy. You’ll work from home far more effectively and reduce the stress levels.

Organise Your Work Area

Have the right tools and systems to work with - an appropriate chair, desk, computer, filing system.

Group Tasks Together

Divide your day into similar activities. Make all phone calls in the morning and work on important tasks. Do errands later in the afternoon after the lunch-time rush or when you go to pick up the kids.

Learn How to Say NO!

Inform your family and friends of your working hours and that because you’re working from home doesn’t mean you’re ‘available’.

Take Time Out for You

It can be easy to lose yourself in your work. Take time to smell the roses…and make human contact.

The Final Word

Not everyone can work from home successfully. Some need the daily discipline and people interaction encountered in the office. However, for many others, being able to work from home has greatly improved their productivity and enhanced their lifestyle. They have more flexibility, more time and the opportunity to work much more effectively without all the usual distractions encountered in the traditional office environment.

Lorraine Pirihi

Many people have a huge challenge coping with the incoming paperwork. (Whatever happened to the paperless office?).

Paperwork lands on your desk and somehow finds its way into your in-tray. Eventually the in-tray becomes so high it explodes and ends up all over your desktop. That’s because you avoided taking action on those messy pieces of paper the moment they arrived. Now you have no option but to sort through the explosion and tidy up the pile or actually do something with the paperwork.

It’s also frustrating when you need to search through the pile to look for information someone has asked you about. Many times I’ve contacted people to follow them up and I can automatically picture their desktop as they search their in-tray for the information I’ve sent them.

How can a pile of paper cause you so much stress? If only you could organize the paper so that it would disappear! Looking at it is enough to raise anyone’s blood pressure. Well here are a few organizing tips to help you tame the paperwork.

Purchase a large vertical wire step file (available from stationers)

Sort through your in-tray/s or piles and organize the paperwork into similar categories, ie.

Correspondence

Reading

Clients

Invoices

Staff

Label manila folders with the above categories.

Place folders into step file.

Now you’ll have all your work to do sitting in manageable files. It’s much more effective than shuffling piles of paper.

This simple but practical device saves my accountant 2 hours per week. Do you know what that means to an accountant who charges out at $100 per hour?

Save Two Hours / Week @ Hourly Rate of $200

2 HRS/WEEK = $200

= 8 HRS/MTH = $800

= 96 HRS/YR = $9,600

You don’t need to be an accountant to understand the significance of saving a small amount of time and the impact it has overall. It’s always the little things in life - the one percenters which make the difference.

Lorraine Pirihi

Everytime Mary had to find a file on her computer, she always had great difficulty. And it was no wonder why. Every file had been saved under the folder “Mary” and that was it. There were no other categories. Consequently every time Mary searched her folder she spent ages sifting through all the documents.

Now Mary is a real smart cookie. She’s the Marketing Director of a very well known organisation. She knows her ’stuff’. She is fortunate to have her own personal assistant. However Mary still has to type many of her own letters and prepare a multitude of documents in relation to her demanding role. She also receives around 60 emails a day, most of which contain relevant information to the variety of projects she works on.

In Mary’s situation, other team members in her organisation occasionally are required access to her electronic files and in the past they wasted unnecessary time sifting through them

Just like many other businesspeople I have worked with, no-one had shown Mary how to handle the basics of organisation, including how to organise computer files so they are stored logically and can be easily accessed.

So how do you store your computer files?

In my opinion they should resemble the same categories as your paper filing system. If your paper filing system is a disaster, then take careful note of the points made and make changes as soon as possible (today).

Before you do anything else, delete all old or obsolete files.

Write down the categories of information you need.

Ie. Admin
Clients
Projects
Staff
Resources
Note: Always have a general area to cover anything else.

Create folders for each of these areas.

Now work out if you need to expand these categories.

Ie. Admin
Financials
Marketing
Vehicles
Clients
Brown & Co
Jax
Monogram
Projects
Building
Newsletter
Quality Assurance

Create sub-folders for #3 if required.

Transfer existing files to the appropriate areas.

By the way the same applies to emails, the same folders can be set up to store incoming and outgoing email. It will be up to you to decide what will work best for you. And of course you have to be mindful of specific procedures which may be in place in your organisation. Just make sure you keep everything simple and take action.

Lorraine Pirihi

If you look at any major organisation, there is this trend for executives to use “palm pilots” in conjunction with software schedulers such as Microsoft Outlook.

What’s really interesting is even with all this technology (and many of these execs are fortunate to have personal assistants) they are still disorganised. Organisation is not about having all the latest and greatest tools, it’s about using common sense and sticking to what works. For some reason many people think that by using these (expensive) tools they will automatically manage their time and be more productive. Sadly, this is not the case. Technology is an aid, a tool. It has to be used and adapted to suit the human being using it.

In most cases a paper diary or planner has proved more valuable in helping people to be more effective with their time and their work.

In one organisation where I had been working with the Head of Department, who was much better organised when he was shown how to use a paper diary rather than the computer one, I had the Manager of Information Technology say to me “what are you doing? You’ll have them all back to using pen and paper!”

Terrible, isn’t it? To think the use of good ole pen to paper to write down your thoughts and ideas, things to do and follow-ups may actually work better than the use of a computer software programme!

Some of my clients have had to use the software in conjunction with their diary, which can easily be done when they are shown how.

I often find that some of the most ‘high tech’ people are the most disorganised, particularly if the technology breaks down.

At least with pen and paper, the only thing that lets you down is when the pen runs out of ink. If your organisation is adamant that you must use the electronic system so that other people know when you are available, then use it for that purpose. However if it isn’t helping you get organised effectively, consider utilising a paper diary as well so that you can stay in control.

Don’t be afraid to get back to basics if you find it all becomes too much.

Lorraine Pirihi

What stops you from ‘getting things done?’

Have you ever started your day with good intentions of completing a task or project only to find that by the end of the day you’ve hardly worked on it?

Or have you ever set a goal to attend a seminar, learn a new skill or just have more time out for you?

I’m sure you have. I’m not going to write a long-winded explanation about the art of procrastination or “putting things off” but what I will do is share with you the secret of actually “getting things done”. Which is all about improving your organisation skills.

I believe most people overload themselves with too many unimportant tasks or commitments, which in the scheme of their day or life is really of little benefit.

Our society is so conditioned to “being busy”. If you ask a colleague or friend “How are you?”, generally they answer “I’m busy/flat-out/snowed-under”, even on weekends! Yet what are they “busy/flat-out/snowed-under” doing?

“Being busy” can be totally different to “being productive”. Personal organisation or self-management skills are the key to you moving forward.

Bill’s story

Bill, a friend of mine is an extremely intelligent and creative person. He’s “flat-out” in his role as the Marketing Manager for a large manufacturing company.

Having observed Bill in his working environment, he constantly allows anyone in his organisation to interrupt him. He believes in the “open door” policy.

He allows the day to evolve rather than planning what he wants to achieve.

Bill’s office looks like a bomb-site so he consequently wastes immeasurable amounts of time searching for paperwork.

Bill has just turned forty - the ‘mid-life’ crisis decade.

He’s married with two children 8 and 10 yrs old whom he loves dearly. Unfortunately due to his work commitments he does not spend as much time with them as he wants to. He spends most of his waking hours working for his organisation than anything else

He ‘used to be’ fit but now he’s on the pudgy side. His excuse for not exercising is “I don’t have the time”. Starting work by 8.00 a.m. and finishing around 7.00 p.m. Who would have the time?

Bill is like many people I know who don’t realise there is a better way.

Bill called me a few weeks ago. He’d decided he’d had enough of “never having time” and wants to get organised for living his life. (Prior to this, I used to offer unsolicited advice but he took no notice).

How Bill stopped procrastinating and “just did it”

This is what happened:

Bill cleaned out the clutter from his original “bombsite”. We devised simple systems tailored to Bill’s creative personality to cope with the mountains of paperwork. Now that Bill has systems he has been able to identify tasks which he can delegate to others.

We’ve worked out simple and easy to implement strategies for coping with interruptions. The “open door” is sometimes closed. Bill now uses a diary (that’s right he never used one before) writes a daily list of things to do and scribbles all his notes in it. No more scraps of paper.

We worked out where Bill spends his time and prepared a weekly timetable so that he can work in a more structured way and get more done. Such as allocating specific times of the week for certain tasks, rather than letting them build up to unmanageable levels. Time for himself was also factored in.

He now gets up at 6.00 a.m. and goes to the gym near his home 4 mornings a week, has breakfast there and then blasts off to work. Those of you who exercise first thing in the morning know what I mean. Bill’s now eating more nutritious food. Instead of the unhealthy restaurant food he will often have his lunchtime meetings in a “trendy caf” where he can choose what he eats.

The last time I spoke to Bill he said he had reduced his working hours. He was leaving the office by 6.00 p.m. the latest and was feeling so good he is considering training to compete in his gym’s mini- triathalon.

How’s that for “just doing it”?

You can too, you know. It’s a matter of defining your priorities. In fact you’d find if you and other people in your organisation made the effort, you’d be happier, healthier and far more productive.

We often know what to do, even how to do it. All you need to do today is start.

Lorraine Pirihi

Some time ago I attended three major events, two were well-run, the third was a shambles. All three had a number of speakers and more than 200 hundred people present.

The Disorganised Event

This is what happened at one of those events:

On arrival, there were two people at the front desk who completely ignored me, so I walked straight in and organised my own stand. (This was a combination expo/seminar event).

There were no name tags for stallholders or attendees. Refreshments were non-existant. Even water was unavailable. Instead of briefly wrapping up at the end of each presentation, the Master of Ceremonies wasted at least another 10-15 minutes rambling on.

A sponsor who wasn’t scheduled to speak was ’squeezed’ into the programme for a SHORT 10 minute promotion. He prattled on for 40 minutes boring everyone. No one, including the organiser or the MC stopped him. At one point, the audience had been sitting for two hours with no break. The last speaker who was scheduled to speak at 3.30 p.m. presented at 5.00 p.m… that’s how poorly organised the event was. By this time many people had left (including me).

The sad part about the lack of organisation is that some of the presenters were great and so were many of the people who attended. The event management by the organiser would have tainted their reputation and reflected extremely badly on the company they represented.

Unfortunately, many of the attendees will remember more of the negative aspects, rather than the positive ones.

The Ingredients of Successful Events

With the end of another year in site, many of you will be in the process of planning events for your clients and your people in the new year, so I’ve put together a special event management tip sheet to help you save time, money and stress when preparing for your next event. Click here to receive “How To Run Stress-Free Events”.

Speaking of running events in 2006, I’m presenting a terrific seminar to kickstart the new year together with Shelley-Taylor Smith, 7 time World Champion Marathon Swimmer and Motivation Expert. This one of a kind event will be held in both Melbourne and Sydney. If you seriously want to “Skyrocket to Success in 2006″ then click here to book today as numbers will be limited and we’ve already had bookings pouring in.

The Final Word

Organising and attending events where you’ll meet new people and expand your mind is crucial to stay ahead in both your personal and business life. The world is constantly changing and you need to change with it. Fresh input gives you a different perspective. It’s very easy to stay in your comfort zone. However when you expand your mind, you learn more and can earn more. When you apply what you learn, you’ll enrich your own life and can help others to do the same.

Bryan Gorie

Have you ever noticed how your eyes are drawn to what ever is in focus in a photograph? In a good portrait the eyes are the center of attention and should be particularly in focus. When they are not, our eyes are automatically drawn to the area that is in focus. There’s a competition for our attention. Photographers creatively use selective focusing to draw our attention to a certain area of the photograph. For example, in a photograph of a landscape, if the foreground and everything else is equally in focus, our eyes wander throughout the entire image. If however, the foreground is out of focus and the center of attention is framed with trees and branches, our eyes automatically are drawn to the “point of interest”, or focal point.

Time management programs are designed to “focus our attention” on one thing at a time and work to completion without interruption. Really, there is no such thing as “Time Management” given that we can not actually manage time. Event management is more correct in that we need to manage which daily events or activities we choose to focus on at any given time in the day. Actually, it is really all about “self-management”. Too much credit is given to the “skill” of multi-tasking. I don’t know where I heard it, however I like the term multi-slacking. Quite often we get caught up in what we like to call multi-tasking and never seem to get any one task completed. Focusing on one thing at a time is often a challenge due to constant interruptions. Learning how to handle these “time wasters” is a big part of focus and event management.

One of the greatest challenges of entrepreneurs is often that of focusing on one idea at a time. Entrepreneurs are generally creative individuals and are constantly coming up with more and more money-generating ideas. Soon each idea is competing with the next for attention and eventually nothing gets accomplished. By focusing on one idea, working it through a series of analytical questions, we can see the immediate viability and worth of an idea and decide to accept it as a priority or put it in the “idea box” for later consideration. Another trap we can fall into is wearing too many hats. We all have a variety of roles that we need to perform. We may be great at fulfilling many of these roles while others are not in our area of expertise. There is a saying that we should “do what we do best, and hire the rest”. In other words, if paper-work and book-keeping are not your best skills, then focus on those that are and outsource those that keep you from doing your best.

Many times we get “out of focus” because we are not aligned with what we value. The first step in correcting this of course is to spend some time actually articulating our values. In any corporate strategic planning program it is important to acknowledge the corporate values, and then set strategy and tactics around those values. By prioritizing your values decisions become less difficult and goals are met with ease. Aligning your focus with your top values is critical so that you do not get drawn off course.

Focusing on our values and priorities will keep our attention where it needs to be in order to most efficiently accomplish what we set out to do.

Kerry Richards

Holding a successful corporate event can have many benefits, from the obvious, such as team building and problem solving, to the not so obvious, such as increased productivity and morale. But what is the best way to go about this sometimes daunting task?

Define your goals, e.g. team building.

Before you think about the event itself, you need to identify what you want to achieve from it. You may want to reward your employees for a job well done, or perhaps have a fun day to increase staff motivation. Many events are designed to enhance skills such as team building, problem solving or leadership, and most events can be a combination of fun and learning. Compile a list of goals in order of importance so you can stay focussed on the aims of the day when deciding which event to run.

Organise internally or out-source to an event management company?

The next decision to make is whether to organise the event internally or to out-source the event to an event management or training company. Organising a corporate event internally is time consuming and costly, but it could be given as a development task to suitable staff. One of the pitfalls of organising corporate events yourself, is using an inexperienced facilitator, as they may not be capable of keeping the event on track or preventing things getting out of hand. Not only could an event management company provide an experienced facilitator, there is also the advantage of having an independent presence (or referee in some instances).

Many companies have been shocked at the amount of time organising an event actually takes, from designing the event, sourcing the venue, booking the venue, sourcing and organising the equipment, preparing the venue, sorting out transport, organising the food and refreshments and obtaining public liability insurance, to paying the bills to various companies. An event management company will quote you one price covering everything, which leaves you free to enjoy the event, rather than worry about it.

Choose your event

So you know what you want from an event, and you know who will be organising it, but what exactly will you be doing on the day? The event needs to be chosen carefully to ensure you meet your desired goals whilst getting the most from the participants. Consider your audience. If one of your goals is to give people new experiences then you may want to run a very creative event for IT people or a chaotic event for auditors, but otherwise you may not get the best out of the staff if they are feeling way out of their depth and uncomfortable. Event management companies will offer a list of events to suit your goals and people, leaving you to choose the most appropriate one. They will also tailor events to your requirements, and will have run these events many times before, so you can be sure of the outcome.

If you are organising the event yourself, you need to ensure it does actually give you the required benefits. It is all too easy to get carried away with an idea, and later realise it changed so much that the event did not achieve many of the original goals. If you are organising it internally, you will also need a practice run, preferably at the actual venue, to iron out any practical problems before the big day.

Analyse the outcome

Particularly if the event had goals other than just having fun, it is important to analyse the outcome. You, or the event management company, can obtain feedback from the participants in the form of questionnaires. You also need to consider the less tangible benefits from the event, for example, are the team now gelling better together, is productivity up due to a better team morale, or has sickness reduced? Think about what you can learn from the feedback, such as understanding your staff better, making changes to the workplace/procedures, or shaping future events. An event management company will often help with this analysis if required, and even facilitate follow-on sessions if necessary.

Good luck with your event!

Doris Tan

Here are some tips to plan your Ground-breaking and Signing Ceremony !

Any events needs detailed planning and achieve results. Here are some tips on how to plan a successful event.

• Before you start you need to have a theme of the event. After the theme is confirmed, you might want to host a meeting to brainstorm the theme, target audience, guests list, guest of honor, budget allocation, etc.
• Develop a purpose to accomplish for this event, to gain maximum publicity and exposure from the international industry players in the chemical industry, investors, public and media.
• Develop a budget for this event.
• Logistics planning. Check about liability or safety issues that may impact your event. Prepare A Risk Management Agreement for this event.
• Identify human resources and materials essential for the event.
• Identity a date, time and venue for your event. Book venue and any technical audio-visual equipment you might need. Plan and make contacts with the media and governmental bodies.
• Follow-up discussion meetings regularly.
• Assign specific departments to handle specific responsibilities and assignments.
• Check with key resource person a week before the actual program to confirm everything is in place. A dry run is needed three days before the actual event day.

Last but not least, strategies for media relations and presentations, Also supporting collaterals, like invitation cards to be printed with company’s logo, address and contact numbers. The design should be simple, elegant and consistent with company’s corporate identity.

Invitation list needs to be complied and submitted, 4 weeks before the actual event.