Tracy's Tidbits

Tidbits for the Un-seasoned Traveler, Part III

I travel quite a bit for work. Now that travel restrictions have lessened in most places and events are meeting again, travel is picking back up. Sitting on a plane watching people board can be very blog-inspiring. On one of my recent trips, my traveling companion was disturbed by an unseasoned traveler’s actions and I was asked if I could write about it. Of course, I’m happy to oblige.

With the amount of fodder I gain from watching people on airplanes lately, I feel I could start a whole other blog just providing advice for people who don’t travel on a regular basis. I almost feel obligated to write to one-time travelers to help them avoid travel etiquette snafus that are so rampant these days. At least it might alleviate boarding and deplaning delays and allow the flights of business travelers who are relying on the metal birds to get to their next meeting to actually leave the gate on time.

So here it is. When boarding, traffic in the aisles flows IN to the plane. If there isn’t a place for your bag near your seat and it ends up a few rows back, you now need to wait until the incoming traffic has cleared the aisle before you can return to your seat. Pushing your way upstream to return to your seat is both rude and unnecessary. Your seat is not going anywhere. Your seat is assigned to you so nobody is going to sit in it. You will be sitting for the length of your flight once the plane leaves the gate so go ahead and enjoy a few more moments of standing while you say hello to the flight attendant at the back of the plane.

There will inevitably be a gap in the incoming traffic. Some guy will stand in the aisle, take off his jacket, load his rolling bag in the overhead bin handle first, fuss with getting the bag turned around, stuff his personal item and his jacket into the overhead bin, and just before he sits down, decides there really IS something he wants from his backpack so he jams up the aisle for another 2 minutes while he fumbles around only to remember he already stuffed his earphones into his shirt pocket. THIS is the time you should strike and find your way back to your seat if possible. Otherwise, just wait.

Then, when the plane lands at its destination, you are now left to play the row hop game. It is not ok for you to push your way back several rows through the stream of people coming toward the front. You were the one late to the party and ended up with your bag at the back of the plane. Now, you must wait until the aisle is free up to the row where your bag is stowed. Again, you should remain in your seat until the rows behind you have cleared. You can wait until people behind you pause to pull their bags from the overhead bins. This is where the row hop game comes in. While they do that, you can hop to the row behind you… over and over until you end up back to the row where your bag is.

Then, and only then, you can grab your bag and deplane. It’s the price you pay for having to stow your bag behind you. It’s just the way it is. Next time, either show up earlier so you can find space near your seat, check your bag, or pack something smaller to fit under the seat in front of you. But, pushing and shoving your way against the flow of traffic both before and after the flight is NOT the appropriate response.

Now you know and can be a cooperative member of the air travel society.

Do you have a tidbit for an unseasoned traveler? I’d love to hear it!
Email me or share it here.

I have turned the Tidbits for Unseasoned Travelers into a page on my website.
Read all of the helpful insights here!

Living Outside the Box

I know the phrase “think outside the box” has become a bit overused, especially after the great shake-up of 2020, but I was in conversation with some friends and we were talking about how we’re not just thinking outside the box, we’re living outside the box. The Hospitality and Tourism industry (among others) has changed dramatically since 2020. Events that were planned for that year and early into 2021 were switched to online events with less-than-ideal timelines, postponed, or canceled, forcing us to completely reimagine how, where, when, and why events were done. We basically burned down the box.

As such, there is no going back into the box. It’s like trying to put toothpaste back into the tube. We are now permanently outside of the box. I think it is ok. We were probably relying far too much on the box anyway. How many of us were entirely too comfortable with the status quo? How many of us have now learned skills we never thought we would ever need to know? I know I definitely have. And, I feel I am a better event planner as a result. I had to find creativity within myself I didn’t realize existed, to problem-solve in an entirely new way. I learned technical skills and a language that was a lot more like Chinese to me just a few short years ago.

I kind of like it out here. I get to be and do and think and act differently now. I personally am a change-maker so I don’t mind being pushed outside of my comfort zone. I would have preferred not to burn down the box in the process. I’d prefer to have walked steadily into this brave new world with my map and a flashlight, but that’s not what happened. We were all kicked out of the nest with our wings tied behind our backs and with blindfolds on. Nevertheless, here we are.

So, now that we’re here, how are you going to take advantage of this unique opportunity? We are at a point in history where we can question the status quo. We can revisit our organization’s mission, vision, or values. We can re-evaluate the goals and objectives of the events we plan to ensure they still line up with their intended purpose. Is this the year when the stakeholder structure gets a makeover? Did your events become too focused on being the biggest and the best in your field that the attendees and/or the quality started to suffer? Do you need to do some soul searching as a team? May I suggest that while we are out here, homeless, without our comfortable boxes, we have the gift of being able to bring ourselves, our events, and possibly our organizations back into alignment?

Imagine the possibilities.

If you would like to brainstorm what other opportunities might be lying outside of your box, send me and email and let’s set up some time to talk!

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Change Your Perspective

alt="Woman standing upside down on the ceiling changing perspective"

Occasionally during the event planning process, I can come across a decision or a challenge that stumps me, even if for a little while. I can stare at it and stare at it but it looks the same every time. I can walk away and come back the next day and it still looks the same. It can be frustrating if I am not able to move on after a period of time.

After having planned events now for over 16 years, I have discovered a couple of tidbits that help me get over the hump when I’m stuck on something. I am usually the problem-solver, the trouble-shooter, and in a pinch, can McGuyver my way out of just about anything. However, during the actual planning process when there is time to think things through, I find it occasionally harder to get past the “things.” If this describes you at all, next time, try changing your perspective. Try one of these:

Change locations. I find that if I change which room of the house or office I am working in, or actually change locations by heading to Starbucks, I can come up with a solution to whatever it was I was struggling with. Maybe it’s because I am experiencing different energy, different light, or different sounds, but oftentimes, this helps distract my logical brain just enough to let more creative parts take over.
Change your view. This comes in handy if I am stuck on a word puzzle or am trying to find something I wrote on a page when taking notes during a meeting or phone call. My handwriting is not that great and occasionally I just KNOW I wrote something in my notebook that I want to either transfer into typed notes or to my task list that I can’t find on the page. Sometimes just by physically turning the paper sideways or upside down the word or phrase I am looking for will jump off the page.
Change activities. If I have been working on a challenge I just can’t get past, sometimes I need to change what I am working on. For me personally, I can’t move to another thought-provoking task, I need to do a mundane, repetitive task such as folding t-shirts, steaming tablecloths, or rolling silverware. Often, the act of mindless repetition brings a solution to light.
Talk it out. I might just need the input of someone else’s creative juices. An outside perspective might be able to see something I am simply too close to. Plus, collaboration with a team often leads to much better and more creative solutions for challenges or amazing brainstorming lists than if you are doing it yourself.
Sleep on it. It amazes me how often I either dream of a scenario that solves the issue I am struggling with or I think of a solution right around twilight sleep. I always keep a notebook by the bed so I can write ideas and solutions down during the night. Not only will I never remember in the morning, but if I don’t write it down, the idea swirling around in my brain now has me fully awake if I can’t put it somewhere to reference later.
Walk away. Yes, sometimes you just need to put it down and walk away. Pick this particular challenge back up another day.

So the next time you are stuck on a challenge, rather than get huffy and want to pull your hair out, try one or all of these tidbits to see if you can find a solution in a different way. If you still have trouble, give me a call. Problem-solving is a sport for me. Really.

Do you have another perspective you would recommend? List it here or shoot me an email!

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Air Traffic Control

Being the Chief Operations Officer, working in logistics, and leading a team through event planning can feel a bit like being an air traffic controller. Part of my job is to make sure that the different departments are all moving in the right direction, at the right speed, and are in sync with one another. At the same time, I’m monitoring the ever-changing travel situation, facilitating a convention center full of room set ups, selecting menus, monitoring safety and security, keeping tabs on local business and news information, and watching the budget, ticket sales, and room block reservation numbers. All while keeping my thumb on the pulse of the hospitality and tourism industry. And that is just Tuesday.

A couple of things help to make traffic flow smoothly. Project Management is critical to the success of any event. There are milestones, task lists, the critical path, and change management; all vital to the advancement or failure of the final product. A common concern when event planning involves multiple departments is each department operating in a “silo” (departments are focused only on their own tasks or responsibilities). To keep the event moving collaboratively in the right direction, someone has to be able to see the big picture, the 30,000-foot view, the forest for the trees, or things could get a bit messy.

Another way to keep traffic moving is to build a really great events team which includes people with different skills from each other. Not everyone can be good at the same things or the event would probably never happen. If you are the event professional, chances are you are the one with the logistical, spreadsheet-crushing, list-devouring, see-into-the-future brain. If so, there needs to be someone on the team who can create captivating content, someone who can engage amazing speakers, someone who can deliver heart-stopping production, and still, others who can answer customer service questions, market the event, create designs, setup the trade show floor, and hire staff.

In addition, you need the necessary event planning tools. An event planning timeline, cross-team communication tools, and the right people on the bus. Without modern conveniences such as these how many deadlines do you think would actually be met? How many teams have you encountered who are functional enough to work together or communicate effectively on their own without direction and accountability?

If there isn’t anyone at the controls making sure the departments are all working together, just imagine the number of tasks that would be overlooked or, equally as obnoxious, tasks that are done by more than one person on the team. I have the image of someone trying to herd cats in my mind when I think about this scenario. Have you ever tried to herd cats? I have. It’s not pretty.

To make sure everyone gets to their final destination unscathed, someone needs to be willing to act as air traffic control, monitor the critical path, watch the team’s capacity each week, or month, or quarter, recommend adjustments as needed, and keep things from crashing into each other!

How does your team keep the moving parts from colliding? Email me
or share with us here!

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Want to schedule a consultation with Tracy? Visit tracybaer.com!

Don’t Assume the Worst

It’s easy to do. My mind can run away from me in a heartbeat, especially if I am tired. If presented with a limited number of facts, my mind can fill in the blanks with worst-case scenarios at the speed of thought. I feel that our minds have been given creative liberty, even more so lately, to advance to defcon5 without so much as a pregnant pause. However, more often than not, it is a complete overreaction. There was never the need to go on the offensive in the first place.

When working with a security team for an in-person event (volunteer or paid), it is important to make sure the team members understand their role and how they should respond in most situations. At our events in particular, we serve ministry leaders who are coming for training, resources, and community. The risk profile is pretty low, but, to ensure the safety of our attendees, we employ a volunteer security team. To provide the best possible experience for everyone, we have laid a few ground rules. Enter, the Security Plan.

A Security Plan outlines things like basic emergency protocols, who to contact for what and how to contact them, building evacuation maps, fire extinguisher and AED locations, and basic rules of engagement. Some of which include:

Don’t assume those without their nametag are doing anything sinister. Just because a person doesn’t have their nametag visible around their neck doesn’t mean they are there for anything other than the conference. Before employing the Austin Powers judo chop, the security team member should ask if they have a nametag somewhere on their person, if they have lost it and need to get a replacement one, or if they have accidentally wandered into the convention center from another part of the property and they just need to find their way to the exit.
Assume those with a lost look on their face are, in fact, lost. Team members should ask if they can assist them, engage them in conversation, and find out if they are part of the conference. Identify them, help them find either their next designated room or again, the exit.
Sometimes a person outside of a session, wandering the hallways or sitting on a bench may just need some alone time. In-person conferences can be overwhelming for some whether for informational, topical, or personal reasons, and a person may need to step out and spend some away from the crowd. Read their body language, say hello if appropriate, identify the necessary security risks, and provide them with the space they seek.
Very few people pose a security threat. If security team members are watching a crowd of people, they should be alert, but know that most people reaching into their jacket pocket or their purse are pulling out a pen, tissue, their phone, or other non-life threatening article unless their Spidey-senses tell them otherwise.
We train our volunteer security team members to be “designated reporters.” In other words, they are trained to engage a person in conversation to their comfort level, gain as much information without being offensive, monitor their whereabouts, and report any suspicious activity to the proper authorities as quickly as possible. Our security team should not engage in any physical manner.

Ensure a chain of command is established, communicated, and contact numbers are all available. Also, make sure you check with your insurance company and potentially seek legal counsel to confirm if your organization needs any additional coverage or contracts if you have volunteer or paid security team members under your direction during your event.

By setting the proper expectations and guidelines upfront, everyone can have a safe and happy convention experience.

Do you have experiences with a security team you’d like to share? Please email me!

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