So, here I sit with plenty of work that needs to be done. I began thinking of when I first started in the industry, then becoming involved in the national association, then becoming the western distributor of involved. The one constant in all of that “doing” was that as a group we had FUN. Our mantra was that we worked hard and we played hard……sometimes a little too hard making those early morning association meetings challenging. But, the take away was always terrifically valuable. The ideas and problems discussed and solved at the bar following the association meetings were always extremely valuable and insightful.
It seems as the recent economic downturn hit we all got really serious about business, as we should have. We were working hard to keep businesses afloat and remain profitable. We were doing more with less. All of this hard work was at the expense of fun. Before the downturn we worked hard, but we had fun doing it. During and since the downturn we have continued working hard, but we just have not embraced the fun….yet.
The work place has to be more than a place where you serve time each day. It has to have more meaning to the employees than earning a paycheck. You want your employees to be “invested” in the business. The best way is to try to make it a little fun in the process.
While the association has a lot on its plate, most of it really serious work, it still has to be fun to attend the meetings and participate in the solutions to the problems. The quarterly meetings have become less well attended than in the past. Partly to do with the downturn, but also because it has become less engaging to those that used to attend; less fun.
I can remember when the hotel bar of the meeting venue couldn’t hold all of the attendees. We did a lot of really good work in that less formal and less structured environment. Ideas were fleshed out with “lubricated input” from everyone in attendance. Many, many great ideas came from those late night brainstorming sessions. It made everyone want to attend the next meeting. It was FUN!
I am starting a movement to bring the fun back to the association meetings starting with the March meeting in Fort Worth, Texas. We will be holding court at the end of the day’s sessions. Bring your ideas and problems, but more importantly bring the fun. There is a small group that has been trying to revive the fun. We are now going to take it to another level. We will be working hard to move the industry forward in key areas, but we are going to have fun doing it. There will be a group at the bar every evening trying to resolve issues that went unresolved during the association meetings. Listen closely during the meetings and don’t be afraid to speak at the meeting and, more importantly, at the bar following the meeting. Nothing will be off limits. Speak your mind and have fun doing it. You may get poked and prodded in a friendly manner, but your input will always be absorbed. In the bar forum, the best idea wins. That is part of what makes it fun. You get to hear ideas from attendees that live all over the country. They may have the same problem you do. They may have already found a solution and they will share it. It is fun. The sharing that happens during the after meeting has surprised a lot of first time attendees. The group is always great and never at a loss for ideas and opinions on any issue. Especially one guy from Jacksonville. He has opinions on everything….and, sometimes we laugh our heads off during his dissertations. But, it is always fun.
I could tell many stories of past meetings, but what happens at quarterly meetings, stays at quarterly meetings. Like the guy that evaporated for 3 days at the South Padre Island quarterly meeting. We were all worried, but he made it to the last meeting and survived. A living legend to this day.
I look forward to meeting everyone in Fort Worth. Bring your fun. If it is your first meeting to attend or the first in a long time, mention this little story and I will happily buy your first glass of “idea lubricant.” Come make your own memories, solve problems and engage in the industry. We are all better when everyone participates and when everyone has fun. Let’s bring the fun back!