Where have all the flowers gone?

Who said a recession is bad? Maybe it's exactly what we needed?

Nearly every day I get the same question asked, "How's business with you guys?" It's a double-edged-sword type of question, as one doesn't want to spread doom and gloom, but at the same time, there is the reality of the current recessionary situation. There are some obvious answers that come to mind, but for some reason we dont get much further, namely;

1. "Oh great, coudn't be better." This tends to be an overkill and difficult to deliver with a straight face. Also, possibly a means of making the questioners feel even worse than they already appear to be.

2. "Terrible... but have you heard about...?" is the standard depressive response that creates a caring, lets-all-suffer-together type of approach, but has little or no value to anyone.

3. "What recession? is the half-wits version of denial?

The real challenge is, not just keeping a straight face, but looking into the faces that ask the questions and ask why they are even asking the question in the first place. I think it has something to do with doubt. Doubt about what we are doing and what we are offering to our customers?

The real challenge we face in this market right now is not the simplicity of cutting back, trying to save a few bucks, reducing management fees, cutting commissions, or scaling down; as these tactics are all easily replicated by everyone and nothing really changes.

"So what is the answer, oh knowledgable one?

It's all about value and learning how to show your clients that they are getting it from you. I attended a very progressive meeting hosted by the UPSA and the message from all the presenters was clear; if you can't explain your value to your customers in a way that they can't do without you, you will be part of the recession.

As a facilitator, I had the opportunity last week to put this theory to the test. I asked all attendees from the hospitality industry to explain to me what they did and why i should use them. The answers were horrific, to say the least;

• We offer top class accommodation
• Best meals at the best price
• Comfortable conferencing with good sound
• 24 hour service
• Security in the park and so on...

When it comes to event managers and PCO's who offer middle-man service, the answers become even more generalized and purely functional. This stereo-typing of our value proposition will be our downfall and in tough times our clients will soon see that the cutting-back of those services that don't add value will soon include us. Our clients know what we do, but do they really see the true value that we offer, do they see the risk factors we manage, do they see the control issues, the peace of mind factors?

Well, quite simply, if we can't show them and ensure that thier perception of an event manager is no more than a venue finder, a pre-checker or a time-check co-ordinator, then one's days are definitely numbered in this industry.

My suggestion to everyone in the industry is, sit down and take a good look in the mirror and ask yourself the question; "what would happen to your client's business if you didn't exsist?"

Would they crumble? suffer? lose it? or would they just go out there and grab another flower from the cluttered vase of similar-looking flowers?

Signing off,
John Ingram
Managing Director
HiSide Group

(Been in the industry since 1992, running Hadeda Creek River Rafting Camp, HiSide Teambuilding, HiSide Events, and Ingram & Associates)

Leadership Program for Schools held at Hadeda Creek

Guide your child to choose the best pair of "shoes" to leap over the hurdles of life.

"Every parent wants thier child to walk, (or run) out of school showing a definitive level of IQ, EQ, maturity, accountability, youthful exuberance, enthusiasm, accountability and possibly more. Not too much to ask after 12 years of school fees.

From the nurtured environment of school, home and family, our young adults are about to enter the big world that awaits; whether work, further academic tuition, the GAP journey, a sports sponsorship, an OE or a NGO working holiday. It's all about to happen and we as parents just hope or pray that they do the right thing. But what is the right thing? Is it the world, according to us, our teachers, mates, GARP, the Government or something extra-terrestrial?

The decisions our young adults are about to make are critically important and will have a direct impact on thier future, a future that is just about to be put fair and squarely into thier hands, or do we continue to shadow them a further 2, 3, or maybe 10 years. The umbilical cord is often difficult to cut and the reason is usually doubt. Doubt that they can or cannot, decide or not decide, do or don't, commit or not commit, be sensible or senseless. We are not sure that they will make the right choice, but imagine if we had absolutely no question about thier ability to do this perfectly without us being there for them. Isn't this what their preparation is all about? Isn't this what we hope to happen at some magical moment in our children's life?

I sum it up in a word; leadership.

We want our children to take leadership, not just to become the CEO of some multi-million dollar company, but more importantly, of themselves. Leadership is more than a set of skills such as; decision making, realistic problem solving or the art of influence. In my opinion it is more, a culture, a centricity or value that can be taught in a lesson, but becomes more of an ongoing and consistently travelled journey of experiences, each of which helps mould the thinking and provide a consistent understanding of how to do the right thing more often. If only i knew how to get this concept to every child, including my own!"

Signing Off,
John Ingram

There is nothing more rewarding as a facilitator of teambuilding than to see the delegates walk away motivated and proud to be apart of thier team, well that's what we, from the HiSide Teambuilding company, experienced last week with FNB and AECI on Wednesday and Thursday during the course of 2 of our best sellers: The 5 Camp Challenge at Kyalami Sports and Function Centre and the Murder Mystery Investigation at Kievitskroon. Thank you to all the facilitators and organizers involved in making both events a great success. It was 2 days of laughter, learning, motivation, problem - solving, team interaction and unity all in one! Go team!

Teambuilding moment to treasure

Everyone (especially cynics or managers with a budget problem) eventually ask about whether there is actually any real value from a teambuilding session. I must admit that I have run some teambuilds where the end result is some sweat, some laughter, some bitchiness, some hurt and some drunken babblings thereafter. These are not the sessions that one wishes to remember and most I can't.


There was one very special moment last week when running a Customer Service session where the CEO was trying to launch a customer centric culture into the organisation, especially as they were shocking at it and were getting serious "flak" from their current customer base for their arrogance, expensiveness and poor follow through of promises.


The teams were very mixed with senior management through to drivers in attendance.

We reached a point where we needed ideas to show that we were actually committed to and understood what we had to do to make a difference. Having done this a few hundred times, I was waiting for the normal list;

• Answer phones before 3rd ring



• Dress nicely



• Listen to the customers concerns



• Be punctual



• Don't burp etc
  

Daniel a semi-literate driver then proceeded to outline what he thought needed to happen and it went something like this;

"John, you know, we have to deliver stuff to the customers and we actually see the customers more than our sales people, more that the operations people and definitely more that the bosses! (subtle dig just to get his bosses attention). We often get very upset customers when we are late or the boxes are broken, but I know that they are upset and if my boss would just give me some tape and some spare cardboard and labels, most of the semi-damaged boxes I could fix right there. Instead, I have to drive back to the dispatch and they take another day to re-pack and now the customer is seething! Just some tape and some cardboard and I can make it all better"

I looked across at his boss who looked more embarrassed than George Bush at a Peace Parade and the penny had dropped for everyone.

It was not about all the fancy and expensive things we do, but more in allowing the right people to take the right initiative and do the right thing for the customer. This little lesson changed the way I run all my future customer service sessions. Throw away he text books and theories and learn to unleash the people who know how to make a customer smile.

Daniel the Driver now proudly shows all how slick he is at repairing boxes and he now has his own set of company logoed "smileys" which he drops off to his customers when he feels they need to cheer up.

These are the moments that make teambuilding and interactive sessions worth their weight in diamonds.

Stop the whinning, drink the stuff

Yes, we know….. Capetown has a large rock, the sea, the prison and the wine, and we hear about it every time a Capetonian visits us to do business. We have lions, a clean river, gold dust and real people. But it’s not about having or being one or the other, we believe in having the best of both cities. We provide the best of the Cape along with the best of JHB in what we call Jhb’s Own Wine Route.

At Hadeda Creek on the Vaal River we have created a unique trip that allows clients to partake in two wonderful pastimes. Outside Parys, the Vaal River drops some 15% due to the meteor impact in the Vredefort Dome. This creates 12 kms of exciting rapids that provide fun and excitement for the 5000 rafting guests who participate each year.

Most people have a vision of the Vaal as being a slow, off-colour, speed boat infested playground. Well, this is true to those who have not travelled south of Parys. The river is clear, effervescent and breaks into mystic channels. The rafting can be experienced by both beginners and “pros” alike and the rafting trips range between 2 – 6 hours in duration.

So when does the wine route come into this?

During the last 2 kilometers, the river decides to chill out and it is at this point where our ever alert guides converge all the rafts together and dig into the cooler boxes for silver wine goblets, fine merlots, saviguan blancs and a platter of delectable nibbles to accompany the occasion. The wine even has the distinctive Hadeda Creek label and is the only wine we know the is “The Rafters Choice”.

The relaxing hour back to camp, allows one to savour the beauty of the Vaal while tasting the trophies from the Cape. The sunsets are spectacular, the birdlife abundant and one cannot help but feel really happy about living in this part of the world.

I have heard that Capetonians are trying to do a similar type of combo, but I feel our Pilansberg lions roaming the V&A waterfront will never take off.