Go Wild! Go GREAT! The Journey from Now to WOWTM

The Tale of SASY & BAMBOO - A SASY Calendar Girl Adoption!

The decision to add a new family member to your life is not an easy one, even if that family member is small and has 4 legs!

In adding a pet to your family, you’re not only committing to the monetary expense and physical energy required to properly care for an animal, you could also be impacting that delicate Household Harmony.

Spoiled and delighted with our Pedigreed Irish Terrier, Nellie of 12 years and an abandoned, tico cat, who really thinks he’s a dog, we were at best trepidatious about adopting an abandoned animal at the Heredia, Costa Rica Shelter, particularly one that was not a puppy and had, shall we say “issues” due to abandonment or abuse.

 

However being part of the 2007 Wild and SASY Calendar Girl Project of Costa Rica this year reinforced the need to provide a home to a 4-legged friend desperately in need of a welcome mat.

Meet S ASY and Bamboo---Mother and Son! Doing well and at home at Casa Rein, despite the skittishness of Mom SASY, who still shows signs of disbelief  that her humans are bearing gifts and love, not maltreatment.

 

You’ll be happy to know Miss Nell, our normally jealous, Irish Lass has warmly rolled out the welcome mat for her new roommates---seeming to sense, the road for the newcomers has been a rocky one. 

Maybe you too can teach an old dog new tricks, adopt a shelter animal who needs a home and STOP ANIMAL SUFFERING-YES!

 

SASY (Stop Animal Suffering Yes) is a fundraising and animal advocacy organization in Costa Rica. 100% volunteer based, you can help SASY support animal adoption, education and spaying and neutering clinics in Costa Rica. Visit www.sasycostarica.com and buy your 2007 Wild and SASY Calendar or volunteer be a Wild and SASY Volunteer.

 

Rosemary Rein

SASY Volunteer & Calendar Girl!

On “Bored” Rooms and Annual Leadership Retreats

It’s time for your End of Year Business Planning Session! In 3 days, you will lock the best minds of your organization into a Conferencea Center, in which you envision them developing an absolutely killer 2007-2008 Business Plan. Bonus: Your team is back at the office on Monday-- basking in the afterglow of renewed drive, vision and a sense of real teamwork. Yup, under your Inspired Leadership, your 2007-2008 Business and/or Marketing Plan is nothing short of remarkable and you accomplished more in this 3 day off-site retreat than weeks of work by toiling cube rats.

Too good to be true?  Maybe, unless this year you Go A Little Wild to stimulate creative thinking 

Here are  “10 Wild Ideas” for sparking fire and creative thought in corporate leadership retreats while staying in your budget:

Take Them Outdoors---Not only does playing in the outdoors produce more creative and playful children---It works especially well with Adults. Get your team out of the “Bored Room” and see the results physical environment plays on mental output.

Stimulate All of Their Senses:  From Wine Tasting Events, to Artistic Interpretation and Dance, consider multi-sensory activities to stimulate both left and right braining thinking.

Let Them Have Recess:  --- Interspersed with Brain-Power and the writing of your Business Plan, throw in physical activity breaks that demand and inspire teamwork and produce the critical Fun Factor---River Rafting, Road Rallies Scavenger Hunts and Survival Simulations are just a few of the activities used at Costa Rica Learning Adventures.

You’re Fired….  well not really, but do take a lesson from the Donald.... Give Team members’ specific missions and tasks and throw in just a little bit of competition.    

Get a Theme:  Themes Build Teams. Don’t forget to Merchandise and Brand your Retreat as you would a product. From this one retreat your company could achieve that breakthrough, new product marketing strategy and team synchronicity critical to your success.

Show Them the Castle:  When Walt Disney was building his dream, his instruction to the construction team was “Build The Castle First---They need to see the Castle amidst the muck and chaos of construction Be sure to kick off your Retreat by sharing your mission and vision.

Follow The Hollywood Model for Building Retreat Excitement Are managers looking forward to this retreat after seeing your trailer or dreading the very thought? Forget the Memo, Apply the Hollywood Marketing Model –build excitement for the retreat with inspired pre-event publicity.

Hire a “Hit” Man/Woman  You’re an Executive, Not an Event Planner or Facilitator. Calculate the salary of every staff member going to the retreat in addition to hotel/travel costs. Why would you jeopardize that investment by having your assistant or worse you…. handle the facilitation and event planning. Hire a professional that will assure your event is a Hit. You and your people don’t have time for this.

Add some heart-racing Excitement:  We tend to learn the most when outside of our comfort zone when the senses are stimulated. Provide an experience for your team that will enable them to return home and say “You won’t believe what I did!!!” Of course you need to keep it safe and free from litigation which is why we refer you to point 8.

The TISP Factor:  Finally, Make each retreat participant and member of your team feel Trusted, Important, Special and Pleased. I once heard a certain hospitality diva say, when “You’re hosting a party, make sure everyone at the party feels like they were the most important guest” Apply that rule to your Team Retreat and you’re on your way to building a Winning and Loyal Work Team that not only sees the castle, but creates and achieves the Dream.

For more information about Rosemary’s unique team retreats visit the website – www.costaricatraining.com or http://www.retreatscostarica.com/special_package.htm

Continental Airlines Scores a Purple Cow

In an effort to post the good, the bad and the ugly of Customer Service, it is delightful to send a big hooray to Continental Airlines --in particular a flight attendant who epitomizes Customer Service (after more than 25 years in the business).

While recently returning home to Costa Rica, I encountered Norm Hoffman---He greeted young passengers at the Cabin Doors with a Bubble Machine Gun---Talk about multi-sensory delight and a ton of smiles from young ones.

I have traveled this flight plan more than 50 times and it was the first time, I appreciated the beauty and diversity of my journey  due to Norm's narration and true love of the geographic wonders along our path.  I realized I had taken for granted the beauty of coral reefs and magical shorelines that  Norm could still see after 25 years with childlike wonder and appreciation.  It is the way this Continental Airlines Flight Attendant  looks at life and  looks at each passenger. 

Thank you Norm for New Eyes Appreciation.  In Seth Godin's Purple Cow, a book I frequently reference in my customer service seminars, Norm is a true purple cow---providing us a personalized experience and service delight that makes us want to say "This is no normal cow.. Holy Cow, This is  a Purple Cow!"   

Do You Write and Think Outside the Lines!

New York City in August----What could be better?  It was a day of motivational inspiration---sharing the speaker platform at the Hyatt in Manhattan,  for National Seminars amidst an audience of over 250 business leaders.

Amazing to watch the brilliance of fellow speakers on a broad range of topics...diversity, human resources and words that impact the human spirit.  Among the speakers, Gail Cohen, author of "Thinking Outside the Lines"--I highly recommend it as an addition to your library.

It was therefore on the way home, that perhaps I had the most intriguing conversation with a pilot sitting next to me.   I was writing notes during the "no lap-top" take-off when Roger, a pilot for American Airlines and my delightful seat mate for the trip,  said "excuse me but  do you know you write outside the lines?"  "What a compliment I replied--I must be creative" but "you surely can't fly a plane" he laughed and smile.   Roger and I shared one of those conversations where you shake your head in amazement at the gift of sharing an hour or two with a complete stranger who has a completely different frame of reference. My mother once told me when you meet someone new , it's like taking a small vacation--you get to go somewhere you've never been.  During this flight, I entered the precise world and logic of an aviator.

I would learn that after 18 years with the love of his life, Roger and his companion are ready to take the plunge---no, not marriage yet......but they are committing to a  fish tank community.  In fact, they are  carefully researching for weeks now, the mix of the community of fish and the empty tank sits there in his living room, awaiting Roger's careful analysis.  You see,  Roger likes to get it right and minimize risks.  He is the ideal pilot.

I on the other hand,  recounted to him the spontaneous nature of my fish tank analysis--  going to the tropical fish store and buying fish that looked so brilliant and beautiful ....and the horror of having a family picnic and hearing the blood curdling screams of my nieces and nephews as the pretty fish devoured the existing community in front of their young eyes.

The fun of this "fish tale" was the mutual understanding of our distinctly different personality styles and the recognition that each personality has both strengths and  weaknesses --an understanding that in the "Perfect Tank" there is acceptance, diversity, and agreement that you don't bite the other's head off (at least in front of company).

Back in Costa Rica this week---------Pura Vida