Serendipity and Social Media Superhero Chris Brogan in Action!
No, I didn’t just happen to bump into my favorite superhero, Chris Brogan, at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. Our chance meeting occurred via the modern, social media serendipity engine, Twitter.
Chris Brogan was in Paris speaking at Le Web and I was home in The Hague, still feeling sorry for myself for missing Le Web. Late Saturday night after a completely offline day, I quickly jumped online and noticed on twitter that @chrisbrogan had just arrived in Amsterdam. I replied to ask if he would be speaking at any events the next day or if there were any opportunities to meet him. Chris Brogan is mentioned in hundreds, thousands of tweets every day, so I didn’t expect a reply. It was nearly midnight.
He immediately sent a Direct Message to say he was just passing through the Netherlands, but would be happy to meet me for tea at Schiphol Airport in the morning. I won’t pretend that I kept my cool, I was shocked and shaking! Continue reading »
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How to plan a “can’t miss” event
There are so many business associations, networking events and seminars, competition for attention is fierce. So, how do you plan an event that people won’t want to miss, unless they are out of the country or in the hospital?
The Ireland Netherlands Business Association hosted one of their semi-annual dinner events last night in Amsterdam. Neither Irish or Dutch, I have been attending these dinners regularly for the past few years, and generally only miss if… I am out of the country. Here are a few of their success factors.
First of all, the INBA focus on a few major events each year. The focus on quality over quantity reflects well on the organization and enables them to deliver the quality without a staff or fixed costs. The scarcity also works in their favor and eliminates the, ” I’ll just go next time,” response .
Ambassador Richard Ryan is the Patron of the organization, and his personal commitment and involvement in each event is apparent. (Of course he adds fair amounts of credibility and prestige too.) The attendees are an eclectic mix from business and diplomatic circles. “Who” you are likely to meet at an event and possibly dine with, is of course important.
The keynote speakers are always high profile. Former Prime Minister of Ireland, Bertie Ahern was the special guest and keynote speaker last night. Recent speakers have included Dutch Minister for European Affairs Frans Timmermans and my personal favorite,Paul McGuinness, General Manager of the band U2. These special speakers in an intimate setting, make for a unique experience.
Your venue is vital. Last night, it was was the Hotel L’Europe pictured here. The venue sets the tone for the event and this was one was Grande. Your venue doesn’t have to be 5 star, but it should be remarkable. Making guests feel special impacts their overall feeling about being associated with your organization.
How will you make you make your next event remarkable?
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Janitor in Chief
Hours after class, I was still grading stacks of papers when Timo popped in to chat and to ask how long I would be. He was ready to lock up the building and on his way out of the classroom, he cleared away debris left behind by the students and straightened chairs as he went. I waved Good Night as I left school a few minutes later and noticed Timo tidying up the other classrooms as he made the rounds to turn out lights.
Timo’s cleaning efforts instantly struck a cord with me. What’s the big deal, you ask? Well, Timo is not the Janitor, he is actually the Dean of the School. But this is not an ordinary school, it is New Business School Amsterdam. NBS is a private enterprise; Timo and the Management Team are entrepreneurs. This is quite a shift from the typical bureaucratic academic institution, which brings me back to the trash. Continue reading »
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Snubbed at Diversity Works
Imagine walking into a huge diversity event in Amsterdam only to be immediately dissed by the first person you encounter, accused of not being Dutch enough and of having an inferior degree. Ouch! As my colleague Lisa and I entered the event, we decided to browse the fair and in the first row we spotted a stand with at least 20 posters saying in Dutch “Women Network” and “International Contacts”. An obvious instant attraction for us. Familiar with the acronym of the organization sponsoring the stand, Lisa whispered to me as we approached that this group was for women with high degrees, HBO in the Dutch system, (not the American cable network that brought you Sex and the City and The Sopranos). The American equivalent of the HBO degree is usually a little less than, and at most equal to a 4 year bachelors degree. Commendable, but nothing to be elitist about! Having a masters degree myself, I continued my approach without trepidation, unprepared for the condescending thrashing I was about to endure.
Luckily, I was not actually interested in joining this network, but as the head of an organization of professional women, most highly educated and many international, I thought it might be interesting for our members. To my shock and horror, I asked the woman representing this organization if she could tell me something about their network, instead of responding to my question, she came back with a barrage of (dis)qualifying questions and immediately tried to push me off to another organization, of which I am already a member. She rattled off a list of reasons why I, and all of the 90 women that I represented would not fit into their group, without ever saying what they were doing. Absurd! She really seemed to have a problem with the fact that I was not Dutch, and she could not get over it. Even when I mentioned nearly half of the women in our network are Dutch, she stressed that they would have to speak Dutch perfectly, emphasizing the word perfectly!
What was this woman doing at a Diversity Fair? I have intentionally withheld the identity of the organization she represented, because I have to believe that she does not accurately reflect their views, but again, what in the world was she doing there? The Dutch Police had a big stand at the fair in an effort to attract a more diverse work force, so I should have reported this woman to the Diversity Police!
You will hear much more from me on the harmful effects of the Dutch tendencies to label and segregate groups. For now, I leave you with these questions.
Who represents you and your (business) interests?
How can you ensure that they project the image and values of you and your organization?
Corporations spend a fortune trying to indoctrinate their employees as disciples, how can small business owners excel in this challenge?
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