Trends 3,5,18

Book review 6

Secret life of bagels 7

Communicating 8

Management insight 10

Datebook 11

Attitude 12-13

Hotel News 16,17

MPI Meeting Day 19

VOL. 3ISSUE 3

A MONTHLY DIGEST TO INFORM AND ENLIGHTEN MEETING PLANNERS

BY DAVE PARADI, MBA

Iwas speaking to a group of keynotespeakers at a professional speakers

convention recently on the topic ofPowerPoint usage. Many people foundthe ideas I shared helpful, so I thought Iwould share them with you.

As I explained to the group, I thinkyou can see almost any business-orient-ed presentation as being on a continu-um, where one end is a fully inspira-tional presentation and the other end isa totally informational presentation.One of the key distinctions along the

line between the two ends is how many points you want the audience toremember.

A purely inspirational presentation,like a pep talk you would give yourteam, has very few points you need theaudience to remember, perhaps onlyone key point.

A highly informational presentation,like a training program, can have manypoints that you want the audience toremember in order to improve their jobperformance.

IN THIS ISSUE When should youuse PowerPoint?

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

Not sure how much luggage is too much? It’s wise to call ahead and double check your airline’s luggage policy when traveling.

How much luggage is too much?SEE PAGE 4

April 2005Edition

Need to change your address?Email us at: info@theplanner.ca

Published by:

2105 rue de la Montagne, suite 100 • Montreal, Quebec • H3G 1Z8Telephone: (514) 849-6841 ext. 333 • Fax: (514) 284-2282

We welcome your comments: info@theplanner.ca

Editor: Leo GervaisAssistant Editor: Nathalie Caron

Proofreader: Keith MottonTranslator: Dominique Lamarche

Administration: Patrick Galvin, Julie BoisvertSales: James Paulson, Camille Lay

Contributors: Mike Auctor, Anne Biarritz, Thomas Chalmers, Peter De Jager, Stacey Hanke, Maya Kramer, Joe Schwarcz,

Harriet Wezena

The Planner is a monthly publication distributed to 11,000 professional meeting planners across Canada and the U.S..

Poste-publication No. 40934013

Our Mission and GoalOur mission is to inform and enlighten meeting planners.

Each edition will have no more than 30 to 35 per cent advertis-ing (all of which will be informative) with the rest of the publica-tion dedicated to articles to help meeting planners in their day-to-day activities. Our goal is to give out the accumulated profit aseducational grants to planners.

Statistics released by the Print Measurement Bureau report-ed that 9 out of the top 10 magazines in Canada showed

readership declines in the past year. Just to hold your reader-ship is considered an accomplishment now-a-days. At thePlanner, we have more than doubled our readership eventhough we have started charging non-planners to receive it.Not bad for a publication that’s less than two years old.

You will also notice at the bottom right that we have startedgiving back—it’s not much but it’s a start. So thanks for yoursupport & keep telling your friends about us. And as always ifyou have ideas or suggestions please let us know.

Nine out of ten

NOTES FROM THE EDITOR

APRIL 2005

2

Giving backEducational grants

Lynda Kerr

B. Lou Cox

Bridget Ayden

Anne-Marie Obdam

Suzanne Despatie

Jennifer Campbell

Cathleen Fillmore

Peter L. Fournier

Lucette Kirbach

Gerry Hood

Last month’s winnersin the survey contest:

Congratulations to allthe winners!

• Teambuilding

• Chef’s Table

• Planning Golf Events

• Data Projector Tips

What would you like to read about?Please e-mail me at:lgervais@theplanner.ca

Comingin May

Ed. Note: The survey results will be published in the May edition.

In between the two ends of the spectrum there are a varietyof different presentations with various numbers of pointsbeing made.

To help the audience remember your message, you shoulduse recall aids. A recall aid is something that the audience canuse to recall the points you have made after you are finishedthe presentation. There are many different forms of recall aids,including handouts, workbooks, cards, and yes, PowerPoint.PowerPoint can be a recall aid because it can give visualreminders of the points we are making.

The most popular usage of PowerPoint as a recall aid iswhen we use the title and bullet points to reinforce the keypoints we are speaking about. An even more effective use ofPowerPoint is to use photographs to help tell a story that illustrates your point.

Audiences remember your powerful stories more than anyother part of your presentation. You can burn the points intheir memory even more by showing a photo, telling a storyrelated to that photo, then making the point that the story andphoto illustrate. In this way, the emotional impact of the photowill add weight to the point you make through the story.

PowerPoint should not necessarily be the only recall aidyou use, but it could be a valuable tool in helping your audi-ence remember and act on your points. When you plan yournext presentation (you do plan your presentation instead ofjust jumping in to PowerPoint I hope), think about where youare on the continuum between an inspirational and an infor-mational presentation. Then consider how PowerPoint may fitinto your plan for recall aids.

• • •

Dave Paradi is known as The PowerPoint Lifeguard because herescues speakers and their audiences from "Death by PowerPoint".Dave is the author of “Guide to PowerPoint” in the Prentice HallSeries in Advanced Business Communication.

His consulting, workshops and learning tools help organizationsimprove the profitability of their PowerPoint presentations. Learnmore at : http://www.PowerPointLifeguard.com. ©2004 Dave Paradi

APRIL 2005

3

PP: Use recall aidsCONTINUED FROM POWERPOINT PAGE 1 Jetsgo is gone, now is Delta going

bankrupt?Delta Airlines says it would report “a substantial net loss”

in 2005, causing a 12 per cent loss in its shares and reviving thespectre of bankruptcy.

The U.S. Air carrier is coming off a horrendous 2004 whenit reported a loss of US $5.2-billion, the largest in its 75-yearhistory. Despite a planned US $5 billion in cost cuts, competi-tive pressures like fuel costs may drive it to “seek to restruc-ture… costs under Chapter 11 of the U.S. bankruptcy Code” itrevealed in its recent filing to the American Securities andExchange Commission.

Delta is also looking to asset sales to raise cash and avoidjoining United and US Airways in bankruptcy.

If you can make it there…The estimated total number of visitors to New York City in

2004 was a new record high 39.6 million, 4.6 percent higherthan in 2003. International arrivals increased by 10.2 percent,with 20 percent increase coming from Japan. Occupancy was83 percent, and the average daily rate increased by US $19 toUS $212. The number of visitors is expected to be higher than 40million in 2005.

So Bill, I wantto hold thismeeting….

Microsoft is offering away to meet whether“you’re three offices or30,000 miles apart” withtheir service Microsoft Office Live Meeting. All you need is aphone, a PC and an Internet connection to get the productivi-ty of an in-person meeting without the downtime and expenseof business travel. Microsoft is even offering 30 days of freeservice and a free demo at www.microsoft.com/liveonline. Formore info call: 1-877-568-2495.

�Industry Trends

Hold a fast meeting via Microsoft.

BY MAYA KRAMER

Wondering if you should bring an extra pant suit onthat trip to New York? If you ask the airlines, theanswer would likely be a no.

With soaring fuel costs, not only are prices for check-in lug-gage increasing, but several airlines are reducing the maximumcarry-on luggage size and weight.

The guidelines are in response to concerns that aircraft arebeing increasingly overloaded. On an aircraft carrying morepeople – a Boeing 737 for example, on which upwards of 150people are seated, weight accumulates quickly. Ten kilogramsfor every person sitting on a plane adds up – and safety canbecome an issue in terms of both weight and space. Airlines alsoargue that fuel usage is increased with extra weight on board.

But the fact that the regulations are justified doesn’t make iteasy for passengers to accept. “It’s a little ridiculous,” said oneindustry insider. In his travels, he says, it just isn’t plausible toreduce his carry-on baggage to 5kg – a newly-com-mon maximum weight. “I know the weight of lap-tops and other technological devices are decreasing,but it just doesn’t make it easy for travelers.”

Air Canada refused to comment on the regula-tions, saying that the policies are under review. Butpassengers can find ways to compensate for the newrules; packing lightly is always important – reducingthe amount of unnecessary clothing is key, anddressing in layers is always conducive to a lighter

load. And while the contents of a bag are most of the problem,the luggage itself must be considered. Bags can weigh up to 20pounds (about 9 kilograms) themselves. Cutting down on thisbaggage weight is a great way to step around the fees and has-sle of having to pay extra for any check-in luggage.

Luggage companies are responding to the need for lighterbaggage well – both Skyway Luggage and Travelpro havereleased small, light check-in models for sale. Instead of thestandard 9 kilograms, these models can weigh in at as little as4.5 kilograms – a significant drop when the price for an extrakilogram can be US $8.

The final word for travelers: Pack light, and make sure youdon’t forget your smile.

The light luggage can be ordered online at the following sites:www.tutto.comwww.luggagebase.comwww.skywayluggage.com

4

APRIL 2005

Airlines cutting costs by losing luggage

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�Industry TrendsAchoo! Honey, pass the honey please

Dreading the upcoming sneezing season as hay fever makesits yearly comeback? Have no fear: a natural remedy is to takeunprocessed, locally produced honey derived from beehives. Itis a natural antihistamine, and two teaspoons taken eachmorning inoculates you from the allergic reaction against localpollens. And there are no side effects.

It’s about time!The American Transportation Security Administration recent-

ly added lighters to the list of items prohibited from aircraft, andall areas beyond security checkpoints, starting April 14. The banincludes butane, absorbed-fuel (Zippo-type), electric, battery-powered and novelty lighters, although matches still are allowed.TSA will dispose of lighters brought to security checkpoints.

Who makes $20,000 profit perminute? Well, it’s…

Wal-Mart recently reported that for its last fiscal year, it hadprofits—not sales, profits—of US $10.3 billion. That means thatevery minute, as its cash registers around the world ring upamounts for its endless throng of customers, it earns an aver-age of US $20,000. And consider this: Wal-mart is raking it inwithout a flagship store in the greatest capitalist city in theworld, New York. Opposition prompted Wal-Mart to recentlyscrap its plan for a store in the borough of Queens.

APRIL 2005

Reach out and PIN someone

My friend Don calls it the CrackBerry. So howaddictive is it? Well, look around a meeting room,hotel lobby, or even in an elevator sometime and

you’ll see people using the now famous BlackBerry, the ultimate connectivity tool. Oh sure, there are others like thePalm Trio but I have never heard “He’s Trioing me” but Ihave often heard “I’m BlackBerrying my boss.”

This handy little Personal Digital Assistant is a phone,organizer, instant messenger, and e-mail all in one. Being aconverted Palm user, I can say unequivocally the BlackBerry

(invented by Canadian companyResearch in Motion) is a

joy to use with an easy-to-use keypad. Andamong we “berries,”there is the sharedexperience of the PIN,basically InstantMessaging betweenthese specificmachines. EachBlackBerry has a PINnumber, sort of like anIP address for a com-puter, and the rapiditywith which instantmessages go betweenthem instantaneously istruly amazing.

You might ask “Whocares?” Well, I asked the

same question, but Iwas at a luncheon on

St. Patrick’s Day andseveral of us were pin-

ning to discuss the effectiveness of some of the speakers andarrange the post-luncheon get-together. All this was accom-plished without speaking a word or interrupting anybody. Ithas been reported that journalists at press conferences willget pinned with questions from their editors or producersDURING the press conference to react to something aspeaker says—instant reaction to spin from politicians andtheir ilk. The BlackBerry takes communicating to a wholenew level.

I encourage all meeting planners to give a BlackBerry atry—I’m sure you’ll find getting pinned will take on awhole new, positive meaning.

— Leo Gervais

A child is a rebel.Simone de Beauvoir

BY HARRIET WEZENA

Is it always a dreadful task when itcomes to planning a business trip?

Worry no more. The Itty Bitty Guide ToBusiness Travel, a pocket-sized book,has all the information you need to plana successful and panic-free business trip,from beginning to end.

The 128-paged book, by StacieKrajchir and Carrie Rosten, is dividedinto eight chapters all tailored to meetyour business travel needs into suchimportant categories as: Booking YourTrip, Before You Go; Packing Like a Pro;Getting There; You've Arrived; Out andAbout; and Coming Home.

Given that you will be traveling onyour company’s budget, the authorsadvise it is essential to know one’s com-pany’s travel policies. A good number ofpages are devoted to outlining informa-tion regarding company per diems, trav-el agents, trip budgets, expenses, the useof vacation days to extend business trips,and company credit cards.

If you often return from a businesstrip to find your desk overflowing withfiles to work on, the chapter “How toPrepare Your Office for Departure” pro-vides some helpful suggestions: Forinstance, organizing and delegating yourwork to co-workers to ease the work loadon your return.

Other interesting information on howto Prepare Your Home (including arrang-ing for a house sitter): and perhaps mostpertinently: Preparing Your Mind and

Body for the Trip. Although these topicsare not covered in any great depth, thebook does provide many helpful tips fortravelers.

The book also offers informationdealing with public transportation, air-ports, rental cars, check-ins and possibleupgrades to a better flying class.Although basic, the information is bothsuccinct and to the point and would beideal for people just starting off on theirbusiness travel career or the occasionaltraveler.

You will learn some tricks on how to

pack your luggage such as the necessityof coordinating outfits to ensure you takethe least possible items, the benefits oflayering when it comes to clothes, andother matters. Inject “A Little Bit ofHome” feel into your trip and bring per-sonal items like photos of family mem-bers and friends, a home video, items theauthors suggest will help you relax morewhile on your business trip.

Using checklists as one of their organi-zational elements, information is handy,easy to find when and wherever youneed to plan a business trip.

The book addresses the general logis-tical framework involved with businesstrips and it is ideal for all business travel-ers and others who make infrequent tripsand need to be reminded of the basicsteps involved in business travel. It willget you there and back painlessly.

Stacie Krajchir is a television producerwho lives in Venice Beach, California.Carrie Rosten is a Los Angeles-basedwardrobe stylist and costume designer.

For more information on the book, goto www.amazon.com, search title.

Book;The Itty Bitty Guide To Business TravelAuthors: Stacie Krajchir and Carrie RostenPublisher:Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data, 2004Price on Amazon.com:US $ 6.29

BOOK REVIEWThe Itty Bitty Guide to Business Travel

6

APRIL 2005

YYBY JOE SCHWARCZ

You should have seen the face of the guy behind thecounter in the Manhattan bagel shop when I asked for thesmallest, thinnest bagel they had. In a country where excessrules, where the credo is “bigger is better,” my request musthave come as a shock. But I really needed that thin bagel tosave a lecture I was about to give at Columbia University.

The lecture was to focus on some interesting everydayapplications of chemistry and I wanted to start with ademonstration of how acrylic plastics can makeour lives less risky. Dr. Mark Smith, head ofemergency at George WashingtonUniversity Medical Center, had madeheadlines across America by going pub-lic about a “great under-reported injuryof our times.” Bagel cutting. Anyonewho has ever risked a mangled hand bytrying to slice a bagel in half knowsexactly what we are talking about.Luckily, inventors have risen to the chal-lenge and have come up with a variety ofdevices to ensure that a good bagel isn’t ruinedby being splattered with blood. I had even foundone that I really liked. It was a clear acrylic box that helda bagel snugly and had slits down two sides to guide a knife.Not only does it prevent injuries, it also protects us from theother great scourge of bagel life-the smoke filled kitchen. Thisof course happens when the bigger half of an unequally slicedbagel refuses to pop up after having been squeezed into atoaster slot that is clearly too small.

New Yorkers boil their bagelsMy proposed demonstration of scientific bagel cutting obvi-

ously required a victim which I planned to order for breakfast.Alas, what they brought me was some gigantic roll with a holein it that looked more like a life preserver than a bagel. I real-ized we had a problem. There was no way it would fit into my

bagel cutter. That’s when I ran to the bagel shop and made my“unusual” request. No shortage of bagels here, but all were asobese as my original. And then as I stood there frustrated, thedoor to the back flew open and I caught a glimpse of what wasgoing on. The raw bagels were going through a machinewhere they were being steamed! Not boiled, but steamed!That’s when I decided that New Yorkers didn’t need to learnabout acrylics, they needed to learn about bagel making.

Montreal is the center of the bagel world. Because here wedo it right. For just 180 calories and virtually no fat,

you get splendid flavor, unique texture and adose of history. According to legend, in 1683

the Polish King John Soviesky helped saveVienna from Turkish invaders. In grati-tude, A Viennese baker created a stirrupshaped roll to commemorate the brav-ery of the Polish soldiers. In a Germandialect this came to be called “beugel,”meaning ring or bracelet, because of the

large hole in the middle of the roll.“Beygel” was the Yiddish version of the

name and of course from this it was only ashort hop to our word “bagel.” The bagel was

introduced into America by Jewish immigrantsabout a century ago and in Montreal some of their

descendants are still delighting customers by producing bagelsin the traditional fashion. There’s nothing like the smell andtaste of a fresh bagel straight out of the oven. Try the bagel chal-lenge. I defy anyone to buy a dozen and still have a dozen bythe time they arrive home. Cannot be done. Not even by aCanadian reared on sliced white bread.

To make this gustatory and health marvel, you don’t startwith just any flour, you use flour which is rich in two proteins,glutenin and gliadin.

These long, coiled, tangled molecules unfold and line up inlong strands when kneaded with water. They also forge cross-links with each other, building a network of proteins known as

7

APRIL 2005

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The secret life of bagels

CONTINUED ON PAGE 9

8

Communicating so People WANT to listen

When youspeak, dop e o p l e

WANT to listen? Doyou ever wonderwhy you struggle

with getting your listeners to takeaction? Do you ramble and loose yourfocus? Whether you’re in a meeting,sales call, exhibiting or presenting, youneed a strategy for preparing a messagethat gets results.

It’s critical that your introductiongrabs the attention of your listener. Thegreatest challenges I hear are, “I neverknow how to start and end my mes-sage.” “I tend to ramble.” “Once I getstarted I’m ok.” This last statementfrightens me. It sounds like you’re say-ing; “Don’t listen for the first two min-utes. Wait until I get going. Then it real-ly gets good.”

Clarifying your objective is the firststep to communicating a clear and con-cise message that gets to the point andgets your listener to take action. Avoidbeginning your message with the state-ment, “What I would like to talk abouttoday is…” The fact is, 99% of the time,your listener will know why they havebeen asked to meet with you. Instead ofusing this long “filler” statement, aneffective communicator is able to gettheir point across in 45 seconds or less.

How you accomplish this is with yourobjective which sets the tone for yourmessage “if” it’s delivered with impact.To guarantee you grab your listener’sattention, follow this process whendesigning openings and closings:

• In order to persuade your listenerand build trust, share how you feel aboutyour topic. Without this step, your lis-tener will be confused about how youfeel and what you’re asking them to do.“To stay ahead of the competition, it’simportant you apply the proper closingto a sale.” The word important is yourperspective.

• When you specifically communicateto your listeners what you want done,you increase the chances they’ll takeaction.

• A general action step states what youwant your listeners to do while they’rephysically present during your message.“Stay open and explore opportunities.”

• To get action from your listeners,they need to walk away with a clearunderstanding of what you’re askingthem to do. “Sign up for a free demon-stration today.”

• Your listener will want to know“What’s in it for me?” When you showthe benefits of taking action, youincrease the chances that they’ll do it.Benefits are the most persuasive elementto your message. “When you sign uptoday, you’ll begin to receive immediatetools for increasing profits and expand-ing your clientele.”

It’s a well-known fact that we remem-ber the first and last thing we hear.Therefore, it’s critical every message is

organized to convey a powerful openingand closing.

It’s one thing to choose and organizespecifically what you want to say. Thereal um challenge is when you uh needto deliver your message, ok. Like youmay be familiar you know to words thatuh clutter our language. We tend to usenon-words when we don’t know what tosay. Writing this article with non-wordswould be extremely distracting to read.We don’t write with non-words, why dowe speak with them? The most power-ful skill you possess is the ability topause and take a relaxing breath. Whenyou replace non-words with a pause,you’ll speak in shorter sentences andquickly get to the point. There are pow-erful benefits when you incorporatepauses at the end of your sentences,when you loose your train of thought,express a key point or ask a question.

• Think on your feet and gather yourthoughts to avoid rambling.

• Have time to take a relaxing breath,appear comfortable and gain control ofyour message.

• Your listener has time to hear andunderstand your message.

• You’ll keep your listeners attentionand they’ll take action.

When your message is cluttered withnon-words, you’re perceived with aninability to perform your job and with alack of knowledge. I challenge you tobegin listening to your voice mail mes-sages before you hit the send button.Ask a co-worker or family member tobring to your attention when you usenon-words. Practice using pauses whenyou’re passing out handouts in meet-ings, referring to brochure pieces whileexhibiting or when you’re referring tonotes. Before long, you’ll increase yourawareness and begin saying less withgreater impact. And isn’t that what com-munication is all about? Speaking sopeople want to listen.

Stacey Hanke is an Executive Consultant,Author, Coach and Speaker with 1stImpression Consulting, Inc.

Contact her at (773) 209-5970 or via e-mailat: staceyhanke@ameritech.net

APRIL 2005

BY STACEY HANKE

Learning the art of “getting to thepoint”

gluten which gives dough the elasticity it needs to rise as yeastgenerates carbon dioxide gas.

A small amount of sugar is added to the dough to serve asfood for the yeast and a little egg for color and flavor. Thekneading technique is critical because it creates the air pocketsinto which the carbon dioxide will expand. The number ofthese air cells will contribute greatly to the final texture.Furthermore, oxygen in the air, introduced during kneading,strengthens the gluten by promoting a chemical reaction thatforms sulfur-sulfur links between adjacent protein molecules.

What makes a bagel a bagel, however, is not the flour, nor thekneading. It is immersion of the hand-formed rings of doughin boiling water prior to baking. Starch molecules in flour arecoiled together in tiny granules but hot water penetrates thegranules and causes them to swell. Then the swollen granulesmuscle their way into and strengthen the molecular scaffoldingcreated by the gluten proteins. A classic, chewy bagel is theresult. Furthermore, the boiling water is not just any water. Ithas to have a little dissolved honey! That’s because in the heatof the oven, sugars in the honey combine with proteins in thedough to form the shiny brown crust prized by bagelites.

Ahh, the oven. You can’t make a proper bagel without awood-burning oven. The smoke adds to the flavor, and theburning wood provides just the right temperature.

During baking, gluten coagulates and starch completes itsgelatinization. If the temperature is too low, the dough willexpand as the volume of trapped gases increases, but will thencollapse because the gluten and starch have not set.

If the oven is too hot, the setting takes place too soon and thedough does not gain enough volume. It’s a touchy businessthat needs an expert hand. A Montreal hand.

What I saw in New York was not a pretty sight. I saw doughbeing steamed instead of being boiled. I saw electric ovens. Isaw jalapeno peppers, chocolate chips and, believe it or not,bacon bits being added to bagels. But even this sacrilege didnot prepare me for what I was to see in the frozen food sectionof the supermarket to where I dashed, hoping against hope, tofind a bagel that looked like a bagel. Staring me in the face wasthe “UnHoley” bagel. It looked like a hamburger bun filledwith cream cheese. No hole! No class! But I must admit, it didsolve the problem of having to cut the bagel.

By this time I was getting desperate and frustrated by bagelsthat had no holes and others that were like king-sized doughnutswith rigor mortis. There was one last chance. Zabar’s,Manhattan’s most famous food store. No proper bagels hereeither, but they did have something to save the day. Anadjustable bagel cutter! It was polyethylene, not acrylic, but I justadjusted my talk accordingly. Thank goodness for Americaningenuity. Now, if they could only learn to make proper bagels.

Joe Schwarcz is the Director of the McGill University Office for Science andSociety, a newspaper columnist for the Montreal Gazette as well as an experi-enced conference speaker. To learn more about his entertaining and informativepresentations, contact him at: joe.schwarcz@McGill.ca or (514) 398-6238 orvisit www.oss.mcgill.ca. This article originally appeared in The Gazette.

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APRIL 2005

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

Boiling water with honey isthe key to a fabulous bagel

Looking out for management insight

What we often label as ‘insight’ isoften nothing more than the endresult of Yogi Berra’s sage advice:

“You can learn a lot just by watching.”Actually, we have to add ‘thinking’ some-

where to his advice otherwise the worldpasses by as a series of disconnected images,

but only a little thinking is required, and there’s no heavy liftinginvolved.

Here’s something that most of us have noticed at some point orother. After we get out of the bath or swimming pool, our finger-tips are usually ‘wrinkled’. So far there’s nothing earth shatteringhere, we might or might not know why it happens, we just knowit does. We typically file this type of observation away as a uselessbit of trivia.

But, what do we do when we observe that in some situations,fingers immersed in water don’t wrinkle? That was the case in hos-pitals, when nurses noticed that after washing the hands ofpatients who’d just had surgery, sometimes the wrinkles appearedand other times they didn’t. They also noticed that the wrinkle-freepatients had complications, specifically with respect to the properhealing of their sympathetic autonomic nervous system. Today,after ‘clinical’ tests have proved the validity of the observation, thewrinkling of the skin after immersion in water, is used as a positiveindicator of proper healing after surgery.

The field of science yields dozens of similar finds. Rubber,

radar, Teflon®, stainless steel, and matches all owe their existenceto someone noticing something odd, and then capitalizing onwhat they’d observed.

Noticing patterns in human behaviour is a little bit more diffi-cult because the degree of variation is significantly higher. Mixequal parts by weight of sulphur, charcoal and saltpetre, add anopen flame to the mixture and you’ll be rewarded with a flare andpuff of smoke every single time. Place the same individual in thesame situation several times and you’ll likely get different respons-es, even if the only reason for those differences is that the victim(oops… I meant subject) learns something with each experience ofthe experiment and adjusts their behaviour accordingly.

Despite these variances, it is possible to identify useful patternsin human behaviour. When Elisabeth Kubler-Ross identified theGrief Cycle (first published in “On Death and Dying”) she wasmerely relaying to a larger audience what she had learnt herself bywatching people die. Today, even if people don’t know who firstidentified them, they are very much aware of the five primarystages of grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and finallyAcceptance.

What is the value of such an observation? After all, not every-one goes through all of those stages, and when they do, they don’tnecessarily go through the stages in a rigid sequence; people areprone to bouncing around backwards and forwards alongDABDA. Nor do we progress through the stages in anything thatcould be labelled as a consistent schedule. One person mightspend a week in Anger and others only fume for an hour or so.With all this variation, what possible value could such a set ofobservations be to anyone?

For starters, if we’re aware of the ‘Anger’ phase, and if weknow it is a direct response to being told you have a terminal ill-ness, then we are able to distance our self from the ‘anger’, with-out distancing ourselves from the person. That alone justifies thetime it takes to learn the Grief Cycle. By recognizing that the‘anger’ is impersonal, and not directed at us, we’re able to contin-ue our role as a caregiver to a terminally ill patient, rather thanleaving them alone to die.

The “Art of Observing” isn’t a complicated technique. It does-n’t demand years of study or “Certificates of Learning” hammeredonto the wall, it only requires that we keep our eyes open andaccept that everything we see happens for a reason, even if we’llnever be certain of that reason. Why do people smile back at youif you smile at them? Why does anger usually get rewarded withanger? Does it matter? All we really have to know is that when wedo ‘X’, then we get back a certain response.

If there’s a single fundamental way to becoming a good man-ager, then it is most likely the ability to observe people. If we watchhow they respond to events and then repeat what results in ‘good’behaviour and reduce that which produces a negative response,then we’re gaining insight and improving our people skills… justbecause we watched and learned. Yogi would be proud of us.

• • •© 2005 Peter de Jager - Peter is a speaker, writer and consultant on

Management Issues relating to Change. Read more of his work atwww.technobility.com or contact him at pdejager@technobility.com

BY PETER DE JAGER

10

APRIL 2005

Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.

Ken Blanchard

11

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It is impossible not to have themEd. Note: This is the second part in a series of articles by the RBCabout attitude.

For one thing, it can lead to thinking that is blatant-ly self- contradictory. In a study of attitudestowards ethnic groups, for instance, respondentswere asked to rank their characteristics on achecklist which included the words “aggressive”and “cowardly.” It would, of course, support the

negative attitude of a person towards a certain group if itsmembers had both these undesirable characteristics. Sureenough, some people rated certain groups as both cowardlyand aggressive, totally ignoring the fact that the two traits arelogically opposed to each other. Their prejudice towards thedespised group of their choice made them eager to believe any-thing bad about it whether it made sense or not.

Attitudes fine-tune people's social antennae, giving them aparticular sensitivity to the subjects of their preoccupations.People heavily committed to an attitude are constantly on thelook- out for evidence to support it; often enough they find it, ifonly in their own interpretation of events. Attitudes can lead toa mild form of mania in which the person holding them relatesthings to them which most people would regard as irrelevant.A man who hates the government, for instance, will find a wayto blame the government if lightning strikes his house.

It is impossible not to have them, and they can be good aswell as bad

In the physical sense of the word, an attitude is the way youstand, and where you stand socially affects the way you see lifearound you. For example, a study in the United States tookgroups of management and unionized employees from a cross-section of industries and asked them to estimate how muchmoney had been lost to the economy from strikes in a year. Themanagement people vastly over-estimated the actual figure;the unionized people just as vastly under-estimated it. Theresults demonstrated that people will see what their attitudestell them to see.

They will then proceed to talk themselves into believing inwhat they see, although the facts may stand absolutely againstit. This self-deception is at its most obvious in cults and radicalmovements of various kinds.

The spectacle of intelligent people insisting on theories thatare demonstrably false is a tribute to the incredible power ofgroup pressure and brain-washing. As we watch, we more nor-mal and sensible people assure ourselves that we would neverbe as gullible as that.

But, in the words of the modern philosopher Rollo May,“the ultimate illusion is the conceit that you are free from illu-sion.” It is natural to think that attitudes are something thatonly other people have; natural and false. For better or forworse, we all have attitudes. It is impossible not to have them.And attitudes can be just as good as they can be bad.

But whether an attitude is good or bad, the important thingis to recognize it. The opinions that flow from it should beidentified as the intellectual conditioned reactions they are.This applies not only to the opinions of others, but to what wethink and say in our own right. The question is: “Is this my atti-tude talking, or is it me?"

How do you recognize the kind of thinking that comes froman attitude? Not easily, since it can so smoothly pass itself off asreason. The more pronounced attitudes do, however, have cer-tain earmarks that give them away. You can be fairly sure thatyou are listening to the authentic voice of an attitude when:

• It makes everything sound simple. Attitudinal opinionsoften state that there is a single big problem which cries out fora single big solution. Simplicity is seductive, which is whyviews of this kind so often meet with unanimous agreement. Ifyou find yourself nodding and murmuring assent with every-one else in a room, you are probably indulging in an attitude.

• It has all the answers. A convinced attitude-holder alwayshas plausible pat answers to criticism, and is adept at glossingover any weak spots in his arguments. He maintains that hispoint of view is the absolute truth, and discourages the searchfor the evidence on which this truth is supposed to be based.

12

Attitudes fine-tune people’s antennae

APRIL 2005

CONTINUED ON PAGE 13

13

APRIL 2005

Are your attitudes thinking for you?We must guard against replacing intolerantold attitudes with intolerant new ones

• It shouts down criticism. Some attitude-holders feel thattheir views are so transcendently right that freedom of speechmust be suspended out of respect for their rightness. They wor-ship sacrosanct icons, and reject as “unacceptable” facts oropinions that run counter to their beliefs.

• It strains credulity. People with reformist attitudes on sub-jects like health and ecology use hair-raising statements to whipthe apathetic public into line with their causes. Millions will dieif we do not go along with this point of view; we will totallydestroy our environment, or some section of it, if we do not goalong with that. Those making such apocalyptic claims havelost their sense of proportion in the depths of their attitudes.

• It reaches for justification. Attitude-holders will go togreat - and sometimes ridiculous - lengths to give an air oflegitimacy and fairness to their causes. One of the most cher-ished American attitudes of the 20th century held that it was allright to segregate black from white people, and to keep blacksin inferior positions. In their arguments against desegregation,southern white leaders implied that black people ratherenjoyed being persecuted; they were happier “staying in theirplace” than assuming the full rights of American citizenship.

• Its speaks of 'them and us.' Group attitudes often dwell ongrievances stemming from real or supposed ill-treatment byanother group. If you hear a lot about what they are doing, inparticular about what they are doing to us, you are listening toan attitude.

The above are just a few of the ways in which you can tellwhen a person's opinions have their roots in attitudes. Thatperson, don't forget, could be you.

But why should you care whether your attitudes are doingyour thinking for you? Well, one good reason is that, by think-ing and acting without a fair appraisal of the facts, you mightbe doing people an injury or an injustice.

And we should all keep in mind that it is in attitudes thatsuch foul states of mind as bigotry, racism, vindictiveness andxenophobia get their start.

Another reason to check on your attitudes is that they canalways be improved. Though some would argue the contrary,a case can be made for saying that we live in an age in whichbad old attitudes are steadily being replaced by the good newones. In the western world in recent year, attitudinal changeshave led the way to greater humanity and equality. It was nottoo long ago, for instance, that popular attitudes here inCanada decreed that a physically disabled person could neverhold a “normal job."

Even in striving for improvement, however, constant vigi-lance is in order. New attitudes can be just as intolerant as oldones, especially when they have overwhelming public support.We must be careful that, in doing what the majority attitudedeems to be the right thing, we do not expose minorities toinjustice. No matter how unexceptionable they may seemwhen they are adopted, popular attitudes should be regularlyre-examined to see how they stand up in practice and in thelight of emerging realities.

The habit of monitoring attitudes, especially your own, can-not help but make you a better member of society. Indeed, youhave a positive duty as a responsible citizen not to accept atti-tudinal thinking at face value; to do your own homework,come to your own conclusions, and try as far as possible to dis-tinguish truth from falsity.

And as a bonus, doing so can make you into a better andmore contented private person. “Of all exercises, there is noneof such importance, or of so much immediate concern, as thosewhich let us into the knowledge of our own nature,” wrote thewise old English bishop, William Warburton. Any investiga-tion into our innermost natures must begin with those strangephenomena we call our attitudes.

• • •

Reprinted with permission from the Royal Bank of Canada.Visit their website: www.royalbank.com

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

Call us for your corporate events!

Questions for 7 DaysBY THOMAS CHALMERS

Dosage and Directions:

Take these questions each day this week,as prescribed, and start addressing it.

Complete the seven day course. Ifsymptoms persist, contact your LifeCoach!

Monday:How is your heart today? If you are

feeling heavy-hearted, what are yougoing to do to become light-hearted?

Tuesday:Where are you being most irresponsi-

ble in your life at the moment? What is itgoing to take for you to become respon-sible in that area?

Wednesday:How willing are you to make substan-

tial changes? What are you prepared to do?

Thursday:What have you been tolerating for too

long? Are you going to start tackling thattoleration today?

Friday:What do you really want? What are

you going to do to get it?

Saturday:What is your life long dream that is

worth living? Is it just a pipe dream?

Sunday:Do you run your life or is your life

running you?How are you going to turn your life

around?

The last word.I hope that you have found these

questions stimulating. They need to bemore than just thought provoking. Thereis no point in complaining about the waythings are if you are not prepared to takeaction . . .

A shopkeeper owned a dog and thedog lay all day long on one of the wood-en steps leading up to the shop. Andevery day the dog howled and cried. Awoman asked the shopkeeper one day,“Why does your dog howl so much?”

The shopkeeper replied, “He’s lyingon a nail but he’s too lazy to get up!”

Actions speak louder than words. Ifyou’ve been lying on a nail for too long,it’s time to get up and find someanswers.

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Headphones a good bet for the planeEd. Note: This is the first in a series ofupcoming articles dealing with various newtechnologies, all aimed at making your life eas-ier and more enjoyable. The following two setsof headphones were tried out on several flightsacross the continent by Planner staffers LeoGervais and Camille Lay, and A/V guy DonMurray. Here are their comments...

Comparison of Bose and PlaneQuietBose Quiet Comfort, www.bose.comPrice: US $299Case: Hard cover

Leo Gervais:• Cut noise by about 70 %. • The case was much better for protec-tion of the actual headphones. • Sound quality was good.• More expensive, but I thought theextra cost was worth it.

Don Murray:• A bit bulky, but nonetheless a snug fit.Would be better if headphones fit aroundneck instead of on head.• Great carrying case, a bit bulky.• Sound quality good, not exceptional.• High price increases overall expecta-tion and lowers overall value.

Camille Lay:• Keeps out the sound of the engines andother extraneous sounds like kids cryingvery well. Covers the ears well. • Great carrying case, although large• Improves quality while listening tomusic or the TV• Expensive

PlaneQuiet NC6, www.protravelgear.comPrice: US $99Case: Bag

Leo Gervais:• Cut noise by about 50 %. • The carrying bag was wimpy. • Sound quality was mediocre.• Way less expensive, could be a factor.

Don Murray:• Not as comfortable as Bose, but lighter.• Carrying bag more compact, much lesssecure.• Sound quality average.• Overall value is better, based primarilyon the price.

Camille Lay:• Provides a good buffer against sound,covers smaller ears well • Carrying bag could allow headphonesto be damaged over the long term• Improves quality while listening tomusic or the TV• Light, not cumbersome• Inexpensive for the quality

Consensus: Although Bose headphones are superiorin everything from sound quality to car-rying case, the much lower cost willmake PlaneQuiet’s version very attrac-tive to the price-conscious crowd.

Bose (left) makes a great set of “acoustic noise cancelling” headphones nodoubt, but PlaneQuiet’s NC6 are a much better value for the price.

APRIL 2005

16

Hotel News from around the worldTidan buys two Montreal-area hotels

The Meridien Versailles-Montréal Hotel as well as theChateau Versailles Hotel were purchased on March 7 byGroupe Tidan. For more info: www.montreal.lemeridien.com

InterContinental and LehmanBrothers make a deal

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC, the world’s largesthotelier, agreed to sell 73 U.K. hotels to a group led by LehmanBrothers Holdings Inc. for US $1.9 billion to concentrate onmanaging and franchising properties. The Windsor-basedcompany will sell hotels such as the Holiday Inn and CrownePlaza at Heathrow Airport and use the proceeds to returnfunds to shareholders, finance investment and repay debt,chairman David Webster said. InterContinental is using arecovery in the US $195-billion global lodging industry from athree-year slump to dispose of its hotels and model itself onU.S. hoteliers such as Marriott International Inc.

Elvis in Macau?Eight international hotel chains, including Four Seasons

Hotels Inc., are teaming up to create “Asia’s Las Vegas,” amulti-billion dollar resort on the gambling island of Macau,China.

Once the first phase of development is completed in 2007,the area will add seven resort hotels with 10,000 guest roomsand more than 20,000 seats of live entertainment in eight sepa-rate theatre venues, said Las Vegas Sands Corp. in a statement.

The new strip in Macau “is destined to become Asia’s LasVegas,” Sheldon Adelson, chief executive of Las Vegas Sands,said in a statement.

Joining Las Vegas Sands are the Four Seasons, Dorsett HotelGroup, Hilton Hotels, InterContinental Hotels Group, MarriottInternational, Regal Hotels and Starwood Hotel and ResortsWorldwide.

“It took 75 years for Las Vegas to emerge as an internation-al destination. Our intention is to replicate that feat in less than

three years,” added William Weidner, LVS president and CEO.The former Portuguese colony is the only place in China

where casino gambling is legal. Gambling expanded dramati-cally there in 2002, when Macau decided to end the 40-yearmonopoly of casino tycoon Stanley Ho. Even before theannouncement, Macau was expected to overtake Las Vegas andAtlantic City in gambling revenue within the next few months.

Staying fit with HiltonHilton Hotel Corp. began providing certified personal train-

ers at the chain’s domestic properties in February. The programincludes more than 5,000 personal trainers available to guestsat an hourly rate, as well as a Bally-designed in-room mini-gym complete with yoga mats and hand weights.

Regarding booking hotel rooms online:Caveat Emptor

Be careful when you book a hotel room online—you maypay up to 30 percent more at certain websites. Nightly ratesmay appear identical on different sites. Then right before youplug in your credit-card number, fees sprout as the online ven-dors take their cut. For example, a recent check by The Plannerfound the price for a five-day stay at the Ramada New YorkerHotel at the end of March/beginning of April varied from atotal price (in US dollars) of $1083.15, including $171.15 in feesat Orbitz.com to $1018.88, including $158 in fees, a difference ofmore than 6 per cent and $64.27.

Many travel sites lump their commissions in with taxes, sothe rates appear identical to other sites when consumers aresearching for rates. Booking fees can vary greatly on the samesite for different hotels, depending on the deals negotiatedwith the hotels. So don’t assume one site will always be moreexpensive.The hotel’s own website may have better rates thanmajor travel sites because hotels don’t charge booking fees andwant to maintain customer royalty. Also, many hotels guaran-tee the lowest price.

So keep searching and compare, and don’t forget to checkwith the hotels themselves.

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Travelocity/Groople Inc.Travelocity has announced an agreement with Groople Inc.,

a provider of online group travel reservations, that will giveTravelocity customers a dedicated groups section with dis-counted hotel rates, group content and new planning features.

“Combining Groople’s expertise into Travelocity’s hotelofferings is another commitment we are making to our cus-tomers’ varying needs as they research and plan their trips onTravelocity, regardless of they size [of the group],” said JoshFeuerstein, Travelocity’s vice president, hotels. The groupbooking function can be accessed from Travelocity’s mainhotel page. After choosing the city and dates, users select the“5+ rooms” button to proceed with a search for larger roomblocks. The program provides automated rooming lists, flexi-ble payment options and other advantages for planners.

According to a spokesperson, the discount-travel site isideal for groups of fewer than 100 people and all planners con-ducting initial research on rates and availability. Travelocity’sprimary competitors, Expedia and Orbitz, do not yet offergroup-booking capabilities.

Ritz-Carlton in the Turks and Caicos A Ritz-Carlton property is coming to the Turks and Caicos

Islands. A planned mixed-use development called West CaicosReserve will feature the 125-room Molasses Reef, a Ritz-Carlton Resort, along with a spa, villas, a marina and 2,000square feet of meeting space. Guest will fly into Providencialesand take a 20-minute ferry ride to the property. The bulk of theresort should be complete in two years.

Speaking about the Ritz, we have heard from many plan-ners what a great Hotel the Ritz-Carlton Cancun is.

A rise in hotel ratesBusiness travellers are finding it more expensive to stay at a

hotel. Hotel rates will be at least 24 per cent higher this Aprilcompared with a year earlier in New York, Los Angeles, andAtlanta and 16-19 per cent higher in Chicago, Dallas and SanFrancisco according to research conducted by analysts at J.P.Morgan Chase.

APRIL 2005

17

Hotel News cont’d...

El Al, Israel’s national airline, says it may remove Canadafrom its list of 50 global destinations unless something is doneto rein in skyrocketing airport fees in this country.

Stanley morais, El Al’s Canadian general manager, told afederal transport committee recently that it costs about CDN$12,000 to land a jumbo jet at Pearson International Airport,compared with about CDN $3,000 in Tel Aviv. A representativeof Alitalia Airline SpA said rising airport fees have promptedthe airline to halt several years of service expansions.

Rising airport rents are a big part of the problem: they rose13 percent to CDN $268 million and are scheduled to climb toabout $500 million by 2010. The federal government negotiatedthe rent structure and increases when it spun off the administra-tion of airports to not-for-profit authorities in the early 1990s.

The federal government is preparing to offer Canada’s air-ports a deal that would give them the rent cut they so desperate-ly crave, but would require them to make room on their boardsfor airlines who want more say in how the facilities are run.

Airports, for example, shouldn’t be allowed to hike the feesthey charge airlines without more consulting since they are not“private clubs,” said Federal Transport Minister Jean Lapierre.

Airlines may dropCanada if airport feesincrease further

Due to the high landing fees,we’d like everyone to grabtheir parachute and...

Mattstah

APRIL 2005

18

Halifax: A great airport!Halifax was recently named the best airport in the Americas

in a survey conducted by Airports Council International andthe International Air Transport Association. The organizationsinterviewed 65,000 people at 40 airports in 2004.

Vancouver No.2 in the world!Vancouver has been ranked as the city with the second best

quality of life in the world for the third year in a rowVancouver ties Vienna for second place, behind top ranked

Geneva and Zurich, according to a survey by Mercer HumanResource Consulting.

The annual survey grades 215 cities based on 39 criteria,including safety, public services, schools, climate and recre-ation. Mercer prepares the survey for governments, companiesand organizations looking to place employees on internationalassignments.

Waisting awayA recent study says that serious health problems for men

tend to begin when their waist size exceeds 100 centimetres (40inches), and for women when waist circumference gets beyond90 cm (36 inches).

The new research, published in a recent issue of the AmericanJournal of Clinical Nutrition, tracked 27,270 men over 13 years.During that period, 884 of them developed diabetes. They were

placed into five different groups, based on waist size.Not surprisingly, the bigger a man’s belly, the less likely he was

to be active, and the more likely he was to have high blood pres-sure and high cholesterol. For more info: http://www.ajcn.org.

Spa for men will pamper discreetlyAn Edmonton entrepreneur is banking on the hope men

will flock to the spa to try their first facial, manicure or pedi-cure if they can do it without being seen.

Ed Kilbride and his partners are spending more than $1 mil-lion to provide male-oriented amenities that are missing frommost unisex facilities.

“Up to 35 per cent of all people in spas are men,” Kilbridesays, so he expects The Board Room in downtown Edmontonto tempt many male professionals.

It opens May 2, with 13 employees. Kilbride is planning asimilar spa in Calgary and hopes to eventually expand toVancouver and Toronto.

The 2,900-square foot spa will have separate spaces for eachclient- and an array of “toys for boys,” including televisionscreens, stereo music and magazines.

Kilbride said, “It's a niche market that has not been tapped.”Having visited spas in New York, London and Paris, he foundthey consistently ignore the male preference for privacy.

In most spas, you would sit in a room with several otherpeople to get a pedicure, he explained, which “in our focus-group research, we found men are not comfortable with that.”

�Industry Trends

APRIL 2005

19

MPI National Meeting DayApril 21st has been declared "National Meetings Industry Day" throughout

Canada in recognition of the global meetings industry and the significant economicimpact meetings and events bring to Canada.

Developed by MPI in 1997 to help build awareness of the industry, NationalMeetings Industry Day events attract business professionals from a variety ofindustries and members of government.

In recognition of National Meetings Industry Day, members from all seven MPICanadian chapters will celebrate with a variety of educational and networkingactivities. Join in the excitement and help celebrate the importance of meetings inbusiness in Canada.

BRITISH COLUMBIA CHAPTER Breakfast and Luncheon 8:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. ROI presentation and special luncheonpresentationby the Vancouver Convention andExhibition Centre www.mpibcchapter.com (604) 822-1064

GREATER CALGARY CHAPTER Planner/Supplier Forum 7:30 - 9:30 a.m. TELUS Convention Centre www.mpi-gcc.org (403) 296-6505

GREATER EDMONTON CHAPTER Breakfast Meeting Shaw Conference Centre www.mpigec.ca (780) 988-5405

MANITOBA CHAPTER Breakfast Meeting 7:30 - 9:30 a.m. Winnipeg Convention Centre

www.mpiweb.mb.ca (204) 975-6203

TORONTO CHAPTER Breakfast Meeting 7:30 - 9:00 a.m. Toronto Education Conference 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Toronto Congress Centre www.mpitoronto.org (905) 567-9591

OTTAWA CHAPTER National Meetings Industry DayConference "Power of Partnerships" 8:00 a.m. - 4:15p.m. Hilton Lac-Leamy www.mpiottawa.ca (613) 254-5653

MONTREAL CHAPTER Breakfast Meeting www.mpimontreal.com (514) 493-9835

BUSINESS GETTING BETTEROkay, it’s time to

rejoice—the hospitali-ty industry is finally backon its feet.

However, Dave Arnold,CEO, East Coast, for PKFConsulting, says that thisrenewed health in the mar-ket will translate into high-er rates at conference cen-ters who could raise theirprices once they get theircustomers back.

Arnold also notes thatthe only element that is lag-ging behind is corporatemeetings, which in turnmeans less business forconference centers who arestill behind hotels in theirbookings.

Organizations that hadto become lean are nowgrowing again, with manypeople looking for moretraining, and other extra

things that will build espritde corps and retain goodemployees, such as team-building and leisure activi-ties.

“Adding fun is a way tokeep that talent,” says MikeFahner, vice president ofdevelopment and market-ing for Aramark HarrisonLodging. “We’re even get-ting inquiries into tradition-al rope courses again.”

2.7Total sales of the restaurants, caterers and tavernsindustry reached almost $2.7 billion in January, a 3.6 per cent increase over January, 2004.

20