Posts Tagged ‘partner retreat’

Partner Retreating

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

It was a cold, cold week in Florida as we helped a client with the on-site management of their 3-day partner retreat. Over 200 law firm partners came together for the first time in three years to collaborate and get to know each other better.

The destination was selected due to the ample indoor space for meetings, as well as the outdoor courtyards and beachfront, perfect for warm-weather receptions and dinners. Yet day after day, we were forced to move meals inside as the cold wind continued to whip.

How do you make the same ballroom look different for the fourth time?

Partner Retreat

Kudos goes to our client’s event manager who took the reigns away from hotel and destination management services alike to draw up a diagram that resulted in this scene. By moving the stage to an alternate wall, guests felt the difference immediately upon entering the room. In addition, lighting provided an evening-appropriate ambiance, as well as multiple lounge areas set with low couches and tables (not shown).

What are your ideas for transforming an everyday ballroom into something special?

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Face Time. It Matters.

Monday, March 1st, 2010

We’re fans of the Convention Industry Council’s public information campaign “Face Time. It Matters.” that was launched in December 2009 because of the decline in off-site meetings being booked due to image concerns.

One aspect of meeting planning that we’ve seen affected by these concerns is whether or not to invite significant others to off-site meetings. Law firm partner retreats are back on the calendar but guests are staying home. The problem is that partners are then anxious to leave as soon as the meeting ends, skipping essential opportunities to strengthen bonds during activities and dinners. We’re encouraging clients to carefully consider this as well as these findings from the research conducted for the ”Face Time” campaign:

• Face-to-face meetings build trust and relationships;
• Both education and training are more effective in a live setting;
• Live meetings actually save time and money;
• Live meetings facilitate problem solving through a more effective exchange of ideas;
• Face-to-face meetings provide the human connection that powers business;
• Face-to-face meetings create jobs and powers the economy.

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Law Firm Partner Events

Sunday, August 30th, 2009

February 5-10, 2008

In 3 months time, 6 days of events were organized for a large corporate law firm that included registration, hotel, car service and other arrangements for 550 people, as well as a 50-person dinner, two 550-person receptions, a 400-person all-day meeting and a 670-person black tie dinner/dance.

I was given a 3 month window to plan a major international partner meeting in New York to be attended by over 400 individuals. In addition I needed to plan a formal Black Tie dinner dance on the following evening to be attended by 700 people. We had to coordinate transportation for guests arriving from over 26 countries and also hosted a series of smaller events around these two major events. I called upon Ginger Donnan to assist me with this mammoth project and was not disappointed. Ginger stayed on top of the planning and coordination, even when she was being pulled in 100 directions at once. She is organized, thorough and always pleasant to work with. I would invite her to be on my team anytime. – Rick McKenna, Chief Administrative Officer, February 2008

Photo credit: Steven Harris

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