Newsletter 1

Charisma Productions Gazette Volume 2, Issue 7 July 2010

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E

1 Meetings That Deliver

1 Happy 4th of July

2 Meetings That Deliver Continued

3 From Our IT Department

4 Recipe of the Month

5 Strategic Partner – Aces of Acts Entertainment

Meetings That Deliver Meeting Design Principles

Understanding Meeting Principals Charisma Productions Network

Every great off-site meeting should have well crafted objectives that the top leadership team is committed to achieving. The off-site objectives should drive every other decision about the off-site meeting. They will influence the location, how many days, who will attend, and how much preparation time and resources you will need. So get started early, ideally 3-4 months before the meeting. Keep in mind your venue site; some companies book their venues 1+ years in advance. Leaders sometimes underestimate what an important, and potentially defining, leadership moment such off-site meetings can be – for better or for worse! Invited participants assume that everything that happens, everything on the agenda, is there because the most senior leaders wanted it there. They expect to hear from the senior leaders, and they often are interested in the senior leaders’ reactions to what happens and what is discussed at the meeting. Be sure your senior leaders appreciate both the opportunities and risks that such meetings present. And be sure to design the meeting in such a way as to help them make the most of their leadership moments. Meetings that have impact engage people - their minds and their hearts. Think of the few off-sites you’ve been to that really made a difference, off-sites that truly accelerated lasting, positive changes in your company or organization. What happened? Chances are that these meetings

Happy 4th of July From Charisma Productions Network

Independence Day Charisma Productions Network

The basis for the 4th of July celebration is the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 by our Founding Fathers. This Declaration of Independence made America a free nation. We celebrate this holiday with firecrackers, parades and picnics. It is important to enjoy these festivities with family and friends but it is equally important to teach our children what this day really means. So with that in mind we here at Charisma Productions Network hopes everyone will celebrate with family, friends and maybe meet some new friends and take a moment to remember how important this holiday is to America.

continued on page 2

Newsletter 2

demonstrated a few important meeting design principles. Get Creative, there are dozens of effective and engaging ways to accomplish off-site objectives - clustering people in smaller discussion groups, electronic “secret ballot” surveying, hands-on projects that help drive home key points and build relationships, panel discussion formats, customer speakers, and so on. Of course, the choice of methods is guided by your specific off-site meeting objectives and the design principles above. No matter how “cool” the method is, it has to be a “best choice” to serve off-site objectives and design principles. Splashy methods can make a meeting memorable; they are only worthwhile if they are created to delivering on the meeting objectives. Charisma Productions Network can help you develop what it takes in order to get your meeting objectives met and exceed all of your expectations.

Off-site Meeting Design Principles Connection before Content: People are encouraged to “connect” with each other, informally and personally. This happens early and often. If the meeting participants are to do any “real work” with each other at the off-site (e.g. make new organizational arrangements, commit resources, etc.), this foundation of personal connection is essential. Conversations, not lectures: There is lots of conversation, and little lecture. The core principle here is that people typically learn more, and change more, when they have to formulate and express their ideas, not just listen to the ideas of others. The right people: The “right” people are in the room. Building and paring the invite list for most off-sites is a challenge, and invariably additional people get added for political reasons. But be sure that enough of the right people are there – the ones with the knowledge, the power, and the influence to accomplish the meeting objectives - and the ability to bring the rest of the organization along with the new direction when they return to work. Be careful not to dilute the meeting with too many who are not well positioned to help. An off-site is more than a list of agenda items: There is a coherent arc to the meeting, an overall story line. Each step of the meeting builds toward the next step, serving the overall objectives and deliverables. You get the sense that it is well choreographed, that there is a good reason for everything that is on the agenda. The “how” says volumes about the “what”: How the meeting is conducted is in sync with the messages delivered at the meeting. For instance, if the message is that senior management wants ideas and input from the next levels of management, then lots of time at the meeting must be devoted to eliciting ideas, and demonstrating that (at least some of) the ideas will be acted upon. It isn’t, “55 minutes of slides with 5 minutes of Q&A.” Careful design helps the meeting itself “walk the talk.” The off-site began before it started, and finished well after it ended: There is pre-work and

communication that prepares you to be most effective in your time together and there is follow-up after the off-site that helps assure that things committed to at the off-site are accomplished and integrated into your on-going work. Meeting design comfortably fits: The meeting is fast-paced, yet it doesn’t feel over-stuffed. There is time to accomplish what the meeting has set out to accomplish, protecting the integrity of the meeting design. For more information please contact info@cpnevents.com or visit our website www.charismaproductionsnetwork.com.

Informative, Inspiring and Empowering

Let Charisma Productions Network become your one-stop solution for all your corporate meeting, events

and conference needs.

continued from page 1

Newsletter 3

From Our IT Department

Use these tips to help manage your files. Use Documents. For many reasons, it's smart to take advantage of the Documents feature (called Documents in Windows 7 and Windows Vista, and My Documents in Windows XP. To open Documents in Windows, click Start, and then click Documents. And discover an easy way for you to store your personal documents. Find files. Windows provides easy access to the Documents folder (and its subfolders) in many places: through the Start menu, the task pane in Windows Explorer, common File Open and File Save dialog boxes, and other places. Back up files. You should back up files regularly—and keeping all your files in one place helps make backup a snap. Keep files separate from programs. By separating document files and program files you reduce the risk of accidentally deleting your documents when you install or upgrade programs. Adopt consistent methods for file and folder naming. Develop a naming scheme for the kinds of files you create most often and then stick to it. Keep names short. Even though Windows enables you to use long file names, it does not necessarily mean you should. Long file names are harder to read. Let your folder structure do some of the naming. For example, rather than creating a file called Great American Novel Chapter One First Effort, you can build a structure like: Separate ongoing and completed work. To keep the Documents folder from becoming too unwieldy, use it only for files you're actively working on. As a result, you can reduce the number of files you need to search through and the amount of data you need to back up. Every month or so, move the files you're no longer working on to a different folder or location, such as a folder on your desktop, a special Archive folder, flash drive, external hard drive, or even on a CD. Store like with like. Restricting folders to a single document type (or predominantly one type) allows you to take advantage of folder templates in Windows Explorer. This makes it easier for you to find files. For example, with all your graphics in a single folder, it's easy to use the Filmstrip view and slide show feature in Windows Explorer to find the right picture for your newsletter. Avoid large folder structures. If you need to put so many subfolders in a folder that you can't see all of them at a glance, consider creating an alphabetic menu. Use shortcuts and shortcut links instead of multiple copies. If you need to get to the same file from multiple locations, don't create copies of the file. Create shortcuts to it instead. To create a shortcut, right-click on the file and click Create Shortcut. You can drop and drag the shortcut to other locations. Quickly get to the items you use every day. Jump Lists, a fun new feature in Windows’ 7, are lists of recently opened items, such as files, folders, or web sites that are organized by the program that you use to open them. You can use a Jump List to open items. And you can also pin favorites to a Jump List.

Newsletter 4

From Our Executive Chef Seared Steak with Chard Salad

Ingredients

• 1 bunch Swiss chard, stems removed, leaves thinly sliced

• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 2 cups large crusty bread cubes

• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

• 3 to 4 anchovies

• 1 clove garlic, smashed

• 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

• Juice of 1 lemon

• 1 1/2 pounds boneless beef sirloin steak

• 1 teaspoon dried mint

• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions

Put the chard in a bowl. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and the bread cubes and season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing, until toasted, 4 to 5 minutes. Add to the chard.

Add the anchovies to the skillet, mashing them with a whisk. Add the garlic and 2 tablespoons olive oil and cook until the garlic is golden, about 45 seconds. Add the tomatoes and warm slightly, then whisk in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Pour the warm dressing over the chard, toss and set aside to wilt.

Wipe out the skillet and place over high heat. Sprinkle the steak on both sides with the mint, and salt and pepper to taste. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to the skillet. Sear the steak until browned on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Turn and cook until browned on the other side, 3 to 4 more minutes for medium-rare. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 5 minutes.

Add the feta to the chard salad and toss. Thinly slice the steak and serve with the chard salad.

Newsletter 5

Strategic Partner

Aces of Acts Entertainment Las Vegas, Nationwide and Worldwide Cirque Style Productions Company specialize in offering exceptionally unique Cirque theatrical presentations for exclusive special events and corporate entertainment. We offer full productions Cirque Style Shows unique Aerial Shows as well Cirque on Ice Shows from 20 minutes to 85 minutes long, complete with costumes, choreography, lighting and music. Entertainment concepts Design & development events Theatrical productions Full-length shows Management Specialty & Cirque acts Atmospheric characters Models Dancers Music & Bands Choreography rigging and technical support Celebrating your special occasion – the Cirque Way ,Corporate Events Cirque Awards, After Dinner Cirque Shows, Cirque sales meetings, Cirque – Exhibition Style, Red Carpet Cirque Receptions, Cirque Fundraising and Galas, Convention centers arenas outside Cirque live events, Cirque Weddings, Birthdays, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs and Passover Celebration. WASHINGTON D.C., March 20, 2009 -- For the second consecutive year, Aces Of Acts Anatoli Miagkostoupov (PRESIDENT) has been selected for the 2009 Best of North Las Vegas Award in the Entertainers category by the U.S. Local Business Association USLBA).

We will either find a way to entertain you, or make one.

www.AcesOfActs.com Duo Aerial Silk Act http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpuVWvdpNzA&feature=channel

Newsletter 6

Thank You for Your Support We wish to thank our readers and our clients for their support and feedback helping to continually grow the Charisma Productions Network. We look forward to another successful year in 2010 as we continue to grow and provide you with successful stress-free events. We appreciate hearing from all of you and strive to improve our articles and hope to have something for everyone at one point or another. Please send us suggestions for topics you would like to read about or if you have an article that you would like to share we’ll be happy to post it.:

Please send all comments to: comments@cpnevents.com

Charisma Productions Network

A Geoff Andrews Company 805-241-0566

www.charismaproductionsnetwork.com info@cpnevents.com

© Charisma Productions Network 2010, All Rights Reserved

Promo Code Number : CPN06010831-10

Expires: August 31st, 2010

Authorized by: Geoffrey R. Andrews

Earn A Referral Gift Card

In Appreciation of a Client Referral That Is Converted Into An Actual Event, Charisma Productions Network, is offering a $100 Gift Card For Every Confirmed Account.

The Gift Card Will Be Mailed To The Referring Party Within 14 Days After The Event Completion. Promo Code, & Full Details Of The Referring Party Must Be Given To The CPN Representative At The Time Of

Receiving A Request For Proposal (RFP). Offer Valid Only In The Continental United States, & Is Subject To All Local State, & Federal Taxes. This Offer Is Void Where Prohibited By Certain State Laws