Charisma Productions 1

Charisma Productions Gazette Volume 3, Issue 12 December 2011

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

1 Tips For Your Upcoming Corporate Meeting

or Event

1 Happy Holidays

2 Tips Continued

3 Ten Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make

4 From Our Executive Chef

5 From Our Executive Chef Continued

6 From Our IT Department

7 Thank You

Tips for Your Upcoming Corporate Meeting or Event A Must Read

Maximizing Your ROI Charisma Productions Network

Company meetings held outside of the office can be great motivational tools. An off-site meeting can really shake things up and revitalize and reenergize your employees, building team spirit and getting everyone’s creative juices flowing again. A meeting “away from home” is often the best way to generate new enthusiasm, new ideas, and a renewed commitment to company goals.

However, an off-site meeting that is not well-planned or carefully thought out beforehand can be a disaster. All it takes is one bad course of Chicken Kiev or one botched trust-building exercise. You don’t want the day to be memorable for the wrong reasons.

To help your event run smoothly, please call Charisma Productions Network your one stop solution for all of your off-site corporate meeting and event needs.

Aim high. When planning an off-site meeting, people usually set their expectations too low. Thinking about the day strategically can make it more than just a simple bonding experience; it can become an opportunity to solve office problems, generate new ideas, and help employees grow. Anchor the meeting with goals that actually mean something to the business.

Happy Holidays

From tHe CHarisma produCtions network

staFF

Once again we find ourselves enmeshed in the Holiday Season, that very special time of year when we join with our loved ones in sharing centuries-old traditions such as trying to find a parking space at the mall. We traditionally do this in my family by driving around the parking lot until we see a shopper emerge from the mall, then we follow her, in very much the same spirit as the Three Wise Men, who 2,000 years ago followed a star, week after week, until it led them to a parking space.

Charisma Productions Network Email: info@cpnevents.com

805-241-0566 .

continued on page 2

Charisma Productions 2

Pick a creative location. A ho-hum location will produce ho-hum results. The physical surroundings of your off-site meeting can make an enormous difference. Hotels and conference centers are great locations, but they’re not the only options. Some creative alternatives include movie theaters, bowling alleys, sports arenas, museums, theme parks, and other quirky venues. Think outside the box. Take a tour before. When selecting your meeting site, be sure to take a tour of the facility beforehand, including the “back of the house.” Check for ample storage space for supplies, secure areas for employees to put their belongings, a sufficient number of clean restrooms, and good dining facilities. Don’t forget the fun. Just because this is a business meeting, don’t neglect the recreational opportunities. Many conference centers and hotels offer a wide range of physical activities such as golf and tennis, as well as unique team-building exercises. Build time into the day’s schedule to allow employees to take advantage of these extras. Add up the costs. Be sure to determine your budget ahead of time. Expenses to consider: transportation, facility rental, equipment rental, accommodations, catering, and possibly the cost of hiring a guest speaker or entertainer . Bring the right equipment. Today’s meetings call for more than just a few chairs and a flip chart. Attendees will likely bring laptops to access and present computer-based information, so you’ll need a means of projecting that information. You should also consider beforehand whether you’ll need high-speed Internet access in the meeting venue, or if this is a time to be “off the grid.” Pick two dates. When choosing a date for your off-site meeting, keep at least two possible ones in mind — a preferred date and an alternate one. When you start checking out available facilities, you’ll be able to choose the best option based on the number of people who can attend. Alternate dates also mean that you can negotiate a better price. Create a detailed schedule. Work backwards from your event date to determine what needs to be done beforehand, and when. Be conscious of production lead time, shipping times for deliveries, and anything else that need to be thought out before the meeting day. Plan the day intelligently. Design your meeting day schedule with care. Build in travel time to and from the site, and set an agenda that honors that. Additionally, make sure that all attendees have appropriate transportation to get to the meeting on time. Decide up front whether you want the day to be a high-intensity working event, a laid-back and relaxing retreat, or a balanced program combining a little of each. If you do decide to mix work with play, carefully consider which should come first. Do advance PR. Circulate a pre-retreat agenda that lets people know what your objectives are for the off-site

meeting. This will provide employees with an opportunity to prepare ahead of time for full and constructive participation. Where appropriate, give pre-meeting homework that employees need to bring to the meeting. It will also help to drum up excitement for the big day.

inFormative, inspiring and empowering Let Charisma Productions Network become your one-stop solution for all your corporate meeting, events and conference needs.

For more information please contact

info@cpnevents.com or visit our website www.charismaproductionsnetwork.com

Thank You for All of Your Comments & Suggestions

Continued from page 1

Charisma Productions 3

Ten Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make

1) Not Having a Clear Objective

I cannot stress this hard enough. If you don't have a clear objective of what you want to achieve from your offsite meeting and or event it’s easy for anything to go astray. Be clear about what you want to achieve or you will end up wasting everyone's time, energy and not mentioning, your company's money!

2) Choosing an Unsuitable Site

The venue chosen can make or break the event! When choosing the site, bear in mind what you want to achieve and at the same time know what your budget will allow. Choose venues outside of your office location

3) Not Having Interesting Activities to Do

Too many "Free & Easy" slots in your itinerary can be too boring for the group. When it’s "Free & Easy" everyone may be doing their own things - so where is the "bonding"? Organizing interesting activities can prove to be a challenge for some. Yes you can't please everyone but it IS possible to have activities that everyone can enjoy. If you have a big group and would like to organize lots of cool activities for the group - get an experienced team building facilitator or choose a venue that have tons of interesting recreational activities for your group to do.

4) Having Too Many Activities to Do In a Day

On the opposite side of the spectrum - do NOT cram too many activities for your group to do in one day. Meetings in the morning and team building are best done either half day or full day - don't squeeze in more games for them to do the next day and at night! That will be too much for anyone to handle. Part of the plan is to get your team to relax - remember?

5) Not Choosing the Right Speaker for the Meeting

When organizing an Offsite Meeting, it’s great to invite a speaker that can motivate and inspire your team. Choose a lousy speaker - and the whole event can fall flat. Choose one that is engaging and can get the crowd going - the idea is to empower and inspire!

6) Organizing the Offsite Over the Weekend or Public Holiday

Having the Offsite over the weekend or public holiday can prove to be quite disastrous as resorts are normally crowded over the weekends. Not mentioning the higher weekend rates for the use of accommodation and facilities. Always do your best not to cut into your staff's rest day/weekend time with their families unless your team is a young crowd with no family commitments - a lot of people may back out from going.

7) Not Getting Feedback from Your Team

After each Offsite Meeting - always gather feedback from your team. What did well and what not so well - how can you improve on the next one. Not being able to follow through with what was discussed during the Offsite Meetings is also another "no-no". The idea is for people to be able to work better together AFTER coming back from an Offsite retreats. So get to work and implement those ideas, fast!

Charisma Productions Network

805-241-0566

Charisma Productions 4

From Our Executive Chef:

Happy Holidays Roasted Rosemary Fillet of Beef with Pinot Noir Sauce

Try something different this holiday season. Pinot Noir, with its hints of berry jam and black pepper, makes a

lusciously well-balanced sauce for this toothsome roasted fillet of beef.

Charisma Productions 5

From Our Executive Chef

Roasted Rosemary Fillet of Beef with Pinot Noir Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 (4-pound) oven-ready tied center-cut fillet of beef

• 2 tablespoon(s) fresh rosemary leaves

• 4 clove(s) garlic

• 1/4 cup(s) country-style Dijon mustard2 teaspoon(s) kosher salt

• 2 teaspoon(s) freshly ground black pepper

• 2 tablespoon(s) olive oil Pinot Noir sauce:

• 1 cup(s) pinot noir or other dry red wine

• 1 shallot, minced

• 3 cup(s) reduced-sodium beef broth

• 1 sprig(s) rosemary

• 1 tablespoon(s) tomato paste

• 2 tablespoon(s) unsalted butter

• Freshly ground pepper

• Creamy polenta (optional), for serving

• Sautéed kale (optional), for serving

Directions

1. Remove beef from refrigerator 1 hour before roasting to bring it to room temperature. Heat oven to 500 degrees F and position a rack in center of oven. Finely chop rosemary and garlic together, and then stir in mustard. Pat beef dry and season all over with salt and pepper.

2. Heat oil in a heavy roasting pan across 2 stovetop burners over high heat until oil is simmering but not smoking. Add beef to pan; sear 12 minutes, turning 5 times with tongs, until deeply browned. Transfer to a piece of foil. Discard oil from pan and put roasting rack in pan. Place beef on rack and brush all over with mustard mixture.

3. Place fillet in oven; reduce temperature to 450 degrees F. Roast about 25 to 30 minutes for rare, until an instant-read thermometer registers 130 degrees F when inserted into center of fillet. (Check temperature after about 20 minutes.) Transfer fillet to a cutting board and loosely tent with foil. Pour drippings from roasting pan into a glass measure; discard fat and reserve drippings for sauce. Let fillet rest 15 minutes.

4. To make pinot noir sauce: Place roasting pan over 2 stovetop burners over medium-high heat, using an oven mitt to hold edge of pan. Add wine to pan and bring to a boil, scraping bottom and sides of pan with a wooden spoon. Add shallot; cook until wine is reduced to about 1/4 cup. Add broth and rosemary sprig; bring to a boil. Whisk in tomato paste; lower heat and simmer 8 to 10 minutes, or until sauce is slightly thickened. Remove rosemary sprig; swirl in butter until emulsified and season with pepper. Stir in reserved drippings and any accumulated juices from cutting board.

5. Slice beef and serve with sauce, and creamy polenta and kale, if desired.

Charisma Productions 6

From Our IT Department

Outlook Tip: Send an Email to a Traditional Mobile Device

Although many businesses use smart phones for their business communications, sometimes there is a need to send a message to a partner or customer who uses a regular cell phone. You can do it right from Outlook if the recipient’s phone supports SMS (short message service), which is a common feature for the majority of the phones available in the market.

All you need is the recipient’s email address. The major carriers usually assign an email address of user’s 10 digit phone number at carrier domain name dot com, and you can use it to send short text messages to any cell phone. If you are not sure what email domain to use, below are domains for the major US carriers.

Carrier Send Email to phone number@...

Alltel @message.alltel.com AT&T @mms.att.net Nextel @messaging.nextel.com Sprint @messaging.sprintpcs.com SunCom @tms.suncom.com T-mobile @tmomail.net Voice Stream @voicestream.net

Verizon @vtext.com (text only) @vzwpix.com (pictures and videos)

If the domain for your recipient’s carrier is not listed here, you may check on the carrier’s website or contact their customer service.

Messages longer than 160 characters should be split into multiple messages of 160 characters each. If you know that your recipient has a camera phone, you can send them .jpg files from Outlook and they will receive them as picture messages. Also, note that the message recipient might be charged a per message fee for your incoming message.

Charisma Productions 7

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 2012 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

805-241-0566 www.charismaproductionsnetwork.com

info@cpnevents.com

© Charisma Productions Network 2011, All Rights Reserved