Lessons In Leadership Thoughts from the Zeitgeist Inspire Exponential Collaboration Let’s make beautiful music together. At Freeman, collaboration is codified into our culture because it is foundational to the kind of work we do. No one can execute a massive event without a variety of teams working like clockwork to bring it off. And of course, collaboration entails a work ethic that every leader encourages, […] Written by BPH March 16, 2023March 16, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Lessons In Leadership Thoughts from the Zeitgeist We Are All Designers We Need More Skeuomorphism It’s another lesson in design thinking. The first time I heard a colleague use the word “skeuomorphism,” I was delighted to discover that there was a name for the design methodology that I was seeing everyday but not really thinking about. Examples are literally all over the typical computer “desktop” (a verbal skeuomorph), as evidenced […] Written by BPH March 2, 2023March 2, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Lessons In Leadership Thoughts from the Zeitgeist Speed Isn’t Progress When the pressure is up, speed down. Early in my career I learned that the only way to manage a vast project is to break it down into multiple small projects; then, control the process as if you are diffusing a landmine. Attention to the logistical details — doing things in the most efficient way […] Written by BPH February 16, 2023February 16, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Lessons In Leadership Thoughts from the Zeitgeist Business or Pleasure? The question is quickly becoming irrelevant. “Bleisure” is a frankenword I can’t bring myself to say aloud. It sounds like a probiotic food supplement. However, I thoroughly endorse the trend of intentionally combining business and leisure travel. The concept, of course, is not new. Many of us have wince-worthy recollections of conferences that offered registrants […] Written by BPH February 2, 2023February 2, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Lessons In Leadership Thoughts from the Zeitgeist Networking and/or Learning It seems obvious. Now. Have you ever read research with insights that seem obvious after you’ve read the report but that hadn’t really occurred to you before? Or that prompts you to think about how you approach old habits in a new way? That’s the nature of a recent study conducted by our own Freeman […] Written by BPH January 19, 2023January 19, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Lessons In Leadership Thoughts from the Zeitgeist The Place Where THEM Becomes US A resolution for 2023. I’ve always believed that those of us in the live events industry have a unique mission to build connections through a sense of community. It’s in evidence at kids’ soccer games, Shakespeare festivals, and even in conventions that cater to highly specialized medical professionals. Wherever people are aligned behind a shared […] Written by BPH January 5, 2023January 5, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Lessons In Leadership Thoughts from the Zeitgeist Old Dog, New Tricks How to lead a 95-year old company with a learning mindset. As with so many organizations, Freeman runs on a fiscal year that begins in July. So why is it that every December I find myself reflecting on events of the past 12 months? I feel compelled to assess not just financial growth, but how […] Written by BPH December 22, 2022December 22, 2022 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Lessons In Leadership Thoughts from the Zeitgeist Build A Better Houseplant Industry 4.0 tech turns to nature. I love technology, except when I don’t. Maybe it’s a classic approach-avoidance conflict. I discovered my career in the events industry while producing conferences that supported the emerging tech revolution of the ‘90s. I thrived in that tech-driven chaos. And today, I love the way digitalization has empowered all […] Written by BPH December 8, 2022December 8, 2022 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Thoughts from the Zeitgeist Still Grateful Last summer, when we were experiencing our busiest June ever, I wrote about reminding myself to be grateful. I have been intentional about this; counting my blessings wards off the twin evils of anxiety and entitlement. Now that Americans find ourselves in the season of gratitude, which began last month in Canada, I thought I’d […] Written by BPH November 22, 2022November 22, 2022 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Lessons In Leadership Thoughts from the Zeitgeist Sustainability is collaborative and cumulative Walking the talk at COP 27. Is it okay to say I’m proud of my clients, my colleagues, and my industry? I try to avoid self-congratulatory posts, but we are doing some hard work and, most importantly, we are doing it together. Last week, as part of COP 27, we recommitted to the Net Zero […] Written by BPH November 15, 2022November 15, 2022 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Lessons In Leadership Thoughts from the Zeitgeist Getting Back on the Horse It’s a matter of trust. Every year spent on the planet reinforces this simple truth — it all comes down to trust. In 2014, I co-hosted a meeting for our top leaders that was entirely focused on trust. We understood that even though the company had reached unprecedented sales growth, our rapid expansion put at […] Written by BPH November 3, 2022November 3, 2022 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Lessons In Leadership Thoughts from the Zeitgeist Good Vibrations Forget work/life balance; seek harmony instead. Like so many businesspeople, for a long time I tried to find the perfect work/life balance. And as a leader, I’ve urged my people to do the same. The problem is few people I know could find the right formula. I couldn’t. It took me years to realize that […] Written by BPH October 6, 2022October 6, 2022 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Lessons In Leadership Sustainability — trying to measure up When the challenge is infinite, think finite. Back in August, Freeman published a digital version of our 2021 Sustainability Report. You can read it here. I don’t think of it as a brag book, because anyone who has ever attended the kind of events we help produce knows that our industry generates waste. And for […] Written by BPH September 22, 2022September 22, 2022 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Lessons In Leadership The office isn’t dead yet It’s not about the office, it’s about the relationships. Remote work vs. in-office? I’m a bit put off by the high-temperature arguments on both sides. For starters, there’s a lot of entitlement in this conversation, because it ignores the majority of people for whom remote work is not an option — event staff, medical workers, […] Written by BPH September 8, 2022September 8, 2022 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Lessons In Leadership A Maslow Moment It’s normal to feel needy sometimes. The people I work with find it amusing that I am such a big fan of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. And yes, I’ve blogged about Abraham Maslow more than a few times. But here’s the thing — his work remains relevant. And it explains so much about the things […] Written by BPH August 25, 2022August 25, 2022 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
