Showing NextGen our Relevance

 

I started my own business, which helps organizations maintain relevance through next-generation engagement and initiatives.  So, I thought, I should kick off by practicing what I preach!  Here is my oldest daughter, Paige, working a golf outing for the Midwest Wall and Ceiling Contractors with me.  Both of us learned a bit from it!  

The permanent director mentioned that the outing was the big event during her maternity leave and that in the past they hired an extra person to help.  I immediately asked if I could enlist my 16-year-old daughter. No issues there!

It turns out the issues were, like always, in the details.  First, what would she wear?  Let's just say golf fashion isn't something she studied.  She's wearing my hat and the smallest golf shirt I own.  Next, what about start time?  We had to be there by 6am.  Coming out of the pandemic, most of my kids became night owls and Paige was the lead. I had to go in multiple times to wake her up.  She eventually came to and we made it out before the sun was up!

Next, what was her role?  The volunteers were great with her.  She did a great job stuffing the bags...

And when that was done, she helped with registration: she ensured everyone got 2 drink tickets and a lunch ticket, along with access to the goodie bags. She learned if she just let people take the bags some would take two so if her job was to make sure we didn't run out, she needed to hand them out as well. 

After the 144 carts lined up and the golfers got out,  

she noticed there were enough no-shows that a few empty carts were left behind.

Her question, which I think was festering most of the morning:

DO I GET TO DRIVE A GOLF CART?!

She has a driver's license so I wasn't expecting the excitement. 

But yes, we let her drive. 

And then she drove us around to check in on the golfers.  

How was the pace?  

Did the drink cart come by?

Did they want to try to win an extra drink ticket?

  

Well before "dinner" (which was at 2:15pm), Paige was questioning the length of the event. 

I was worried I would lose her attention.  

I didn't know the hold golf outings had on many industries until I was almost 40!  

Near dinnertime, we sat Paige at the nametag table, 

where she worked on her pitch to get people to put them on before going into the banquet room. 

After that, she got food.  She chose to sit in the back away from the action.  

And then she got called on to help at the front...

She drew the numbers and took pictures with the prize winners. 

Twelve hours later, as we pulled out of the parking lot, 

the next-gen relevance of a golf outing was on my mind. 

"Mom, I get what you do now," Paige said. "And I don't want to do this again... 

unless I'm running the beer cart."

  

Creating Effective Collabs

 

Over the weekend my family attended Country Thunder. It was our second time there, and our first time at a concert post-COVID.  The crowd was super friendly and not too thick, the act variety was decent, and the best part was a surprise collab!  Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton got married just two weeks before and this was the first time they performed together since they tied the knot. Blake was a headliner and his huge country following and stage presence made him a great act on his own.  But WOW, having his spouse, a pop singer with a different and strong following, collab with him just elevated the experience on an unanticipated level.    It was the last day, last act of the whole weekend: What a note to end on! 

Anyway, whether they are a surprise or not, collabs are a great tool to elevate value.  Use them to breathe new life into tried-and-true collateral or create something totally new. An example is a local bar association's holiday social.  The group elevated the experience by inviting other bar associations to join in so it was a bigger, stronger, cheaper, and more diverse event. Attendees learned about the other associations in the community and expanded their personal networks.  A win-win!

What value are you trying to provide stakeholders? What other person(s) or organization(s) can you partner with to make that value even more relevant?