The Third Month

For the past two months, consciously or not, you have been directing every thought and every effort toward this first formal committee meeting. You didn't know just where or when it would take place, and you didn't know who'd be present, but you knew it was bound to happen.

And here, at long last, are you in the meeting room facing the Policy Committee. They are not strangers to you as officers and executives of this company. They are, however, strangers to you as a unit, as a committee, as a group with life-or-death power over the program for which you are responsible.

Humanly enough, you may be wondering what sort of an impression you are making, how you are getting across to them. That concern will pass once the meeting gets under way, but it isn't under way yet and—well, you're wondering.

We think it will help if you'll remember two things:
First, this meeting is more important to you than it is to the committee members. In this week the meeting is your high point; they've probably already had nine meetings of one sort or another, and here it's only Wednesday. Sure the meeting is important to you, but relax. There'll be others. This isn't the end, you know.

Second, it's just this basic: you've got some work you want done, and everyone is assembled in this room to do it. You're not in a nest of enemies. You're all working together. So far as the cele­bration is concerned, you know more about what's going on than anybody in the organization, so stop creating difficulties in your own mind. You don't have to impress anybody. Just get on with your job.

PROGRESS MEETING #1

When the meeting gets under way, everybody will want to talk. Lean back and let them. After they've talked a while, they'll begin to realize what you and your General Chairman already know: there is more to producing an anniversary celebration than meets the eye, and you are on hand to save them a lot of headaches.

Obviously you cannot know all there is to know about the inner workings of the company's various divisions and depart­ments. Nor can you know about how they might mesh, or fail to mesh, with various proposed Ideas for anniversary events. You aren't supposed to. It's doubtful if the General Chairman does. That's why there's this committee meeting. So just keep quiet for the most part. When you speak, keep your comments and ques­tions general.

As the committee reviews the Ideas one by one, you may occa­sionally need to prompt them: "Do we like this Idea?" . . . "Shall we consider this one further or eliminate it now?" . . . "Is this one worth the trouble?"

If anyone begins to get too detailed and tries to pin down a point ("How would you go about working this one out, Mr. Co-ordinator?") simply answer: "I don't know yet. All I want to know right now is do you like the Idea well enough to keep it in our plans or shall we throw it out? That's what this meeting is for."

Your General Chairman should back you up all along the line. If he has to choose sides, he should choose your side. You under­standably are anxious to see some definite plans formulated, and to get this project started toward its goals. And certainly you are probably more conscious than anyone else of all there is to be done, and of the little time. You have a right to expect equal concern from the General Chairman who is supposedly working with you.

With the help of this book, you are assured of a successful celebration. All you have to do is keep your mouth shut, listen to the suggestions of the executive personnel whose opinions you respect, and take guidance from this book whenever your direc­tion seems in doubt. The steps you must take to success, and the sequence of those steps, are here in your hand. Relax, and listen yourself into a productive meeting—and into a successful anni­versary celebration.

YOUR PERSONAL PROMPTING BOARD

Besides, you're still a big, safe, smart step ahead of the game: you've been prudent enough to prepare for yourself an outline— a prompting board, in effect—of information paralleling the agenda of this meeting. You have made no copies. This material is yours alone. There is no need for even the General Chairman to know you have it. And it puts you in the driver's seat from the beginning.

If you are acting as Chairman, this synopsis puts information at your fingertips and imparts a confidence which sets the tone and tempo of the meeting. If someone else is Chairman, your prompting board permits you to turn in your best performance. With it unobtrusively attached to your clip-board, you have noth­ing to worry about. It could look like this:
Progress Meeting #7
Place______________ Date____________
Part I: Review (Co-ordinator)
Q. What is the object of this meeting?
A. There are two objects: (1) to bring you gentlemen (the Policy Committee meeting for the first time as a group) up-to-date on what I (the Co-ordinator) have accomplished over the past eight weeks in basic planning for our anniversary celebra­tion; and (2) to probe for the answers to some fundamental questions.
Let's take (1)—

You all know that some two months ago I was invited to under­take the task of research for our upcoming Anniversary Year. There was an orientation period, of course, during which I toured the plant (and the plants of some of our competitors), learned our organization chart, read everything about the company I could find, participated in a number of meetings and conferences, and met a lot of fine people.

Then I sent out a flyer called "C'Mon! Take a Swing at It!!" which requested that you, and some others as well, send to me every suggestion you could think of which might be adapted to our use or turned to our promotional advantage during our anni­versary period.
You did well and I thank you.
To date a total of (number) Ideas have been submitted to
me. I have cataloged them and copied them for you. About  
days ago I brought to each of you a folder, Progress Report #1, containing a complete set. I assume you have reviewed them.
Any questions so far?
All right, then.
Let's take (2)—
I don't see how we can possibly arrive at answers that mean anything until we know
a.What we're trying to do.
b.Who we're trying to do it to.
c.How badly we want to do it to them.
So let's examine these three points as a preliminary to examin­ing the Ideas.
a.     What are we trying to do?
We should all know the answer to that. We all have copies, bound into Progress Report #1, of the goals we have agreed are acceptable. These goals have been designated for achievement by the end of the celebration. Attainment is expected to result from the expenditure of time, effort, and money that we make on the observance.
b.     Whom do we want to do it to?
In other words, whom do we want most to be affected, either as individuals or groups, by the special activities we will under­take during the anniversary period? We have not definitely made up our minds about this yet, and I think we soon must. So let me ask rhetorically: Whom do we want to be affected? At whom, in short, are we aiming all this work?

(The Co-ordinator may here review the list of publics beginning on page 45.)

Are we interested in all of these people? Or maybe some of them sometimes? Or none of them ever? Or don't we really care?

Obviously it is a rare budget that could contemplate fabrication of special programs directed at each diverse group. The cost would be fantastic. But any organization's "publics" overlap to such an extent that, if and when a good piece of work is done with a few selected key groups, a favorable impression will be made on many other groups. But which do we choose as our "key" groups?

I hate to do it, but I must point out that you can table this question, if you like. You can simply let it go, and "back into" an answer by going ahead and selecting your activities. In my opinion it is not a good way for you to get your money's worth, but you can do it. It is not a good way to get your money's worth because each activity you select obviously will appeal more to one segment of the population than to others. And this is going to happen whether you think it should or not. When you pick an activity arbitrarily, you're automatically stuck with the public it attracts. And it can easily be the wrong public for best returns on your investment. Companies which first pick the "publics" most important to company existence, and then carefully select anniversary activities to impress, affect, or influence those publics, are the ones most likely to have the greatest tangible return on their investment.
c. How badly do we want to do it to them?
This is a rather pointless question if we aren't interested enough to pick "them" (the publics) out. However:

Do we want results badly enough to spend money? Important money? If we want impact, we can't escape expense. And if we are ready to spend money, the next question is: Where will we spend it?

For example, to what extent are we interested in the "stunt" side of a celebration—the flagpole sitters, the beauty contests, the fireworks, the balloons—as compared with such things as institu­tional advertising, tasteful decoration, and diplomatically placed dinners and cocktail parties?

How wide and deep will we range through the attention-getting media—the searchlights, the skywriting, the contests—even if we do not favor them primarily? There must be some such, but how much, how often, and how expensive?

All activities, sedate or skylarking, are worthwhile in their place. How you propose to determine their place in our celebra­tion without knowing at whom you're aiming, I cannot say. To me it seems that knowing whom we want to influence is as impor­tant as knowing what activities are most fitting to the tempera­ment and personality of our company. Any comments, gentlemen?

Part II: Progress Meeting (Chairman)
By the time we reach the end of this meeting, gentlemen, we hope to have

1. Completed a careful review of this first collection of Ideas; determined which we like (they will be marked Approved), which should be held for further thought (they will be marked For Further Consideration), and which may be eliminated without further delay.
2. Accepted and recorded any additional Ideas you wish to submit today.
3. Determined so far as possible the general direction we want to take in the matter of the over-all celebration program.

So shall we begin now to review the Ideas in your Progress Report folder, one by one? . . .
Part III: Conclusion (Chairman)

The meeting should be adjourned and dismissed by the Chair­man. You will, of course, have taken notes continuously through­out the meeting, taking part in the discussion only when directly addressed for additional information. These notes will be of immense importance in directing your future efforts. If they raise any questions in your mind which can be settled on the spot, direct your inquiry to the Chairman before he adjourns the meeting.

AFTER PROGRESS MEETING #1
If you have kept your mouth shut and your ears open, you will, by the end of this first full-dress meeting, have achieved three important things. You will have achieved (a) increased stature among the men with whom you'll be working; (b) the acceptance which comes through appreciation of your contribu­tions to celebration planning in this short time; and (c) understanding on the part of the executive group that a task of this scope takes a bit of doing.

This atmosphere of approval is warming, pleasant, but not dependable. Don't let it fool you. You've got a long way to go yet. At this point you've simply managed to get yourself raised, like a target, into a position to be fired at.

So enjoy the glow of confidence and the sense of direction you have gained from the meeting, but meantime—get to work.

In addition to fresh lines of investigation opened up for you by the comments, inquiries, and recommendations made at the meeting, there are several mushrooming tasks to be brought under control immediately.

At this meeting you submitted a total of Ideas for anniversary activities. Of that number X (number) received NO votes from the Policy Committee and stand Eliminated. Y (number) received FFC (For Further Consideration) votes and are still in the running. Z (number) received APP (Approved) votes and, as of today, have a chance of becoming part of the observance.
Now take these steps:

1. Place the rejected Ideas (those which received the NO votes and stand Eliminated) in a standard 9"x 12" mailing envelope or manila folder which you have marked "Rejects." Or file them in a section by themselves in your workbook if you're keeping all anniversary material between one pair of covers. (Not a bad practice, by the way.) The point is, you do not destroy them. The day you destroy one is the day the Policy Committee decides on a full review of it.
2. Then turn your attention to the Ideas Approved, and to those held For Further Consideration. Keep in mind the possi­bility that every Idea in these two categories may ultimately be come a part of the celebration program. Consider that any Idea which does become a part of the program must come automatically within the jurisdiction of some one of the company's oper­ating divisions or departments. And that division or department then bears a major share of whatever production effort the specific Idea requires. (For example, a decision to have an Open House for employees and their families would put the Idea within jurisdiction of the personnel department. The personnel department would be expected to assume a major portion of the effort required to produce this specific Idea.)
3. Prepare a separate standard 9"x12" manila envelope or file folder for each company operating division {e.g., personnel, advertising, public relations, membership, display, legislative, accounting, or whatnot) and mark the proper identifying name on
   it clearly.
4. Now take the Approved Ideas and the For Further Consideration Ideas, and separate them into their proper divisional or departmental envelope or folder. In other words, put each Idea, one by one, into the envelope—prepared as in (3) above—where it belongs. If there occasionally appears to be an overlap of responsibility, or if you are simply not quite sure just which envelope should receive a given idea, just choose as well as you can. There
   is no need for agonies of hairsplitting. This is an early operation, not a final one. It will shake down and level off after a while.
5. Now retype the contents of each envelope. Idea by Idea. Envelope by envelope. New and fresh. In each instance make one original copy (which will go into your workbook and become your work copy) and one carbon which you will give to the division chief for his reference and use when you call on him. (See (6) below.) As you retype, revise as you go along and be sure to include under each Idea all the information you presently have concerning it.

Sometimes you can amass considerable information as you re­type, and prior to your discussions with the department heads.

For example, let's say that the Policy Committee decided that 5,000 balloons will be released from the roof of the main build­ing on the Opening Day of the celebration. What do you do? You go to your Purchasing Agent. He may, of course, also be a division chief whom you'll be visiting again in a few days, but where is the harm in that? He can either estimate costs for you or, since there are a variety of balloon shapes and sizes and quali­ties to choose from, put you in touch with a reliable manufac­turer or supplier. A representative will then shortly telephone you or call on you and give you all the information you need.

Or suppose the committee showed interest in the possibilities and costs of radio and/or television coverage. Your Advertising Manager can tell you the best contacts to make and help you with introductions. If you have no Advertising Manager and the company retains no agency service, visit the Advertising Director (or whatever his title may be) of your local radio and television station and discuss your problem with him.

If exhibits are to be a part of the anniversary program, an early visit with the curator of the museum is indicated. If you are situated in a village or small town, the local newspaper or library doubtless will be able to put you in touch with the local historian and authority on antiques. You begin your search for display props with that person.

6.     When you have completed the sorting and summarizing of the Ideas thus, pick up your telephone and call the head of each company division (or department, section, unit, or whatever) for which an Idea envelope or folder now exists. Set up with him a SAP (soon-as-possible) appointment to discuss the Ideas which presently appear to fall within his jurisdiction. Explain what you need on each Idea: his reaction to it, suggestions concerning it, suppliers or resources, cost estimates for production, all possible additional information or sources for additional information.

QUESTIONS, AND WHOM TO ASK FOR ANSWERS

7.     Your preparation for these departmental visits must include one more step. Read these questions attentively.

a. Do you, in general, concur in the presently existing eval­uation of each Idea? The Policy Committee evaluation resulting from Progress Meeting #1, that is? Do you feel that most of the impractical suggestions have been eliminated and that only po­tentially sound and productive Ideas remain? Or do you perhaps feel that some Ideas with real promise have been shunted aside too casually? Or that some dangerous Ideas have been welcomed too enthusiastically? Or that firm decisions are being shirked in too many instances by shrugging Ideas into the For Further Consider­ation category?
6. Have some Ideas which would serve the company well in terms of repetitive impact or long-enduring effect been eliminated to make room for Ideas which you consider mere "shot-in-the-arm" promotions?

c.Do you feel that the company (through its Policy Committee) is being reasonably careful about thinking things through in selecting its events? As an example, let's say that agreement has been reached to purchase 1,000 fingerling trout, tag them with merchandise tags worth so many merchandise dollars when returned to the company, and use them to stock certain lake(s) and stream(s) in the state. We admit that it will get publicity. It will also make a few fishermen happy this year and provide others with hope and conversation for years to come. But what proportion of your customers are fishermen? Is the activity worthwhile on this basis? If you conclude that it is, have you checked with the State Conservation Commission? So far as the tagging goes, it is not injurious to the fish and is done every day for scientific purposes. However, when the commercial angle enters, so do a variety of reactions.
d.Let us assume for the moment that each of the Ideas now Approved will be selected to be a part of the final anniversary celebration. What then is the next (or first) step which must be taken to develop the Idea?
e.What, approximately, will each Idea cost if carried through to completion? If no approximation can be reached through reference to past company experience in comparable situations, how may enough data be acquired to arrive at a trustworthy figure?

The questions you have just finished reading are questions on which you, as Coordinator, should have sound, valid opinions. Being human, you may form such opinions only with difficulty, unless you first explore their aspects and implications and rami­fications with someone who knows intimately the area they cover. So review these questions, and your own thinking about them, with each division chief you visit. Make these questions a spring­board for mutual discussion. Questions dealing with the anni­versary, wherever they come from, require answers. Getting the answers is part of your job. The only way we know how to get answers is to go out and run them down. And the only help we know of will come to you from personnel tips on information sources.

Just don't get so wrapped up in this job that you get lonely. It has happened. You are not alone. You must carry the lion's share of the load because that's what you're being paid to do. But there's a lot of brainy, willing help around if you'll make use of it.

And that includes your General Chairman. We know you'd rather not bother him any more than necessary and you are right. All the same, he's interested, deeply interested, and he can tell you things about the company you'll never learn elsewhere. More­over, as we've pointed out before, he knows officers in other com­panies who can provide valuable tips. In fact, he's probably al­ready been in touch with them. Give him a chance to help you.

THE END OF THE THIRD MONTH

Your informal meetings with the General Chairman naturally continue as frequently as either of you wish. However, by the end of this month, you should ask that a date be set for another Progress Meeting. This meeting (Progress Meeting ^£2) should be held by the end of next month, which will be your fourth month on the job. The elapsed time from the date of Progress Meeting #i will then be about eight weeks. The Policy Com­mittee rightly will be expecting to hear from you by then.

Naturally, setting a date for the formal meeting should include the setting of a date for a Preview Meeting a week or ten days ahead. This will be the usual joint review of proposed meeting material by the General Chairman and you, the Co-ordinator.

Selection of a date for the Progress Meeting also requires an im­mediate memorandum from the General Chairman to the mem­bers of the Policy Committee. The memorandum (a sample form [Fig. 10] is presented on page 91) should inform Policy Com­mittee members of the selected date, ask them to reserve most of that day, and request that they promptly notify the General Chair­man of any conflicting commitments.

The caution against luncheon commitments on the dates of any of these Progress Meetings is a wise one. They all tend to run long, and trying to reassemble a group and pick up the job where you left off before you scattered for lunch is a nerve-stretching task. A much better plan, whenever possible, is to have lunch sent to the meeting room and work straight through the lunch hour.

MEMORANDUM
Date______________________________ .
TO: Name of Policy Committee Member
FROM: General Chairman’s Name
SUBJECT: Progress Meeting #2 re Anniversary Celebration Planning
Please make every effort to attend a meeting in my office (or name of place) begin- ning at 10 A.M. sharp on the morning of (day and date) .
The .purpose of the meeting is to review an initial general plan for developing elements of the •Anniversary Year program, including specific activities, cost estimates, and the like.
Please do not make any commitments for lunch on that day.
Kindly notify my secretary whether you will be able to be present.
Thank you.
(Signed or initialed)                            , General Chairman
Fig. 10. Prepare a memorandum like this and bring it to your General Chairman, or his secretary, when you request clearance for Progress Meeting #2·
PLANNING FOR PROGRESS MEETING #2

Selection of a specific date for Progress Meeting #2 imme­diately hands you, as Co-ordinator, four jobs:

1. You must prepare and clear an agenda for the meeting. The agenda (a sample form is outlined in Fig. n, on page 92) will focus on the contents of Progress Report #2, which you must begin immediately to assemble.
2. Upon clearance of the agenda see that sufficient copies are made so that one can be bound into each copy of Progress Report #2. And don't forget the one or two extra copies for emergencies.
3. Prepare Progress Report #2. This report, on which the meeting will be based, must include all presently available material and information not only on the Approved and For Further Consideration Ideas surviving the last meeting, but also on all new Ideas heretofore unseen by the Policy Committee. These new Ideas will have come to you over the weeks since Progress Meeting :#1. They will have come as a result of your two flyers requesting Ideas, and they will have come out of your countless impromptu conversations and hallway "meetings" and coffee-

AGENDA for PROGBESS MEETING #2
of the Policy Committee for the Anniversary Celebration Place Date_
(At approximately the end of your 4th month on the job)
PART I: Review (responsibility of Co-ordinator) Review the purposes of this meeting and initiate discussion.
PART II: Progress Meeting #2 (responsibility of Chairman) The committee will

1. Again review the Approved and For Further Consideration Ideas and make disposition of them.
2. Review the section of Progress Report #2 containing new Ideas not before presented to the Policy Committee, and endeavor to make final disposition of those new ideas, either accepting or eliminating.
3. Tentatively discuss the thorny question of costs.
4. Discuss any other pertinent anniversary celebration matters requiring attention.

PART III: Conclusion (responsibility of Chairman)
Concluding comments by Chairman, including announcement that there will be another Progress Meeting in about six weeks. Policy Committee members will be notified in ad­vance by interoffice memo or by telephone when the date is set definitely.
Adjournment.
Fig. II. Agenda for Progress Meeting #2. The agenda of a Progress Meeting should be based on the contents of the Progress Report bearing the same number.

break conferences. All these Ideas must be readied for inclusion in the body of Progress Report #2, and scheduled for review and debate (and, you hope, decision) at Progress Meeting #2. Oc­casionally you will receive a request to resubmit an Idea which was eliminated at a previous meeting, and you will, of course, do so. You will not, however, ever resubmit without request any Idea eliminated at a previous meeting.
4. Prepare all this material in final-draft form sufficiently soon so that you can (a) review, discuss, and clear it with your General Chairman (who should, by the way, again be Chairman of the meeting); and (b) still have enough time left to have the material copied, collated, bound, and distributed to Policy Committee members comfortably ahead of the meeting.

Naturally, each member of the Policy Committee will expect to have his copy of the Progress Report #2 in his hands in ample time for a leisurely review of the material before the date of the meeting. Actually, you know and we know it's ten to one he won't even open it before he troops into the meeting (and at that time at least one member will have lost his copy). Nonetheless, you've got to pretend he'll read it if you get it to him. So get it to him as far ahead of the formal meeting as you can. Angels can do no more.

Since it's not likely that you'll be having any help on these jobs, what are you sitting here reading for?
There's work to be done!

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