Collaborating on a Fabulous Event

.
You’re watching me violate a personal rule.

I seldom talk politics, except with my wife, who is forbidden from testifying against me in court. However, I'm impressed by the recent federal election campaign. So many citizens moved away from extreme positions and toward the center on so many issues.

And with all the positives and negatives we hear about these days, politicians are still talking about having us all work together to solve our mutual problems. Shun partisan conflict, they say. Let’s collaborate, debate all our viewpoints, compromise, and get the job done well.

Though it doesn’t always work out this way (You hear me, Sacramento?), I like this approach to resolving problems, whether they’re worldwide, personal, or somewhere in between. In fact, my personal bias assumes (hopes, actually) that we always gain more from cooperating more than we lose by competing less. Follow that?

In other words, I suspect that when a problem isn’t solved well, it’s because either we overlook significant perspectives or we fail to consider enough potential remedies. Or to twist an old adage, most of the time too FEW cooks spoil the broth.

Here’s my point: In my experience, we accomplish more by working together, and I think we all ought to collaborate more.

Collaborate (“col” + “labor”) literally means Work Together. I believe we are at our best when we work together for the common good. However we keep ourselves busy and useful, we benefit from involving more hands and more brains. Think positive -- we each benefit when we all benefit. You think so too?

Think of the most successful people you know personally. How few of them accomplish everything by themselves? How many of them consistently work with reliable friends and colleagues?

If you already collaborate much of the time, GREAT! It’ll be easy to add one more example to your resume. However if you seldom collaborate, start doing it on a simple job right now, and its success will make your next few projects increasingly easier.

Here’s how. Imagine the next project you’d like to tackle. Maybe a personal ambition or a job for a client. Then choose a friend or colleague whose skills would help you, and invite him to join in, hire him yourself, or recommend him to your client. Choosing partners well makes your work easier, more productive, and more enjoyable.

Here’s what brings this to mind. I’m excited about my part in a huge project, just announced yesterday. It’ll be fantastic -- coordinating with about 30 of my finest Bay Area colleagues who work in weddings and parties. We'll be giving some lucky couple a fabulous wedding celebration, to showcase some of our best professional talent. It’s a wonderful opportunity to generate attention to stimulate local businesses, and give back to the community that supports us. Our success will inspire similar projects in other industries and in other locales. Interested? See the details here.

Meanwhile, my life isn’t ALL big projects. The band has been jazzing up events of all sizes, and I’m always on the lookout for more opportunities. For instance, will you be celebrating a significant event soon? Throw a party and include us. Are friends talking about a wedding? Please recommend us. Today I’m talking with people hosting parties for Father’s Day and the 4th of July. If you’ll have a soiree on one of these days, or on any day in between, now’s a good time to arrange the details, including the music.

Have a question? We’ll have the answer. Call us at 408-245-9120. You’ll love what we do. We’re easy to work with, so let our experience help your celebration.

In the meantime, please catch us at one of these public events coming up. On Saturday, June 27, we’ll be setting the perfect elegant mood for “The Vintage Affaire” wine auction and dinner party at a fabulous estate in Atherton, and a week later -- on July 4th -- we’ll be entertaining prior to the fireworks at the City of Cupertino’s holiday festivities. Please visit MagnoliaJazz.com for details, and I hope to see you soon.

Please take a moment to find me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter. Want to catch us in action? Visit my Facebook Page, become a fan, and you’ll receive an update for each of our public appearances.

Thanks for reading my blog. Please send me a comment (below), and I’ll reply promptly. For now, here’s a question for you: How well do you collaborate with your colleagues?

Making Your Weddings and Parties Unique

“Hey, we ought to gather more friends, and continue talking about this. It’s a great topic for brainstorming!”

I thought this at least ten times at last Tuesday’s meeting of Silicon Valley NACE (National Association of Catering Executives). What an evening, socializing with some of my best colleagues! Networking groups like this create powerful opportunities to share ideas and explore new solutions to persistent problems, like how to make our work unique.

You might already be thinking like this, but here’s my favorite way: Make yourself unique. However you make a living, it’s always good to develop your own special talents and strengths, and then apply your distinctive personal style to everything you do. How to do this? For one excellent strategy, hang out with unique friends and colleagues. If you like to stay up-to-date, get yourself involved with a networking group like NACE or hundreds like it. You can easily find plenty of groups to cover any subject that interests you. For starters, take a look at MeetUp.com, as well as professional associations.

Talking about being unique, last Tuesday two of my favorite colleagues -- Amy Blach (AMB Designs) and Natti Pierce-Thomson (North American Theatre Technology) -- described how they always customize their services, to suit their clients’ wishes. This way, they’re able to present an outstanding value for any budget.

Both Amy and Natti are at the very top of their professions, offering to create many unique options for their clients’ events. They’re like a waiter in a fine restaurant, who first inquires about what his guest wants, and then describes several appropriate options from the menu, offering helpful recommendations and ways to customize each of them.

Amy specializes in creating spectacular, one-of-a-kind balloon decor (“painting the air with color”), as well as eye-catching party props and whimsical table-top displays. Her clients range from the energy-packed home games of the San Jose Sharks to smaller, more intimate personal dinner parties.

Natti specializes in creating stunning theatrical lighting for weddings and for private parties, as well as for professional theatrical productions throughout the Bay Area. She combines an artistic flair for imaginative design with a sure grasp of the latest lighting technology. You simply have to see it to believe what a vivid impact dramatic lighting has on an event.

Both Amy and Natti are unique. For each, their greatest assets are a complete “toolbox” of professional skills and a trained imagination honed by years of experience. Their services might be imitated but never duplicated. In contrast, many of their competitors are “commodities”, like identical loaves of plain bread -- sure, they get the job done, but it’s hardly special. Maybe it’ll be just another balloon arch or yellow spotlight that everyone forgets the next morning.

So here’s the big picture. Want to do unique work? Here’s how to claim your success. Whatever you do, be distinctive and stand out from the crowd. Keep your eyes open. Identify your own strongest personal interests, skills, and talents, and always work to make them even better. Then, based upon what you do best, create options, and apply them with imagination. You’ll become one-of-a-kind, and not just another commodity.

We’ve never been just another “going-rate” band. This year the band has been jazzing up many unique events, and I’m always on the lookout for more opportunities. For instance, will you be celebrating a significant event soon? Throw a party and include us. Are friends talking about a wedding? Please recommend us. Today I’m talking with people hosting parties for Memorial Day and Father’s Day. If you’ll have a soiree on one of these days, or on any day in between, now’s a good time to arrange the details, including the music.

Have a question? We’ll have the answer. Call us at 408-245-9120. You’ll love what we do. We’re easy to work with, so let our experience help your celebration.

In the meantime, please catch us at a public event coming up. On Saturday, June 27, we’ll be setting the perfect elegant mood for “The Vintage Affaire” wine auction and dinner party at a fabulous estate in Atherton. Please visit MagnoliaJazz.com for details, and I hope to see you there.

Please take a moment to find me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter. Want to catch us in action? Visit my Facebook Page, become a fan, and you’ll receive an update for each of our public appearances.

Thanks for reading my blog. Please send me a comment (below), and I’ll reply promptly. Here’s a question for you: How do you make your work unique?

Two Spectacular Parties with Outstanding Colleagues

Top photo: We’re on the far right in this picture, WAY in the back, creating a casual background for the Silicon Valley Concierge Association annual awards party last month. Second photo: Same location, 2 weeks later, and we’re creating an elegant atmosphere for “An Evening of Adventurous Cuisine”. These were two memorable receptions, and what a privilege to work with these top professionals -- Diana Mazza and Mona Davis, of Club Auto Sport, and Jamie Perez and Chris Flippen, of Restaurant “O” Catering. Special thanks to photographer Tommy Wu, of TommyPhoto, for the wonderful pictures. Second photo, left to right: Gary Milliken, me, and Andy Norblin.

The success of each evening is testimony -- as if testimony is ever needed -- that it takes seasoned professionals, working smoothly together, to produce reliably perfect results every time. I’m reminded of this every day I work with professionals like event coordinators, caterers, facilities, photographers, videographers, florists, limousines -- you name it. You want a pro piloting your airplane or removing your appendix, right? Same thing.

Back to the second party, where seventy-five guests enjoyed conversations over gourmet appetizers and wine, while they admired some of the world’s rarest and fastest motor vehicles. Club Auto Sport is a unique facility, certainly in California and possibly in the world. You’ve never seen anything like it! An eye-catching location for one-of-a-kind parties, seminars, and fund-raising events, it’s part condominium for cars, part concierge service for the car owners, and part elegant clubhouse & lounge (10,000 square feet, with 20-foot window walls), where local auto enthusiasts display their prize exotic vintage sports cars and where the club hosts fabulous parties.

Club Director Diana Mazza, and Concierge Mona Davis, are a dream to work with -- charming, outgoing, and expertly seeing to every detail of every party.

Restaurant “O” Catering, always lives up to its award-winning reputation for fine cuisine lavishly presented. Formerly a restaurant, now exclusively a caterer, and soon to be a restaurant again, Restaurant “O” is recommended for catering at the finest facilities throughout the Bay Area. Over the years we’ve coordinated with Restaurant “O” on many special events, and I’m always looking forward to our next opportunity to work alongside Jamie Perez and Chris Flippen. For this evening, Executive Chef Julian Perez presented four sensational appetizers, each paired with an exquisite wine from J.Lohr Winery. Just look at these delicacies:

• Roasted Jumbo Prawns with Yuzu Beurre Blanc and Apricot-Cipolini Relish, 2007 J. Lohr Bay Mist White Riesling, Monterey County
• Macadamia Nut Encrusted Sea Bass Medallions with Chardonnay Carmel Sauce, 2007 J. Lohr Riverstone Arroyo Seco Chardonnay
• Beef Carpaccio Kisses with Coffee Aioli, Manchego Cheese, Mini Croutons, Micro Greens with Merlot Drizzle, 2006 J. Lohr Los Osos Merlot, Paso Robles
• Chocolate and Scotch Bonnet Truffles with Strawberry Pistachio Dus, 2007 J. Lohr Seven Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Robles

Sound interesting? The good news is that many more sensational receptions like this are in the works. Watch for our next event, and join the fun.

This year the band has been entertaining people at many events like this, and I’m always on the lookout for more opportunities. For instance, will you be celebrating a significant event soon? Throw a party and include us. Are friends talking about a wedding? Please recommend us. Today I’m talking with people hosting parties for Memorial Day and Father’s Day. If you’ll have a soiree on one of these days, or on any day in between, now’s a good time to arrange the details, including the music.

Have a question? We’ll have the answer. Call us at 408-245-9120. You’ll love what we do. We’re easy to work with, so let our experience help your celebration.

In the meantime, please catch us at a public event coming up. On Saturday, June 27, we’ll be setting the perfect elegant mood for “The Vintage Affaire” wine auction and dinner party at a fabulous estate in Atherton. Please visit MagnoliaJazz.com for details, and I hope to see you there.

Please take a moment to find me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter. Want to catch us in action? Visit my Facebook Page, become a fan, and you’ll receive an update for each of our public appearances.

Thanks for reading my blog. Please send me a comment (below), and I’ll reply promptly. What do you think of working with professionals?

Curious About Parties and Weddings?

Here we are playing at last month’s Baby Boomer/Senior Citizens Expo, chatting with people as they walk by. With a wide range of songs, we entertain people of all ages, from seniors to their teen-age grandkids, at parties and weddings, but who could have guessed we’d ever see a geezer trade show? I thought our society was obsessed with “youth”. The boomers strike again!

Thanks to photographer Roberto Gonzalez, of NuevaFoto Photography, for the wonderful picture. Left to right: Gary Milliken, Andy Norblin, and me. Roberto, looks like you caught Andy by surprise. Curious about what he was thinking.

Let me tell you a personal story about curiosity. I’m continually trying to learn new things, to stay on top. Sure, this routine isn’t for everyone, but for me it’s exciting and rewarding. In fact many of my friends do the same. We read a lot, talk a lot, and constantly try new ideas, wondering what would happen if we did “this” or “that”, instead. This constant eagerness to explore something new, to enhance my old tried-and-true practices, stimulates my curiosity every minute of every day. True for you, too?

How do you satisfy your curiosity? Some of the best ways I’ve found for finding new ideas is by reading -- blogs, newspapers (editorials, opinions, comics), magazines, books -- and by listening to conversations -- with friends, on radio, podcasts, or TV (especially my favorite, Charlie Rose). Whenever I encounter a novel idea, I wonder “Interesting! Now, how could I apply that to help what I’m doing?”

This “build on the best” attitude has kept new ideas blossoming throughout human history. It certainly seems to be true for the local high tech industry, which in turn sets the style for the rest of life here in Silicon Valley.

Curiosity. If the very next words you imagine are “killed the cat”, let me suggest there’s lots more to it than that. I believe that having curiosity is a blessing, and it’s best developed by practicing. Wondering about things is a basic key to success, whatever you do. Your mind stays active, constantly acquires new ideas and possibilities, and keeps your life exciting. Do you think about curiosity this way, too?

Wondering about curiosity, I found dozens of articles online. All looked interesting, and I just read several. Most suggest that to foster your own curiosity, keep an open mind, ask questions, read and listen widely, and make learning fun.

Look around. Each of us is busy being curious about how something works or about how to do something better. What are you doing right now? Maybe just busy with a hobby, or maybe working on your full-time occupation. Maybe updating something old, or maybe creating something new. Maybe “scratching” a personal “itch”, or maybe benefiting someone else. In every case, our passion always starts with curiosity, and develops as we “follow our nose” from where we’re at, to where we’re headed.

Recently I heard Charlie Rose speaking with Bill Gates, who attributed his great success ultimately to his curiosity. Of course, he also benefitted from other intellectual qualities -- his life-long love of learning, tenacity to stay on target, and remarkable memory -- but he felt everything started with his curiosity. And this morning I heard Charlie speak with J.J. Abrams, talented director of the current “Star Trek” movie, who said he envisions his movie to be the story of a dream his main character has, after which he wakes up changed for the better. What an interesting way to think about the plot! Now I wonder, how can I benefit from that idea? Stay tuned.

Now if you’re curious, the band has been entertaining lots of people this year, and I’m always on the lookout for more opportunities. For instance, will you be celebrating a significant event soon? Throw a party and include us. Are friends talking about a wedding? Please recommend us. Today I’m talking with people hosting parties for Memorial Day and Father’s Day. If you’ll have a soiree on one of these days, or on any day in between, now’s a good time to arrange the details, including the music.

Have a question? We’ll have the answer. Call us at 408-245-9120. You’ll love what we do. We’re easy to work with, so let our experience help your next celebration.

In the meantime, please catch us at a public event coming up. On Sunday, May 10, we’ll be entertaining for “Mother’s Day Brunch” at the Toll House, in Los Gatos. Please visit MagnoliaJazz.com for details, and I hope to see you soon.

Thanks for reading my blog, and I hope you enjoy considering my ideas. Please tell me what you think, and I’ll reply to all your comments. Please take a moment to find me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter. Want to catch us in action? Visit my Facebook Page, become a fan, and you’ll receive an update for each of our public appearances.