You make choices every day. Good choices, bad choices, quick choices... Safe choices...
And the choices we make allow people to make assumptions about us. Even when you think you're making a great choice, especially as an organization, you've got to be aware that people are watching - and comparing...
Case in point? The entertainment choice at SHRM's 2008 national convention in Chicago. SHRM went with the safe entertainment giant choice - Lionel Richie. I've got nothing against Lionel Richie, in fact my mom would probably like me to go to one of his concerts. It's safe, there are no curse words to speak of in his music, the parking would be in a controlled atmosphere and let's face it, the whole night would be so...so... NICE...
Just for the record, I'm promoting bringing AC/DC to the 2009 Convention to rock, then keeping them around for branding purposes - read more here.
Back to the story. In one of those comparison opportunities I was talking about, SHRM Florida has had entertainment at the recent HR Florida 2008. SHRM Florida is no slouch, but let's face it - they're David to the SHRM Goliath with a measly 1,700 expected attendees expected to attend to the Florida meeting.
So, they can't possibly hang with SHRM on entertainment, right?
Wrong.
In an upset that reminds me of Villanova vs. Georgetown or the USA hockey team beating the Russians in 1980's Miracle on Ice, SHRM Florida made the following selection for entertainment:
Morris Day and the Time....
It was over as soon as it was announced. Down goes Goliath. GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL.
What would you rather see crazy HR people rock to? "Dancing on the Ceiling" or "Jungle Love"? I hope they played Jungle Love 45 straight times. Who cares? It's MORRIS DAY.
Nicely done SHRM Florida. You win. Checkmate.
Well played, sir.
Posted by: Dan | August 27, 2008 at 09:38 AM
As the current president for HR Florida, I would like to thank you for your comments. Our conference team worked very hard on this year's event. While we weren't in competition with SHRM, we did want to provide our attendees with a party to remember ... Morris Day and the Time did just that - they totally rocked the house. BTW - Jerome did bring the mirror.
Posted by: Sharlyn Lauby | August 27, 2008 at 04:53 PM
AWESOME! Is how I would sum up the show/party, and I must add, that the conference was also a huge success! It was a labor of love and we appreciate the recognition/mention. HR Florida ROCKED the house and the 30th Anniversary will definitely not be soon forgotten!
Posted by: Carmen Miller | August 27, 2008 at 05:43 PM
Kris,
AC-DC would be the better choice for the national SHRM show, unless they could hook up with Van Halen...Morris Day was a great show much to my surprise. I "cursed" you in humanracehorses.blogspot.com since you got this post up before I could even get back to Tampa from Orlando, but it was a top notch conference. The HRFlorida folks did a marvelous job!
Michael
Posted by: Michael VanDervort | August 28, 2008 at 05:00 AM
Morris Day and the Time were freakin' sweet! Thanks for the mention about the conference -- awesome event and totally the bomb for HR Florida's 30th anniversary. Here's to the team that put it all together; you guys rock!
Posted by: Heather Vogel | August 28, 2008 at 04:08 PM
As the person responsible for marketing the conference let me say thanks. You're helping to make my job easier. Thanks for the props . . . WHAT TIME IS IT???
Posted by: Keith Lauby | August 28, 2008 at 04:22 PM
Woo Hoo!!!! What a great party> The crowd loved it, even the gen yer's were up dancing. The conference was outstanding. Thanks for the mention.
Posted by: Kitty Fields | August 29, 2008 at 11:43 AM