1. Charisma Productions Gazette
Volume 3, Issue 8 August 2011
7 Offsite Meeting Mistakes to Corporate Meeting - How to
Avoid! Make It Productive
How to Make it Work
Avoid at all Cost
Improving Your ROI
Mistakes Not to Make Charisma Productions Network
Charisma Productions Network
Do you think that attending a corporate meeting is a complete
waste of your time? Do you feel that you'd rather finish your
1) Not Having a Clear Objective overwhelming workload than listen to boring, self important
company executives?
I cannot stress this hard enough. If you don't have a clear It doesn't have to be that way. We spend a large part of our
objective of what you want to achieve from your offsite work life interacting with others. It takes no effort to pick up a
meeting, it’s easy for anything to go astray. Be clear about phone, but a face to face meeting with clients needs at least
what you want to achieve or you will end up wasting some preparation.
everyone's time, energy and not mentioning, your company's
money!
Cut to a larger scenario – a high powered corporate
2) Choosing an Unsuitable Site meeting, and whoa, the hackles start to rise already! Planning
a meeting contributes nearly as much to its success as the
The venue chosen can make or break the event! When actual goings-on itself. If you’ve got a big meeting ahead of
choosing the site, bear in mind what you want to achieve and you, don’t put off thinking about it till the previous weekend.
at the same time know what you can spend on. If you have There’s a lot more to planning a meeting than planning to
the budget to bring your team overseas - by all means do so, meet (and no, we’re not sounding corny on purpose). Here
we are surrounded by many beautiful islands in Bintan, are some of the most important things to do:
Malaysia, Batam, Indonesia. If you have more money - bring
them to Bali, Phuket, Vietnam and even Macau! With budget Set your eyes on the goal – Oh no, not that wretched
airlines aplenty - there is no excuse. If not, there are plenty of “g” word again. It’s an annual company review; what other
venues that you can choose from in Singapore. Choose city goal is there to think about, you ask. But scratch the surface
locations if your company is not located there and vice versa a bit, and you’ll see the finer points – is it just an annual
- for a change of scenery. performance roundup, or do you wish to lay the groundwork
for future initiatives? If the past year has been rough, are we
talking tough decisions? What is the intended outcome of the
continued on page 2 meeting? Get the objectives straight, and you’ve got step one
of the agenda out of the way.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE Make the invite list – it’s a great idea to invite an outsider
for at least part of a company meeting – the novelty usually
provides a welcome relief, and could also infuse a fresh
1 7 Offsite Meeting Mistakes to Avoid perspective. When you’re planning a meeting, pay attention
to the roles people are expected to play – try to make sure
1 Corporate Meeting – How to Make it everyone feels involved. Taking help from your staff and
Productive assigning them specific responsibilities during the meeting
will take a load off your back.
2 7 Offsite Meetings Cont
Balance the agenda – An annual conference is
3 Corporate Meeting Cont something to look forward to, but it won’t be that unless the
agenda includes some entertainment or non-work activities.
4 From Our IT Department In the hurly burly of planning your corporate meeting, don’t
forget to design the after-hours events. While most people
5 From Our Executive Chef are happy to simply party, it might be a better idea to include
a team based activity, something that people don’t usually get
6 From Our Executive Chef Cont
to do during their normal routine.
Of course, planning a meeting that’s high on style is of no
use, if you don’t have the resources to fund it. The budget
Newsletter 1

2. continued from page 1
3) Not Having Interesting Activities to Do
Too many "Free & Easy" slots in your itinerary can be too boring for the group. When it’s "Free & Easy" everyone may be doing
their own things - so where is the "bonding"? Organizing interesting activities can prove to be a challenge for some. Yes you
can't please everyone but it IS possible to have activities that everyone can enjoy. If you have a big group and would like to
organize lots of cool activities for the group - get an experienced team building facilitator or choose a venue that have tons of
interesting recreational activities for your group to do.
4) Having Too Many Activities to Do In a Day
On the opposite side of the spectrum - do NOT cram too many activities for your group to do in one day. Meetings in the
morning and team building are best done either half day or full day - don't squeeze in more games for them to do the next day
and at night! That will be too much for anyone to handle. Part of the plan is to get your team to relax - remember?
5) Not Choosing the Right Speaker for the Meeting
When organizing an Offsite Meeting, its great to invite a speaker that can motivate and inspire your team. Choose a lousy
speaker - and the whole event can fall flat. Choose one that is engaging and can get the crowd going - the idea is to empower
and inspire!
6) Organizing the Offsite Over the Weekend or Public Holiday
Having the Offsite over the weekend or public holiday can prove to be quite disastrous as resorts are normally crowded over the
weekends. Not mentioning the higher weekend rates for the use of accommodation and facilities. Always do your best not to cut
into your staff's rest day/weekend time with their families unless your team is a young crowd with no family commitments - a lot
of people may back out from going.
7) Not Getting Feedback from Your Team
After each Offsite Meeting - always gather feedback from your team. What did well and what not so well - how can you improve
on the next one. Not being able to follow through with what was discussed during the Offsite Meetings is also another "no-no".
The idea is for people to be able to work better together AFTER coming back from an Offsite retreats. So get to work and
implement those ideas, fast!
Informative, Inspiring and Empowering
Let Charisma Productions Network become your one-stop solution for all
your corporate meeting, events and conference needs.
Newsletter 2

3. continued from page 1
never goes away, and meetings are no exception! Apart from
the larger costs of travel and stay, factor in entertainment,
equipment hire and incidental expenses. A meeting within
the company premises might save costs, but is likely to be
low on impact. There’s also a very real possibility of routine
work coming in the way, leading to frequent disruption. All
things considered, a big meeting is best conducted off-site.
Once you have the above sorted out, it’s time to proceed
with action. If you’re not familiar with the venue of the
meeting, it’s important that someone takes a look at it
beforehand. Plan the layout of the meeting rooms, make a
checklist of equipment and electrical needs and hand it over
to the person in charge at the venue. Also survey the rooms
where your guests will stay, as well as the other facilities,
which might have a bearing on the entertainment plans. Most
hotels have activity managers who are quite resourceful; it’s
a good idea to consult with them while planning a corporate
meeting on their premises.
Last but not the least, make sure the agenda is circulated to
all concerned well on time, so that they come adequately
prepared. Planning a corporate meeting can be a lot of fun,
but attending one which is well organized, is even more so!
Charisma Productions Network
805-241-0566
Website: www.cpnevents.com
info@cpnevents.com
Newsletter 3

4. From Our IT Department
Outlook Tip: Synchronize Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Documents with Outlook
2007
Whether you spend most of your time in the field, or occasionally travel for work, the ability to access files stored on your
SharePoint site at times when you are not connected to the Internet would help you use your time more efficiently and increase
your individual productivity. With Outlook 2007, you can view specific SharePoint lists such as document libraries, discussions,
calendars, tasks and contacts that are stored on your Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 sites.
You can take documents offline and preview, read or perform a search on them within Outlook 2007. Offline support and
seamless synchronization allows you to access and manage information from Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 workspaces
within Outlook even without an Internet connection.
For example, before leaving the office to travel to an offsite meeting, you can save a copy of a necessary document (such as sales
presentation) stored in your team’s workspace, to a special folder in Outlook 2007. While on the road, or even on an airplane
without Internet access, you can continue working on your presentation, whether previewing it within Outlook or editing with
Microsoft Office PowerPoint. When you are back in the office (or another location that has an Internet connection), you will be
able to synchronize your local changes with the shared copy on your SharePoint site. As soon as your Outlook is connected to the
Internet, the synchronization will begin automatically.
To be able to perform this action, you first need to ensure that you (or other users) are using Outlook 2007 with a Microsoft
Exchange account and have been given permission to access SharePoint documents.
Here’s how to do it:
Open the document library or list on your SharePoint site
Click “Actions”
Select “Connect to Outlook” from the actions list.
Newsletter 4

5. From Our Executive Chef
Braised Pork Belly with Watermelon Mint
Salad & Ponzu Sauce
For Pork
2 pounds Berkshire pork belly
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped celery
2 cups chopped onions
1 bunch of thyme
1 bunch of cilantro
4 bay leaves
¼ cup salt
2 tablespoons black peppercorns
For Watermelon Mint Salad
1 cup of ½-inch cubes of seedless watermelon
2 tablespoons chiffonade of mint
pinch of sea salt
pinch of white pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons saba (or balsamic vinegar)
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6. To prepare the pork:
Rinse pork belly and pat dry with a paper towel. Heat a pot with a bit of vegetable oil. Sear each side of pork belly and add
remaining ingredients to pot. Cover with water completely and bring to a boil, then cover and turn off heat. Place pot in oven at
300°F for 4 hours. Remove pork belly from the pot with a slotted spoon and refrigerate for 24 hours or until completely cool and
firm. Once firm, cut 1/3-inch slices from the skin side to the meat side in uniform strips and reserve.
To make the watermelon salad:
Toss all ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate.
To Finish:
Lay sliced pork belly flat on a sheet pan. Brush the sweet Ponzu sauce on one side of the pork and cook in an oven at 400°F for 5–
7 min. Remove from oven. Spoon a tablespoon of blueberry compote on one side of plate and drag spoon across. Place
watermelon salad where spoon ended. Place hot pork belly on plate and garnish with a bit of cilantro; drizzle any remaining Ponzu
sauce over pork.
For Sweet Ponzu sauce:
½ cup Ponzu
½ cup dark brown sugar
2 seeded jalapeños (small dice)
In a small pot add Ponzu, brown sugar and jalapeños. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 5 min. Take off of heat and cool. Brush the
sauce on one side of the sliced pork before cooking in oven.
For Blueberry Compote:
1 cup blueberries
¼ cup granulated sugar
For watermelon salad:
1 cup of ½ inch by ½inch squares of seedless watermelon
2 tablespoons mint chiffonade
Pinch of sea salt
Pinch of white pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons saba (or substitute balsamic vinegar)
Add all ingredients to a pot and bring to a boil. Cook until the mixture has slightly thickened, take off of heat and cool. Drag a
tablespoonful of blueberry compote from one side of the plate to the other. Plate pork on top.
Wine recommendation:
This summer-friendly dish calls for a refreshing, fruit-forward and fragrant white like Kim Crawford’s Marlborough 2010 Sauvignon
Blanc or easy-drinking sangria, like the Summer Punch Sangria from B.E.S. packed with brandy-soaked berries.
Newsletter 6

7. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT
We wish to thank our readers and our clients for their support and feedback helping to continually grow the Charisma
Productions Network. We look forward to continue providing you with successful stress-free events.
We appreciate hearing from all of you and strive to improve our articles and hope to have something for everyone at
one point or another. Please send us suggestions for topics you would like to read about or if you have an article that
you would like to share we’ll be happy to post It.:
Please send all comments, suggestions and or articles to:
info@cpnevents.com
Charisma Productions Network
805-241-0566
Website: www.cpnevents.com
info@cpnevents.com
Newsletter 7