June 28, 2013
CEO Newsletter
Clarity of thought over certainty of action is a principle that we should all hold dear in good times and is especially important in difficult times. To provide that clarity, there are two questions we need to ask and answer for our team and ourselves on a daily and weekly basis. First, what do I / we need to know and second, what do I / we need to do? Uncertainty is our enemy and with clarity we can lay out deliverable actions that ultimately serve to replace fear with knowledge. Knowledge that we are in fact doing the things that we feel give us the best chance of success.
As we close out on the first half of Y13, it is time for you to do a full review of your venue or department and measure your performance versus the plan you put in place for the year. I am doing the same. Ask yourself, where am I exceeding and where am I falling short? Immediately lay out concrete plans to maximize the pluses and to minimize the minuses. Identify all the tools you need to get the job done and speak up if any tools you need are missing. We are continually enhancing our organizational development capabilities so be sure you are checking our intranet site. There should be no gap in our will to execute and the means available to our teams to get the job done.
Recently I came across an interesting article which stated that 90% of what we discover comes from outside of our immediate circle. Think about that for a moment and take a look around. We have to constantly learn from other markets, channels, businesses and people to prosper. Let’s make sure that we are all operating with a “never stop learning” mindset.
We continue to have good news on our renewal efforts – the Warrington Wolves have extended our partnership, after a competitive RFP process, for another six years. We will continue to manage the sales and marketing of the venue’s facilities as well as handle all of the matchday and non-matchday catering. The installation of new branded retail concepts will elevate the offerings to our guests. Great job by Jon Davies, Gareth Morris, our team at club and all involved in making it happen!
I am very pleased to announce the promotion of Steve Cahoon to Senior Vice President of Business Development. In his expanded role, Steve will develop winning strategies for new business opportunities for Centerplate and its international roster of clients. Please join me in congratulating Steve and wishing him well in his new position.
Thanks to the Whistler Conference Centre for being the first and only venue to send photos of their noteworthy food displays to enhance our social media efforts following my request in last week’s team update. I fully expect to hear that many more of you have shared your photos this week.
E3 moments of the week …
Our concert season in the UK was a tremendous success with 9 dates in June featuring Muse, Bon Jovi, Robbie Williams, Rihanna and North East Live. The Friday night date for Robbie Williams set a new sales record for Manchester City FC’s Ethihad Stadium and a Dominos world record of 1,892 pizzas sold was set at North East Live at Sunderland AFC’s Stadium of Light. It was a massive effort and a great achievement by Barbara Alcock, Micky Allen, Alistair Anderson, Andy Ashby, Felicity Atkin, Gay Bagguley, Steven Beattie, Matt Brookes, Stephanie Brown, Darren Burey, Vicki Carr, Johnny Chambers, Andy Crawley, Simon Debar, James Hardacre, Dianne Harp, Julie Harrington, Yvonne Hayward, Katie Holmes, Debbie Hughes, Sue Hughes, Amy Kirk, Jayne Lewis, Kevin Lincoln, Sam Lincoln, Jean Mann, Simon McCain, John Meffan, Michael Mitchell, Richard Moreton, Gareth Morris, Matthew Nicholson, Jayne Nightingale, Sam Nutt, Andy O’Neill, Billie O’Neill, Alistair Perry, John Richardson, Clare Rhead, Paul Rigby, Martin Russell, Lee Smith, Stephen Smith, Joanne Stanfield, David Stanton, Dean Stones, Paula Street, Sam Stuart, Lee Taylor, Ashley Vicars, Courtney Wallbank, Lyndsey Walley, Andy Wardle, Jenny Weatherall, Adam Williams, Ruth Woods, Claire Worsley and our teams at Manchester and Sunderland!
I was extremely honored to receive the Flame of Friendship Award from the San Diego Convention Center Corporation at a recent luncheon with our client, Carol Wallace, and members of the SDCCC Board. The award acknowledges our successful partnership and showcases the exceptional client relationship that has been forged and nurtured over the past 20 years, particularly by John Vingas, Nancy Murgillo and our entire team at the convention center. It is our privilege to be their hospitality partner and we will proudly display the award in our Stamford office.
Kudos to Missy Garrett, Greenville Support Center Employee of the Quarter! Missy is Administrator for the Facilities Design Department and was nominated for the award by her supervisor, Eric Wooden, for her years of dedicated, unwavering service and professionalism. The selection criteria is based on commitment to the Steps in QUEST, creating E3 moments and delivery on our brand promise of Craveable Experiences. Raveable Results.TM for the support of our operating units and employees in the field.
I look forward to the quarterly reviews in July. Take this time to make sure that you are doing all you can to fuel our vision of being the globe’s most respected Event Hospitality enterprise.
Onwards!
