When the day starts with a lop-eared bunny peeking out of a black top hat, you know something MUCH better is coming. As the old adage goes…Keep the fork!
The trumpeter woke us up with a familiar corporate theme rendition of hail to the boss as the boss arrived on the red carpet, escorted by our first speaker, an Elvis Presley lookalike, that first morning of the event. . He was wearing a storybook tuxedo, escorted by Elvis in a bright white suit, and the magician followed him into the auditorium.
It all started with laughter!
Since it was breakfast and everyone (including spouses) was expected to attend, we all knew it was going to be a crazy trick to start the weekend. But no one expected Rachel, the boss’s eagle-eyed assistant, to snap out of a cinnamon roll after the magician messed up a handful of tricks. She started taking names and taking roll to make sure we were all there.
Training sessions took place for most of the morning and spouses were invited to join us for lunch. There was a fun tour planned for the morning hours, while we broke our buns in practice sessions, before the big band started playing at 11:55 sharp. For almost two hours, they played all the songs that we danced to and some that we hadn’t danced to yet.
When everyone stopped eating, the dance began…
It was midday, we hadn’t started drinking yet, and there were couples on the dance floor. One of the most prominent couples on the floor was our boss, now dressed in business casual, dancing with his wife. They were a pair. So elegant and eloquent. But then the training kicked into gear and we spent about four hours learning the new profile marketing program and bringing those lessons home with practice between us, before the boss announced that we would break an hour early to get ready for dinner. more dancing and entertainment in the evening, including award presentations.
Most of the spouses had taken advantage of the in-house beauty salon on site. The showcase show was scheduled to continue into the night, but none of the team members realized what an incredible gala event we would experience, because the planning team had hired an event planner to put the event together.
Before the stage lights were turned on, tribute artists would roam the floor, meeting and greeting our high-profile achievers.
Awards given out over the next hour were handed out by company executives, recognized by some of the tribute artists, and the band played on and off. At showtime, we had a full marching band playing 1920’s era music to a full house. The night lasted until the wee hours of the morning and was declared the most memorable corporate event in history.
Will our marketing and sales teams outperform in previous years? Within five weeks of returning home to the office, we had already surpassed the previous year’s sales. We are aiming to go far beyond the usual results of a corporate training event.