Dec 2009
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RLC Productions Newsletter
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The RLC
Adventure
As
some of you know, we have decided to challenge ourselves next year with
the RLC Adventure (walking 10 peaks of the Lake District in 12 hours).
Of course, we
are very excited about our adventure and we are telling just about
everyone who will listen about the trip and our goal. The
responses we get range from incredulous to positive (although we note
that no-one has yet offered to join us!). For those incredulous
people who keep asking us "Why?" we thought
the following
might help:
· Because we believe we
can
· Because we believe
everyone needs a goal and we have chosen a team goal so that we can
support each other
· Because we believe
that our health is important for both work and home life
· Because we believe
that we support two great local charities and we want to do our bit to
help them
For more information on the Adventure itself and to
catch up with our blogs please click here
For more information on the charities that we will be supporting in the
RLC Adventure, please see the links below:
St Michael's Hospice
Labrador Lifeline Trust
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Staff Profile
Some of you*
may have heard that Debbie, our wonderful Office Manager, was surprised
earlier this year by her husband announcing that he had booked a
weeklong trip to the Maldives (without the children). The holiday
was in honour of a particular birthday that Debbie had ... but we are
far too discreet to tell you what birthday it is.
"What made Ian choose the Maldives as your dream
destination?"
It was the one
place that I was determined to get to "one day", but never
really believed it would happen. He saw that I had mentioned it
under my profile on the RLC website and realised that it really would
be a dream come true for me! He chose the perfect island, very small
(900m x 250m), not commercialised in any way and absolutely stunning -
called Vilamendhoo if you are interested.
"What was
the highlight of your holiday?"
It's
really hard to choose just one thing - it was all just so
perfect. But sitting on the beach, cocktail in hand, watching the
incredible sunset was wonderful. The sea plane transfer to
and from the island was also amazing - such a fantastic place.
"What photo will you now be using as your screensaver?"
It's a tough
choice - but I think this one, taken about 5m from our front door ! And
yes, the sand really was that white, the sky really was that blue and
it really was that quiet - paradise !
"How old will you be at your next birthday?"
Nice try!! I
will, however, tell you that the barman at the Sunset Bar on the Island
thought I was 27. Need I say any more? (ED - doesn't
really help much does it?)
* If you did not hear, please give us a call as clearly we don't speak
to you often enough!
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Welcome to the Christmas edition of the RLC
Productions Newsletter. With the weather turning cold and the
mornings and evenings getting darker and darker, we hope that
this short missive lightens your day.
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What's up at the
Barn?
Despite the
downturn this year, RLC Productions is very proud to have added three
new and interesting clients to our portfolio. We are
particularly delighted that two of them are local businesses and both
are growing in the current climate.
This year we will have operated across more than a dozen venues,
lectured in three countries and worn out at least one pair of
trainers per team member. Now in the countdown to Christmas, we
are beginning to set our sights on 2010. So, what are our aims for
next year?
· To develop our
client relationships and add value to both our respective businesses
· To constantly
remember the value of our industry and the effect of live events on
business
· To survive the Lake
District (confused? See left for more information)
So to all of you we wish you a restful and peaceful
Christmas break and we look forward to working with you in 2010.
p.s.
Congratulations to Jane Fielding who guessed that Rachel's birthday
is on the 29 February - a prize is heading your way very soon
Jane.
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New in the
industry...
As many of you may
remember 'The Gun Run' was one of the centre pieces of the Royal
Tournament for years. It is a race to dismantle a canon,
transport it from start to finish across an obstacle course,
reassemble and fire it. The first team to fire is the winning
team. It is widely considered amongst Naval staff to be the ultimate
as a team work drill.
We have recreated The Gun Run as an activity to complement any team
building event. To achieve this we have simplified (and lightened)
the gun and limber arrangement and reduced both the distances and
heights and yet still retained all the elements that make The Gun Run
what it is: The ultimate team building exercise!
Organisational skills must come to the fore to ensure the team move
in a fast and efficient manner while utilising their individual
strengths and abilities. Can they surmount the walls; take the zip
wire over the chasm and once reassembled fire the gun? Who goes
first, which order is best, how do they shave those vital seconds?
Ultimately, working as a cohesive unit they achieve their goal and
the sound of the firing gun resounds echoing heroic deeds of the
past, placing today's accomplishment within the great British
tradition of 'The Gun Run'!
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What gets people talking?
One
of the most remarkable phenomenons of the last twelve months has been
the deafening silence. From the silence of MPs on the expenses
scandal to the silence of the banks as their worlds collapsed around
them; the whole country seems to have been stuck on mute.
This has been reflected in most of our client's organisations with
many a marketing budget being cut restricting both internal and
external communication.
However, it seems that the volume is beginning to increase again and
many organisations have realised that communication, education and
motivation are vital to stability, growth and staff retention
whatever the economic climate. So could it be that the answer
to our "what gets people talking?" question is as simple as
survival?
Incidentally if you
enter this question into a well-known search engine, the top results
read something like this:
-
UFO spotting
-
Art prize
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Tax increase
While these may not be the most obvious topics of conversation, try
them at your next dinner party or function and let us know what
reaction you get.
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Rachel and Julia's Big Day Out
It is not often that both Rachel and Julia are able to
go and "play" for the day but the most recent Crystal
Interactive Workshop gave them a wonderful opportunity to spend a
half day as a delegate.
Both settled into their seats with a strong cup of
coffee and waited to be talked at about technology .... Of
course, they should have known better and the morning turned into a
fascinating interactive seminar on content-driven internal events.
We have said all along that what we do is not complicated and it was
refreshing to hear such clear thinking that is so aligned with our
approach.
Two handy tips worth considering for your next event:
· Why not ask
delegates to attend having done some background reading or
preparation? After all we challenge anyone to attend a meeting
without some prior preparation.
·
Think about using cabaret seating to encourage networking during the
interactive sessions of your event. While you will need a bigger
space, using this style of seating can shift the balance to active
rather than passive engagement.
Finally, every time we talk about engaging audiences at events, the
following quote is brought to mind: "I hear and I
forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand"
Confucious - have you ever heard of a better advocate for engaging
events?
Thank you Crystal for reiterating the importance of content, of
engagement and of objective setting. The message is spreading
...
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New Numbers:
Some people seem to still calling on our 0870 number which means that
the nasty telephone people are charging you and us for those
calls. Please note that our numbers have changed to the
following:
Tel: +44 (0)1420 593610
Fax: +44
(0)1420 593611
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Down with the Dogs!
For dog owners,
this time of year spells dog walks in the dark (morning and evening)
and lots of mud. All the RLC dogs take to the elements in their
own way:
Danny - as long as the end of the walk means food, Dan will pretty
much go anywhere and do anything.
Ruby - the longest haired dog in the group, it is only natural that Ruby
does not just like mud ... she LOVES it and mixed with water she
loves it even more!
Billie - tending to be less than happy in the wet (her belly is much closer
to that wet grass than the others)
Ralph - in front of other dogs he adopts a "devil-may-care"
attitude but he has been spotted trying to tiptoe on the lawn late at
night.
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