Second Place, But Still a Winner!

My group came in second in the competition at FOLC, where we were tasked with creating an advertising campaign to promote the City of Leavenworth. Our team ended up creating an entire new festival for Leavenworth (the "Bavarian Egg Festival"), complete with its own ad campaign and promotional opportunities, and while that risk ended up costing us the nice plaques awarded to the first place team, we received our own reward after the event. Turns out that the City Council members liked the idea so much, they're planning to go forward with the event this coming March, and want our group to come back and be a part of it!

It's times like this that I'm reminded that sometimes, it's not about who comes in first at a technical level. We did our research, and found that a better opportunity had presented itself. The group debated the merits of sticking to rules or taking the calculated risk of giving them something different than what they wanted. We might not have come in first, but I think the reaction of the City Council shows that we were winners of a different kind.

Very Busy Weekend ...

I'm off in about half an hour to start the 2 1/2 hour drive to Leavenworth, WA for the ΔΕΧ Fall Orientation and Leadership Conference (FOLC). If you've never been to Leavenworth, October is the best time to make the trip. The foliage this time of year is amazing, and Leavenworth itself is an amazing town. The entire town is Bavarian, and around Christmas time, the town looks amazing.

FOLC should be fun, and it's a nice way to stretch my business muscles in a competition, something I haven't done in over a decade. Of course, that's a little stressful ... I'm going to feel like the old coot in a group full of young college kids. Still, maybe my experience will help our group. What's the competition? That's just it, we don't know. You don't find out until the conference, and then you have to construct a plan on the spot. I can't wait to find out who is in my group, and what the task will be! I'm going to try blogging the conference at the same time that I'm taking part in it, which might be tough ... we'll see how it goes. Worst case scenario, I'll write up a recap and post some pictures.

The competition part happens Saturday, and then I hop in the car and drive back to Seattle just in time to catch the UW Homecoming Game at Husky Stadium. Sunday, Nintendo's Wii console goes on pre-sale at Toys 'R' Us, and I have a group meeting for one of my classes after that.