Being the Perfect Holiday Host. Plus, Bonus Recipes!

This month, Sharifah Masten at PMBDI (Protocol and Meetings by Design, Inc.) gives us a few tips from her toolbox about being a great holiday host no matter what your guests' culinary preferences. Sharifah's an expert on meetings for all different cultures, so without further ado, here she is! (And don't forget to read to the end for bonus recipes.)

Summer has ended, and the leaves begin to change color. The holiday season is getting closer. This is the time when we are either hosting or attending different events. So turns the seasons, and so does holiday stress go way through the roof.

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Hosting a party or reception can be a primary source of stress, especially as we try to make every guest feel welcome. From intimate dinner parties to larger events, as the host, you are ultimately responsible for each of your guests’ experiences. There’s so much to consider, though: Cultural and religious differences; personal preferences…

I’ve put together a list of things that will help to lessen the stress, but I want to make sure you exercise one rule of thumb: Aim to accommodate the majority with options that fit different dietary preferences and restrictions. And, as host, you shouldn’t expect that all your guests will enjoy the same dishes that you do.

For example, I don’t eat coconut, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t expect that coconut shrimp won’t be served. I would look to enjoy something else on offer—and hopefully there is something else. However, if the event is in my honor, the host may—and should--ask my feedback on the menu selections. But once again, this does not mean there may not be items that I would not eat.

Here are a few tips that a host can follow to alleviate some of the stressors that may accompany hosting a function.

1.     Do your research

Have a basic understanding of common dietary restrictions and religious differences that attendees may have when coming to your party. Kosher isn’t the same as Halal, and vegetarian isn’t the same as gluten free. Pick dishes that meet a variety of religious, cultural and personal differences.

2.     Inquire about attendees’ dietary restrictions

On your RSVP, leave a space for your attendee to write down any dietary restrictions. This could save you time when planning your menu.

3.     Offer a variety

Look to make your menu diverse. Offer foods that appeal to a wide range of preferences. Remember, during a reception not everyone will eat everything.

4.     Identify food

Once you have selected a diverse menu, think of the ways that you want to identify the food at the event. For example, by using tent cards to identify the dish and its ingredients, you eliminate the questions of what a dish is and allow the line to flow by not having bottle necks as people attempt to figure out what is being served.

Thanks for reading! As a bonus, here are some tried-and-true, delicious recipes for your holiday party:

Wild Mushroom Risotto

Source: Halal Foodie (http://halalfoodie.ca)

Five Layer Black Bean Dip

Source: My Halal Kitchen (http://myhalalkitchen.com)

Warm Olive and Artichoke Dip

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

By: Vivienne Kalman (www.ShalomBoston.com)

Pizza Dip or Warm Olive and Artichoke Dip

Source: Gourmet Kosher Cooking (http://www.gourmetkoshercooking.com)

Greek Salad or Avocado, Mango and Shrimp Salad

Source: SoS Cuisine (http://sosccuisine.com)

Note:  This site is uses a good recipe legend and is easy to follow for recipes meeting all or some of the following: Gluten Free, Lactose Free, Nuts & Peanuts Free, Halal, Kosher and Vegetarian

Project Management 101

We're relaunching our web site soon. It's all very exciting! The experience brought to mind a few things we think every single project needs, apart from the obvious stuff, like a budget.  Heh.

1. A point person
Every project has key stakeholders, but no matter how big it gets, there should be one or two people responsible for managing--and trafficking all the commentary, feedback, and action items generated by these stakeholders. Yes, it's a big job. But it'll make everything work better.

2. A place to live
Sure, in some cases, this could mean a physical place to live. But in others, just making sure that a project has even a virtual home is a nice place for folks to check-in. It could be something as simple as a bi-weekly status meeting, or even a home on Google docs, which is what we ultimately opted for.  Either way, for stakeholders and project point people alike, it's nice to have one place to "go" to for all the information related to a project.

3. Conversation
Everyone should have all the information they need to complete a project. (This is also where number 2, above, comes in handy.) That's all. In our case, our point person handled our information bank, so it was useful to be able to either go to him when we had questions, or know that we could ask him and he'd track down the information.

4. Solid intentions
What's that mean? It just means that everything in the project should be approached with the project's good in mind, whether that be deadlines or meetings. Set agendas and deadlines with good intention, and they'll usually come to pass. As with anything, the end goal is king, and if you consider all the ramifications--as solid intentions are wont to do--then you'll have a good project in hand, and be yards ahead of the competition.

What are your must-haves for a great project experience? Tell us in the comments below.

Is it Greener on the Other Side of the Pond?

Guest blogger Sharifah Masten answers the question: Does everyone see sustainability like Americans do? 

photo via

Businesses around the world are struggling to answer the question of global warming and carbon footprints: Sustainability has become a hot topic. But while businesses and individuals in the U.S. have been moving closer to becoming green, reducing waste comes at a cost both literal and figurative. Most people would be surprised by how strongly attitudes differentiate between American culture and other countries.

Issues of global warming and environmental sustainability often become particularly acute for expats living abroad. While overseas, individuals may find themselves in countries which may have strict guidelines on recycling, water usage and energy consumption. While living in the Netherlands, it took me several months to adjust to using the low energy light bulbs. It was frustrating at first but then I realized when going up a flight of stairs or looking in the closet for a couple of minutes that I did not need a hundred-watt bulb. (Also, the longer I kept the light on, the brighter the bulb got.)

In countries such as Europe and the United Kingdom, becoming more sustainable and green is more of a societal choice, and is enforced by the government. Companies and people both are expected to participate or risk being fined for not complying with the laws. In other words, each person is held accountable to do his and/or her share.

By comparison, going green is more of a culture or life-style choice in the United States. We are given the opportunity to pick and choose which parts of the green efforts or using organic materials we will participate in. As many of us are acutely aware, we may not be able to go green in all aspects of our lives. However, we can take small steps to contribute.

As an example, several airlines now offer passengers the ability to purchase carbon offsets to compensate for the CO2 generated by flights. (Offsets are normally monetary contributions to environmental projects designed to reduce greenhouse gases in proportion to the amount of carbon generated by a singular activity such as flying.)

In international terms like flying, we can still make that choice, but it’s important to recognize that, in other countries, there isn’t a choice: It’s built into regulations there, into the societal fabric. You’ll find that there is no sustainability debate at all.

So don’t be surprised if your international business partners look at you askance when you complain about the enormous hits your business is taking in order to effect a more sustainable bottom line, or if they just shrug when you tell them about having to separate out your recycling. They just don’t think about it there, and maybe, we shouldn’t either.

Maybe it should just be a no-brainer. 

Sharifah Masten is an expert in international events. Her company, Protocol and Meetings by Design, Inc, can help you to plan an event that works in any country. For more, click here.

 

The holidays? Already?: Five reasons to plan early

The other day, we were in a hardware store, and we spotted with absolute horror the Thanksgiving decorations that were already out. Yeah, we know, we couldn't believe it either. But then the event planning side of us took over, and we realized that we'd better start thinking about the holidays. Parties, both the ones you plan for your own employees and the ones you plan as a gesture of goodwill! Annual gift-giving! Here are five reasons we like to plan early:

1. The Guest List
It's a nightmare already: For some parties, you're inviting clients and partners, and maybe media--basically, anyone who's helped make your business a success over the past year. So what's the best way to make sure that you don't leave anyone important off the list? Start thinking about it now. Planning an invitation list is a lot like trying to get someone to name the Seven Dwarves: you never remember them all at the first try, so give yourself plenty of time to get down every single person who counts.

2. Give Yourself Space
We're lucky--we generally hold our parties in our own spaces. But if you're like any other corporation, there's a good chance you'll have to find a place to have your party or event. Guess what? Locking in space early is one of the best, and easiest, things you can do for yourself. Once you've found a place, you can plan around it--food and beverage, activities, so on.

3. Recruiting Help
If you plan to start, um, the planning early enough, one option is to create a committee around the planning. In general, everything goes easier if there's more than one set of shoulders under the burden, so see if you can enlist some help. Asking early will help that.

4. Room for Oopsies
We've all had them--something got misprinted, or you didn't plan for enough people. With enough prior notice, most things can be fixed or Band-Aided. Wait too long, and...yeah. No time for fixes. Or Band-Aids.

5. Peace of Mind. 
This one's kind of self-explanatory. Staying calm during the holiday season is a total myth. But planning early can help take some of the sting out of it.

How early will you start planning your holiday activities? Let us know in the comments, or send us a tweet.

Could Cultural Know-How Have Prevented Oprah's Retail Snafu?

Guest post by Sharifah Masten at Protocol and Meetings By Design, Inc.

There's been a lot of conversation and debate around a certain talk show host's trip to Switzerland and her encounter with a retail establishment. Could Oprah's whole unpleasant experience have been avoided with a little more cultural know-how on both parties' parts? Let's look at the perception of words and actions, and keep one rule in mind: we don't, and can't, control how our actions and words are received.

 As Americans:

• We consider ourselves open and welcoming, but in some countries they view this as being pushy, loud and intrusive. 
• We like to celebrate and share accomplishments and successes; others are taught to not boast as not to make others feel inadequate.
• As professionals, we are told to perfect our thirty-second pitch. In other countries it is not so much what you say and how fast, but the relationship you can build that matters.
• We are proud of the freedoms that we have and wish for other to have the same opportunities but in other countries we are seen as not respecting their traditions or their traditional way of life.
• We work hard to play hard and spend money on things we enjoy. In other countries, people are more focused on enjoying life, and not focused on work as the priority.
• We are brought up to tip those working in service-related fields. However, in Europe especially, a tip is not typically expected and definitely not at 20%.  A generous tip to some means that Americans are trying to show their wealth. Worse, a large tip is sometimes seen as a handout.
• Our salespersons are normally paid a salary plus commission which means they are taught to try and upsell. In other countries this is not the case.  They are normally paid a salary and whether they make a sale or the amount is immaterial.

What we expect in the US is not necessarily what will be the norm in other countries.  Whether you travel and make it known that you are American or if you are considered a celebrity here in the US, keep in mind that as Americans we are expected to be more tolerant and understanding of others. Not every action is a deliberate slight. Sometimes, it's just a misunderstanding or miscommunication.

Prepping for VIPs

Earlier this week, The Hub got a visit from Representative Dave Camp, Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, and Senator Max Baucus. They're on tour for their Simpler Taxes initiative, and we were honored to host them.

So how DO you prepare for a visit from Congress and a bunch of press people? Here's how we did it.

Notify your peeps
All of them. Yes, all of them. We let our managers know, and relied on them to spread the word and ensure that our staff knew this was happening. The last thing you want is for anyone in your organization to be caught unawares. Aside from being unsightly, it's just not fair to your team members.

Choose your location wisely
We have three facilities in Philadelphia, but we chose our Cira Centre location for a few reasons: 1. It's located adjacent to a major train station, so transport wouldn't ever be a problem; 2. It's a crowning jewel in terms of meetings and events space--we're the first-ever privately-owned meeting space to be LEED certified. "Choose something you're proud of" is a no-brainer. It's the finding something that works for everyone that can be tricky, but the payoff is worth it.

Allow lots of wiggle room
For everything. For timing issues, for the number of people you're expecting, for every. possible. thing. That said, you can't prepare for everything, so...

Just roll with it
Especially when the former governor of Pennsylvania shows up. We love surprise visitors, and with the right prep, you will, too.

  Former Governor Ed Rendell with Hub co-founders Bill Decker and John New, and Rep. Dave Camp and Sen. Max Baucus (Photo: Lindsay McPherson)

What are *your* tips for prepping for a VIP visit? Share them below.

Is Etiquette Still Relevant?

Sharifah Masten is founder of Protocol and Meetings By Design, a firm that specializes in international protocol and etiquette at meetings. Over the next few months, Sharifah will be weighing in with monthly posts on how meetings and events can have truly international appeal—and how to use protocol and etiquette to enhance your meetings and events. Without further ado, here's Sharifah's first post. 

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When I tell people I specialize in training and consulting on protocol and etiquette, I am often asked a series of questions: “Is there a need for that? In today’s society does it even matter? What does it have to do with the way I conduct business?”

The answer is this: Today, more than ever, protocol and etiquette are at the forefront of how we interact with others. Today, businesses are judged on their leaders and employees by everyone from stakeholders to consumers, so understanding protocol and etiquette allows us to build and manage relationships with others on a business level, but also on the increasingly-important personal level.

In my careers with NATO and the military, I’ve worked with international organizations and seen cultures around the world. And while I admit there are times that I have become frustrated during a conversation or an impasse  in the middle of a negotiation. it always helps to take a step back and ask myself the same questions I ask clients: “What was my point? Did I explain it in a way that the other person understood? Did I not only listen, but did I understand what their point was? Did my body language contradict my words?” Understanding protocol and etiquette means appreciating how our actions and words directly impact, and impart, our communications and relationships with others.

Protocol and etiquette is not only about you, but equally, if not more importantly, it is about the person you’re communicating to. Most of us were brought up to respect our elders, to say Ma’am or Sir, to exercise basic manners. Extending courtesy to others is not a sign of weakness. As we grow as individuals, communicating with others becomes equal parts what we as people perceive; what we are projecting, and how others receive our words and actions. Sometimes, we need to stand our ground and make a point, but we must consider doing it in a manner that does not demean or alienate others.

In the end, our goal is not always about getting the other person or side to like us. Our goal can also be about gaining a mutual respect and understanding by all involved. 
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You can reach Sharifah and Protocol and Meetings by Design here, and be sure to tune in next month when Sharifah weighs in on how Americans are perceived by other nationalities. What's your favorite business etiquette tip?