It has been awhile |
7/31/2008 |
It has been awhile since my last blog. Between, a wedding, my son buying a "fixer-upper" house, a family vacation and a trip to the USBC Open Championships in Albuquerque, I have let my writing slide a bit. But, I am now back up an writing. I have just finished an agreement to speak at the October meeting of the Meeting Planners Interntional-Wisconsin in Tomah, Wisconsin. as part of the agreement I was to provide them with an article telling a little bit about my presentation. The following is what I submitted: “Everything you need to be successful you can learn in a bowling alley.” By Roger Dalkin, Pinspiration- www.pinspiration.com What an odd title for a speech. But the reality of a memorable speech is not so much the words of wisdom; the vast majority of speakers tell you things that you already know. Or as a friend of mine says, “It is common sense, but it is not common practice.” What makes a speech memorable is the context and style of the delivery. Sure the message must resonate with the audience and provide useful material, but you can get that from a book or the internet in the comfort of your home. Think back to some impressive speeches you remember. The context is something to which you could relate. The stories to make the points were humorous or entertaining. The message stuck, because you were engaged and could empathize with the subject. Well, that is why “Everything you need to be successful you can learn in a bowling alley,” will be worth your time. Sure you can read thousands of books on what it takes to become successful. Google the internet and the hits for “success” are in the millions. As stated earlier, it is common sense, but not common practice. We have all bowled at sometime in our lives and by putting the subject in that context; we get a different and hopefully more memorable way to think about traits for success. Who hasn’t put on those ugly rental bowling shoes or stuck our fingers in the holes of a multitude of bowling balls lined up on racks? But how can that experience lead to success? Join me in Tomah this October and let’s learn about success and who knows, maybe we will even improve our bowling score. But just to make my point let me provide you a sample of the speech with an excerpt from my soon to be published book by the same title. “It is Friday night and you and your friends are trying to decide what to do. The suggestion of bowling surfaces. You’ve bowled before, a few times, at your niece’s birthday party, with college buddies and family gatherings with everyone from the baby to great grandma. Everyone has bowled. As the group debates the pros and cons of a trip to the bowling alley, everyone seems to be able to relate a humorous story about their past experiences. One story talks about the time one of those bowling went past the line and slipped on the lanes fell on their butt. Another about the ugly shoes they had to wear and so on. In the end no one has had a bad experience bowling so the vote is unanimous to knock down a few pins. Of course you want to impress your friends with your bowling knowledge so you take the lead and call ahead to determine whether there is space available. You reserve a time and the group is ready to go. In reality you know very little about the sport, but you have got to know more than your friends and after all you’re the alpha dog of the pack. As you pull into the parking lot of Bowlarama (every town seems to have a Bowlarama) you decide you’ll do the talking since the reservation is in your name. Through the front doors you go with the sole purpose of impressing your friends with your knowledge of the bowling. You and your “posse” approach the control counter and you say, in your most commanding voice, “We need an alley, Slick.” Let’s for a second forget that the friendly face behind the counter is wearing a name tag that has “Tom” written on it. But Tom, alias Slick, gives you a total look of disdain and disgust. Immediately his demeanor changes. He becomes abrupt with you and your friends. What gives? You can’t believe calling him Slick was such a faus pax. It wasn’t, but you have just learned lesson one that you’ll need to be successful. LESSON 1 - Always do your research to know your client’s business, their needs and their sensitive issues. Not doing the research can seriously erode your credibility in the business world and even in dealing with individuals on a social basis. Remember you only get one chance to make a first impression. One of the classic examples on not doing the research was the release of the Chevy Nova in South America. The car was a winner in North America. The Nova was inexpensive, nice design, the perfect family car for the new family. Why the extremely poor sales in South America? The answer is so simple it borders on the comical. Any one who has had basic Spanish knows that literally Nova translates a “no go”. Not a very good name for a car. The name is catchy in the English speaking world, but is a disaster in the Spanish speaking world. A little research would have gone a long way. So where did you go wrong with Tom? It wasn’t the catchy name you used. What you failed to know, as you tried to act like a seasoned bowler, is that the sport has worked long and hard to change the Homer Simpson image, including the term alley. In today’s world you bowl in a “bowling center” and you bowl on a “bowling lane”. The term alley is considered derogatory and shows a lack of respect for the sport and the business. While this is not the end of the world to your night of bowling, a similar mistake in a business setting can cost you the sale, the contract or even the future opportunity to communicate with the business. With the proliferation of the internet and the search engines available, you should never be unprepared to know everything there is to know about a potential client, contact or even an industry. Think about your company. When a salesman approaches you for your business, you first impression is whether he knows what your company does, how it operates and what the needs are. Does he talk the lingo? Does he have any clue of the problems you are facing? If that is what you consider the price of admission to your world, don’t you think the same should be expected of you?” There is more to lesson 1 and there are 9 more lessons to go. I’ll see you in Tomah. " As you read, this topic is currently being developed into a book that will be published before the end of the year. Again, sorry for the hiatus, I'll be updating my blog, at least weekly if not more often.
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Thoughts on the USBC Convention |
5/23/2008 |
I was torn as to how to approach this entry in my series of blogs on the USBC Convention. Do I critique, in detail the convention, its activities and schedule or just provide a general overview as someone who had previously been in charge of the last ten conventions? I chose the latter as a detailed critique would be long and probably not very interesting to read. As a disclaimer, I have to state that I was not in anyway involved in the planning, so my explanations are often speculative and may not be the actual facts behind the event. Additionally, while this may seem strange, every leader has their own style and it definitely impacts the planning, execution and "feel" of a convention, so with my departure there were bound to be some differences this year. The general operation of the convention had many rough edges, not by my account, but by talking to many of the delegates with whom I renewed old acquaintances. Starting times were delayed, transitions were not smooth, the staff was a little tentative and schedules were not always followed. In defense of this (and here is where I am speculating) there has been many staff changes, as a result of the impending move to Arlington. That resulted in loss of key people responsible for the convention and the addition of some new people. Also, the leadership is in a state of flux and those in charge had little of no experience at running this event. Let me state that the existing staff did a great job in light of these changes, but in orchestrating such a large event, the little things become very noticeable. Second, a major new event was add to the schedule, "The Clash of the Champions." This event was an exciting event for the delegates to watch and be a part of. But the construction of the lanes in the middle of the convention floor provided some logistical nightmares. The event was a made for television competition, that was taped on Thursday evening by CBS Sports. Unfortunately, as with most taped events, the breaks between the action took longer than the action. To their credit, many of the delegates stayed for the grueling five to six hours of taping and were rewarded with exciting matches and great drama. I will assume that next year in Reno, most of the bugs will be worked out. But more importantly and this is strictly my opinion and represents my "style" I would have had the lanes removed on Friday night so that the all important legislative session would have been set up to have the delegates seated on the convention floor, close to the stage to facilitate better dialogue. When I asked one of the people overseeing the lanes operation (the best way to find out what is going on is to talk to those doing the work, not the people in charge) whether the decision to remove the lanes for the Saturday session was one of timing, I was told, no. The leadership wanted to leave the lanes for Saturday for the visual impact. In fact the cost to hold the crew over until Saturday afternoon for removal of the lanes was close to $ 9,000. It is just my humble opinion, but the visual impact had been achieved with the Thursday taping and the Friday Hall of Fame ceremony. It was time to get down to the business of voting on legislation and for the Board positions, and having the delegates on the floor is a subtle way of keeping them engaged rather than having them talk from afar. again, just my style. It can not be overstated that the person moderating the convention from the podium can have a huge impact on the tenor of the event and the perception, by the attendees as to how things are going. To do this is a learned skill over many years and having an understanding of your constituency. This year with some major changes taking place in the organization the delegates were on edge and looking for assurances that the organization is in good hands. From my perspective, the delegates did not get that feeling. From the fact that the lane construction seated them a large distance from the podium, to the cryptic explanation of delays and changes, flow of the general sessions was poor. In defense of Jeff Boje, President and Kevin Dornberger, the new COO, this is their first convention in their positions. But if I were advising them for future conventions I would recommend that when things change or there are delays, immediately go to the podium and provide a full explanation of what is going on, why it is happening and what the next steps are. They will tell you that is what they did, but being seated in the audience, that is not what came across. Often when your at the podium you have all of the information so you summarize it for the audience. A lot gets lost in the translation. You have to over communicate. In addition, and this is important, include humor and if appropriate some self effacing humor. The delegates will empathize with you and will be more willing to accept the bumps in the road. (Why do you think MC's get paid big bucks to handle events and keep things flowing). Finally I am very disturbed by the low turn out of delegates at this year's convention. The voting delegation was the lowest on record and we were in the middle of the country. I know gas prices are high. My concern is that there are other factors at work. It would be important to survey the associations who have been in attendance in the past, but have chosen not to come to Kansas City. My hope it isn't creeping apathy or the opinion that their input is not wanted or needed. I would like to thank the staff for their hard work in a difficult situation this year in Kansas City. Next year the USBC Convention is in Reno and I look forward to improvement in the general operation of the event. I am writing my next column for the Bowlers Journal that is about the questions I would have asked during the legislative sessions. I was surprised at the lack of questions by the delegates about some of the legislation and many of the points that should have been made. I will post a copy of my column when it is publish (the July issue of BJ). As Dennis Miller states after one of his rants, "That is my opinion and I could be wrong." |
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Thoughts on the convention- apology |
5/20/2008 |
I targeted Sunday to get the blog on my thoughts about how the convention ran. As is normal the best laid plans often go astray. I am working on it but it is not done. The new targe date is by Friday morning. I apologize to those who logged in to read it late last week. Roger |
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My induction into the USBC Hall of Fame |
5/13/2008 |
After a ten hour drive from Milwaukee it was nice to finally get to Kansas City. My daughter and son-in-law rode along. Later my other daughter, son-in-law, son and my two granddaughters drove in later arriving at 1:00 am Yes, grandpa was there to carry his granddaughters to their room. Thus Thursday morning came early. After getting my credentials for the convention, I renewed acquaintances with many of the delegates. It is always fun for me to talk to the thousands of volunteers who make USBC the organization what it is today, On Thursday night there was a reception for the current Hall of Famers and the new inductees. After the affair we were seated in a VIP section to watch the taping of the Clash of Champions, which was aired on CBS last Saturday and Sunday. The taping ran long because of a number of situations but the crowd, for the most part stayed to the end to see Lynda Barnes defeat Sean Rash for the $ 50,000 first place prize. Friday morning came early. People had asked me all week if I was excited and with all honesty I answered no. I was actually embarrassed as I wasn't sure I should have been elected. For more on that I would encourage to check out my column in the May issue of the Bowlers Journal. Nerves have never been a problem as I have given speeches to audiences of this size many times. My only trepidation was whether I would breakdown with emotion as I wear my motions on my sleeve. As I thought I was not able to get through my speech without a few tears and a quiver in my voice. Because of that fear, I did something I virtually never do. I wrote out my speech to read. The ceremony began a little after 10:00 in the morning with Mike Henessey as the first inductee. To no ones surprise, Mike had the audience in hysterics as he told stories and cracked jokes. Next it was my turn and I began to breakdown even as I walked to the stage. For those who were there and those that are interested I am including the written speech. Please understand that I did a few ad libs but the general point of the speech is clear. The Bo referred to in the opening is the legendary bowler Nelson (Bo) Burton Jr. who emceed the event. HALL OF FAME INDUCTION SPEECH Thank you, Bo, for that introduction. Ladies and gentlemen, I have good news and bad news.The good news: I have no power point presentation and my speech will be shorter than usual. Probably the shortest ever. For those who are counting, 1,400 words.The bad news: It will not be nearly as entertaining or informative as my last two speeches and it will be my last speech before this auspicious group. And lastly, I will be reading it. For the first time ever, I have actually written out my speech, for fear that I would break down and not be able to continue. In accepting this honor, I would like to dedicate it to the people who really deserve the recognition, without whom, no one in my position could have had an impact, the unsung heroes of the sport:
You can never be repaid for the anniversaries & birthdays missed, the dance recitals, ball games and cheerleading competitions that you only heard about or just the quality time you lost with loved ones. In a small way of saying thanks, I accept this award on your behalf. For 30 years I have traveled to all 50 states and many foreign countries on the business of the Congress. I have attended State Jamborees, Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies, Town Hall Meetings, Tournament openings, Collegiate & Youth events, Special Olympic events. I would ask that you stand up, if I have ever been to an event for your association. Thank you. In every instance, regardless of the topics, contentious or not, I was received warmly and with respect. I have a deep affection for all with whom I came in contact. And I also came to the realization that no one person can truly change anything; it is a collaborative effort. There is no bowling savior. No silver bullet. It will take hard work, dedication and a clear direction to turn our sport around and the focus is local at the local level. So, I challenge you all to join together to grow the sport, because, it is you who are the Congress. It is you who are the sport. The USBC board members are just elected or appointed officials. You, as association administrators and volunteers at the grass roots, who come face to face with the individual members who are the real driving force behind the sport of bowling and USBC. Go home and talk up bowling. Encourage your family, neighbors, co-workers, fellow church members to go bowling. The real power to grow the sport does not lie in the hands of the USBC board, the BPAA Board, an international bowling campus, TV or a fancy ad campaign, but in its members and local proprietors. Some of you have issues with your local proprietors. It is time to bury the hatchet. Take a look at your bowling centers from the proprietor's point of view. It is his or her way of making a living. The reasons for the animosity may stem from their dealing with business issues. Their costs, like making payroll, paying the electric or gas bills, buying new equipment and building maintenance, are rising. But as I have said before, if the proprietor is not successful, we have no place to bowl. Extend a hand. Get together and ask if there is any way to help so together you can grow the sport. I first got into bowling for the competition & enjoyment of the activity, the camaraderie of friends and competitors, and to meet girls. The sense of accomplishment for a game well bowled or the need to practice more for the ones not well bowled. . If you feel the way that I do, then it would only be natural to spread the good feeling and ask a friend to share in the bowling experience. I did not get into the sport for the awards or recognition. The future for me is uncertain. At 58, I am too young to truly retire. I thoroughly enjoyed my travels to see and speak with all of you, and will miss that greatly. It would be nice to at least continue traveling and reaching out to associations to help with your challenges in transitioning or other issues, but those assignments are no longer in my hands. However, Keith Hamilton and Bob Johnson of the Bowlers Journal have invited me to write a monthly column for the magazine. Talk about irony. Thanks, Bob and Keith for the opportunity. The first column has just come out in the May. The column is called “Inside out” talking about industry issues as an outsider with 30 years experience on the inside. I look forward to covering a variety of topics in the following months. If you have any ideas for topics you would like to see covered, I welcome your input. I have also started my own speaking & consulting business and if you are not familiar with it, you can check it out at www.pinspiration.com. It is not just about bowling, but business practices. If you would like to me to speak to your group or consult on issues facing your associations or business, please contact me. There will be a fee involved as I have to pay for bowling three leagues a week, but I will offer a friends and family rates to all of you. In conclusion, my wife will kill me, but if you would like your picture taken with your award, please track me down after the session. Speaking of my wife, allow me to introduce my family, who while they may not always thought it was so, have always come first in my life: My wife of 39 years, who I met while bowling in high school 41 years ago (Remember the part about meeting girls?) Karen. She kept the home fires burning while I spent so very much time on the road. My children, of whom I am so very proud. My son Michael, my daughter Barbara and her husband Scott, my daughter Kimberly and her husband Chis, as well as my granddaughters Abigail & Elizabeth. Mike’s soon to be bride Crystal who is running in a marathon race for breast cancer (They will be married May 31stthis year) could not be here but is here in spirit. I would like to congratulate my fellow inductees: Carolyn, Leanne, Parker, Brian, Mike and posthumously Martha. I would like to thank Flora Mitchell and the late Ken Hurley, for first hiring me in 1977. I would like to thank Roger Tessman who brought me back in 1985. A very special thanks to Mary Natoli and Maria Kerkman who kept me on the straight and narrow made me look good for so many years and they did a damn good job. Finally, I would like to thank Steve James for nominating me for the Hall of Fame and the Board for electing me. To have a long time Hall of Fame Secretary think you are worthy enough to be considered is an honor in itself. Of course, Steve is also the same guy who gave me a pair of one-of-a-kind ABC logo underwear. Sorry Steve, I know what you are thinking now and the answer is NO I am not wearing them now. In closing it has been an honor and a privilege to have served you and I am counting on you to continue the fight to grow the sport with passion and dedication. Keep in touch, as always, I really do enjoy hearing from you. Thank you." END Besides a few ad libs and a few tears, I got through it. rest is a blur. Following my induction, bowling greats Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, Leanne Barrett, Brian Voss and Parker Bohn III followed me into the Hall. Also a great lady by the name of Martha Burton was inducted posthumously for her work with youth and breaking the color barrier in bowling in the 50's. It was an honor to be in the same class as these individuals. If you are interested in learning more about them, please log onto www.bowl.com and go to the Hall of Fame section. That is a brief description of a few whirlwind days. I left out many of the details, but suffice it to say I will remember it for a long time. My next blog will describe the USBC Convention through an attendees eyes, but with the insider knowledge of running 10 conventions over the last decade. It should be posted by the end of the week.
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My trip to Kansas City to be inducted into the Hall of Fame |
5/11/2008 |
I have just returned from Kansas City where I was inducted into the United States Bowling Congress Hall of Fame. The entire convention was a unique experience. For the last 17 years I have been intimately involved in the planning and execution of the event, but this year I was an attendee and viewed the proceedings as an outsider. Over the next few weeks I will blog about my experiences as and outsider, with an insiders' perspective on the:
I hope you periodically log in to see what my thoughts were on these topics. If you would like me to blog on anything else related to the convention drop me an email at roger.pinspiration.com .
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