Paging Business Folks w/ a sense of humor...

[jas]

Hello, Mighty Office Warriors! I need your help...

I am planning my hubby''s big 40th birthday party...he knows of it, but not the theme...

I''ve already booked a private room at a local restaurant.

As DH and most of his friends/family are business/corporate/office/MBA types, I thought it would be fun to conduct the dinner part as a sort of shareholders meeting (with DH as the company)...anyone who wants to give a little speech for DH could ask to be put on the agenda ahead of time (as well as give themselves a fun title like VP in Charge of xyz) or they could just talk during the "other business" part of the meeting. Or they could just sit there...no requirement to speak.

The decorations will be fun business-type giveaways and DH''s present from me will be a pocketwatch.

Hopefully you are getting the idea...

However, I need help!

I have ZERO business experience. I have an education/arts background.

My immediate plea would be to help me design the invite in the form of an agenda. Not sure how to word it, but I figure someone on here might have ideas...(it should be VERY general)

Once I send that out (ideally this weekend), I would then love assistance planning...obviously taking cues from the agenda.

Any takers? otherwise there will be a bunch of people sitting around playing yatzee.

THAnk you!!!!

 

[jas]

LOL -- I think I just saw some tumbleweed tumblin'' by.

Ok, I''m still going to torture y''all with the final outcome

 

[brgirl]

Hmmm...Well, I work in an office, but most of our Agendas are just a bunch of bullet points in a Word Document, with the word ''Agenda'' across the top! Or, they come as MS Outlook Meeting Invites...but my office is informal.

I think that MS Word has an Agenda Template. I don''t have MS Word, but I did search and found this:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/TC062070661033.aspx?CategoryID=CT101172311033

I think that looks pretty snazzy.
You could also add something about a mission statement or meeting purpose...like ''Our mission is to have a kiss*ass time as DH turns 40.''

HTH!

 

[jas]

Date: 9/26/2008 9:18:26 AM
Author: brgirl
Hmmm...Well, I work in an office, but most of our Agendas are just a bunch of bullet points in a Word Document, with the word ''Agenda'' across the top! Or, they come as MS Outlook Meeting Invites...but my office is informal.

I think that MS Word has an Agenda Template. I don''t have MS Word, but I did search and found this:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/TC062070661033.aspx?CategoryID=CT101172311033

I think that looks pretty snazzy.
You could also add something about a mission statement or meeting purpose...like ''Our mission is to have a kiss*ass time as DH turns 40.''

HTH!

Thanks BRgirl -- I really appreciate this! It helps to kickstart my work!

Mission statement -- love it!

I was also thinking of like "Past Items" (to review his 40 years) and "Future Items" for, I dunno, wishes for the next 40?

I''d do a SWOT analysis (yes, I googled it) without the "W" (a "SOT" analysis?) for fun, but that may be carrying things too far.

Keep the ideas coming!

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

 

[TravelingGal]

Very cute idea!

You should create a DH company logo, and have tchotchkes with it on there (with a tag for his 40th birthday). There are things for every budget at those tchotchke companies...you can check out imprint.com for one. Every business person has a coffee mug...but for the party, fill em with beer! Hee!

I only know about meetings from a sales perspective. At the beginning of a meeting, there''s usually an address by the head honcho...sort of a state of the union/company kind of thing. You could open with a fun pitch like that, using your husband''s current life as the topic...make fun analogies to corporate life using the twins.

Then there is always a report about the numbers, with charts and graphs and such. You could do a fun thing on DH''s age, mental age, physical age, whatever.

After that, breakouts with different people and their speeches.

Of course, sales meetings are usually boring, so not a lot of party ideas, but I am sure I can make some up. Nice of you to do this!

 

[TravelingGal]

Ooh ooh...and if it is going to have be a business meeting, you NEED a PowerPoint presentation. Perfect time to do a reflection on company history, using PHOTOS.

 

[edl]

I second the Powerpoint presentation. Dim the lights too, and talk all slow so everyone falls asleep. If you''ve never used PP, don''t be afraid. It''s basically Microsoft Word in a slideshow format.

I''d also recommend watching a few episodes of "The Office" - they do a pretty good job of depicting the daily grind known as office life...

You could also get one of those speakerphones that go on the center of the table, and every so often have someone call in and interrupt with something completely irrelevent.

 

[jas]

NOW we''re cookin'' with gas...you guys are hysterical.

I''m a PowerPoint fanatic (used it all the time w/ teaching)...perfect!

And the phone call thing is too funny!

Charts and graphs -- OMG this is just awesome!!!

I was thinking of a "team building" activity using events from DH''s life (like a trivia game or something).

I mean, it''s not like a live under a rock or anything, I''m just trying to find those common denominators in every awful biz meeting and spoof it.

I''ll definitely design a logo...prob. use DH''s initials.

THANKS...this is really shaping up now! Whoo!

 

[jas]

Heh -- I should totally ask his parents to speak (or at least acknowledge them) as Founders of the Company.

They''d love that.

 

[brgirl]

You can also get business-stuff printed at vistaprint.com for very cheap..

I don''t know if he''s a fan of The Office, but we are, and I got my DH a bobblehead of himself for Christmas from http://www.whoopassententerprises.com...(on the show, Dwight got a bobblehead of himself for Valentine''s day from his secret GF, so it was a reference to that!)

All of Tgal''s ideas are great!

The last formal-type meetings I attended, years go, always involved Ice-breakers, too. I hated them. But I remember seeing on many Agendas ''Icebreaker.'' Those might be more for meetings/workshops where people don''t know each other, though....They were dumb, like ''find someone who has the same birthday as you...''

I''m heading out for the weekend, but I''m going to think about this more.

 

[TravelingGal]

It''s too bad you can''t just do a "save the date"...you could send out business cards!