Albert Einstein loved to play the violin when he wasn’t working on scientific equations. Even though it was a hobby, it fed his “day job.”

“The theory of relativity occurred to me by intuition, and music is the driving force behind this intuition,” Einstein told the musical educator Shinichi Suzuki. ” My parents had me study the violin from the time I was six. My new discovery is the result of musical perception.”

A new study out of San Francisco State University shows that pursuing creative activities outside of work can help you be more perceptive on the job and help you recover from stress. In addition, these pursuits help improve your work performance.

“It can be rare in research to find that what we do in our personal time is related to our behaviors in the workplace, and not just how we feel,” said Kevin Eschleman, an assistant professor of psychology at San Francisco State University.

Study participants defined creative activities however they wanted.

“They usually describe it as lush, as a deep experience that provides a lot of things for them,” Eschleman said. “But they also talk about this idea of self-expression and an opportunity to really discover something about themselves, and that isn’t always captured with the current recovery experience models.”

In two surveys (one with 341 employees and one with 92 active duty U.S. Air Force captains), creative activity played a positive role in recovery experiences and performance-related outcomes. Because of these findings, Eschleman suggests that employers encourage employees to pursue creative outlets.

“One of the main concerns is that you don’t want to have someone feel like their organization is controlling them, especially when it comes to creative activities, because intrinsic motivation is part of that unique experience that comes with creative activity,” he said.

Some ways an employer can help employees pursue creative activities outside of work include, the study’s authors suggest, art classes, creative writing opportunities, and access to musical instruments.

“A lot of organizations carve time out where they talk about physical heath and exercise and eating habits, but they can also include in that a discussion of mental health and the importance of recovery and creative activity,” Eschleman said.

How do you encourage creative activities outside of work for your employees? Please share you tips with us.

(photo credit: tellmewhat2 via photopin cc)

That high-tech device you’re wearing or using doesn’t mean you’re a geek. In fact, it means you’re perceived as a leader (you could be a geek, too, I suppose).

“Familiarity with and usage of new high-tech products appears to be a common manifestation of innovative behavior,” said Steve Hoeffler of Vanderbilt University and Stacy Wood of North Carolina State University. “Those who are tech-savvy are also perceived as authoritative on other subjects and as leaders.”

Hoeffler and Wood co-wrote a paper titled “Looking Innovative: Exploring the Role of Impression Management in High-Tech Product Adoption and Use.”

One part of their study included interviews with actors categorized by appearance and other variables.

“We taped them once where they took down a note using an old-fashioned calendar, then did another one where they whipped out an electronic calendar and did it that way,” Hoeffler said in Research News @ Vanderbilt.

Test subjects viewed the actors who used the electronic calendars as more authoritative.

In another part of the study, resumes that showed candidates were high-tech savvy were viewed more favorably compared to those who were not. Also, females who used high-tech devices benefited more than males who exhibited the same behavior.

“This finding runs counter to the backlash effect typically found in impression management research in business settings,” Hoeffler and Wood write. “Female job evaluations typically suffer after engaging in the same self-promoting impression management strategies that benefit their male counterparts.”

Finally, as with most anything in life, acting confident was the key in making a good impression. People don’t even need to know how to use a high-tech devices, as long as they looked like they knew what to do with them.

“Just possession is 90 percent of the game,” Hoeffler said. “And there are maybe 10 percent of situations where you have to display the ability to use it.”

(photo credit: gruntzooki via photopin cc)

There was a lot of news this past week. Here are some stories that caught our eyes.

Jay Z, Mayor Garcetti Announce Summer L.A. Music Festival
—KTLA.com
“The two-day “Budweiser Made in America” concert is scheduled for August 30 and August 31 in Grand Park, according to a news release from Budweiser and the United Way of Greater Los Angeles.”

Cobwebs in Your Conference Center: How to Solve Utilization Issues
—Ungerboeck
“Does your conference center or convention center have a bad case of space waste? Empty, dust-collecting, cobweb-ridden rooms in your venue signify more than just bad hygiene.”

Feld Moves Into Massive Florida Headquarters
—Venues Today
“The new Feld Studios are almost complete, with 350 employees now operating out of the gigantic complex here and more expected over the coming weeks and months.”

Restaurants to Become Stadiums for IPL Fans This Year
—Business Standard
“Stadiums across India will witness empty stands as the seventh edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) kicks off in UAE on Thursday. But, various restaurants are gearing up to magnetise cricket enthusiasts into their premises for watching the cricket matches with a stadium-like experience.”

What Business Can Learn from the Greatest Comeback in Sports History
—Harvard Business Review
“Hoping to find some generalizable lessons from the spectacular turnaround, we spent time learning about what happened that week from one of the crew, grinder Gilberto Nobili. What we heard suggested six pieces of advice that leaders of land-based businesses might do just as well to heed.”

(Image: KTLA)

The Colorado Springs World Arena and AEG Facilities announced this week that they have finalized a comprehensive multi-year Venue Services Agreement for the public facility company to provide a diverse range of venue support services that focuses on event booking and sponsorship sales.

It was also announced that through a naming rights agreement, the Colorado Springs World Arena will take on its original name, the Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs, a nod to the long history and connection shared by the arena and the Broadmoor. The non-profit ownership and management will remain the same under the non-profit Colorado Springs World Arena. The original Broadmoor World Arena opened in 1938 as part of the Broadmoor Hotel and was home ice to many Olympic skaters and special events. Its legacy has continued with the world-class entertainment hosted by the Colorado Springs World Arena since 1998.

“In today’s competitive entertainment environment, associating the World Arena with The Broadmoor, a five-star property known for quality and service and AEG Facilities, the power house of sports and entertainment, is a venue managers dream come true,” said Dot Lischick, CFE, general manager of the Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs and an IAVM member. “I look forward to utilizing the added resources and additional value that our partners will provide, but more importantly, I am excited that the Colorado Springs community will reap the benefit of more world-class sports and entertainment.”

Steve Bartolin, president and CEO of The Broadmoor said the agreement with AEG is good for the World Arena, for The Broadmoor, and the community.

“What AEG brings in terms of access to content in sports and entertainment will be a benefit to the entire community,” Bartolin said. “I love the full circle of history, reattaching our name to the World Arena. So many great athletes competed and so many wonderful sporting events took place there. The World Arena is a very well managed facility with a great team in place…. I know AEG and The Broadmoor will work hard to be great partners.”

(Image: Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs)

In his article, “Why We Do What We Do,” in the latest issue of Facility Manager, Adam S. Cook wrote, “In an already fragmented world, our increasing reliance on mobile technology and social media to stay connected can drive an even greater wedge between personal interactions.”

True, the value of in-person connections cannot be overshadowed by online connections. The human touch, the appeal to the five senses, the non-verbal communication aspect—none of this can be replaced by the less emotionally penetrating nature of mobile technology or social media.

That said, according to the latest version of Event Manager Blog’s Event App Bible, “Over 60 percent of smart-phone users are using their devices at social gatherings and events.”

What does this tell us? More than half of attendees don’t want to put their phones down at an event. Per the Event App Bible, “What we are seeing is a surge in event app adoption and it seems inevitable that they will become more and more mainstream.”

Event organizers are realizing that having an online component to their event is a great way to broadly communicate event information, increase engagement with their event, elevate attendee interest, build their brand, please their stakeholders (exhibitors, sponsors, etc.), reach a broader audience than ever, and more.

Still, 63 percent of the event organizers surveyed in the Event App Bible aren’t currently using apps for their events. Why? The majority said it was because they didn’t have the money to invest in developing one of their own for their event.

Do you hear that knocking sound on your venue door? That’s opportunity.

Your event organizer customers want their customers using their mobile technology in your venue. They want people taking pictures, sharing images, tweeting, and posting updates across social media channels live from their events.

What if your venue filled this need for them? The increasing interest in mobile technology from event organizers and attendees alike presents a great opportunity for venues to add a mobile solution to their event services offering. If the app is priced correctly—even bundled with other services your venue offers—perhaps this will solve the issue event organizers are facing related to the cost of developing an app of their own.

Venues are catching on to the many benefits of a mobile offering.

Per IAVM’s 2013 technology report (part of its VenueDataSource industry data collection project), 28 percent of venues already have an app developed for itself, and within three years, an additional 27 percent plan to develop one. However, at this point it isn’t clear how many of these venues have an app they offer event organizers as a service option.

Providing event organizers with a mobile app for use at their event provides a few interesting benefits for venues. For one, the venue can look for a mobile solution partner that offers a reasonable price (perhaps volume discounts) so the venue can make money off the offering, which can create a new revenue stream for the venue.

Second, in order for an event organizer to launch a mobile app in time for their event, the organizer will have to get event details to the venue earlier. This helps the venue get the information they need well in advance of the event so they can plan resources appropriately, which isn’t always the case when details for an event trickle in last minute.

Finally, if the mobile app increases attendee satisfaction and engagement with the event, your direct customer’s satisfaction will increase, thereby increasing the customer’s loyalty with your venue and likeliness that they’ll not only return but also recommend your venue to their peers.

Given the growing prevalence of mobile device usage at events and the fact that social media isn’t going away anytime soon, I imagine a mobile solution offering could give you an edge over your competition when it came time for event organizers to choose a venue. Make sure you’re not missing an opportunity!

(photo credit: Ed Yourdon via photopin cc)