Live music is returning to Juarez, Mexico, and this is a very visible sign of progress for “the world’s most violent city”(2010). From a recent NPR report by Steve Inskeep:

Conditions have improved enough that Intocable returned to Juarez. The Texas border band … played a concert in a Juarez baseball stadium on Saturday, March 8. To be precise, it was actually Sunday, March 9, because Intocable did not take the stage until well after midnight. While the warm-up acts were playing, Intocable lead singer Ricky Muñoz welcomed us into his tour bus. In recent years, the popular group has played in Mexico City, Central America, even Colombia and beyond, but Juarez was impossible. “As a matter of fact, they weren’t doing events,” Muñoz said. “Seven years we haven’t been here.”

Read or listen to the full NPR report.

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

Lessons in Event Planning From a Rock Concert
—Associations Now
“Every planner wants his or her next meeting to have the same hype and entertainment value as a concert. Steal these five ideas from a recent concert to make your next event a sellout.”

Is Broadway Being Destroyed by Hollywood?
—The Daily Beast
“Yes, it’s quite possible we are only a few years away from Breaking Bad: The Musical.”

New CEIR Report Indicates Attendees Spend Nearly $45 Billion, Exhibitors Close to $25 Billion at Events
—Trade Show News Network
“The findings are based on the more than 11,000 exhibitions that CEIR tracks from 3,000 net square feet and have at least 10 exhibiting companies to the largest exhibitions in the U.S.”

Bizarre Viking food? Andrew Zimmern Working on Menu for New Stadium
—BringMeTheNews
“How do you think Vikings fans would like uncurdled tofu soup? Fried caiman tail? A frog smoothie?”

Happy People are More Productive—Especially if You Give Them Chocolate
—Quartz
“Economists at the University of Warwick have found happiness increases productivity by around 12%.”

(photo credit: deep_schismic via photopin cc)

Anyone interested in innovative ways to manage should head over to Quartz to read a great story about how Chipotle is transforming the way it hires and promotes employees.

“In 2005, the U.S. company underwent a transformation that would make its culture as distinct as its food,” Max Nisen wrote. “As more than 1,000 stores opened across the U.S., the company focused on creating a system where promoting managers from within would create a feedback loop of better, more motivated employees. That year, about 20% of the company’s managers had been promoted from within. Last year, nearly 86% of salaried managers and 96% of hourly managers were the result of internal promotions.”

The best performing stores, in fact, are ones that have managers that have risen up from crews. However, store sales aren’t what gets you a raise or promotion. It’s how well a manager mentors others.

To start off, every Chipotle employee must have these 13 characteristics before being hired:

Conscientious
Respectful
Hospitable
High Energy
Infectiously Enthusiastic
Happy
Presentable
Smart
Polite
Motivated
Ambitious
Curious
Honest

“The idea was to come up with a list of traits you can pick up on in a relatively short meeting,” Nisen wrote. “Inexperienced managers tend to look for the person who can help right away rather than indicators of long term success, [Co-CEO Monty] Moran says.”

Please read the story to learn more about how the company is promoting a culture founded on each employee helping the people around them be better.

Do you have a similar list of traits you look for when hiring employees at your venues? How often do you promote from within? Please share your stories with us in the comments section.

(photo credit: Brian Wilkins via photopin cc)

It’s the first day of spring. It’s also the International Day of Happiness, as proclaimed by the United Nations in 2012.  To honor this day, here’s another “59 Seconds” video that shows even if you force yourself to smile when you don’t feel like it, you’ll change your disposition and be much happier.

“Next time you want quick dose of delight,” said Richard Wiseman in the video, “just spend 30 seconds or so behaving like a happy person.”

Think of the country’s most famous bridges. Now, think about them as venues for concerts, festivals, and other events. That’s what one Pittsburgh councilman has done.

Ed Kress is exploring the possibility of turning into venues the Roberto Clemente, Rachel Carson, and Andy Warhol bridges as a way to generate revenue for Allegheny County. He told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 that if a bridge is closed for a weekend and used for an event, it could draw attendees from outside the city.

“Kress wants the county to look at what improvements need to be made to the bridge to make it better suited for large events,” reported Bob Hazen for Action News 4. “One obvious upgrade would be electrical outlets. At past events, vendors have had to bring generators. The county would also have to examine liability issues and how much security for the events would cost.”

Kress says that if the bridges can be opened for events, then entrepreneurs can decide the best way to increase revenue on them.

What do you think? Would you like to see an iconic bridge used as a large venue in your city? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.

(photo credit: JC McGreehan via photopin cc)