Benefits of Off-Site Meetings

Meetings are important for bringing people together to share ideas and relay information, but many organizations find themselves struggling to have truly effective meetings where their team members aren’t bored or distracted by everything else going on in the office. Off-site meetings aren’t necessarily a new idea to combat these issues, but many people assume that “off-site” means an expensive meeting space and sending members across the country for days. The truth is that off-site meeting spaces are becoming more and more common in your area, and it’s time to take advantage of the benefits.

Improve your relationships

You could have the best team members of their respective fields, but they’ll still be severely inhibited in what they can accomplish if their relationships with each other aren’t solid. Off-site meetings bring everyone into a new space that can facilitate new conversations and bring people together that may not have gotten off to a great start or don’t have many chances to build a working relationship while in the office.

Increase your productivity

It’s a fairly common understanding that sometimes the best way to solve a problem is to step away from it for a bit and come back to it with a fresh mind. You may be surprised how much this applies to getting the whole team together in a new environment! Off-site meeting spaces can facilitate creative thinking by simply bringing people out of their comfort zones and ruts of their typical day-to-day.

Encourage communication

Sometimes our offices are inhibiting conversations in ways that we just can’t see. Physical space between coworkers can put up mental blocks, and many people prefer face-to-face communication. Off-site meeting spaces are often very open to walk around in, and since people don’t feel confined to their desks, they can simply walk over to a coworker they don’t speak to often. On top of building relationships as mentioned earlier, this can be a great facilitator for new ideas!

Improve moral

While you’re still getting together for the sake of business, your team is likely to see an off-site meeting as a mini retreat, especially when it’s a fun space. Most people love days where they can get out of the office, and they often result in your team coming back to the office refreshed and ready to get to work on the ideas facilitated by the brief but fun getaway.

If you’re interested in a local, affordable space that provides all of the amenities you’ll need along with a fun space, contact Blue Ocean today to book your meeting!

Benefits of Off-Site Meetings

Meetings are important for bringing people together to share ideas and relay information, but many organizations find themselves struggling to have truly effective meetings where their team members aren’t bored or distracted by everything else going on in the office. Off-site meetings aren’t necessarily a new idea to combat these issues, but many people assume that “off-site” means an expensive meeting space and sending members across the country for days. The truth is that off-site meeting spaces are becoming more and more common in your area, and it’s time to take advantage of the benefits.

Improve your relationships

You could have the best team members of their respective fields, but they’ll still be severely inhibited in what they can accomplish if their relationships with each other aren’t solid. Off-site meetings bring everyone into a new space that can facilitate new conversations and bring people together that may not have gotten off to a great start or don’t have many chances to build a working relationship while in the office.

Increase your productivity

It’s a fairly common understanding that sometimes the best way to solve a problem is to step away from it for a bit and come back to it with a fresh mind. You may be surprised how much this applies to getting the whole team together in a new environment! Off-site meeting spaces can facilitate creative thinking by simply bringing people out of their comfort zones and ruts of their typical day-to-day.

Encourage communication

Sometimes our offices are inhibiting conversations in ways that we just can’t see. Physical space between coworkers can put up mental blocks, and many people prefer face-to-face communication. Off-site meeting spaces are often very open to walk around in, and since people don’t feel confined to their desks, they can simply walk over to a coworker they don’t speak to often. On top of building relationships as mentioned earlier, this can be a great facilitator for new ideas!

Improve moral

While you’re still getting together for the sake of business, your team is likely to see an off-site meeting as a mini retreat, especially when it’s a fun space. Most people love days where they can get out of the office, and they often result in your team coming back to the office refreshed and ready to get to work on the ideas facilitated by the brief but fun getaway.

If you’re interested in a local, affordable space that provides all of the amenities you’ll need along with a fun space, contact Blue Ocean today to book your meeting!

Communicate Smarter

Modern communication is instant and convenient – but if we’re not thoughtful about how we communicate, it can still be ineffective. Mindful communication practices are a must to stand out among the constant barrage of information, so here are three tips to help you improve your standards of communication:

1 – Listen to Your Team

Many leaders get in the habit of simply relaying information or giving instruction without receiving feedback from their team, which is not only frustrating to team members who have good ideas but only serves to hurt your organization in the long run. Take time to hear out team members and you may be surprised with the results.

2 – Use Visuals

We aren’t simply talking about text on PowerPoint presentations here (many people have started to inadvertently tune out whenever they see one). Humans are visual creatures so during presentations, it’s recommended that you utilize relevant, professional graphics to help reinforce what you’re talking about. Be careful to not overwhelm a single slide with too many graphics, though. We suggest a “Rule of 3” – no more than three lines of text or graphics per slide.

Visuals don’t always have to pertain to presentations, either. Get creative with your workspace and create simple visual reminders around the office that are unobtrusive an fun while still communicating your message.

3 – Change the environment

Sometimes it takes a change of environment to draw the attention of your team. You might assume that there could be a distracting “sensory overload” if you were to meet in a different or renovated space, but the opposite can happen if you’re in the same meeting space all the time. Something as simple as rearranging the meeting space in your office could help, or you could go even further and schedule meetings at an off-site meeting space. These spaces are great for getting those creative juices flowing for problem solving or those quarterly/annual meetings where you want to treat your members.

If you’re interested in an off-site meeting space with great amenities, free parking, and a great location, contact Blue Ocean Facilities today to plan your next meeting!

5 Redeeming Qualities of a Creative Leader

Leaders are not born leaders. They are normal people like me and you who decide at some point in their lives that they need to take the reins of their life in their own hands and do some extraordinary things. Making that decision sounds easy. But it’s actually not.

Living up to that decision requires a lot of courage. Not just courage but also creativity. Yes, you need creative ideas to come out as a leader who is different from the others we get to see normally. You need to power your creative intelligence to become a leader that stays ahead of other people and inspires them.

Here are five qualities that you need to develop in yourself if you want to lead the way in an exemplary manner.

1 – The Readiness to Change

A creative leader doesn’t shy away from thinking big. They never stop imagining bigger and better possibilities for people. This is not about adopting a change to stay relevant and updated. This is about envisioning a change, instigating it, and bringing a revolution that leaves other players in the game behind. It’s all about striving to achieve new ways of doing things.

2 – Listen to Your Intuition

One of the qualities of a creative leader is that they listen to their gut feeling. Not only do they take into their consideration what they know is right but also they tend to lean towards what they feel is right. This opens up a lot of opportunities for them to explore. In order to become a successful creative leader, you need to balance both logic and intuition in order to be able to solve problems in an effective way.

3 – Move Ahead Fast

Creative leaders know that perfectionism is impossible and it’s something that stands in the way of progression. Thus, creative leaders do not pay much attention to being perfect and concentrate on the more important thing, i.e. progress. The faster they move ahead, the greater their progress is.

4 – Build & Maintain Confidence

There’s always something remarkable about a confident person. Even if you don’t believe in everything that a confident person says, but you know that it’s a rare quality. Creative leaders need to cultivate confidence in them if they want to inspire people around them. If you don’t inspire those around you, no one would follow you. And that just means you’re not a very good leader.

5 – Do More Than What’s Expected of You

Creative leaders have infinite ideas. They create possibilities and set the path for others to follow them. That’s one of the qualities of creative leaders. They think original, and in the process, they end up delivering more than what was expected of them. Thus, in order to become a creative leader, start doing things that only you can do instead of doing things that everyone expects you to do.

Creative leaders don’t like the conventional ways of doing things. Doing something in the same way over and over again just affects their creativity. They like changing things around.

Blue Ocean Facilities gives a great chance to creative leaders to keep their creativity alive and ignite the same spark in their teams by conducting corporate meetings at offsite venues. It’s the first step towards coming up with new ideas and making better corporate decisions.

Looking for an off-site meeting space? Ensure you get the most bang for your buck!

With off-site meeting spaces becoming more popular, it can sometimes be difficult to decide on a space that will offer everything you need for a fair price. It’s easy to assume that most viable options are downtown, but at what cost?

When seeking an off-site meeting space, it’s important to consider what your money is actually paying for. If you opt for an inner-city location, a good portion of what you pay is going towards a higher rent cost, and that may or may not include sufficient parking for those attending.

Some spaces may also advertise appropriate amenities, but these are often at extra cost and few offer dedicated assistants included in the cost as well. Dedicated assistants are important for your meeting so that you can ensure that your space is properly set up to your needs as well as handling any urgent requests or necessities.

At Blue Ocean Facilities, our location in Blue Ash handles all of these concerns at an appropriate and affordable cost. Not only do you not have to be concerned with downtown traffic, but our large parking lot is entirely free to use and every meeting you book has its own dedicated assistant at no extra charge. If you’re interested in booking the best meeting possible at a great location and affordable price, contact us today online or at 513-842-6323!

Why you desperately need to place the most Creative people as Leaders

There are many people who are considered to be some of the best managers because of how they dwell within the confines of the expected norms and meet expectations. Spending much of their lives “defending and protecting” their beloved work-place from changes that would throw people out of their comfort zones, they can unknowingly be creating an environment that is actually stifling growth.

Creatives on the other hand tend to have the urge to challenge the status quo, often pushing for new limits to surpass the old. They usually tend to embrace the new, more advanced challenges and opportunities with a new and unique approach. And since vision is at the core of leadership, it should always be unique and well directed. The following are some of the key reasons why creative people tend to make some of the best leaders.

To accomplish vision, the culture must change.

Creative leaders possess an extraordinary curiosity about the world they’re trying to change. They choose to alter their perspectives in a way that would shape the perspectives of those around them. This in turn makes sure that they are in the commanding position without forcing change based on authority alone, rather sharing ideas as part of their active communication. This takes into account the teams’ adoptability quotient towards the culture. This also promotes creative thinking more readily and willingly because of the passive nature of recommendation, meaning people are more readily agreeable when they feel they have a say in how the vision is changing. Great leaders challenge the status quo early and often as well as bring others into the conversation.

The world’s most valuable assets are ideas.

Good leaders align team members by listening to their ideas, developing a common vision, committing to the vision, and making decisions based on that commitment. And then there are great leaders that tend to inspire people to come up with unique creative and out-of-the-box ideas that stray from the norm but are doable. Creative people keep the stream of ideas flowing clearly and consistently, maintaining communication, and fight the hardest among the team to ensure the mission and target is achieved as quickly as possible while inspiring the team through example to push their hardest.

There really is no ultimate universal equation for success.

Simply put, we often see success as a status that can be achieved with a certain set of secret mantras that have magical influence on the world somehow. While some believe it can be simply explained as the by-product of tirelessly fighting for the goal, creative people are often the unsung heroes behind the scenes. If you’re going to be successful, you’ll need an unrelenting drive towards your vision from deep within.

One of the best ways to find the more creative people of your team is to hold creative meetings and see who begins to stand out with innovative solutions during these meetings. Sometimes, new environments can also help bring creatives out of their shells a bit, so scheduling an off-site meeting could be more beneficial than simply just getting out of the office – you could find your next leader.

A great way to encourage creative thinking with, and potentially draw out more creative leaders already in your team, is to simply have a change in environment. You’d be surprised what even one day out of the office could do for your organization. If you’re interested in an offsite meeting space, contact us at Blue Ocean Facilities.

Have You Considered Taking Your Meeting Offsite?

Meetings are a crucial part of the processes of any company. Stakeholders need to get together and make important decisions about operations. Many of the meetings are to cover general day to day matters, and short 15 to 30 minute sessions in the office’s meeting room are sufficient to cover the scope and agenda of the meetings.

But some meetings require more rigorous planning and there is most definitely a need to properly organize these meetings to get the most out of them.

When organizing these decisive meetings, which will have a more lasting effect on the company’s progress, the important question usually is what should be the venue?

The meeting can be organized in the office meeting room, but there are some obvious drawbacks. While on the other hand choosing an offsite venue offers definite advantages.

Offsite Meetings Offer a More Focused and Interruption-Free Environment

Meetings in the office’s space are more prone to distractions which can really hinder the focus and thus productivity of the meeting. These interruptions may not seem like a big deal, but in reality they cost your company a lot of money. An interruption free setup at an offsite meeting venue can boost more productive communication.

More Engaged Participants Get More Done

When the participants are meeting outside of office space, the sense of importance of the meeting is multiplied. The participants are more engaged and involved in the meeting thus resulting in greater likelihood of meetings objectives being fulfilled.

Employees Welcome a Refreshing Change in Routine Are More Enthusiastic

Employees who are attending an offsite meeting may find it more involving. Participants are usually less inhibited and express themselves better in a neutral environment. This enables better feedback and response to make the meeting more successful. The change in the environment also triggers more creativity and better solutions and ideas are put forward in offsite meetings.

The Employees Feel More Connected and Unified, Due to Offsite Meetings

When employees meet with each other outside their office, they may feel more connected and motivated to work together. This sense of unity is carried forward when the employees return to office, which creates an atmosphere that improves teamwork.

The Offsite Meetings Make the Company’s Goals and Objectives More Transparent to the Employees
The company is able to better express their priorities and objectives through offsite meetings. The employees get a clear image of what the ultimate goals and targets of the organization are. This awareness is crucial for optimum work from the employees.

Bottom Line

Well organized and planned offsite meetings make huge impact and are more effective. The experience is refreshing and encouraging for all the participants of the meeting. To maximize the benefits of a meeting and ensuring that all the objectives are fulfilled, make sure that you use the right venue.

How Do I Communicate with My Team Effectively?

Earning the respect of your entire team is not an easy thing. Even if you’re designation has the word ‘manager’ included in it, there will be people in your team that will always question your authority which is especially bothersome for all people who are new to performing their managerial duties.

If you want to be respected as a manager, you will have to learn how to communicate with your team effectively. This is the first step you have to take towards team building. Moreover, communicating with your team effectively will make the members of your team respect you as a leader, and will encourage them to follow your direction. Here are three ways that can enhance your team building skills.

1 – More Statements & Fewer Questions

When you try too hard the become a manager who should be taken seriously, then you end up phrasing your instructions like questions. For instance, “Dave, can you make the minutes of the meeting we have at 3:00 pm today?” These questions may look like direct orders, but they actually invite a lot of excuses. The best way to go about it is to be direct; “Dave, I need you to make the minutes of the meeting.” This asserts your authority and leaves no room for any pushback from an employee.

2 – Maintain Confidence

To impose authority you have to talk confidently. Sometimes it so happens that the beginning of your statement starts off just fine, but by the end of it your voice drops, making the last few words nothing more than a mumble. This ruins your impression. You need to maintain your confidence from the very beginning of your sentence till the very end of it.

3 – Clear Directions, Not Suggestions

As a manager, you often have to maintain a line between being strict and being relatable. This often results in your directions coming across more as an opinion instead of clear instruction. For instance, you might say, “Jeffrey, it’d be nice if you could consult somebody in human resource for this training program.” This implies that Jeffrey has an option and he can choose to consult if he wishes to. Once again, be direct; “Jeffrey, I need you to talk to someone in human resource to arrange for this training program.”

Communicating with your team with authority doesn’t always come to everyone naturally. You have to work on it, especially if you’re new in a managerial position. Another thing that helps is a change of environment. If you want your team to invest their minds into what you’re saying then think about arranging meetings at an offsite meeting space. For that, contact Blue Ocean Facilities. Our meeting venues will offer the change that your team wants. Offsite meeting spaces are not only conducive to team building; the idea also helps you conduct a result-oriented meeting as well.

The Importance of Offsite Meeting Venues in the Corporate World

Have you ever checked the stats of the corporate meetings in the United States?

There are about 11 million meetings held in the U.S. every single day. People on average attend 62 meetings every month and about 15% of a company’s total time is spent in these meetings.

From the stats mentioned above you might believe that a lot of productive planning and work must be carried out in these meetings. However, about 71% of the managers say that these organizational meetings are nothing but a series of unproductive sessions and that they are inefficient attempts of bringing the employees together.

But this doesn’t mean that the companies should eliminate the concept of having meetings at all. Meetings are after all a necessary evil in organizations. There must be something to be done to enhance the productivity, employee engagement, creativity and team performance. The solution is to host these organizational meetings in rented meeting venues outside the premises of your permanent office space.

Here we take a look why conducting organizational meetings at the especially rented venues boosts the team performance and job satisfaction level to productive heights.

1. New Ideas, Solutions and Perspectives

Doing the same thing at the same place kills the creativity. A change of environment and surroundings sometimes lights the spark of innovation in people. Same is the case with the corporate meetings. A new place helps you see corporate problems and concerns in a different light and really gets your creative juices flowing. Thus, the same team will turn into a productive one by just changing the venue.

2. Improves Focus & Productivity

The normal environment of your office is full of distractions and interruptions. What you don’t know is that these interruptions are costing you and your business time and money. This is why offsite meeting venues offer a more relaxed ambience which is free from the usual noises, busyness and distractions of your office. If you want the attentiveness of your team, gather them in a new place. According to an analysis, 63% of the respondents suggested that offsite business meetings were more productive than the onsite ones.

3. More Employee Engagement

These corporate meetings are not just about discussing the problems a business is facing. They’re also about bringing employees together as a team. That’s why face to face arrangement is so necessary. Also, meetings are important so that everyone can assess your body language and expressions. This shows employee engagement. But if you’re boring your employees in these meetings, then how can they participate in a manner that shows collaboration. That’s why you need a change in the routine.

Maybe the meeting place or the board room is congested and doesn’t provide a comfortable sitting capacity. Sometimes employees have to stand during the meeting. Do you really expect such a meeting to turn in fruitful results?

After realizing the importance of offsite meeting venues, if you want your employees to invest not just their time but also their minds into the corporate meetings then contact Blue Ocean Facilities. Our meeting venues will not only provide the change that your team wants, but they will also help you conduct effective brainstorming sessions and productive organizational meetings.

3 Reasons Why Companies Should Have Offsite Meetings

One of the biggest factors that contribute to a productive work environment is employee motivation. In today’s era, many companies take an extra step to ensure high levels of staff motivation. A highly motivated staff guarantees increased productivity and results for the company.

Apart from the quantified outcomes, motivation also brings in strong employee commitment and loyalty as they feel more valued and a part of the organization. However, it is not possible for all companies to induce a creative working environment within their offices. These companies then hire services of such facilities that provide creative offsite meeting venues where teams can discuss projects in a more liberated and vibrant environment.

Below are 4 reasons why all companies must consider having offsite meetings:

1. Morale Boost

Most offsite meeting places are creatively designed to boost the team morale. They are painted in vibrant colors and decorated colorfully. Some of these venues also provide games, food and other incentives that amplify the worker’s enthusiasm. The lively environment makes team meetings more productive as the members feeding off the positive energy around them carry an active mind.
Many companies also prefer holding team building or ice breaking sessions at these offsite venues to allow employees to interact with each other, away from the everyday grind and routine office work.

2. Fresh Outlook

Even the smallest change in atmosphere has a big impact on an individual’s mood and attitude. It is essential for companies to consider detouring a little from the routine board room meetings and explore offsite venues. It is observed that employees tend to have a better perspective over things and actively participate in brainstorming sessions at these facilities.

For any company that’s planning to come up with a new marketing strategy or product, it’s recommended to have an offsite meeting that would allow the team to generate more effective and creative plans.

3. Increased Productivity

A break from the hierarchical ranks enhances productivity. Employees feel a lot freer in putting forward their plans and executing them. The high level of service provided by offsite meeting venues including AV technology set-up and beverages/snacks allows for uninterrupted work time and more focused participants.

Take a Break

Blue Ocean Facilities is like a playground for your staff. There’s bright colors, natural light, sights to see, and activities to try. Needless to say, it’s hard to be bored at Blue Ocean. Even so, if you don’t plan well, attention may drift as the day wears on. We’re doing all we can to create an engaging atmosphere, but there are a few things you can do as well:

Move it & Ask. Challenge everyone to take a few laps around the room, or even the building, weather permitting. Make a game out of demonstrating and practicing “deskercises.” Or stand up and stretch out. Better yet, ask us about the stories that each room call tell you. How much does the Blue Marlin weigh? Who caught it? What about that whale oil lamp in Shipyard? There are fun things to discover in each unique room.

Chew it. Sometime between lunch and the closing of your meeting, take a snack break. Nuts are notorious for boosting energy levels. Our room coordinators serve salty & sweet snacks throughout the day for you. Have a favorite they are serving? Tell them and they’ll be sure to include it in the second day of your meeting.

Drink it. A small cup of coffee or tea might be just the pick-me-up necessary to hang in for the duration of the meeting. Everyone knows to stay hydrated but we all admit to needing the reminder.

Of course, it goes without saying that even if you do everything else right, the wrong meeting venue can detract from your meeting. Book at Blue Ocean Facilities and maximize your meeting’s potential. Because where you meet matters.

2017 in Review

How quickly another year has passed! Before we look forward to the year ahead, let’s take just a moment to reflect on the past year.

You’ve let us know that our blog is a go-to for meeting insights time and time again. Here are a few of our most impactful articles from 2017:

Successful Meetings – We ran a five part series on the who, what, when, where and why of productive meetings, based on what we’ve learned from making meetings our primary focus for many years.

Onsite v. Offsite Meetings – OK, we’re cheating a little. This was actually posted just over a year ago. But, this continues to be a frequently visited article and a hotly debated issue.

Blue Ash Venues – There are a lot of options for meeting spaces in Blue Ash…or are there?

Blue Ocean has a busy year beyond our blog as well. We began a partnership with Curator Video to bring video services to our clients. With your help, we also raised funds towards local charities twice this year! 2018 has even more in store for Blue Ocean Facilities and we can’t wait to share it with you. Until then, from our team to yours, Happy Holidays!