I remember one of our events just north of the Arctic Circle in the city of Murmansk. A hockey rink had been secured for our conference. The main speaker had only one request – that we would NEVER put him on a platform that didn’t allow seating directly in front. When I arrived at the venue just hours before our opening, I was horrified to find that NOT ONE chair had been placed in front of the platform.

I had less than 2 hours to find seating, and the owner of the stadium was not in the mood to help. Glancing at the platform, I recall seeing dozens of risers stacked to the side. Seeing my solution, I directed the workers to distribute the risers across the open floor. The audience quickly filled them up just before the speaker arrived. The owner of the stadium was so impressed with our innovative thinking that by the next morning he had filled the floor with hundreds of chairs free of charge, commenting, “if these people wanted seating this badly – I was determined to give them the best!”

REMEMBER: Sometimes the simplest solution is the best solution.