I spent a few days last week at the IBS show in New York
City. I spoke for two days and then I visited with some of our clients that are
in that area. My wife, Maggie, went along with me so we did have a day to do
some shopping and visit art galleries.
The IBS show seemed a lot better this year. I don't know
enough about the particulars of the show but it appeared to me that they have
some additional show floor room so I wasn't quite as tight. Of course I was doing education therefore I
was at one of the side rooms and was not on main floor.
Once again all the major brands were not there but give
us a chance to see some of the smaller new brands and also to talk to some of
the different vendors.
Another item that I thought was much better this year is
that it did not seem like such a flea market atmosphere. Last year, when I was
there it seem like there was a lot of trinkets and not a lot of products being
sold. This year seemed to be much more professional.
Staying in
a hotel in New York is always an experience because space is so expensive. My
room was 17' x 11. This included the bathroom, shower and then the bed. No
closets only two drawers. At the same time this is a brand-new motel or hotel
and unique experience because of all the technology that was involved.
One of my favorite books and a requirement for everyone
that works in my office is Raving Fans. One of the principles that creates a Raving
Fan is to do what you do very well but don't try to do everything. The hotel
was a very good example of this. Everything they did they did with class and it
was a credit a WOW factor. At the same time there were a lot of things they
didn't do, which was okay.
If you've never been to New York I suggest that you put
it on your bucket list. There's no place like it. On a weeknight at 11 PM to be
walking down Eighth Street or Seventh Street or Times Square and to be shoulder
to shoulder with people is amazing. Central
Park- the theaters - the shopping - no place like in the world!
