Your Face Is an Open Book
Are you good at telling what someone is thinking by their expression? You don't know the half of it ...
The first woman executive vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a multimillion-dollar international outplacement firm based in Chicago, Ann Marks was planning a meeting for her division and wanted to hire an outside speaker for a session. She got a call from the head of the firm's Dallas office raving about Mac Fulfer, the author of Amazing Face Reading (www.amazingfacereading.com). The book illustrates how to read every face like a map - not just to discern what people are feeling at the moment, but also their intentions, problem-solving styles, degree of openness, and intimacy requirements.

"I thought it sounded absolutely ridiculous," she recalled. "I have two master's degrees, one in theology and the other in counseling psychology, am a qualified therapist, and I had never heard of such a thing."

But her colleague was so excited about the presentation that he offered to pay for it. "He said he thought it would be helpful to my consultants - plus he was paying - so I decided to schedule it at the conclusion of the meeting so it wouldn't ruin its tone." Fulfer started his presentation by examining some of the faces in the group and Marks was instantly intrigued. "I had 24 people reporting to me and there were some I had worked with for 10 years. The things he was saying were dead on."

She became convinced when Fulfer looked at the face of a man named John and told him that on a personal level, he had intimacy requirements that weren't being met. "Well, his wife had died of cancer 15 months prior and this was correct," explained Marks.

The upper eyelid is the barometer of how we are taking care of ourselves, of touch and connection, and his left lid was puffed out. The left side of one's face relates to one's personal life, the right side to one's professional or external life.

After teaching and counseling for more than 20 years, spending 14 years with Challenger, and serving as the executive director of the Young Presidents' Organization International Forum, Marks now devotes her time to giving face reading presentations and classes across the country. A person's history, character, and potential are reflected in the features of their face, she said. The very structure of the face and its accompanying features reveal the thinking style of the owner.

Abraham Lincoln commented that we may not be responsible for how we look when we are born, but our face at 50 bears the record of a lifetime of choices, according to Amazing Face Reading. Facial features mean the same thing anywhere in the world. "They cut through every kind of bias, bigotry, and prejudice that is out there. We all have far more in common than not," she said.

Here are a few tips to get you started on the road to reading faces:

Eyebrows - signal our mental thoughts. The shape of the eyebrow tells you how the person is most comfortable in framing their world. People with round eyebrows are people oriented. Straight eyebrows are people who need the facts. Angled eyebrows are people who want to stay mentally in control.

Nose - a small nose indicates that the person is hardworking.

Eyelids - abundant eyelids mean the person has a very high capacity for intimacy, loyalty, and commitment.

Upper lip - The space between the upper lip and the nose relates to libido. A smooth one indicates a strong libido. Marks recalled a woman in her 70s, who attended one of her sessions. Marks was struck by how smooth her upper lip area was. When Marks explained to her what that indicated, the woman burst out laughing holding up six fingers. "'Six, six husbands I've had,' she exclaimed." (Former President Bill Clinton has this facial characteristic as well, Marks points out.) The old adage goes that the eyes don't lie; with the help of Marks (ann@amazingfacereading.com) and face readers like her, other hidden personality characteristics are as plain as the nose on your face.

Losing Superman
Convene asked Connie Komora, CMP, meetings manager, American Association of Nurse Anesthetists and PCMA member since 2000, what CD we would find in her stereo right now.

I have been listening to the Kenny Rogers CD, 'Water & Bridges,' that my husband and I picked up at the Kenny Rogers Christmas concert last November. The CD is loaded with wonderful songs but, one in particular, would make a great inspirational song to encourage others to take part in PCMA programs such as Hospitality Helping Hands [Komora and her husband Larry have participated in Hospitality Helping Hands for six years] and the Service in Sync day. The song is titled, 'Someone is Me.' The songwriter talks about the decline of a town and goes on to say, 'Somebody should do something about it, how hard could it be, somebody should do something about it, maybe that someone is me.' If we each did a little something, no matter what it is, we could have a positive impact on the world we live in. Another song on the CD that is personally touching is titled, 'The Last 10 Years (Superman),' in which he talks about events in the last decade (Y2K and Sept. 11) and the people we've lost like, 'Charlie Brown, Ray Charles, Johnny Cash - we even lost Superman.' Well, in the song, he is referring to Christopher Reeves but in my personal life, we lost our dad in 2006 and he was our Superman. So while this song brings a tear to my eye, it also reminds me that so many others have also lost their loved ones, maybe even their 'Superman.' That thought just brings the world a little closer together for me."

Cancún Is Back and Better Than Ever
Cancún's citywide commitment to renovation and renewal has been successful in attracting an increasing number of meetings, conventions, and leisure visitors to the new and improved destination. Many hotels and resorts have undergone extensive renovations, including the Ritz-Carlton, Cancún, which recently added a $250,000 culinary center, and the JW Marriott Cancún Resort and Spa, which has plugged 32-inch flat panel LCD televisions in all 448 guest rooms. Other properties unveiling renewal efforts include the Me Cancún, a property under the newest Melia brand, and the Club Med Cancún Yucatan. Mexico's most popular destination, Cancún is situated on the northeastern tip of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. The destination is renowned for its 16-mile stretch of white sandy beaches, world-class hotels, exceptional recreation features, and proximity to historic Mayan archeological sites. The Mesoamerican Reef is the second largest coral reef in the world and action-packed participatory sports activities capitalize on Cancún's exceptionally clear, blue waters.

Although most Cancun residents will ask, "Wilma, who?" it took an amazing amount of cooperation amongst all to bring this world-class destination back after this devastating hurricane. A $20.33 million beach recovery project was completed in January of 2006 to restore all of Cancún's 15.5 miles of coastline.

To provide for the destination's new growth and development, the Cancún International Airport is undergoing two renovation projects to serve its 800,000 passengers per month and will continue to increase its already 170 flights to Cancún every day.

Those Who Struggle and Those Who Succeed
Erika Trimble is a professional business coach and founder of the Event and Meeting Planners Business Association (www.eventplannersbusinessassociation.com), billed as the first virtual business organization for event and meeting professionals. After years of interaction with event and meeting professionals, she has compiled a list of what it takes to be successful in this industry:

Successful Event & Meeting Professionals….

• Live their values and passions in all they do.
• Know what they want and have a clear personal and business vision. 
• Have a written plan to achieve their goals and desired future. 
• Focus relentlessly on achieving their goals.
• Leverage their time and energy and identify priorities for each day.
• Get the support they need from others to accomplish more.
• Learn business skills from successful people.
• Have a team to support them in realizing their goals.
• Use a loyal network of vendors for all events.
• Ask customers for ways to improve services.
• Collaborate with others for business growth.
• Communicate effectively with team members to stay informed of everything that is going on in their company and clients' companies.
• Maintain strong relationships with everyone with the future in mind.
• Possess loads of confidence in their abilities to be successful.

Struggling Event & Meeting Professionals:

• Compromise their values and passions for the interests of others.
• Move through their life without course and direction and may or may not get there.
• Deal with what presents itself in their lives with no future outlook.
• Get distracted easily and lose sight of what is important.
• Live with chaos and anxiety about getting things done on time.
• Go it alone and get less done.
• Fear that asking for help is perceived as unsuccessful.
• Prefer to prove they can do it all on their own.
• Use different vendors and fail to benefit from vendor loyalty.
• Fear "negative" feedback from customers and experience " failure."
• Feel apprehensive about giving up something.
• Communicate unprofessionally and hastily just to get the job at hand done and return to their personal agenda.
• Don't connect with others beyond what is necessary in the moment.
• Experience lack of confidence in personal abilities.

Olfactory Alert: Hotels' Latest Amenity Is a Signature Scent
The feathers were flying. All the talk was about pillow-top mattresses, pillows stuffed in every way imaginable, and plush duvets.

That was then. Today, beds aren't the only way hotels are distinguishing themselves. The hottest new item is a bit more subliminal. Hoteliers are saying all the senses should be engaged in the effort to build emotional bonds with consumers … and scent represents the latest sensory frontier.

Take the Park Hyatt Washington, D.C., which unveiled a $24 million makeover with new guest rooms - and a custom fragrance. Parisian perfumer Blaise Mautin created a scent that is pumped into the lobby using atomizers.

Mautin also created a scent "logo" for the Park Hyatt Dubai, the elegant luxury retreat in the United Arab Emirates. Pablo Graf, general manager of the Park Hyatt Dubai, said that designers, architects, chefs, spa professionals, and musicians were commissioned to create a discreet and refined environment that awakens the senses and provides guests with an unforgettable experience.

"The only sense that we hadn't yet addressed was smell, described by some as the most powerful of the five senses and closely associated with memory. Blaise Mautin's creations reinforce Park Hyatt Dubai's position as a unique sanctuary for a clientele that wants an experience - not a just a hotel room," Graf said.

From the lobby to the meeting facilities to the guest rooms, hotel guests and visitors will notice the subtle fragrance. If they find it to their liking, they can even purchase the unique perfume which has head notes of orange, bergamot, lemon, and mandarin; middle notes of orange flower, rose, jasmine, opoponax, and patchouli, and base notes that include sandal wood.

Omni Hotels is another chain that has a signature fragrance. Hidden machines spray a lemongrass green-tea scent into the lobby, a coconut fragrance around the pool, and a whiff of mochaccino or sugar cookie in its coffee shops. Omni's recently debuted Sensational Meetings program is designed to shape the sensory elements to maximize the meeting experience in lobbies, guest rooms, and now board rooms, breakout rooms, and ballrooms. Omni's Sensational Meetings customize meeting environments to enhance the attendees' experience by activating their senses. For brainstorming, mood-enhancing soundtracks and invigorating green tea and peppermint scents are employed to create an invigorating, intellectually stimulating atmosphere. For enhanced alertness, the meeting may be accompanied by a peppermint or chocolate mint aroma.

White Tea aroma … it must be a Westin. As part of its "Sensory Welcome" program, all Westin hotel lobbies smell like white tea, a scent that the chain hopes will calm guests down and defuse their travel stress.

Creating a custom fragrance isn't easy. Hotels must be sure the scent is not too masculine or feminine, is generally pleasing, and will not make give guests an allergic reaction. All you aroma-phobics out there, beware!