Robert Ramsey Photo by Luca DiCecco
“A short pencil is better than a long memory,” quips Robert Ramsey. An adjunct professor of meeting and event planning at the University of Virginia’s Richmond branch of the School of Continuing and Professional Studies, Ramsey knows the value of writing things down. “It’s the ‘Hit by a Truck Theory,’” he adds. “If I plan my daughter’s wedding and organize the budget, the food and so on in a binder with tabs, then everything is in one location and printed out. So if I walk to the event and get hit by a truck, someone should be able to pick it up and run my event.”
Ramsey passes on pearls of wisdom like this one (affectionately dubbed “Ramsey-isms” by his students) to the adult learners who consistently pack his 12-week evening course. From business managers hoping to improve the quality of their meetings to recent graduates looking to enter the event planning industry, they all share one thing in common: a desire to learn from Ramsey’s experience. His 35-year career in hospitality and trade association management, including a stint as CEO of the Virginia Hotel & Motel Association, ensures that he has plenty to share.
In the late 1980s, Virginia Commonwealth University started a course in meeting and event planning, and Ramsey began an 18-year teaching career at VCU. A few years ago,
Ramsey’s tips for meetings…
- First, ask yourself: Why do we need to meet? If you can’t answer that question right away, the meeting is probably unnecessary. Create an agenda, even for short meetings. It will help you set expectations, remain in charge and defend against those ramblers who might otherwise derail your group’s focus.
- Start and stop on time. Restarting or recapping when people come in late is inefficient and a great disservice to those who were there on time.
- Incorporate a quick activity (introduce your neighbor!) to get people out of their comfort zone. This will loosen up your quieter members, whose voices often go unheard but may be the most valuable.
- Conclude with a written summary. Invite participants to add key points they recall from the meeting. Assign “to do” action points before the meeting is adjourned.
...and being more efficient
- Take time to think about what is really important to you. We waste 75 percent of our time doing things that aren’t productive. Put the most important actions at the top of your list and do them first.
- Use technology only if it saves you time and energy when accomplishing repetitive tasks.
- Limit interruptions. Turn off e-mail alerts and shut the door.
- Never hesitate to pick up the phone and ask someone to help you.
- Ask yourself the question: What is the next action I can take?
- Just do it if it takes less than two minutes. Don’t put it off. Seriously.
- Keep only one calendar and mark only appointments and key reminders in it.
- Ramsey recommends David Allen’s book Getting Things Done.
U.Va. wanted to add the course to its Richmond-based curriculum and, once again, Ramsey was tapped.
“When U.Va. was thinking about offering the course, I told them ‘If you offer it, they will come.’” Ramsey’s overcapacity enrollment confirms his prediction.
Most students are working adults, and Ramsey treats them as such. There is no grade for the class; rather, those who put in the work and meet attendance requirements graduate with a certificate. The course is set up so that by the end each student has organized a binder full of learning materials, not unlike the binder in Ramsey’s “Hit by a Truck Theory.”
In it, students record a range of planning principles, from time-management skills to the best place to stand in a crowded conference room. Ramsey draws many lessons from his years of career experience, including a particular instance when a hotel had forgotten to label the decaf pots of coffee it set out for a convention. A minor detail for some, but it was enough to cause a stir among this particular group of attendees, whose event Ramsey was managing.
“I teach how to get things done quickly. If you go to the phone and call somebody like they tell you to, nothing will happen. Instead, you walk back into the [kitchen]. First of all, they’ll notice that you’re back there and you’re not supposed to be, so somebody will stop you. Then you say, ‘I need to find out who’s doing the coffee,’ and immediately somebody is right there.”
In a class designed to teach real-world skills, students devour the real-world examples Ramsey is able to provide. He now has more than 20 years of teaching experience under his belt and shows no signs of slowing down.
“When you’re growing up, you have a few teachers who really impact your life. I want to be on that list.”
Comments
Love the article. Enjoyed your class and am furthering my career in hospitality management at JSR.
I loved the article and would like more information about the “Hit by a Truck Theory” training. I am currently working with Southern Oregon University’s student government to plan our staff retreat. I believe that this information would be of great benefit to us.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Eve Woods
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