Turning a Bad Situation into a Good Experience

Friday was one of those days. At about 9:30 a.m., I left for a conference that was approximately two and a half hours away. I go to the venue and no one is there. I stop by City Hall to see if they can tell me anything. The lady there was nice enough to make a call and find out that the featured speaker had turned ill and so the conference was re-scheduled for three weeks out. Supposedly, a e-mail went out to confirmed attendees. Hmm, I e-mailed my RSVP and even received a confirmation back but no e-mail informing me of the change. Also no change was made to the “Event Page” on Facebook.

So, I’m two and half hours away from home do I turn around and go home, getting there just when everything is closing down for the week. I thought seriously about it but then thought about a prospect about 20 miles farther away from home that I could drop in on, so I got in the car and dropped in. She was out of the office and would not be back for hours.

Now I am on the Western border of Iowa and if I stopped in Council Bluffs on the way back home, I would only go another 20 miles out of the way. It was an opportunity to visit with Bob Mundt, President and CEO of Council Bluffs Chamber of Commerce. Council Bluffs is the Host City for this year’s American Food Venture Forum and the Chamber of Commerce is our biggest sponsor. I am the founder and executive director of the forum.

Bob was in his office and was gracious enough to allow me a half hour of his time. We discussed the conference and came up with an idea that will make it better than ever. We talked about some training opportunities for professionals in the region and clarified whether a critical component of the conference would be the responsibility of the Chamber or the conference staff. This clarification will make sure things get done on time and within budget.

I could have turned around when I found the original of my trip had been postponed but instead I tried to think of ways to make the trip fruitful. It is all about attitude and a few years ago I might have turned around and gone home ruining not only Friday but my weekend. But I have learned, quite late in life that you can learn something out of almost any situation and you can usually make a bad situation better if you keep a positive attitude. In some ways the meeting with Bob was more important than the original purpose of my trip.

So next time you find yourself in a bad situation try to come up a way to some how save the day. It may not always work but you will feel better just trying. Another lesson, if you find yourself somewhere you hadn’t intended, think marketing. Is there anyone in the area you can call on, even if it’s a cold call?