Every meeting planner dreams of a smooth event…but conventions don’t always go as planned.

Imagine that you are a meeting planner in charge of planning a convention for 350 people in Baltimore, MD. The speakers have been hired, hotel rooms and meeting rooms are booked, and everything is running smoothly...until the roof of your hotel collapses  just days before the convention is scheduled to start! 

That’s exactly what happened to Deb, the meeting planner who booked me to speak for the Maryland Association of Educational Office Professionals.

I’m sure when she heard the news of the roof collapse, there may have been a few choice words uttered around her office that rhymed with “truck”; but when the initial shock subsided, she realized that the quality of her questions would determine the success or failure of the convention. 

Deb harnessed the power of asking, “What if…?”

Parents frequently tell their kids, “You never know unless you ask…” The same thing is true with adults, and especially true when you are facing a challenging situation.

“What if we could find a property to host our convention in 5 days?”

“What if that hotel could handle all of our attendees and catering?”

Within hours, a nearby Mariott Hotel agreed to host the convention and was also able to accommodate all of the guests. Their ability and willingness to “step up” created 350 raving fans that week. I also wrote about another Marriott creating customers for life in a previous post. I’m not alone in raving about their commitment to customer experiences. My friend, Shep Hyken, wrote this about a recent experience.

What are you missing out on because you are afraid to ask, “What if…?”

While this meeting planner harnessed the power of asking, “What if…?” during a time of crisis; I believe that everyone should start harnessing the power of asking powerful questions. When you practice anything, you almost always improve your results. Check out the video I recorded on this subject. 

What if you could begin a new hobby?

What if you could start or grow your business?

What if you made a commitment to shut off the cell phones during family meal time and actually focused on talking to each other?

I don’t know the answers to your “What if…?” questions. What I do know is that when you begin to ask the right questions, your life begins to move in the direction of your intentions.

What would you like to bring into your life right now?