The Super Bowl and the FBR Open are upon us and my town is overrun with celebrities -- musicians and actors as well as the expected athletes.  Not that that is a bad thing.  I am enjoying the commotion and the buzz that these events generate and it has been quite interesting to watch the preparations.  What has proven most interesting to me, however, is the reminder that in these days of instant gratification, great gratification can also come from good old-fashioned anticipation.

For the past few weeks, a variety of tents and stages and bleachers have been going up around Old Town Scottsdale.  Yesterday, while I was doing some research at the library, I watched stage hands construct the outdoor venue at the Civic Center Mall that will be the site for ESPN Magazine’s 2-day Super Bowl bash.  I counted no less than 100 different people happily hammering platforms, setting up equipment, and checking configurations --working to transform the park into a playground of a different nature. 

Even in my tai-chi class today people were all a-twitter about hanging with the hipsters at the various fundraisers.  It is fun to participate in such an endeavor – even as an observer. 

So knowing there is something to be said for the excitement that anticipation can generate, how is it that we manage to suck the fun out of planning and execution when it comes to our corporate lives?

I think we as leaders could learn a thing or two from these events and perhaps in the process solve some of those pesky HR issues we’ve manufactured, like employee engagement, commitment and productivity.

Anticipation is a form of hope, after all.  And who couldn’t use a little more hope? 

What are your headlines?
All too often in my career I have been brought in at the tail end of a project and asked to generate some enthusiasm and buy-in from the employees to support the project’s execution– like it’s a simple flip of a switch.

Building anticipation requires getting people interested, which means giving them something authentic they can connect to and care about– a story.  For example, to get to this year’s Super Bowl, each team had to win some games.  The Giants finished their regular season 10-6.  The Patriots were undefeated with 16-0.  Are you bored yet?  I could quote you some more statistics if you’d like.  Would it help if you knew what brand of shoes they were wearing?

The point is the numbers or facts don’t come alive until you put the human story with it that conjures up some emotion.  Here are some examples from today’s headlines:  “Brady’s ankle not mentioned on injury report.” “Can the Giants upset (the Patriots’) perfect season?” “Moss matchup welcomed.”  “Who wants it more?”   Even news from the FBR Open details Phil Mickelson’s recovery from a respiratory illness, and that he is expecting to have a good week.  Who can’t relate to a pesky respiratory infection?  "Way to kick its ass Phil!"  Now I’m watching to see how he does.

We care about the outcome and participating when we care about the players and the story.  Project plans and timelines and statistics are great, but they should never stand alone.  People want to be connected to meaningful work.  That meaning doesn’t come from one-dimensional numbers, but the real human story that surrounds those numbers.  So what’s your story?
 
Broadcast progress
We all know that sometimes the best plans can hit a snag that causes things to go awry.  Still, even if we all executed our plans perfectly 100% of the time we wouldn’t necessarily get the outcome we were striving for.  So you go back to the drawing board and try again.  That’s what keeps it interesting.  Why would you want to keep those details inside the walls of your boardroom?

To humanize an event and build anticipation, there needs to be some uncertainty of the outcome.  Will it work?  How will it play out?  Who will be there? What will the response be?

Imagine if at the beginning of the NFL’s (ever-lengthening) season, you were merely told “We have 32 teams that are going to be playing 16 games and we’ll let you know how it goes.”  What if the updates you got looked like this:  “7 teams in the AFC have a .500 or better win percentage.”  Or “This week 5 quarterbacks were sacked for a total of 12 sacks and a 14-yard average loss.”  “6 teams lost and 6 won.”  How long would you keep tuning in?

Talk to your employees about the wins and losses and challenges.  Talk about the events, and also the emotions and impacts surrounding the events.  Instead of trying to avoid conflict, use it to drive your story.  Noone expects leaders to be perfect.  (Bill Clinton helped us let go of that unrealistic expectation.)  Show how you are overcoming obstacles and before you know it, your employees will find their own way to participate in helping the organization win.  (AKA:  employee engagement!)

Celebrate wins along the way
From ideation to execution can be a long road to hoe.  We don’t all have a press corps waiting outside our executive boardrooms, but that doesn’t mean that people aren’t interested in understanding the challenges and how they were overcome.  People are very interested in knowing about leadership’s changes in thoughts or plans, and typically are secretly dying to be asked to participate in helping you celebrate the small wins along the way.

You don’t have to go to an extreme comparable to having a locker room web-cam, where every move is watched, reported, and analyzed; but taking a moment to pat some people on the back for a job well done in moving you closer to your goals certainly does help everyone involved enjoy the ride that much better.

When you think about the time and money, and people and energy that goes in to creating a successful event it can be mind-boggling.  It’s a lot of moving pieces and parts to coordinate.  But as we all know from going through the process to a lesser degree at some point ourselves -- whether it be preparing for a party, a holiday, a wedding, or a celebration of a different sort, half the fun is in the anticipation and the payoff of having help actively participate in the planning can be huge. 

Enjoy the ride.  In the meantime, I am heading out to see if I can find Taylor Kitsch (Tim Riggins from “Friday Night Lights”) hanging around shirtless somewhere.  Yes, anticipation is a beautiful thing.