Hi there.

In my last email to you, I mentioned I'd follow up with some insights on why size doesn't always determine challenge.

Last quarter, I worked on two things: a 4,000-person kick-off and a 250-person CEO Summit.

The smaller one was much harder.

Not because of logistics.
Because there’s nowhere to hide.
The CEO's reputation was on the line.

The 4,000-person arena: There's an energy to fill the room; production/scripts/multimedia engage. Gaps can be filled without anyone seeing behind the kimono.

The 250-person room: It's stripped back to the essentials; everything is exposed. The content.
The pacing. Who’s speaking. Who shouldn’t be.

You feel it immediately when something’s off. It's so cringe. 😬

I had a HUGE learning curve working for Peter Diamandis at The XPRIZE Foundation and Singularity University for about a decade, but it was a lightning bolt when I understood the game.

He had very little patience for wasted time.

🎯 If you couldn’t read a name badge from across the room, it wasn’t effective.
⌛ If you couldn’t say something clearly in a few sentences, rewrite it.
🚀 If it wasn’t actionable, it didn’t belong.

That standard sticks with you.

I spend a lot of time working with clients to help them see that many smaller, executive-level events often don’t fall apart. They just don’t do anything.

Good room.
Smart people.
Nothing shifts.

The Takeaway

If you are in the business of bringing like-minded people together and want to design like a CEO, you don’t need more.

You need to decide:
​What actually needs to happen here?

And if the “why” isn’t clear,
You won’t protect it when decisions get hard.

That’s usually when I get called. The good news is, I can help.

​​Keep thinking, keep winking,
— Denise

​Twofold Story: Helping you build journeys, not agendas.

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