The Field Book
Short entries on how a visit is actually held together, what I check, what I decide, and what Seattle does to a plan.
Arrival
The honest answer is a range, and the range depends on the hour, whether there is an event at the stadiums, and which side of the terminal the car can actually reach. When someone gives an executive a single number, they are guessing. I would rather give a window, a fallback, and the name of the person holding the car.
Guest strategy
Before the venue, before the menu, the question is what this group should believe by the end of the evening. Seating, arrival order, and who greets whom at the door do more work than any centerpiece. Most programs skip that conversation and then wonder why the room felt flat.
Seattle
An October terrace plan needs a same-quality indoor version that does not read as a downgrade. Light matters too: in January, a 4pm dinner start feels different than it does in July, and that changes where I would put the conversation that actually matters.
Onsite
Not the plan. The plan is usually fine. What breaks is the moment between the car and the lobby, the lobby and the room, the dinner and the departure, the places where nobody was named as the owner. I write the owner down for each one.
Hosting
Knowing when a dinner is finished, and closing it warmly before it drifts, protects the whole visit. Guests remember the last ten minutes. So does the principal who has a 7am flight.