Preparing for the CEO’s Arrival

Our security company’s home office in Irving, Texas is about 6,000 square feet, situated 100 yards off a main road, right in the middle of the city. And yesterday was the day that most employees dread, but smart ones get excited about – the day the Chief Executive Officer pops in to visit.  The CEO implemented strict policies for dress code, attendance, security, and just about everything the company does, so we knew we needed to make the day perfect.  A few weeks ago, we put together a planning committee to make sure the even runs smoothly.  The CEO would visit for a total of 4 hours, so we needed to have a conference room prepared, lunch ready, and then he would be in meetings with the executive staff the rest of the time.

We started preparing the conference room for the lecture by removing all the chairs to clear the room. Then, we hired a local company, Irving Carpet Cleaning, to sanitize the carpeting and clean the room.  The carpet cleaners spent an hour and a half vacuuming the large floor and steam cleaning the rugs.  After that, our volunteer employees helped bring the chairs back into the room and organize them like an auditorium in rows.  We needed to make sure there was space for the CEO to walk down the aisles if he wanted to get some crowd interaction.  Finally, we tested the microphone on stage to make sure everything was working.

After finishing the conference room, we directed all managers to inform their staff that professional dress code is in effect for the day and they should all be 5 minutes early for the event.  The CEO arrived in his private jet right on time and rolled into the event in style.  A few of the employees got to meet him and had a short conversation before he headed on stage to begin speaking.  The speech lasted about 45 minutes, covering the company’s performance for the first half of the year, new cybersecurity techniques, and goals for the remaining 6 months.  Overall, it was a great experience that went well because of our steadfast preparation in the days leading up to the event.