Another concept that may be helpful in planning and running Grapes & Apes 2012 is the trade-off between utilization and responsiveness.

• Utilization is the ratio of time working to total time available.  If you are busy 24-7 and do not have any downtime, your time is 100% utilized.
• Responsiveness is the ability of a system (or person) to respond quickly to situations.

Imagine if our fire department is constantly fighting fires (i.e. they are 100% utilized).  If your house catches fire and you call the fire department, they say that they'll be there in a couple of hours.  Ouch! 

On the other hand, it costs money to staff a fire station.  If you keep adding fire stations, at some point there are "too many".

In summary, utilization and responsiveness are inversely related.  How does this apply to G&A?

• Upon arrival, our guests should not wait to check-in.  This requires an abundance of staff, tables, tents, etc. for reception.  It also helps that our staff knows what to do (i.e. processes are defined and everyone is trained).
• When our guests enter the zoo, we need volunteers and signs to lead everyone deeper in the zoo, thus alleviating a bottleneck toward the front.
• If we encounter a security problem, we will be grateful that we have so many security volunteers.
• We need plenty of wine and food stations scattered throughout the zoo to keep lines down.
• The list goes on...

Think about any way we can influence our guests' experience at G&A.  By defining processes, having plenty of volunteers, and training everyone, the probability of our guests having a "WOW!" experience skyrockets.

With a fantastic team of Rotarians and spouses, I know we're going to deliver!