Get buy-in at the beginning

“This is no longer a vacation It’s a quest! It’s a quest for fun!” exclaims a flustered Clark Griswold in the movie “National Lampoon’s Vacation.” He’s at the end of his rope, having lost luggage, family (RIP Aunt Edna) and his way along the road. All he wanted to do was have a fun family vacation. Clark Griswold provided my inner monologue while I road tripped recently to CUES’ Execu/Net in Sedona, Ariz.

Execu/Net has long been one of my favorite events—top-notch speakers in the morning, with afternoons free to explore the great outdoors, gain perspective on life and find that elusive work/life balance. The gorgeous Sedona location, the free time to explore, and my daughters’ desire to visit Arizona … the stars aligned and I had the idea that our family vacation 2018 could be set.

I’m very lucky to work with one of my best friends, Kari Sweeney, CUES’ supplier relations manager. Kari is as big a fan of “National Lampoon’s Vacation” as I am—she named our roof-top carrier “Edna”! I could do a whole series of blog posts focused on what makes her so awesome, but one of the traits I love about her is her sense of adventure. So, when I said to her “You know what might be fun? What if we took our kids and drove from Wisconsin to Arizona?” she immediately was in, and #FromCheesetoCactus became official. (#FromCheesetoCactus was our hashtag on Instagram and Facebook, if you’d like to travel cross-country vicariously with us.)

 

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