Planning and organization are critical to success - a simple statement to which we would all agree. But as Art Shulman frequently shows in his "War Stories" column, oftentimes people fool us and don’t do what we expect of them. How we react to the unexpected can mean the difference between success and failure.

A number of years ago when I was with the now-defunct Miller Research Services in Minneapolis one of the markets we served was still getting accustomed to using commercial research services. Many of the marketing people operated by the seat of their pants.

In an attempt to expand the use of research services we put together a presentation called "The Non-Commercial Commercial Research Presentation." The purpose was twofold. First, to show how important research was as a part of a marketing effort, and second, to demonstrate through examples why it was important to use commercial research firms for information gathering and evaluation.

At no time did we mention Miller Research Services but we knew that by making the presentation, commercial research services would be associated with our organization. We worked very hard at getting the presentation onto the bill at industry programs and when we made the presentation, business followed.

The marketing people within this industry had an active trade association with a number of local chapters. One morning I received the call from Fred (whom I had never met), the progam director for the Kansas City chapter, which was one of the largest and most active goups in the country. Fred asked me if I was available to make our presentation at their kickoff meeting in September.

Was I available? In an instant! Normally the opening meeting drew the largest attendance of the year so being asked to appear was quite a coup for us. I immediately ageed and Fred gave me the date and location along with his address so that I could send him my bio for his introduction.

When that day in September finally rolled around I was well-prepared. My bio had been sent per schedule and I was at the country club for the reception prior to the dinner. There were about 150 men and women in attendance and I knew probably two-thirds of them so I was able to mingle well with the crowd.

As with most large luncheons or dinners, the room was organized so that the attendees sat at round tables while the association officers and the speaker were seated at a long table facing the audience. I was seated next to Fred and we seemed to converse about everything except the upcoming presentation.

The dessert was served and my adrenaline started to rise as I realized it was getting close to the witching hour. Even though Fd made the presentation so often I could have done it in my sleep, each time there was still a surge of energy inside of me just before addressing the audience.

Because this was the opening meeting, the president’s speech to the members went on and on. Finally, after what seemed like half an hour (but was really only five or 10 minutes), Fred was called on to introduce me as the speaker for the evening. I was facing the audience and knew that at least some of them would be watching, me during the introduction so I tried to maintain a demeanor somewhere between humility and attentiveness.

As Fred moved to the podium I was mentally getting everything in order. My response to the flattering introduction was ready, my slide projector had been tested and was in focus, and my notes and outline were inside the folder in my right hand. As soon as Fred finished and the applause had started I would be on my feet with a smile that would say to the audience, "I’m happy to be here."

I watched as Fred looked out over the podium at the audience and started speaking. "When I took the job as program chairman," he began, "I called the treasurer and asked him how much we had in our budget for speakers. The treasurer replied that no money had ever been allocated for the program committee, including speakers, and that this year would be no different. So, ladies and gentlemen, tonight you are going to get what you paid for: Tom Quirk."

At that point he stepped back from the microphone and returned to his seat.

As soon as the audience realized the introduction was truly over there was a gasp, which was immediately followed by nervous titters. Although clearly the crowd realized the program chairman had caught me off guard with his remarks arid were sympathetic to my situation, their final evaluation of me would depend on my reaction. Would I respond with rancor? Or would I be so stunned that I couldn’t do anything, let alone make an effective presentation?

Fortunately, as mentioned earlier, a majority of the audience were acquaintances and I felt comfortable appearing before them. So, after taking a deep breath and a few seconds to compose myself I put on the best smile I could muster and went to the lectern.

Looking out over the audience I said, "Folks, I want to thank you for inviting me here tonight for the opening meeting of the season. It’s great that Fred didn’t spend much time on the introduction because we can immediately get to presentation which, in turn, means there will be more time for questions at the end of the evening. I almost wish I got this kind of introduction more often."

The response seemed to be well received and the ensuing presentation went off without a hitch.

In that instance, I handled things correctly. But things didn’t go so well on another occasion when I was faced with an unforeseen event.

I had been contracted to hold a series of meetings with cattle farmers which included a short video presentation of a new product followed by a showing of the product. After the product information portion was completed each of the participants was given a printed questionnaire to complete. Although the forms looked similar there were in fact three vergions, each with different price points to help the manufacturer determine optimal pricing for the product. The client had pre-tested the questionnaire in the Midwest and was satisfied that the methodology would get them the information they needed.

The first set of meetings we held in the Midwest and the West seemed to confmn their view. The next set of meetings were held in the Mid-Southern states of Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama. At the first of these sessions I noted there were more wives in attendance than normal. Cattle raising is a male-dominated business and although wives were not barred from attending we did not encourage it.

After the product presentation, the questionnaires were passed out and it was then I saw why the wives had come along with their husbands: The men were illiterate - something neither the client nor I had thought of when setting up the methodology!

The wives were reading the questionnaires aloud to their husbands and soon everyone realized that the forms contained different price points. By the time I realized what was happening it was too late to stop the proceedings and we had to discard the questionnaires.

Success in the earlier meetings had caused me to become lax and I was not prepared for the unexpected. Looking back, the number of spouses in attendance should have raised suspicions in me. Although we instituted safeguards to avoid this problem in the future, my failure to take action caused us to lose the results from that meeting.

Incidents such as the two I’ve described happen all too often. If we are on our toes it is possible to turn the unexpected to our advantage, or mitigate the damage, but if we become complacent it is possible to suffer serious consequences. One should never take anything for granted.

The unexpected can happen at any time - even when all appears to be going as planned and you’ve covered every possible base. If someone does throw you a curve ball while you’re, say, presenting survey findings or justifying the need to continue that costly tracking program, it is important to be prepared and to react as calmly and rationally as possible. Quick thinking and a cool head can turn even an ugly situation to your favor.