I've always thought that by the time we're 10 or 11 years old, we know a good teacher from a bad one. We've been in enough classes with a variety of educators to gauge which ones do their jobs well - and which ones don't. We don't have to like these people to recognize competence - or even excellence - in their skills and abilities. Is the same true of show managers?

When this idea was first conceived, we used our position statements as benchmarks. Does the show do audits, for instance? Well, that doesn't work because not enough organizers recognize the value of third-party audits. We really wish more would do them, but right now the percentage of total shows that audit is not even a measurable percentage point.

And what about convention housing policies? We're making inroads with those organizers who have overly restrictive regulations and deduct seniority points or fine those exhibitors who go outside the sub-block. But does that mean they are exhibitor-friendly? Debatable.

You would think after exhibiting for several years, and in a variety of events, we would know the differences. Now admittedly, if you only do a couple shows a year, your ability to differentiate between good and bad is questionable because you don't have a big enough sample size on which to judge. But TSEA members tend to do more than a couple shows a year.

So, I need your assistance. We are exploring the possibility of creating a seal of approval for those shows our members believe are "Exhibitor-Friendly." Help us define what criteria should be used to determine which shows are exhibitor-friendly and which are not?

Entries must be submitted to me, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , with "Exhibitor Friendly" in the subject line, by Sept. 18. All who contribute ideas will be entered in a drawing. Ten people will win a complimentary registration to the webinar of their choice. Thanks in advance for your help. It's much appreciated.

I'll take the naive approach and assume they have the best motives, although I'm reminded that corporations haven't had the best track record in that area recently. The obvious dilemma is how to instill a sense of honesty and integrity in someone if they don't already have it? Certainly slogans aren't going to have much of an impact on someone if they have survived and perhaps even prospered from unscrupulous behavior.

Integrity and honesty are concepts, which are usually instilled by your parents, and the example they set for you. Often we speak of honesty as an either/or proposition, either you have it or you don't. I choose to look at it as a gradient with varying amounts in the population.
Some people have none, these are the sociopaths of our society and there is no act, no matter how vile, beneath them.

Others have very little, but there are some things even they won't do; however, they will compromise their principles if the price is right. Lastly, another group maintains a firm adherence to the principles of right and wrong, even if it is achieved at great personal cost, which is often the case.

For those who are borderline, there is a great temptation to compromise principles especially if there are blatant examples of those who have profited from doing so. We often receive mixed messages. Society tells us to be honest and at the same time we worship wealth and power. Often the quickest path is in direct conflict with the ideals we've been taught.

Society changed in the 1980s, and the mantra "greed is good" became a way of rationalizing the rejection of ideals this country was founded on. Quick results and the vulgar display of wealth was the definition of a person's self worth. They claimed honesty, integrity and compassion were obsolete and an obstacle to success if you are burdened by ethics but others aren't.

If someone is defined by the appearance of success to others, than the validation from total strangers is more important than belief in yourself, and that gives others too much power over the happiness which should come from within. They alone determine if you feel worthy, and by doing this you are acknowledging their superiority over you. This insecurity can make people do many things that make more confident people recoil in horror.

Lately, a lot of problems in our economy have surfaced because some individuals have attempted to achieve success without the effort necessary to do it appropriately. Banking scandals, sub-prime real estate fraud and irrational swings in Wall Street have destroyed the financial peace of mind of innocent victims because we've abandoned time-honored ways of achieving the same goals.

Bernie Madoff is the latest poster child for this type of dishonesty, and the scale of his misconduct is truly mind boggling. The extent of the fraud is the issue, because he couldn't have pulled this off for so long without accomplices to enable it.

There were warning signs but people looked the other way because they were all making money. Now everyone wants to blame him as if he were the only guilty party, yet only a chump could believe he alone was responsible for a crime of this magnitude. The sad truth is there another Bernie Madoff waiting in the wings to do the same thing until we put our priorities in order and readjust our thinking.

Some might ask "What does this have to do with the tradeshow business?" Everything. And that sign on the show floor tells me I'm not the only one who recognizes it. It would be nice to think that everyone we come into contact with has impeccable integrity but human history tells us a different story. It would be nice to think we could trust our fellow human beings, but the sad fact is we need to protect ourselves against the avarice that lurks in the twisted minds of certain people.

This is the reason we put locks on our doors, not because all people are bad but because a few are.

For furniture rental companies, the challenge is keeping up with the tradeshow industry and the design elements builders are using on the show floor.

"We try to keep track of what the builders are doing and not what moss green is popular in the homes," said Kevin Nute, national account executive for CORT Tradeshow and Event Furnishings. "You try to build your line on what people are building their design elements on."
Styles and colors that make home sweet home don't necessarily make exhibit sweet exhibit. Citrus colors in various shades have been popular for the last three years when it comes to accent pieces such as chairs, ottomans, throw pillows and side tables. White furniture provides sleek, clean lines and serves as a blank canvas for color.

"A lot of people want more stark primary, secondary colors in true color combinations. Not the softer color combinations," Nute said. While white wouldn't work in a home full of 5-year-old boys, the durable and easily cleaned materials of rental furniture make it possible on the show floor. "White seems counter intuitive to the tradeshow world, but it works out well."
The clean lines of a contemporary style complements the white furniture and bold contrast colors. For years, contemporary has been the style of choice. The main reason?
"It goes with everything," said Debbi Somers, owner of Somers Furniture in Las Vegas. "You can update it. When people redo their booth they're going to keep it for about two years. Furniture is either going to say ‘look at me' or do the opposite and blend in with the rest of the booth."
What the furniture says about a booth is up to the company that owns it. Safe pieces are the timeless ones such as the Barcelona chair, the legless Panton chair and Bambo stool. Ghost chairs, constructed from clear acrylic, can disappear in a booth to increase the appearance of space, Nute said.
"Those pieces are always very lasting," he added. "Those are pieces that don't go out of style."
The current economy forces everyone to reexamine their bottom line, and cost effective measures don't stop at rental furniture. When companies rent pieces for their booths, the most popular items are the ones that serve multiple functions. Ottomans and sofas that fold down flat allow for much-needed additional seating, said Kevin Dana, director of marketing and product development for CORT.
"Next year, you'll see us continue to develop product that's very flexible and that you can configure in a bunch of different ways," Dana added.
Lighting, also available for rent, also can create a different ambiance in coordination with color and style.
"You're going to continue to see color popped with LED lighting," Dana said. "You can use lighting as well in a tradeshow booth to convey a mood."
For companies that want to invest in custom furniture, it's easy to find pieces that meet the need for individuality. Somers reinvented her company from just a rental company to a manufacturing and rental company after the events of Sept. 11.
"We can build anything to match a booth that's already there," she said. "We can match up to anything."
The recession has appeared in her neck of the woods, but she said there are still companies that have a need for custom furniture. In that case, Somers tries to make everything as affordable as possible. It may have been beneficial to redesign a booth in the past, but the opportunity to do so is lacking today. Changing furniture is a more inexpensive way to invigorate an older booth.
"You don't want to look like every single booth out there. No one wants that," she said. "When people redo their booth, they're going to keep it for about two years. Everybody right now is looking at every dollar they spend."
The one thing the tradeshow furniture industry has in common with home furnishings is the need for sustainable materials. CORT's Merrakesh collection uses foam made from vegetables to decrease the company's carbon footprint.
"It's steps we can make," Dana said. "We're trying to do everything we can to source more sustainable material."