On any team event or outing, there are three essentials to success:

• A well-planned, engaging event agenda
• Enthusiastic, competent event participants
• Food!

The first two we often take as given. But the latter often gets overlooked. Then as team members' energy flags, we wonder whether we as event planners brought enough personal energy to the game or whether some aspect of our planning went awry.

It did, if you didn't include sustenance in your plan.

Always keep an injection of healthy (or unhealthy if need be) calories in your event schedule, whether it's before, during, or (on short events - two hours or less) after. It'll keep your team's focus from failing and their desire from drifting.

After all, it's not just kids who wonder, "When do we eat?"