by Deanna Tassoni
Plans, plans, plans. Many of us got into the meeting and event industry because we’re good at planning. Whether it is planning floral arrangements, menus, itineraries, or entertainment schedules for meetings, we all make plans. That’s what we do. That’s why we’re called planners!
Recently, I was reminded how much plans can change.
One of my company’s agents was traveling to a client’s event in a remote part of Canada. On-time arrival at her destination involved the coordination of travel by plane, ferry, and rental car. Before leaving, she carefully ran through that what-if scenarios in case her flight was delayed. She went through all the details to ensure a foolproof backup plan. As I went home for the weekend, she got on a plane and began her journey.
by Deanna Tassoni
I know, I know: you do it all by yourself. You program your meetings, decide your catering, perfect your invitation lists, plan your seating arrangements, set up your venues, book your own speakers, and work all day and all night to pull off your perfect event. Now you’re absolutely exhausted, and you’re too stressed out to enjoy the work you’ve done.
You’ve seen them: event planners who run on coffee instead of food and water. By the time the day of an event arrives, their nerves are so thin they’re ready to blow up if anything goes wrong. Don’t be the stereotypical, crazy-eyed event planner. It’s time to start thinking about how to work smarter instead of working harder.
Okay, well, I know you won’t stop working hard, but at least consider how to work hard and smart.
by Deanna Tassoni
Like most of you reading this, I spend a lot of time with many people who plan and facilitate events, concerts, festivals, and parties full-time. Last week, I was given a new perspective. I had the pleasure of spending some time with an old friend who was in town for a healthcare technology conference. Instead of greeting me with a nice to see you or an it’s been a long time, he threw up his hands and screamed, “Thank you for saving me!” as he jumped into the car.
It turns out that after spending three straight days with his boss and 500 other engineers, he was bored out of his mind. My friend didn’t elect to be at this conference, and he made it clear he didn’t care for the lack of available activities outside of his work obligations. Throughout our entire conversation, I couldn’t help but put myself in the shoes of the event planner for the conference. It sounded like the planner spent a great deal of time and energy gathering distinguished speakers, arranging flights, and compiling the latest information on technology and industry news for the meetings and presentations. So what went wrong?
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