Death, Taxes & Change

I grew up being told there were only two constants in life: death and taxes. I wholeheartedly disagree. There is a third constant… change. Change WILL happen no matter what. Just when you think you’ve mastered the process for something, someone changes the process. Just when you think you have discovered the most efficient drive to work, road construction starts. Just when you’ve lost five pounds, the holidays arrive.

Those can all be inconvenient, however, the changes I’m talking about arrive during event planning or execution. For example: despite your best efforts, you discover breakout rooms aren’t set with the right number of chairs, catering has substituted a menu item without your approval, and the price of coffee has recently gone up. Not only that, since you signed the contract, the cost of labor per hour has increased and the enigmatic anticipated percentage price increase in the boilerplate allows the convention center to pass the additional costs onto you.

Additionally, the keynote speaker you have been advertising for months has a family emergency and can no longer make it to your event leaving you to scramble for a replacement. Bad weather sets in and half of your attendees’ flights are delayed meaning they’ll miss the opening general session. After extensive review of all of the BEOs (banquet event orders), not a single one of you noticed that the approved ballroom floorplan was set using all four sections when you talked over and over about setting only three and using the fourth for a separate networking event until you arrived on scene and are standing in the back of the room totally confused as you wonder where the room for the networking event disappeared to.

To add to the change list, when you originally signed your three-year contract with said convention center, there was a direct tram from the airport to the convention center/hotel where your attendees could deplane, drop their luggage, hop the tram and be at the event within mere moments. Two years later when your event is actually happening, the tram shuts down because of operational costs and your people are left to fend for themselves. Now YOU are the one scrambling to communicate the options available for your attendees to get themselves from point A to point B after wooing them to purchase event tickets because of the convenience of transportation.

Continuing this theme of change, the volunteer recruited to oversee a section of the event (lets say registration) has come down with the flu and is so sick she can’t travel let alone supervise the team of 25 other volunteers under her purview. Her fever is so high she can’t articulate the prework that’s already been done, nor if there is anyone who might be able to take her place for you. Oh, and by the way, the event starts tomorrow. I can tell you with confidence that each of these scenarios actually happened to me at some point over the years.

Successful event planners do not have the luxury of being afraid of change. In fact, the best planners I know accept the change challenge head on as if they’ll earn a badge on the lanyard of life when they use their problem-solving skills to master just one more. The wildly great, and somewhat intimidating planners, stand in the atrium, hands on their hips, chest high, eyes scanning as if daring fate to throw them a curve ball so they can add another notch to their overcomer’s toolbelt.

Death is certain. We will all experience it. I have never met anyone who has lived “forever” although I have had great Aunts who lived to be over 100 years old. Those were ladies with grit. Taxes are certain. It doesn’t matter what state you are from (I live in Illinois, so believe me when I tell you taxes are a certainly), or what country you are from, there is some version of taxes being taken from your paycheck. And guaranteed, if you have planned even one event, you have experienced the inevitable change request for something you swear you and your team could have avoided after the number of hours and details you spent planning, anticipating, risk-assessing, and thinking through.

Do you have a story about a change you experienced that you’d like to share? Add it to the comments below or send me an email! I’d love to hear it.

Be sure to like and share this blog with those you know who are change averse.

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