Flexibility, it’s the Name of the Game

After 2020, the hospitality and tourism industry will never be the same. At least I hope so. We had to make the shift from in-person events to virtual ones, sometimes with only days or weeks to do so. Several great lessons were learned; technical skills, production skills, new languages, half-body dressing skills, and new ways of thinking. One of the biggest…. Flexibility.

During the crazy Covid year, I watched people and organizations do some soul-searching and really get to the fundamentals of why they are doing certain events; what their root purpose is, why do they exist, what do they hope to accomplish? Once the main thing became (again) the main thing, fresh ideas and new directions were born resulting in amazing virtual replacement events. But this really stretched some folks.

I have learned, in almost 15 years of event planning, that everything is subject to change. Random issues inevitably come up on the fly that require you to make a split-second decision. More attendees than anticipated show up and now room setups need to change. The facility you are holding your event in had a pipe burst and now the space you thought you were using is unavailable. Or, a global pandemic shuts down the entire universe and nothing is happening…. nothing.

Being flexible frees you from a lot of potential stress. If you hold your plans loosely, when a major shift in planning is required, you won’t get derailed. That doesn’t mean don’t plan to the n-th degree of detail – that is still foundationally required. Rely on your experience, seek wise counsel, make the best decision you can with the information you have, but throughout the planning process choose your “hills to die on” wisely and sparingly. As an event planner, you have to allow a great number of issues to slide off your back like a greased pig.

How have you had to be flexible in this last year? I’d love to hear about it, please email me!

This blog was created to help those planning events learn from someone who has gone before.
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