There are a ton of things that you think about and ask yourself when planning event…
Are we gonna have enough stuff?
Are the kids going to tell their friends about this?
Is anyone going to go crazy and do something stupid?
Did I forget something?
But over the last year of planning events, I think there is one question that can really help you become a better planner overall when thinking about honing your skills. And that question is one that you ask, but you normally ask it after the event. Are you wondering what it is yet?
The one question that our team has been asking when we plan events is this: What about this event next year?
If the event is something that we might do the next year, then we plan for that already this year. Here are a few things that helps us with for the long term.
1. You keep track of what you do. You will keep every email, every receipt, every graphic, etc. with the sole purpose of will this work next year. It keeps you focused on making this a sustainable event.
2. You make the event more strategic and purposeful. If fun/wow/safety are your only goals you will definitely not get the purpose of your event. If this is a more than one time thing, you will need to make sure it lines up with the vision of your organization. If it’s a one time fling, you don’t care how much it lines up with your vision and strategy. Not only that but you can begin to give it away to someone else either if it’s not going to make sense with your vision which brings me to the last thing…
3. You design it for the hands of someone else. Creating an event which isn’t dependent on all those thoughts in your head will allow you the ability to give it to someone else to help plan or pull off for next year. But it takes work to design and plan an event not only for the now but also for the later.
So think through your next event and ask yourself the question: What about this event next year?
