While event professionals are masterful at getting things done, it is
also one of the most demanding professions where working long hours to
meet hard deadlines is common. In this article we look at some
thought-provoking and sometimes counterintuitive ways of boosting
productivity.
Time, planning and productivity are critical for the event industry. Planning often begins a year or more in advance of the actual event and the location and venue may be chosen several years ahead. However, when it comes to the big event itself there is no time for error. At 8.00 am when you open the doors for registration you had better be ready!
Most of us will find ourselves at some point wishing for more time. How can we increase productivity without sacrificing quality? Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, the founders of project management system Basecamp and the authors of ‘Rework’, take a radical approach to this question. They have built their entire business around staying small and doing less – and have been highly successful in the process.
Here we look at some of their principles for boosting productivity and how they might apply to delivering meetings and events.
If you ever watch Gordon Ramsay’s “Kitchen Nightmares” you will know that most failing restaurants offer way too many dishes. By spreading themselves thin, the hapless restaurant owners end up serving sub-standard food. The solution is always to offer a smaller menu and to make sure that everything they do is memorable. In other words, to focus on quality not quantity.
The “less is more” approach is all about cutting back. While you will be doing less things, the things you are doing will end up much being better. This may look like fewer speakers and breakout sessions, less features on your mobile app or broadcasting using fewer social media channels.
Cutting back can be hard to do in practice but at the end of the day you will have a better event and are less likely to be dealing with stressful deadlines and over-spending. Musicians cut good tracks to make a great album. Start chopping out the ‘good’ stuff so you have more space for the great.
Their advice is to commit to making decisions. This means setting aside being perfect and being overly concerned about making mistakes. Instead, decide, take action and move forward. If that seems like a daunting task break down your big decisions into a series of small decisions.
People do business with you because you are an expert. There is no-one who knows more than you do about your product or service. So, have confidence in your point of view and the courage to say “no” if that’s what it will take to keep the project on track. If you graciously explain why you think something is a bad idea then often people will come around to your point of view.
The solution is to work with very short time-lines or “sprints”. Instead of asking what do you need to achieve this month, ask what there is to do this week. Get this mapped out in a way that is simple and measurable. Break your long to-do lists into smaller bite-size chunks. Long to-do lists just leave you feeling guilty about all the things you haven’t done yet.
Ben Saunders took on the daunting task of a solo expedition across the North Pole. Taking on the equivalent of 31 back-to-back marathons this gruelling journey was made possible by breaking it into a series of mini-goals. He explains that a task as simple as “get to that bit of ice a few yards in front of me” was easier to contemplate than the mammoth journey.
Planning an event is a marathon, but breaking it down into short, achievable sprints will result in quick wins that fuel motivation.
Granted, when you are in the full swing of a conference you may not get a full night’s rest. However, many of us burn into our rest time on a regular basis. A last peek at Facebook or answering just one more email before bedtime diminishes not just how much sleep you get but the quality of your rest. On the other hand, exercise and mediation will improve relaxation, the type of sleep you are getting and leave you energized and refreshed.
Time, planning and productivity are critical for the event industry. Planning often begins a year or more in advance of the actual event and the location and venue may be chosen several years ahead. However, when it comes to the big event itself there is no time for error. At 8.00 am when you open the doors for registration you had better be ready!
Most of us will find ourselves at some point wishing for more time. How can we increase productivity without sacrificing quality? Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson, the founders of project management system Basecamp and the authors of ‘Rework’, take a radical approach to this question. They have built their entire business around staying small and doing less – and have been highly successful in the process.
Here we look at some of their principles for boosting productivity and how they might apply to delivering meetings and events.
1. Less is More
The foundation of the Rework philosophy is cutting back and doing less. Fried and Heinemeier explain that they would rather do one thing, and do that thing really well, than do 10 things that are mediocre.If you ever watch Gordon Ramsay’s “Kitchen Nightmares” you will know that most failing restaurants offer way too many dishes. By spreading themselves thin, the hapless restaurant owners end up serving sub-standard food. The solution is always to offer a smaller menu and to make sure that everything they do is memorable. In other words, to focus on quality not quantity.
The “less is more” approach is all about cutting back. While you will be doing less things, the things you are doing will end up much being better. This may look like fewer speakers and breakout sessions, less features on your mobile app or broadcasting using fewer social media channels.
Cutting back can be hard to do in practice but at the end of the day you will have a better event and are less likely to be dealing with stressful deadlines and over-spending. Musicians cut good tracks to make a great album. Start chopping out the ‘good’ stuff so you have more space for the great.
2. Don’t Put Off Decisions
“When you put off decisions, they pile up” say Fried and Hansson. It’s like putting off responding to emails: sooner or later there are so many of them that the important ones get lost.Their advice is to commit to making decisions. This means setting aside being perfect and being overly concerned about making mistakes. Instead, decide, take action and move forward. If that seems like a daunting task break down your big decisions into a series of small decisions.
3. Say No
Saying “no” can be difficult, especially if the person you are saying it to is your client. Most of us avoid saying no because we don’t want to deal with confrontation or we’re concerned that we might lose a client if we don’t agree. However, the cost is that we end up taking on things that in our heart of hearts we know are a bad idea. We end up committing to unreasonable deadlines and additional tasks that all add up to more work, more stress and mediocre results.People do business with you because you are an expert. There is no-one who knows more than you do about your product or service. So, have confidence in your point of view and the courage to say “no” if that’s what it will take to keep the project on track. If you graciously explain why you think something is a bad idea then often people will come around to your point of view.
4. Long Lists are Guilt Trips
Most of us are useless when it comes to guessing how long something will take to do. We tend to imagine we will get more done because we don’t anticipate the wrong-turns, mistakes and delays that inevitably show up. For the most part we take on too much and under-estimate how long it will take. The longer your time-line is, the worse it gets.The solution is to work with very short time-lines or “sprints”. Instead of asking what do you need to achieve this month, ask what there is to do this week. Get this mapped out in a way that is simple and measurable. Break your long to-do lists into smaller bite-size chunks. Long to-do lists just leave you feeling guilty about all the things you haven’t done yet.
Ben Saunders took on the daunting task of a solo expedition across the North Pole. Taking on the equivalent of 31 back-to-back marathons this gruelling journey was made possible by breaking it into a series of mini-goals. He explains that a task as simple as “get to that bit of ice a few yards in front of me” was easier to contemplate than the mammoth journey.
Planning an event is a marathon, but breaking it down into short, achievable sprints will result in quick wins that fuel motivation.
5. Go to Sleep
Restful sleep is essential for your well-being and productivity. Lack of sleep leads to more than just dark circles under your eyes. When you are tired you become stubborn, make bad decisions, you are irritable and less creative. Clearly this impacts your ability to do your job well.Granted, when you are in the full swing of a conference you may not get a full night’s rest. However, many of us burn into our rest time on a regular basis. A last peek at Facebook or answering just one more email before bedtime diminishes not just how much sleep you get but the quality of your rest. On the other hand, exercise and mediation will improve relaxation, the type of sleep you are getting and leave you energized and refreshed.
Comments
Post a Comment