WELCOME TO THE
Library
Pull something off the shelf. I write most weeks about the parts of an event nobody sees.
New on the shelf
everything on the shelf
Where your speaker information lives changes everything
Bios in one folder, travel details in an email thread, slides in a shared drive nobody can find. This post covers what changes when speaker information lives in one place, both for you and for the speakers themselves.
What actually happens between "the venue is booked" and event day
Impressive names, strong bios, and a room that somehow never quite lifts. It happens more than anyone admits and it isn't about the speakers being wrong. This post covers what determines whether a lineup lands once everyone is in the room.
What event day feels like when your team has the full picture
Your team can only run the day without you if the document in front of them answers what they'll actually need. This post covers what has to be in it, what usually gets left out, and how it changes event day.
The event logistics spreadsheet your team needs to execute without you
Your team can only run the day without you if the document in front of them answers what they'll actually need. This post covers what has to be in it, what usually gets left out, and how it changes event day.
Your event has multiple versions right now. Here’s why that matters.
Your event currently exists in four places and they don't quite match: the doc you share, the notes on your phone, the vendor emails, and the version in your head. This post covers why that matters more than it seems and what to do about it.
The difference between planning your event and running your event
Connected tools and a working setup are two different achievements. This post covers how the pieces fit together so that registration, confirmations, and reminders keep moving without you remembering to push them.
The brief that lets your retreat team decide without you
A good brief tells your team what to do. A better one tells them enough to make the call themselves when you're mid-session and unreachable. This post covers the difference and what has to be in the second kind.
THE FIVE ELEMENTS THAT MAKE A RETREAT FEEL PROFESSIONALLY HELD
Guests can always tell when an event is being run well, though most of them couldn't tell you why. This post covers the five things they're picking up on, and how each one gets built before anyone arrives.
RETREAT CONTINGENCY PLANNING 101: STAY STEADY WHENT THINGS SHIFT
Something will move. A speaker's flight, the weather, the room setup you confirmed twice. Contingency planning means deciding what you'll do about it now, rather than at 6am on event day on four hours of sleep. This post covers how.
THE ONE DOCUMENT YOU NEED TO KEEP YOUR RETREAT ON TRACK
When every moving piece of a retreat lives in one document, the whole event stops depending on what you remember. This post covers what belongs inside it, how it gets built, and what changes for your team once it exists.
HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY EXECUTE A RETREAT AFTER THE PLANNING IS DONE
Planning ends and running begins, and the two ask entirely different things of you. Most hosts prepare thoroughly for the first and improvise the second. This post covers what execution actually requires and what to build before you get there.
HOW TO PREVENT YOUR RETREAT FROM FALLING APART (EVEN IF YOU’RE A FIRST-TIME HOST)
Something changes in a client relationship after you've been in a room together. She replies faster, refers more freely, and renews without a conversation about it. This post covers what actually happens in that room and why an afternoon does what a year of posting cannot.
She registers, gets a confirmation, and then hears nothing for six weeks. Whatever excitement she had gets a chance to cool all the way down. This post covers what should be reaching her in that stretch and how to set it up once.